Protests begin over DISA Encore III awards

So far, four companies have filed protests in the wake of DISA’s Encore III awards.

And interestingly, none are incumbents snubbed by DISA when the agency made its awards earlier this month.

The four protesters so far are NCI Inc., Peerless Technologies Corp., Planned Systems International and Data Systems Analysts Inc. All of them filed their protests at the Government Accountability Office on Nov. 13. Decisions are due Feb. 21.

UPDATE: Data Systems Analysts is an incumbent on the small business portion of Encore II but was not an incumbent on the full and open portion of Encore II.

It’s important to note the phrase “so far” because DISA made 20 awards after receiving 72 proposals for the full-and-open portion of the contract. But minus a couple companies that have said they will not protest, there are still plenty of disappointed bidders who potentially could file with GAO.

The Encore program is DISA’s vehicle of choice for a wide range of IT services.

But one complaint about Encore III is that it was competed this time around as a lowest-price, technically-acceptable contract.

IBM, an incumbent on Encore II, decided not to bid on Encore III because of this. “There was no room for innovation,” said Joe Cubba, vice president of IBM’s defense and intelligence business.

Instead, IBM is focused on winning DISA’s Systems Engineering Technology and Innovation contract also known as SETI. That $7.5 billion multiple award contract is currently is in source selection with awards expected in February.

Vencore, another Encore II incumbent, also confirmed that they did not bid on Encore III but have not commented on whether they are bidding on SETI.

Science Applications International Corp. bid on Encore III but did not receive an award. They told me they will not protest and will instead work as a teammate to small business primes when that portion of Encore III is awarded.

Unisys Corp., another incumbent that didn’t make the new list, told me they bid on Encore III and are reviewing their options.

The other companies not chosen for Encore III either declined to comment or did not respond.

But still that leaves a large pool of bidders that potentially could file protest so we’ll keep checking the docket.

While the protests are pending, DISA cannot move forward with task orders under Encore III. But Encore II has been extended so work there will continue.

Click back to my previous blog to see a list of the winners and the incumbents who missed out.