SPRING MEANS A NEW CROP OF CONTRACTS TO BID ON/TRACK

With at least half of federal IT spending, and a growing amount of professional service actions, conducted through standing Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts, contractors must constantly stay on top of new vehicles on which they, or a partner, should participate.  Several new, or newly revamped, vehicles are about to make their 2015 debut.  Contractors need to carefully consider which ones are good fits for their business and which ones are worth seeking a partner for.   First up is the issuance of a Request for Information (RFI) from GSA on the need for a discrete IDIQ for cloud services.  Next, GSA is poised to issues a draft RFP for the second iteration of its popular Alliant contract.  Alliant drove $3.7 billion in IT business last year, making it one of the largest IT delivery vehicles in government.  New versions of GSA’s VETS and STARS II small business IDIQ’s, one for veterans and the other for 8(a)’s, are also scheduled.  GSA’s is even teaming with NOAA to develop a new PRO-TECH contract for professional and technical services.  NOAA, itself, is on schedule to revamp its NOAALINK IDIQ.  DISA and other agencies are also planning new, or newly defined IDIQ’s.  There’s a lot to keep BD and contracting shops busy and each firm’s strategic plan on how to interact with these opportunities will be different.   It is notable that each new vehicle contains more government-unique terms and requires specialized systems and knowledge than their predecessors.  How this reality jibes with Category Management and a desire to do business with innovative commercial-based firms is unclear.