Report: Federal IT awards up 50% in second quarter

Federal agencies awarded more than $23 billion in IT-related prime contracts in the second quarter of this year, 50 percent more than in the same period last year, according to Input Inc., a Reston, Va., government IT market research firm.

According to an Input report released today, federal government IT prime contract awards for the same time period in 2003 totaled $15.5 billion.

The report examines the total value of more than 180 IT-related awards and the most active contractors in the second quarter.

According to the report, five departments ? Homeland Security, Army, Navy, Air Force and Transportation ? awarded 90 percent, or $21 billion of all contract dollars in the second quarter.

The Homeland Security Department was the biggest spender, awarding contracts worth $10.7 billion, of which $10 billion was awarded to Accenture Ltd. of Hamilton, Bermuda, for the U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Indication Technology System. In comparison, DHS awarded just $93 million in contracts in the second quarter of 2003.

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. tied for most contract awards during the quarter, according to Input. Most Lockheed Martin contracts came from defense agencies, Northrop Grumman's awards were evenly spilt between defense and civilian agencies.

Input's report also noted that set-aside awards to small businesses decreased by 20 percent during the second quarter. Fifteen federal departments awarded more than $451 million in set-aside competitions to small businesses in the second quarter, down from $562 million awarded during that period in 2003.

Set-aside competitions accounted for 2 percent of total contract dollars awarded in the second quarter, Input found. The Navy led all departments in number of set-aside awards with 18 such awards worth $226 million.