FBI needs more time to recompete $5B IT product contract

The FBI says it needs more time to move forward on the recompete of its primary contract vehicle for commodity IT products and services.

In a FedBizOpps notice Thursday, the bureau said it plans to extend by another year current Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract, also known as ITSSS or “IT Triple-S.”

ITSSS is now slated to expire in April 2020 as the FBI looks to move forward on the successor contract now known as Information Technology Engineering Contract Support, or ITECS, which is in the process of being approved.

The FBI also laid out a new timeline for ITECS that the bureau expects to be awarded between October and December of this calendar year, or the first quarter of the government’s 2020 fiscal year. Release dates for both a draft and final solicitation were not given, but Deltek data indicates the latter could come out in April. The contract is worth $5 billion.

The five-week partial government shutdown halted the FBI’s work on the contract and that has evidently pushed back the release of a draft solicitation.

Absent that disruption, draft request for quotations to industry is scheduled for release April 29 with a due date of May 13 for responses and indications of intent to bid. A vendor day will be held either June 4 or June 5, according to the FBI’s latest notice.

Between 15 and 22 awards are anticipated on each of six tracks: end user services, business application services, delivery services, platform services, infrastructure services and delivery services. Large vendors should see 10-to-15 awards on each track and small businesses will have 5-to-7 reserved for them.

ITECS will be competed on the General Services Administration’s Schedule 70 contract. So far, approximately $2 billion in work has been awarded over the lifetime of IT Triple-S since its 2010 award to 46 companies.