DHS officially starts bids for $10B commodity IT contract

The Homeland Security Department has unveiled the much-anticipated final solicitation for the next iteration of its potential $10 billion IT hardware and software contract vehicle of choice.

DHS will undertake its source selection for the FirstSource III small business contract to buy commodity products through two phases, the agency said in a contracting notice Tuesday.

Companies must have their proposals for phase one into DHS by 10 a.m. on May 12, after which the department will then make a downselect to narrow the field of competitors.

Notifications of who is left in the running should go out in mid-June and phase two proposals will then be due to DHS sometime later that month.

Prior to all of that, DHS will hold a virtual preproposal conference on April 26 and firms wishing to attend must register by 11:59 p.m. on April 22. Questions regarding FirstSource III must be sent to DHS by 3 p.m. on April 27.

FirstSource III will have a general all-small business category alongside four socio-economic set-aside categories: 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran owned and women-owned.

DHS wants to establish contracts with experienced IT value-added resellers and software publishers so the agency and its 22 components can access commercial IT products.

After awards are finalized, FirstSource III will be mandatory for use across DHS and its components.

Orders placed on the current FirstSource II vehicle may extend through March 30, 2023.