Six firms win places on USDA IT contract vehicle
Five-year IDIQ award is worth a total of $25 million
Six contractors have been named to a new Agriculture Department information technology contract vehicle that has a ceiling value of $25 million over five years.
The recipients of the USDA Office of the Chief Information Officer Security Analysis and Support Services indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract are Unisys Corp., Computer Sciences Corp., Verizon Business, ManTech Advanced Systems, Crucial Security Inc. and KLC Networks.
The six are eligible to compete for task orders to provide all 29 USDA agencies with a range of IT security services, according to USDA.
Services will include analysis and correction of critical security weaknesses and risks within USDA offices; performing security analyses on networks, applications and USDA hardware; identifying the components of the existing architecture that will require upgrades, replacements or modifications; and designing secure network infrastructures.
Under the contract, USDA might also issue task orders for compliance reviews, penetration testing, forensics support, incident management and technical writing for policies, procedures and standards.
The contract is a new vehicle to help secure the department’s data and systems, said Eugene Zapfel, partner, USDA, Unisys Federal Systems.
Unisys, for one, has had a long-standing relationship with USDA, which has included migrating and consolidating the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s data center operations and a contract to automate the loan underwriting process of the Rural Development Guaranteed Loan System and associated systems.
Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., ranks No. 32 on Washington Technology's 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors. CSC, of Falls Church, Va., ranks No. 9 on the list; Verizon Communications, of New York City, ranks No. 16 on the list.
About the Author
David Hubler is the associate editor of Washington Technology.