IBM to integrate federal acquisition databases
GSA awards contract to merge databases
The General Services Administration has awarded a contract to
consolidate nine government acquisition-related databases,
the agency announced today.
IBM U.S. Federal won the $74.4 million fixed-price contract to merge
the acquisition databases that track pre- and post-award contract data
across federal civilian organizations and the Defense Department. The
Architecture and Operations Contract Support contract will have a
three-year base period and five one-year option periods, according to
GSA.
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The nine databases tagged for consolidation are:
- Federal Business Opportunities, a single point-of-entry for posting
solicitations of more than $25,000 for companies to find
opportunities in federal markets.
- Wage Determinations OnLine, which makes it easy for the federal contracting community to determine that contract wages comply with Service Contract Act and
Davis-Bacon Act guidelines.
- Central Contractor Registration, which maintains information on
government contractors and other information such as Small Business
Administration certifications for small businesses.
- Federal Agency Registration, which holds information for
government officials about federal entities that buy and sell from
other federal entities.
- Online Representations and Certifications Application, which allows
vendors to enter representations and certifications once for use on all
federal contracts.
- Past Performance Information Retrieval System, where
acquisition officials can find pertinent information on
contractors’ past work for other agencies.
- Excluded Parties List System, a directory of businesses banned from receiving federal contracts and certain subcontracts.
- Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation, an online repository of data on all federal acquisitions worth more than $3,000.
- Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System, which is designed for
prime contractors to report their progress on achieving required subcontracting goals.
By consolidating the current Integrated Acquisition Environment's applications into the new standard architecture, GSA could
realize significant operating cost savings, according to IBM.
“The consolidated databases will improve the efficiency of the
contracting process by providing federal acquisition professionals with
a streamlined tool for all of their pre- and post-award reporting and
tracking work,” said Michael Robertson, associate administrator of
governmentwide policy at GSA.
The latest award is the
second of three programs aimed at various systems in the Integrated Acquisition Environment.
The first, the Federal Service Desk, consolidated
all help-desk support for the nine systems.
“The GSA continues to play a central role in transforming the
government’s procurement process, making it easier and more
cost-effective for federal agencies to acquire products and services,”
said Charles Prow, managing partner for global business services in IBM's Public Sector unit.
About the Author
Matthew Weigelt is a former FCW senior writer who covered acquisition and procurement.