IBM chases San Diego County IT outsourcing deal with Accenture, SAIC

IBM Corp. has forged an alliance with Accenture Ltd. and Science Applications International Corp. to pursue San Diego County's outsourcing and telecommunications contract renewal, the Armonk, N.Y., company announced today.

Big Blue plans to bid as prime contractor, along with Accenture of Hamilton, Bermuda, and SAIC of San Diego participating as key partners in a subcontracting role, said John Nyland, public-sector general manager for IBM Global Services.

IBM, whose alliance is known as Innovation San Diego, is the first to publicly announce its team. By announcing its team first, the company "is being out front and proactive" in its pursuit of the opportunity, Nyland said.

Nyland declined to describe the role the two partners' might perform on the project before the team submits its bid next month. Proposals on the seven-year deal, which is estimated to be worth more than $800 million, are due Aug. 30. The contract is scheduled for award Dec. 5.

The winning team will manage the county's IT infrastructure, as well as improve the county's business processes. Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., holds the current contract.

IBM and Accenture were among eight companies that San Diego County prequalified earlier this year to compete as primes for the opportunity. The other six companies are Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas; CGI Group Inc. of Montreal; CSC; EDS Corp. of Plano, Texas; Northrop Grumman IT of Herndon, Va.; and Unisys Corp of Blue Bell, Pa.

Some of the companies may choose not to bid as primes and join other teams instead, according to county officials. The county expects to get bids from three to five teams, industry observers said.