GWAC dominance drives evolving market
By
Nick Wakeman
Government-wide contracts are a major driver of change in today's federal market. We'll explore the latest trends at our Dec. 13 Washington Technology Power Breakfast.
Among many changes in technology that have taken place over the past two-plus decades, the evolution of federal contracting is almost as remarkable with government-wide contract vehicles and agency multiple-award contracts as a driver.
It seems that today everything runs through one of those. Companies fiercely compete for them and once a major vehicle is awarded, it is just as fiercely protested. When the dust finally settles on the procurement phase, we see GWACs and MACs drive mergers and acquisitios.
Ten years ago, I wrote a story about the great-granddaddy of these vehicles: the Defense Enterprise Integration Services contract that was awarded in 1993 in the wake of the passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act. It had a then-unheard of ceiling of $1 billion.
The headline of that story -- DEIS blossoms on timing and leadership -- also is appropriate for today’s large multiple-award programs such as NASA SEWP, NIH CIO-SP, Alliant 2, OASIS, Army CHESS, and the newly-consolidated GSA schedule.
A third descriptor also should be added to these contracts -- competition. These contracts must compete with each other and other vehicles to capture the business of their agency customers as well as support for their prime contractors.
It’s a market dynamic that probably wasn’t envisioned when DEIS hit the streets, but MACs and GWACS have transformed the market and continue to do so.
We’ll be discussing the current state and the future of these vehicles at our next Washington Technology Power Breakfast on Dec. 13.
Some of the biggest names in GWACs will be on hand:
- Joanne Woytek, NASA SEWP program manager
- Cheryl Thornton, director of the GSA IT Schedule contract
- Wayne Sok, product lead for Army CHESS
- Amando Gavino, director of GSA's Office of IT Services,
- Glynis Fisher, deputy director of NIH’s NITAAC.
Kevin Plexico, senior vice president of information solutions at Deltek, will also take the stage to present some data behind these vehicles.
Each of our speakers will give a presentation and then we’ll bring them back on the stage for a group discussion on "What GWACs Can Do for You."
Click here to register. Also remember WT Insiders get a discount.