SCIENCE

CHICAGO, IL -- Adding extra muscle to the State of Washington's analytic capabilities, the Department of Information Services (DIS) awarded a statewide contract to SPSS BI, a division of SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSS). The potential three-year agreement enables state agencies, counties and local governments throughout Washington State to purchase Clementine, SPSS' leading data mining software, through DIS' Technology Brokering Services division. The state's Department of Revenue is the first agency to use the data mining power of Clementine. Auditors will use the software to maximize their tax audit selection process. "The government agencies face innumerable challenges and it's exciting to see how Clementine can add value to the auditing effort," said Fiona McKenna, industry marketing manager for SPSS BI. "For example, by using Clementine to review tax returns, auditors can increase the amount of money recouped from tax fraud. This gives agencies the opportunity to re-invest those funds in programs within those communities." Clementine, SPSS BI's enterprise-strength data mining workbench, helps government and businesses improve citizen and customer relationships through in-depth understanding of data. Organizations use the insight gained from Clementine to detect fraud, reduce risk, improve government service delivery, retain profitable customers, identify up- and cross-selling opportunities, attract new customers, and detect fraud. Clementine also helps organizations better understand their citizens' and customers' behavior, resulting in improved Web site design, increased e-store sales and more effective delivery of online services. Clementine was the first data mining workbench aimed at business users and is used in a wide range of industries including e-commerce, telecommunications, finance, retail, health care, government and higher education. More than 500 organizations worldwide use Clementine including the Internal Revenue Service Defense Finance Accounting Service, Health Care Finance Administration and numerous state and local agencies across the country. For more information about this contract, please visit http://emall.dis.wa.gov/Contracts/Software/Software.htm and select contract number T01-TSD-309.