Alliant 2 hits the street

The General Services Administration rolled out requests for proposals for two IT services Government Wide Acquisitions Contracts that could be worth as much as $50 billion.

The Alliant 2 and Alliant 2 Small Business contracting vehicle proposals will provide "maximum flexibility" for agencies to buy IT services-based package solutions for hardware, software, and services with an "Anything IT Anywhere," attitude, according to GSA.

Alliant 2 Unrestricted, a Multiple Award, Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity contract, has a base period of five years with a five-year option. Alliant 2 Unrestricted will have 60 contract awards, while Alliant 2 SB, will have 80 awards.

RFP responses are due Aug. 29 and the agency said it anticipates announcing awards for the Alliant GWAC in 2017.

Potential vendors who spoke with FCW said the Alliant 2 RFPs held no big surprises, structurally or otherwise. They did say, however, the timing of submissions will make for a busy August for those who are planning to bid on Alliant 2, as well as the massive $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions telecommunications services contract. GSA plans an October award for EIS.

The numbers suggest that Alliant 2's predecessors, Alliant and Alliant Small Business, have been a success for the agency. In six years, federal agency customers have issued nearly 900 task orders, totaling some $27 billion worth of IT services. Several of the contract holders have "graduated" out of their small-business status. Task orders have come from 60 agencies and ranged from $37,000 to $2 billion; without the outliers, the average is $33 million.

The RFP for Alliant 2 was a year in the making. GSA reached out for outside input via its Interact site to build a contracting vehicle that embraces new techniques, including agile which is billed as an "encouraged methodology."

Among a list of IT services, products, and capabilities, Alliant 2 includes: Cloud Computing, Agile Development, Biometrics /Identity Management, IT Operations and Maintenance, Enterprise App Stores and Mobile Security, Internet of Things, Cyber Security, Data-Centers and Data-Center Consolidation, and Shared IT Services.

GSA will host a pre-proposal conference to provide an overview of Alliant 2 to vendors on July 13 in the Washington, D.C. area.