Letter: Contract should remain bundled, but keep small businesses involved, too
The answer isn't to unbundle contracts; it is to insure that the bundled contracts specify small-business participation in a measurable and enforceable way.
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Regarding "Denett: Bundling recommendations likely by May," a reader writes: You can't fix the bundling problem without significant changes to the Clinger-Cohen Act. Clinger-Cohen forces government to act as a business. As our systems and networks become larger and more complex, they simply are inappropriate for small businesses to operate.
Even without Clinger-Cohen the industry and basic economic laws force consolidation and bundling. The genie is out of the bottle and there simply isn't enough money to continue managing IT the way we have. The answer isn't to unbundle contracts; it is to insure that the bundled contracts specify small-business participation in a measurable and enforceable way. Small businesses can easily compete with the large companies that have the capabilities to perform the work. Let the free
market does what it does, insure small-business participation and everyone wins.
Charles Russell
letters@fcw.com
Even without Clinger-Cohen the industry and basic economic laws force consolidation and bundling. The genie is out of the bottle and there simply isn't enough money to continue managing IT the way we have. The answer isn't to unbundle contracts; it is to insure that the bundled contracts specify small-business participation in a measurable and enforceable way. Small businesses can easily compete with the large companies that have the capabilities to perform the work. Let the free
market does what it does, insure small-business participation and everyone wins.
Charles Russell
letters@fcw.com