San Diego to recompete big ticket outsourcing project

San Diego County is kicking off the recompete process for the lucrative IT outsourcing contract that Computer Sciences Corp. has held since 1999.

The $644 million contract for telecommunications and IT services expires next year, and San Diego is asking contractors to submit proposals through a three-step process, the county announced today.

The county is releasing a request for information tomorrow. A request for statements of qualifications comes out April 1, and a request for proposals will be released May 1. An award is expected by the end of the year.

Michael Moore, San Diego County's chief information officer, said that the county is seeking proposals that provide innovation, flexibility and the best value to its taxpayers.

"This is a major opportunity for leading companies and we expect great proposals," he said.

When asked whether the company would bid on the contract again, Mike Dickerson, a spokesman for CSC of El Segundo, Calif., said, "It would be premature to speculate at this time."

Tom Davies, senior vice president at Current Analysis Inc., Sterling, Va., expects to see substantial interest for the new contract.

"Every major IT outsourcing company will take a hard look at it," he said.

San Diego County is the third most populous county in the nation. It has almost 17,000 employees and an annual operating budget of more than $3.5 billion.

The RFI can be downloaded from the county's online bidding system. Vendors must register to receive notifications. The commodity code for the procurement 430000.