Army plans 2012 release of major IT contract

The Army will release a request for proposals for the 10-year, $5 billion Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-3 Hardware (ITES-3H) contract in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, according to a notice published Aug. 29.

The Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions program plans to release a draft RFP in the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to an announcement on the Federal Business Opportunities website. CHESS is the Army’s primary source for IT purchases, along with the Army Contracting Command-National Capital Region.

The ITES-3H contract will support the Army’s requirements for commercial hardware, such as servers, workstations, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, thin clients and networking equipment. It will also cover related products, such as printers and scanners, and IT upgrades, the notice states.

Officials pointed out that the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract is not for buying individual products. Buyers may only place orders for desktop and notebook computers if the orders are part of a complete system or part of a total design solution.

The contract has a three-year base period with two one-year options. Officials plan to make eight awards, with three of them going to small businesses.

ITES-3H is No. 8 on Washington Technology's list of the top 20 largest defense contracts to be awarded in the coming year.