Written by Harrison Donnelly
MIT 2010 Volume: 14 Issue: 5 (June)
We’re proud in this issue to present our first edition of the “General Services Administration (GSA) Technology Contracts Guide,” which outlines contract vehicles available to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.
It’s no secret that GSA has had its problems with the DoD market. Judging by the offerings in the catalog, however, as well as initiatives outlined in two articles in this issue—“Fast Track for FCSA” and “VETS Success”—you have to give them credit for trying.
One of the linchpins of GSA’s defense business is IT Schedule 70, which offers a broad range of COTS products and services. It did $16.5 billion in business last year, of which about 40 percent went to DoD, although the totals have been declining slightly of late.
In a recent interview, Patricia T. Waddell, deputy director of the IT Schedule Program for GSA’s Integrated Technology Services division, offered these thoughts on Schedule 70 and DoD: “We’re noticing a slight decrease in sales since 2007. Some of that has to do with federal agencies seeking to retain in-house acquisition services. We love the competition, and think that we do what we do very well.
“DoD is still a strong user of the schedules program—not just S 70, but all GSA schedule programs,” Waddell continued. “Like any other agency, they are keeping some portion of their acquisition in-house. So I can’t say for certain why the business is declining, but I would guess that it has to do with the fact that certain agencies want to maintain in-house acquisition and contracting.
“There are some contract vehicles where the fees are capped or are less than GSA. But we can put our products and services up against any of those contract vehicles,” she said.
Harrison Donnelly, Editor
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