Microsoft Joins IJIS Institute as Its Third Sustaining Member

Ashburn, VA, October 23, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The IJIS Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety, and homeland security, announces that Microsoft Corporation has upgraded member status to become the organization’s third Sustaining Member. Microsoft has been a Member of the IJIS Institute since 2003.

The Board of Directors of the IJIS Institute approved the creation of the Sustaining Member program in early 2010. This elite class of membership in the IJIS Institute provides companies a more significant and tangible way in which to support the Institute and its programs. In addition to significant financial support, Sustaining Members lend expertise and partner with the IJIS Institute in special projects that further the mission of the Institute and promote information sharing successes.

“Microsoft believes that it is vital to work closely with IJIS and our colleagues in the technology industry to enable effective sharing of information between law enforcement agencies across the nation, and around the world,” said Joe Rozek, Microsoft’s executive director, Homeland Security & Counter Terrorism. “Becoming a Sustaining Member underscores our commitment to our nation’s safety, to being an effective contributor to the law enforcement community, and to providing technology solutions that work.”

Sustaining Members of the IJIS Institute receive a number of benefits in addition to those of regular Members, including enhanced recognition on the Institute’s web site and in other promotional materials, expanded allowances for event attendance and participation, invitation-only meetings with industry and government leaders, and private briefings by IJIS Institute executive staff on strategic issues important to the information sharing initiatives and standards.

The IJIS Institute’s President, Mike Lyons, noted, “Companies that join the IJIS Institute as Sustaining Members wish to distinguish themselves as leaders in the field of information sharing through proactive involvement in Institute committees, events, and business development efforts. Our Sustaining Members will engage in programs and projects within the framework of the IJIS Institute that will advance the national capability to provide information sharing across relevant domains and communities of interest.”

Paul Wormeli, IJIS Institute executive director, stated, “I welcome Microsoft as a Sustaining Member. They have a vast amount of business expertise and know-how to bring to the table in support of the many information sharing initiatives of the IJIS Institute.”

For more information about the IJIS Institute Sustaining Member Program, please contact Jennifer Dillon, manager of industry relations, at jennifer.dillon@ijis.org.

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About the IJIS Institute—The IJIS Institute serves as the voice of industry by uniting the private and public sectors to improve mission-critical information sharing for those who protect and serve our communities. The IJIS Institute provides training, technical assistance, national scope issue management, and program management services to help government fully realize the power of information sharing. Founded in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with national headquarters on The George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, the IJIS Institute has grown to more than 300 member and affiliate companies across the United States. For more information, please visit www.IJIS.org.