CGI TO BUILD AND MANAGE THE ONTARIO EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE ELECTRONIC MARKETPLACE
Toronto, Ontario, September 15, 2008 -
CGI Group Inc. (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB) today announced that it will team with the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM) to develop and manage an advanced, electronic marketplace and sourcing platform for Ontario publicly funded schools, colleges and universities. As part of a 5-year, $40 million agreement with OECM, CGI will build and manage the electronic marketplace using Ariba’s spend management solutions.
The Ontario government announced in its 2008 Budget that the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace has been established to facilitate group purchasing and introduce an integrated electronic marketplace, with the expected results that educational professionals can focus on teaching, research and student services.
The marketplace will be rolled out in two major phases. In the first, CGI will build an electronic “Shopping Cart” retail environment in which users can order an assortment of goods and services. In the second phase, CGI will enable education sector procurement groups to issue Requests for Proposal (RFP) for major purchases, manage supplier responses to the requests and execute resulting contracts.
“CGI was selected as our partner because it has demonstrated an understanding of OECM’s vision and has the depth of experience that comes from successfully managing other electronic marketplaces in both Canada and the United States,” said Frank Erschen, Acting President & CEO and CIO, Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace.
“CGI will leverage its global expertise in building and managing electronic marketplaces to help OECM realize its vision,” said Doug McCuaig, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Western Canada, Ontario and Atlantic Canada at CGI. “We are excited to be working with OECM and Ariba to build and manage such an important platform that will deliver long-term value to the education sector in Ontario.”
About OECM
OECM is a not-for-profit corporation, established by the Education sector, supported financially by the Ministry of Finance through the OntarioBuys initiative. OntarioBuys’ mandate is to promote the adoption of leading integrated supply chain management (iSCM) practices throughout the broader public sector. OntarioBuys has active projects in both the Health Care and Education sectors.
OECM’s objective is to provide strategic sourcing services and an e-marketplace that connects buyers and suppliers to facilitate more effective, efficient procurement of goods and services for Ontario’s School Boards, Colleges and Universities (SCU). OECM represents a single initiative with support across the entire SCU sector.
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is one of the largest independent information technology and business process services firms in the world. CGI and its affiliated companies employ approximately 27,000 professionals in over 100 offices across 16 countries. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific as well as from centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. CGI's annual revenue run rate stands at $3.8 billion and at June 30th, 2008, CGI's order backlog was $12.03 billion. CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website: www.cgi.com.
CGI Forward- Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are “forward-looking information” within the meaning of sections 138.3 and following of the Ontario Securities Act. These statements and this information represent CGI’s intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These factors include and are not restricted to the timing and size of new contracts, acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified members; market competition in the rapidly-evolving IT industry; general economic and business conditions, foreign exchange and other risks identified in the MD&A, in CGI’s Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), the Company’s Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities authorities (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com), as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” “plan,” and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future performance are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or on this forward-looking information. You will find more information about the risks that could cause our actual results to significantly differ from our current expectations in the Risks and Uncertainties section.
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For more information:
Lorne Gorber
Vice President, Global Communications and Investor Relations
514-841-3355
lorne.gorber@cgi.com
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