The newest governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC) for both Defense Department and civilian agencies across the government is designed to fill a gap that previously left some small businesses at a disadvantage, according to private sector analysts. Known as Polaris, the governmentwide small business information technology (IT) services contract offers many opportunities for small businesses but also poses some pitfalls for companies that are not careful with their bids.
GSA
September 10, 2020
The future of digital identity looks bright. In the next few years we can expect state DMVs to start issuing mobile driver licenses; Apple, Google and Samsung to begin building identity capabilities; and more shared services amongst government agencies, said panelists during the Federal Identity Virtual Collaboration event, known as FedID.
Serving on the panel titled “How Can Government Deploy Citizen Identity at Scale?” the participants all agreed industry and government must work on the endeavor together.
July 27, 2020
The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded an One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Small Business* Pool 3 contract to the joint venture between S4 Inc. and Solutions Development Corporation, called S4-SDC-JV. Under the multiple award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, the two companies will provide professional service solutions through specific task orders. The scope of the contract includes: program management services; management solutions; logistics, engineering, scientific, and financial services; and information technology. *Small Business
October 18, 2019
The General Services Administration (GSA) Office of the Chief Information Officer selected Washington, DC-based TCG, Inc. to provide support to the Office of Public Buildings Information Technology Services’ (PB-ITS) Project Management Office. The GSA Public Buildings Service manages nearly 8,700 government-owned and leased buildings in U.S. states and territories. Under the multiple-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA), which has a ceiling of $75 million and runs through September 2024, TCG will help PB-ITS in managing its complex IT environment, help enhance the Project Management Office’s processes and facilitate agile implementation while increasing quality service to customers across the government, according to the company.
July 31, 2019
McLean, Virginia-based Capgemini announced on July 31 that it would be supporting the government’s information technology (IT) modernization efforts. The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded the company a contract under a new multiple-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA), the Centers of Excellence Discovery and Assessment BPA for Cloud Adoption and IT Infrastructure Optimization.
May 21, 2019
Carlsbad, California-based Viasat Inc. announced on May 21 that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) had awarded the company a five-year, sole-source indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for rapid migration of command, control, communications, computers and cyber (C5AD) capabilities. The IDIQ, which has a maximum ceiling of $450 million, was structured by GSA to meet the immediate needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) in mobile networking, cybersecurity and broadband satellite communications technology sectors.
May 6, 2019
Rockville, Maryland-based Fedmine* recently announced that along with Gartner and Forrester Research it had been awarded a multiple award, fixed-firm price Department of Defense (DOD) Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) valued at $446 million. The companies will have fixed-price task orders over the life of the contract that runs through 2029.
The Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) aims to connect DOD agencies with commercially-available tools and services. The Navy awarded the BPA via the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule on March 25, 2019. All defense and intelligence agencies, U.S. Coast Guard, state and local governments as well all prime contractors have access to the BPA.
April 4, 2019
Judith Zawatsky has been named assistant commissioner of the General Service Administration's Systems Management Office, Washington, D.C.
June 5, 2018
This is a revised version of an earlier article.
An acquisition vehicle sponsored by the General Services Administration (GSA) provides a repository of veteran-owned businesses that have been categorized as part of a best-in-class vehicle. Yet, despite having this ready-made group vetted for rapid contracting, few government agencies are tapping what on the surface should be an easy choice to meet best value needs efficiently.
March 13, 2018
Under a three-year task order from the General Services Administration OASIS Small Business Pool 1 contract, Arlington, Virginia-based Advanced Concepts and Technologies International, LLC (ACT I)* will provide training exercise support to the headquarters of the Eighth Air Force (HQ 8 AF) with Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) exercise program support. ACT I will provide for the planning, scheduling, tasking, and monitoring participation of HQ 8 AF in command post and field training exercises; and developing HQ 8 AF exercise and joint exercise training objectives.
March 12, 2018
The Government Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a contract to IPT Associates, a service disabled veteran-owned small business. Under the Veterans Technology Services 2 (VETS 2) Government-wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), the company will provide a broad range of information technology (IT) services, including cloud migration, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. VETS 2 is the only GWAC to be set-aside exclusively for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, and is a multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with a $5 billion ceiling over 10 years.
November 27, 2017
After analyzing lessons learned from a delay-riddled transition to Networx, where a 33-month long process resulted in a costly overrun of about $395 million, the General Services Administration (GSA) came well prepared to make the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract transition a much smoother process.
September 1, 2017
Commercial satellite companies are giving rise to a new space revolution, launching hundreds of small satellites into orbit to do what the U.S. military cannot or at least will not do: photograph practically every inch of the Earth every day. The result is an explosion of geo-enabled unclassified information that has turned the imagery-based discipline of geointelligence on its head.
This change could even produce a new breed of intelligence analyst that exploits imagery and geospatial data from the unprecedented fount of unclassified information.
August 28
UltiSat Incorporated, of Gaithersburg, Maryland was awarded by the General Services Administration (GSA) part of the 10-year, $2.5 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide complex commercial SATCOM solutions (CS3). The multi-awardee contract will allow U.S. federal agencies to purchase turnkey managed network solutions incorporating commercial satellite communication products and services via the GSA program of record. The CS3 contract is the successor to the Custom SATCOM Solutions (CS2) IDIQ Contract under which UltiSat was a small business awardee; now UltiSat is considered a large business awardee on the CS3 contract.
November 29, 2016
Fulcrum IT Services LLC, Centreville, Virginia, has been awarded a $168,155,289 ceiling cost-plus-award-fee task order under the General Services Administration (GSA) OASIS Small Business Pool 4 contract to provide the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) with strategic planning, research, analysis and training services in support of JIDO’s Global Situational Awareness (Global SA) and Communities of Action (CoA) missions.
September 6, 2016
Zel Technologies Inc.
August 26, 2016
Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a $379,607,248 ceiling, cost-plus-award-fee task order under the General Services Administration (GSA) Alliant contract to provide the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA) with rapid development and fielding of counter-threat technologies, delivering urgent mission information technology solutions within the combatant commanders’ latest time of value in support of operations throughout the globe to eliminate or neutralize enemy insurgent networks that threaten U.S.
June 28, 2016
While innovations abound across the U.S. federal government and in the Defense Department, perhaps one of the more interesting efforts is the General Services Administration’s 18F Agile blanket purchase agreement (BPA)—a contract that delivers the best community-driven development practices tailored to the requirements of federal agencies.
Some of the practices could have far-reaching impacts, several of which I’ll explore in more detail over the coming months.
For now, let’s highlight three notable applications.
July 11, 2012
Terremark Federal Group Incorporated, Miami, Florida, is being awarded a $9,116,831 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide cloud-based computing, infrastructure, data, and analytical support under the General Services Administration Special Item Number (SIN) 132-51 and SIN 132-52. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the contracting activity.
July 2, 2012
The General Services Administration (GSA) has named Team Veteran Corps, O'Fallon, Illinois, as its selection to provide Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) Search and Rescue equipment to the United States Air National Guard Readiness Center (ANGRC)/Civil Engineering Division. The ANGRC/Civil Engineering Division is responsible for all facets of equipment acquisition and maintenance in support of key Air National Guard (ANG) missions such as fire and emergency services and explosive and chemical detection and mitigation. The MEOC is a towable unit and is designed to be fully functioning and capable in different operational environments.
June 13, 2011
General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded a task order through the U.S. General Services Administration's Alliant Contract to support the relocation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's headquarters. The task order has a ceiling value of $876 million and duration of seven years if all options are exercised. As part of the relocation, General Dynamics will provide a seamless, state-of-the-art information-technology (IT) infrastructure that meets the computer networking, telecommunications, building management and physical-security requirements of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters.
January 7, 2011
ARTEL Incorporated recently received the first contract award to provide satellite services under a new $5 billion General Services Administration and Defense Information Services Agency joint-contract vehicle. The order, which is worth tens of millions of dollars, was awarded under the Future Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Services Acquisition (FCSA) contract, under the GSA schedule, to provide transponded capacity and subscription services.
November 3, 2010
Autonomic Resources recently announced that it has been awarded one of the General Services Administration's first blanket purchase agreements for the first government-wide contract for cloud computing. Under this agreement, Autonomic Resources will offer public cloud services to provide U.S. government customers with simplified computing power, storage, and networking infrastructure that can be acquired and utilized on-demand, all from certified data centers with enhanced multi-factor authentication access. Autonomic Resources is one of only a few vendors to have met the technical requirements necessary to be awarded a GSA contract for cloud computing.
August 7, 2009
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and the General Services Administration (GSA) have entered into a partnership to streamline acquisition of commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) services. Announced yesterday, the agreement will lead to a hybrid of GSA's multiple award schedules and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contracts. Officials of both organizations are lauding this collaborative effort as "historic" and agree that the Future Commercial SATCOM Access contract will be worth $5 billion over a 10-year period. The partnership has been years in the making, GSA and DISA officials allowed.
