Bumper crop of contracts awaits integrators in 2006

Systems integrators should gear up for a busy 2006 as the federal government makes plans for major contracts from the Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs departments, as well as the General Services Administration.A new report from the research firm Input Inc. of Reston, Va., identifies 20 contracts to be awarded in the next 12 months that will have potential value of $250 billion.That huge figure is the ceiling value of the contracts and stretches over several years, so it is not a value based on appropriated funds.However, these contracts, most of which are for five years, will affect how agencies spend their money into the next decade, Input said.The contracts listed below are ranked according to potential dollar value, but these procurements are noteworthy for more than just their potential revenue stream.Contracts such as GSA's Alliant Small Business and VA's Veterans Technologies Services offer vehicles for small businesses and businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, respectively. Contracts such as Alliant and the Army's Strategic Services Sourcing offer significant incentives for using small businesses, Input said.Many of these procurements also consolidate other vehicles, so company's that don't win a spot on the new contracts may find it harder to reach important customers, Input analysts said.Input's research report is scheduled to be released today. General Services Administration Ceiling of $50 billion over 10 years RFP by end of September* By end of March 2006 to several contractors* Provide a broad range of IT services including biometrics, business process re-engineering, communications, distance learning, information assurance and operations, modeling and simulation, security, system design and development, and Web development. Consolidates several governmentwide contracts into one, potentially reducing the number of companies that may compete for task orders. Homeland Security Department Ceiling of $45 billion over seven years RFP by the end of September By end of March 2006 to several contractors* Provide DHS with IT services and solutions. Services are grouped into five functional areas. Awards will be made to both small and large businesses. DHS will have its own contract as opposed to using other GWACs and incurring their associated fees. Eagle will consolidate most DHS IT services needs under one contract. Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration $42 billion over 20 years Award in December* Management and operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory. First time the contract will be competed after being run for more than six decades by the University of California. Army $20 billion ceiling over nine years RFP in Fall 2005* March 2006 to four large and four small businesses* Manage IT assets as well as purchase a wide variety of support services such as network management, information assurance and services related to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network. Other defense agencies also can use the contract. The ceiling value is 20 times larger than ITES 1. Army Material Command $19 billion over 10 years Post-RFP By March 2006 to 10 contractors, including three small businesses Provide IT and support services to command and control customers at Fort Monmouth, N.J., in areas such as engineering, business operations, and logistics for C4ISR customers. Consolidates multiple contracts. At least 18 percent of the work will go to small business primes. Fort Monmouth is on the list of recommended base closures, which could impact the contract. General Services Administration $15 billion ceiling over 10 years RFP by end of September* End of March 2006* Focused on information systems engineering and systems operations and maintenance. Largest contract ever developed specifically for small businesses. Consolidates several GWACs into one contract, potentially reducing the number of companies that can compete on GSA contracts. GSA $10 billion ceiling over 10 years. Post-RFP, award expected in April 2006 Provide telecommunications and networking services and technical solutions to all federal agencies. Networx is divided into two contracts: Networx Universal will provide national services, and Networx Enterprise, will provide more localized services. Largest pending network deal in the world. Regarded as critical to the financial well being of U.S. telecom carriers. Veteran Affairs $6 billion ceiling over five years RFP expected in November* April 2006 to nine to 12 contractors* Known as Peaches 3, the contract is for IT hardware, software and peripherals. Expected to be mandatory for all VA agencies and divisions. VA plans to increase the use of laptop computers to replace desktop PCs. Emphasizes leasing of equipment. Smart card readers are mandatory on workstations. Prohibits Bluetooth radios unless the radio can be removed or disabled by VA. VA $5 billion ceiling over 10 years Source selection June 2006* Provide IT solutions to federal agencies in functional areas that include information systems engineering and systems operations and maintenance. Help businesses owned by service-disabled veterans by letting them compete in a smaller pool of companies, giving them a chance to develop before moving into larger acquisition environments. Well-positioned small and mid-sized services companies will likely see rapid growth in the next two years as the government now has an easier way to identify these companies and procure services from them. Help agencies comply with Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 and the Veterans Benefit Act. Army $4 billion over 10 years RFP expected Oct. 19 April 2006 Update telecommunications lines including installing fiber-optic cable at major Army installations and ultimately create a single integrated communications system. Consolidates multiple contracts, potentially limiting the number of opportunities non-winning vendors will have to compete for work. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center $4 billion ceiling over 10 years* RFP expected by end of December 2005* End of September 2006 to multiple contractors* Provide a governmentwide acquisition vehicle for a wide range of technologies, including Unix, Linux and Windows-based workstations and servers, as well as peripherals, network equipment, storage devices, software and other IT products. Popular GWAC that runs without funds appropriated by Congress. New items such as satellite communications may be added. Primary vehicle for Unix based workstations. Army $3.5 billion ceiling over five years RFP expected by end of December. * End of June 2006 to multiple contractors* Augment existing government capabilities by integrating the Army's global logistics environment. Provide consulting services, development, deployment, training, operations and maintenance for DOD logistic systems and processes. Apply industry best practices to the Army. Value is double Logjamss1, which was worth $1.7 billion. Open to all government agencies. Treasury $3 billion ceiling over 5 years Source selection. Awards expected Oct. 31 to multiple contractors Provide sources of information processing support services for Treasury, IIRS, Treasury bureaus and other agencies. The IRS will be the primary user. Six of the eight to 12 contracts will be awarded to small businesses. Nature of IT support services tasks will not necessarily resemble those of prior years, differentiating TIPSS-3 from its predecessor. DHS $3 billion ceiling over five years RFP expected September. Expected by end of March 2006 to multiple contractors* Providing a wide range of IT commodities including IT equipment and software, on-line data reporting services, and associated product maintenance and support. IT commodity products represent a significant portion of the DHS IT budget. Consolidates multiple contracts. Will assist in moving DHS to a common technology infrastructure. Justice $2.5 billion ceiling over 10 years Source selection Expected by December Collaborative effort by Justice, DHS and Treasury to provide a consolidated nationwide federal wireless communications service that replaces stand alone component systems. Will support law enforcement, first responder, and homeland security requirements with voice, data, and multimedia communications in a wireless environment. Funding will be provided via the budgets of all three contributing departments, but how much is yet to be determined. IWN will need to connect to federal, state and local law enforcement and homeland security partners and inter-operability requirements will vary by locality. There is potential for IWN to affect existing state and local technical decisions in this area. DHS $2 billion ceiling over five years RFP expected by December 2006* Expected by end of June 2006* Vast expansion of the Surveillance Intelligence System, which comprises more than 200 video cameras along U.S. borders. ASI will be a system comprised of a variety of remote detection devices including video cameras, sensors, and the latest advancements in surveillance technologies spanning 6,000 miles of U.S. land borders, and 2,000 miles of coastal borders. Will be integrated with ISIS. Provide better protection of America's borders and help Customs and Border Patrol officials prevent unauthorized entry into the country. Project plan is being reworked as of August after internal rejection of the program plan. Similar issues, in general, make the predictability of the timing of DHS RFPs (particularly this one) very difficult. This is a high visibility project because of numerous problems that arose from the ISIS contract and the expected technical integration requirements that are anticipated. USDA Farm Service Agency $2 billion over five years RFP expected end of June 2006 * December 2006 to multiple contractors* Provide the Farm Service Agency with a wide variety of information resource management developmental and support services. No definitive decisions have been made to move forward with the procurement of ITSS3 at this time, but if it is competed, it could be worth up to $2 billion. Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services $1.9 billion ceiling over 10 years Post-RFP Expected by March 2006 to vour contractors* Consolidate 22 data centers into four, which will function as one enterprise data center. The data centers will host new Medicare business applications that run on both mainframes and the Internet. Will bring all data center services under direct control of CMS. Update associated technologies as advances are made. Defense Information Systems Agency $1.5 billion over 10 years RFP expected by end of September* Expected by end of March 2006 to multiple contractors* Provides a full range of IT solutions requiring connectivity, interface or interoperability within the Global Information Grid. Opportunity to compete to sell hardware, software, and a wide variety of IT services and other products. FBI More than $170 million over three years and four months Post-RFP Expected in December* Replace paper-based case management process with electronic records management. Create bureau-wide index of persons, organizations, things and events; and retire several of the agency's case management applications. FBI will use a phased approach to implement the system. A vendor successful in developing Sentinel may be able to leverage that success for additional opportunities with other agencies. 13504) Census Bureau $500 million over six years Source selection Oct. 3 Obtain systems development and integration services needed to support the 2010 Census. Census Bureau $300 million over six years, six months Source selection Expected March 31, 2006 Facilitate support field collection for the census trial in 2008 and the actual census in 2010..