Trust, security and confidence. Self-service technology that empowers and enables our customers and their consumers. It’s what Diebold is all about -- today, in the financial industry, and tomorrow, in other growing markets. Which markets offer the most promise? Self-service checkout, voting, biometric identification and outsourcing services are areas that provide us with the opportunity to leverage our core competencies and grow our business.

Our goal: $5 billion in revenue by 2006. Our strategy: build our core business -- and identify new, related markets that are fast-growing, have the potential to make a significant revenue contribution and that complement our core competencies. The four we are focusing on -- voting, self-service checkout, biometric identification and outsourcing -- each meet these criteria. Now we're focused on entering and building a solid position in these markets. Our plan: establish each new business with its own unique mission that increases corporate brand equity; dedicate resources to each, rather than distracting from our other businesses; create substantial cross-business synergies; and invest appropriately to either acquire or internally develop the necessary resources.
We talk a lot about our core competencies. What exactly do we mean? Put simply, it's the things we do well, and what we stand for in the marketplace. And that means self-service technology and services that empower people to transact their business anytime, anywhere -- securely, reliably and confidently. Core competencies, though, are only part of the story. The disciplined approach we take to leveraging our capabilities is also important, because it ensures that we move in the right direction, toward the most meaningful opportunities. After all, growth for the sake of growth is not what we're after; our goal is to optimize value for customers and shareholders.

We agreed to acquire a leading provider of voting technology systems and, when those were combined with our existing capabilities, we became one of the leaders in the world. Almost immediately, we began to see the results: In December, we were selected by the Maryland State Board of Elections to provide nearly 5,000 voting system units in four counties.

The contract is but one of many opportunities we expect in the United States over the next three years, as federal, state and local governments seek to update their voting systems to reduce irregularities and improve access. This is in addition to the large and growing demand in international markets.

Our outsourcing business -- by which we refer to our assuming responsibility for managing or performing business activities that lie outside the core competency or business focus of our customers -- also took a significant leap forward. During the year, we reached an agreement with Bank of America that, because of its breadth and scope, sets a new standard for service within the industry. The seven-year contract -- valued at $71 million per year -- expands our ATM maintenance services for Bank of America from the eastern United States to the western regions. It also brings to our service organization approximately 1,000 Bank of America associates, creating a stronger platform for future growth. Internationally, we grew this business as well, winning several new service contracts in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia and France.

While the self-service checkout industry still remains an emerging business market, with penetration of less than 5 percent, it continues to grow quickly because of its potential to increase consumer service, decrease labor costs and improve efficiency. Our own revenue in this business reflects the potential opportunities ahead. While coming off a low base, it tripled in 2001. Going forward under our current strategy, this revenue is expected to grow by 30 percent to 40 percent per year.

Authentication problems among consumers and enterprises, the continued development of technology infrastructures and improved functionality are among the factors driving growth in the biometrics industry -- a market that's poised to triple in the next few years from its current size of about $500 million.

In 1999, for example, we pioneered the integration of iris recognition technology within our ATM offerings. Since that time, we've continued to study the market to search for and respond to opportunities -- particularly in the areas of systems integration and software -- that enable us to broaden our self-service solutions by effectively integrating biometric identification applications into them.