HUD goes sole source for managed data center contract

In a field where federal officials could rustle up some tough competition among contractors, the Housing and Urban Development Department is choosing instead to award a sole-source contract for a managed data center.

In a special notice posted Jan. 12 on Federal Business Opportunities website, HUD’s Ginnie Mae Support Division said it plans to award sole-source contract to Navisite Inc., a managed cloud services provider based in Andover, Mass.

Under the sole-source award, Navisite will provide hosting and data management services for Ginnie Mae for up to five years. The department wants a network center that runs around the clock to handle its approximately 85 servers and 6.2 terabytes of information.

What’s HUD’s reason for its decision to host a full-and-open competition? Officials determined that “Navisite is the only responsible source that meets the minimum requirements of the government,” according to the notice.

HUD said Navisite is a National Institute of Science and Technology-certified Tier 3 Managed Data Center and its infrastructure meets Federal Information Security Management Act , NIST and Office of Management and Budget requirements with redundant communication for telecommunications, Virtual Private Network , continuity-of-operations provisions, hardware, software and licensing capabilities.

However, a reader emailed his concerns about the decision, saying HUD officials could find more companies to meet their requirements. “The intended recipient of a sole source contract is NOT the only ‘responsible source’ that meets the requirements of the government,” he wrote in an email. “These services are highly competitive, and it would be in the government’s interest to open this up to competition.”

HUD officials haven't closed the door on the procurement yet though.

In their notice, HUD officials asked companies to submit capability statements by Jan. 23. Officials will consider any information they get to determine whether they should host a competition for the work.

Posted by Matthew Weigelt on Jan 20, 2012 at 9:01 AM