Integrator Insider

By Nick Wakeman

GSA Moves Millennia Contract Forward: The request for proposals on the General Services Administration's $25 billion Millennia contract is expected to be released Nov. 23. The contract is expected to have a 10-year run and replaces GSA's Fedsim 9600 contract, which was awarded to eight companies in 1995 and is estimated to be worth about $840 million. Fedsim, which expires in 2000, has been one of the most widely used indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts. The contract had about $650 million in business during its first two years.

For the follow-on, the agency is expected to award contracts to multiple winners to provide support services in areas such as systems integration; software development including business process re-engineering; and communications such as data and satellite, Internet, intranet and Web technology. Like its predecessor, Millennia will be open to all government agencies.






Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pa., opened a Microsoft Enterprise NT Center of Excellence in Paris as part of an international push by the company. The Paris center is the third NT center Unisys has opened since forming an alliance with Microsoft last year. The other two centers are in the United States.

"The European Center of Excellence and our enterprise partnership with Microsoft are key parts of Unisys' strategy to become the premier supplier of enterprise-class information services, solutions and servers based on advanced Microsoft technology," said Lawrence Weinbach, Unisys chairman and chief executive officer. Pulsar Data Systems of Lanham, Md., formed an alliance with Red Brick, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based maker of data warehousing and database management software. Under the agreement, Pulsar and Red Brick will collaborate on marketing and sales activities. Pulsar will sell and service Red Brick products.



Forest Service Seeks Support Services: The U.S. Forest Service is planning to acquire information technology services to support its modeling and assessment of fires, including fire ecology, fire behavior and fire effects.

The Forest Service's Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Mont., is planning to award a contract worth $500,000 to $1 million. Contract proposals are due Dec. 16.