Ottawa-based information security firm TITUS has received a contract worth almost $5.9 million to provide the federal government with an e-mail labelling system.

The system, compatible with Microsoft Outlook, is designed to ensure that all e-mails are labelled before they are sent out. The customizable labels can be used to indicate whether the information in the e-mail is sensitive, a company press release said.

“This is a strategic win for TITUS here in our own backyard,” said Tim Upton, president and CEO of TITUS, in a statement.

The goal of the e-mail classification system is to prevent leaks of sensitive information and to support the protection of private personal information, according to a tender notice issued by the federal government.

The contract is part of the larger initiative, spearheaded by the department known as Shared Services Canada, that’s designed to consolidate the federal government’s 63 e-mail systems into one.

The government has said the consolidation could save it $50 million a year starting in 2015.