NASA Launches 10-year Governmentwide IT Buy Valued at $20 Billion

NASA will run its next governmentwide information technology contract for 10 years, the agency said yesterday in a release of the draft contract, putting the total value of the procurement at $20 billion, based on estimates by analysts.

Like the four previous versions of the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V contract vehicle, SEWP V is focused primarily on computer servers, mass storage and networking, but NASA has updated its shopping list to keep pace with advances in technology and agency requirements since 2007, when the previous contract, SEWP IV, was awarded.

Those include a requirement for enterprise level cloud data with 10 terabytes of capacity as well as the use of consumer Blu-Ray video players for data storage equipped with wireless Wi-Fi connections for communications.

NASA also plans to use SEWP V to provide one-stop shopping for mobile hardware such as cellphones, smartphones and tablet computers capable of Wi-Fi and high speed cellular data communications.

The SEWP V product portfolio calls for vendors to provide a comprehensive suite of security systems, such as an anti-spamware appliance, anti-spyware software, server level intrusion detection systems, message authentication software, and virtual private network hardware and software.

NASA has 42 vendors on its SEWP IV contract. As of Feb. 4, over 60 vendors indicated an interest in bidding on SEWP V.

Responses to the SEWP V draft request for proposals are due May 3. NASA expects to make awards in May 2014.