Four more join SEWP V protests

More companies file protests complaining that they were wrongly left off of the $20 billion NASA SEWP V contract.

Four more disappointed companies have filed protests over the $20 billion NASA SEWP V contract.

The new protests bring the total number of filings with the Government Accountability Office to eight.

SEWP V is the large and very successful contract run by NASA but open to all government agencies looking to buy IT and other computer technologies, high-end scientific and engineering process capabilities, network equipment and peripherals.

So far, 73 companies have won 97 awards, with 22 companies winning more than one award.

The new protesters are:

  • Federal Technologies Solutions
  • i3 Federal, LLC
  • Technology Solutions Provider Inc.
  • Technica Corp.

The previous protestors are Unicom Government Inc., BahFed Corp., NCS Technologies Inc. and KPaul Properties.

This week may tell us how large of a protest issue NASA will have with this contract. The agency received 233 proposals and has only made 73 awards, with one category still to be awarded.

The potential for a large number of protests is there, but I’m surprised we haven’t seen more at this point.

The clock is ticking for protests, as companies have 10 days to file a protest following their debrief. The first group of awards came out Oct. 1, and the second group came out Oct. 14. You would think that most companies will have had their debrief by this point.

Of course, some companies may be waiting for the final group of awards to come out before filing their protest.

That group of awards is expected any day now.

NASA is asking for an extension of SEWP IV, in part because of the delays caused by the bid protests. The extension will cover four to six months and should be finalized by the end of this week.