Contract of Choice
FIRST AWARDS HIGHLIGHT PROSPECTS FOR VETERANS TECHNOLOGY SERVICES GOVERNMENT WIDE ACQUISITION PROGRAM.
It’s been only a few months since the General Services Administration (GSA) gave the green light for the long-awaited Veterans Technology Services (VETS) governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC), and already some task orders are being awarded. Given the fact the VETS GWAC is valued at $5 billion over a 10- year period and government agencies are required by law to award 3 percent of their business to service-disabled veterans-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), observers suggest, this could become a contract of choice for some military and other government agencies.
For the SDVOSBs selected for the VETS GWAC and their team members, this could be a major boon for their business. One of the big advantages to the VETS GWAC is how it provides business opportunity to the some 260 other companies that are connected to the 44 awarded SDVOSB as team partners or subcontractors.
“At GSA, we’re doing our part to ensure that federal contracting opportunities are available to our nation’s servicedisabled veterans,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. Doan projected GSA spending of up to $720 million with veteran-owned companies in 2007, adding that that is not “even close to what you can expect from the GSA in the future.”
Since the GSA released its notices to proceed on February 16, two task orders have been awarded. One, worth an estimated $495,523 for 42 months (inclusive of three 12-month options), went to CMT Solutions of Fayetteville, N.C., for database systems support services. The other went to Penobscot Bay Media of Camden, Maine, for an amount under $100,000.
CMT Solutions provides specialized management expertise in high tech solutions for both the private and government sectors. Penobscot Bay Media, a woman-owned company that is the only New England-based contractor on the VETS GWAC list of approved contractors, deals in spatial technology products.
CMT Solutions Executive Vice President Ed Jesson described winning the first VETS task order a big first step for his company.
“It was our first test of CMT Solutions’ ability to research, organize and write winning proposals,” states Jesson. “Now we must transfer this successful effort to other solicitations that are issued by GSA.”
Jesson is convinced that part of the reason his firm was awarded the first VETS GWAC task order was because of CMT Solution’s team-centric approach.
“This approach combines the strengths of numerous small businesses, sometimes with a large company partner, such that ‘best of the best’ solutions and services can be offered and managed in a competitive environment, with cost-effective results,” he said.
The government has access to any and all of CMT Solution’s team members, which include at least one large company, Unisys, as well as more than a dozen smaller firms. “We can develop, design and offer the right people, process and tools for any individual task, and, we can deliver all of these factors within a cost-effective framework,” Jesson said. “In addition, our team members benefit from the opportunity for growth and development as individual businesses.”
One team member is CLMS of Arlington, Va., which provides systems integration, consulting, and e-business and e-government services and solutions. For this particular task order, CLMS will provide labor support in the performance of the database functions.
“CMT has reached out to all members of their VETS team to develop a strategy and build momentum to become one of the top VETS GWAC providers,” said CLMS managing partner Carol Sink. “We are excited about this VETS contract vehicle and have confidence that a CMT-led team will bring success to all active members of this team.”
To guarantee success of the VETS GWAC, GSA continues to promote the contract to federal agencies. Its current campaign focuses on “awareness” and creating a “brand” for the VETS GWAC.
“Right off the bat, we held a Webinar with our veteran partners,” said Mary Parks, GSA Small Business GWACs Center Director in the Heartland Region. “We did the same thing with our customers. We are training over 100 contracting officers within GSA right now and are seeing success and interest in that training.”
Endorsements of the program are forthcoming as well, notably from Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Kenneth J. Krieg, who in April issued a letter urging military officials to give SDVOSB teams the maximum practicable opportunity to participate. (See MIT, Volume 11, Issue 4, page 12.)
SPECTRUM OF SERVICES
The companies selected for the VETS GWAC offer a wide range of capabilities.
VetsAmerica Business Consulting, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., for example, offers competencies in business process restructuring, information assurance compliance with federal and international security standards, such as NIST guidance, Common Criteria, DIACAP and Cobit, and compliance with related federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy Act, HIPAA, E-Government Act and Graham- Leach-Bliley.
“Our combined VetsAmerica team provides excellent breadth and depth across the complete spectrum of IT Services included in the VETS GWAC,” said Chief Executive Officer John E. Collins.
VetsAmerica’s team includes 23 companies from 12 states, 50 percent of which are veteran- or SDVowned. All are small businesses and selected for their ability to complement and extend VetsAmerica’s coverage of the broad array of IT services required.
“The key technology offerings our team will focus on providing for the future are in e-medical records, identity theft and fraud, auditing and compliance for various legislative initiatives, wireless security and management, and IT training,” Collins said. “We are also strongly considering supporting federated identity management as it matures, as well as related areas such as smart cards, RFID and biometrics.”
The company initially hesitated at bidding on the VETS GWAC, Collins recalled, but then decided that no matter how small the company was, the purpose behind the contract was exactly why the company was first founded.
“We thoroughly believed that the federal marketplace would embrace the VETS GWAC contract and its concept,” he said. “The procurement turned out to be the most excruciating we’ve seen in our careers as government contractors, especially for small, emerging companies, which the majority of SDVs were at the time.”
According to Collins, the process of finding small companies for the team with enough verve and critical mass was itself an adventure. “Most SDVs, at the time, were petrified at the thought of priming such a large procurement in their early stages of development,” he acknowledged.
Vision Technologies of Glen Burnie, Md., meanwhile, offers expertise in IT infrastructure support, system engineering and integration, software development, business process improvement, quality assurance, business continuity and disaster recovery, systems vulnerability analysis and risk assessment, quality process management, database design and administration, Web services, and intelligence and security support. The company has been ranked as among the fastest-growing privately held companies in America.
“We feel that the GSA VETS GWACS will give a SDVO IT-focused company like Vision Technologies a chance to demonstrate its ability in providing total IT solutions to governmentwide agencies,” said Mike Sandberg, vice president of technical services and chief technology officer.
Currently, Vision Technologies has 20 partners and teaming arrangements with a mixture of large corporations and SDVO businesses. Over 60 percent of its team agreements and partnerships are with SDVOs.
“To us, this is very important,” Sandberg said. “We want to make sure this vehicle fulfills its purpose and mission. VETS presents a new way for federal agencies to achieve small business goals through purchase of IT solutions from small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. We fully intend to make sure that opportunity is available to SDVOs.”
As a customer-driven professional services company, Vision Technologies distinguishes itself by its customer service. Its suite of services is separated into three areas: Technical Services Group, Global Services and Network Infrastructure Division. It has worked with a number of major companies and federal and military offices, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Army Asymmetric Warfare Group and Defense Logistics Agency.
Sandberg praised the GSA for its partnering effort in promoting the VETS GWAC. “They have demonstrated a venue focused on getting the value proposition of this vehicle to agencies, and training the awardees on the procedural aspects of using the GWACS and promoting it.” ♦
