It is our opinion that it is not in the financial interest in any vendor to mention or suggest this type of cooperation model from state to state. If a vendor receives virtually the same software development request from ten different states, most software vendors will bill the full cost of the development ten fold. If ten states were working together to put a bid into motion, each would benefit from having the cost of this development drop ten fold. However, some centralized government agency would need to create a recommended vendor list, most likely a private website for project suggestions and coordination, and a commitment from every state’s purchasing decision makers to use this; for posting new ideas and suggestions, taking ideas and suggestions and participating in organized volume purchasing.
For wireless technology in particular, Westlake offers the following to assist any organization seeking to invest into the improvement of their wireless services: A Roadmap for Wireless Homeland Security Success and Eleven Ways to Ensure Good Wireless Decision Making.