IRS to test seat management
The IRS will test the possibility of outsourcing its desktop and network support
The Internal Revenue Service is tapping vendors for their thoughts on a pilot program for the IRS to test the possibility of outsourcing its desktop and network support.
The IRS released a notice on FedBizOpps June 2 outlining an A-76 competitive sourcing study for seat management services. The Office of Management and Budget's recently revised Circular A-76 outlines the process for competition between public- and private-sector entities to perform a government function.
Whether a federal organization or a vendor performs the pilot project, it will cover three of the IRS' territories Chicago, Detroit and Kansas City encompassing the hardware, software, help-desk and telecommunications support for more than 15,000 office and mobile employees. Should this pilot be successful, the program would expand to the other approximately 100,000 seats at the rest of the IRS locations, according to the notice.
Vendors must submit statements by June 17 about their capabilities based on details at the A-76 Seat Management Pilot Web site (www.procurement.irs.treas.gov/a76seatmgmt).
Several other agencies are using the seat management approach to information technology support, tapping a single vendor team to address all IT issues across the organization. The agencies include office-specific contracts at the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments as well as agencywide contracts such as the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet and the Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN).
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