Department of Information Services
Date: July 30, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joanne Todd
joanne.todd@dis.wa.gov
Washington State Chooses Bing for Internet Portal Search
Partnership increases speed and relevancy of government site search results
Olympia, WA - Washington citizens will now be able to find information located on the state Internet portal (http://access.wa.gov) in less time and with greater accuracy, thanks to a partnership between the Washington State Department of Information Services (DIS) and Microsoft Corp. This partnership allows DIS to integrate Microsoft's new decision engine, Bing, into the existing state Internet portal at no additional cost to Washington taxpayers.
"Adding Bing to Access Washington® will improve the relevancy of search results on the portal, allowing users to find the information they are looking for faster and with greater accuracy," said DIS Deputy Director of Operations Jim Albert.
Microsoft unveiled Bing in May of 2009. "Three design goals that guided the development of Bing were to deliver great results, a more organized user experience, and to simplify tasks and provide insight," said Gail Thomas-Flynn, general manager of State and Local government at Microsoft. "Bing will lead to more confident decisions and allow Washington residents to search and find services, government and community information to help make faster, more informed decisions."
The Washington State Department of Information Services (DIS) provides telecommunications, computing, and digital government services to state, local, and tribal governments; higher education institutions, and qualified non-profit organizations. www.dis.wa.gov
Visit Access Washington®, the Washington State Internet Portal at http://access.wa.gov
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Bing, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/bing/default.mspx.
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