IT awards could top $250 billion in 2006

Federal contractors can expect information technology contracts potentially worth $250 billion to be awarded in fiscal 2006, according to a new Input report.

The report, which studied 20 pending awards, identified the General Services Administration as the biggest source of business in light of its Alliant and Networx governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs). Alliant could be worth up to $50 billion, while Networx is valued at up to $20 billion.

Those figures represent the lifetime of the contracts, however, not the potential revenue in a single year. An earlier Input report predicted annual spending to rise from $70.7 billion in fiscal 2005 to $91.4 billion by fiscal 2010.

Input said fiscal 2006 could prove a big year for small-business set-asides, pointing to GSA’s Alliant SB, Alliant’s small-business counterpart, and VETS GWACs.

“The total ceiling values of these GWACs combined is $20 billion over the entirety of both contract vehicles’ durations,” said Megan Gamse, manager of defense opportunities at Input. Each contract can span 10 years if all options are exercised.

Alliant SB, alone, has a ceiling of $15 billion over the life of the contract. “If the ceiling of the Alliant Small Business GWAC is met, this GWAC may represent the largest IT contract ever awarded exclusively to small business,” Gamse said.

Other FY06 deals include the Department of Homeland Security’s Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge solutions (EAGLE), First Source, and American Shield Initiative. Those vehicles have a combined ceiling of $50 billion, according to Input.

Other contracts may involve the selection of important technology standards, Input said. The market researcher cited the Justice Department’s Integrated Wireless Network pact, which Input said may set standards for how state, local, and tribal public safety and homeland security entities communicate.