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Thomas & Herbert Consulting LLC Announces Plan To Launch Enterprise Architecture Center Of Excellence

Industry Heavyweights on the Center's Advisory Board Include Mark Forman

Silver Spring, MD - October 24, 2005 - Thomas & Herbert Consulting LLC (T&H) today announced its plan to open the Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence (CoE), a best-practice collaboratory to facilitate and resolve "Burning Platform" issues and bridge the gap between business managers, enterprise architects and information technology specialists. The service-oriented methodology has been proven effective by T&H through federal agency projects, and will be supported by the CoE's Board of Advisors.

"We've renewed our enterprise architecture contract with T&H based on the great results we have seen," said Ellis L. Kitchen, State of Maryland Chief of Information Technology. "We now have visibility into how many different kinds of systems we have, and through this process we are able to consolidate systems and provide services much more efficiently."

Spearheaded by Mike Dunham, T&H's Chief Enterprise Architect and former Chief Enterprise Architect at the Department of Treasury, the CoE offers a forum to resolve "Burning Platform" issues such as implementing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) mandated Lines of Business; employing the most appropriate governance model in a results-oriented architectural business environment; and maturing usage of Enterprise Architecture (EA) in "Getting to Green" in response to the President's Management Agenda. To address these issues, the CoE leverages T&H's cadre of seasoned enterprise architects, GroupSystems Corporation's collaborative software, and a unique set of rich EA tools.

Through collaborative and structured discussions with key stakeholders, the CoE focuses on helping clients identify and leverage reusable service components, and allows clients to test and evaluate technologies prior to full implementation. T&H's approach - solving immediate and specific problems - contrasts with the traditional approach to EA of attempting to implement broad enterprise solutions which offer little immediate return to most managers in resolving their issues. As a result, federal agencies are able to become more efficient, share intellectual capital across departments, realize cost savings, and transform business processes and systems to deliver exemplary service to citizens.

The CoE is supported by an Advisory Board chaired by Mark Forman, KPMG Partner for Risk Advisory Services, and formerly the Bush Administration appointee for e-Government. Additional Board members include Felix Rausch, Executive Director of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Certification Institute, and Jonathan D. Breul, IBM Partner for Business Consulting Services.

"This is the first CoE of its kind and will be of tremendous value to government CXOs and Chief Architects," said Felix Rausch. "The unique methodology, open forum and rich toolset that T&H is offering in the CoE will provide great benefit in learning about and utilizing enterprise architecture solutions to address the most pressing business issues."

The CoE is a natural extension of the groundbreaking EA work done by T&H, including numerous initiatives for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and U.S. Army, among others. One recent success is the assistance provided to HUD in "Getting to Green" on the OMB Enterprise Architecture Assessment Framework.

The CoE is located in the heart of Rosslyn, in Arlington, Virginia. The grand opening in January 2006 will be kicked off with a week-long series of EA workshops to address "Burning Platform" issues with C-level government executives and prominent industry associations.

"We're thrilled to help government go beyond simply meeting federal mandates, to realizing the tremendous impact enterprise architecture solutions can have in resolving the most pressing and immediate challenges," said Rodney Thomas, President and CEO of T&H.

About Thomas & Herbert Consulting LLC (T&H)

Founded in 1996 and named one of the nation's fastest growing companies by INC 500 and Washington Technology Fast 50, T&H is a highly skilled management and information technology consulting firm with an impeccable track record for delivering leading edge services and solutions that improve client business environments. The firm specializes in delivering Enterprise Architecture, Business Transformation, Systems Development and Integration, e-Government, Program Management, and Managed Services. T&H supports a range of EA engagements for cabinet-level federal agencies, and state and local government agencies, yielding business and information system improvements for clients.

For more information, please visit our website at www.thcllc.com.

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