IRS establishes BPA for Dell PCs

With its next-generation PC procurement still under evaluation, the Internal Revenue Service has awarded a one-year blanket purchase agreement to Intellisys Technology Corp. to provide desktop PCs from Dell Computer Corp.

The IRS originally bought Dell PCs from BTG Inc. under the Treasury Department's Desktop Acquisition-2 program. However, that program expired this month, with the follow-on contract, TDA-3, still not awarded, and the IRS wanted to maintain its source for Dell computers. Intellisys is now partially owned and managed by the BTG executives that ran the company's TDA-2 program.

The IRS cannot buy Dell PCs through its other TDA contracts— TDA-1, held by Government Technology Services Inc., and the other TDA-2, held by Win Laboratories Ltd.

"To keep that product line within the Treasury, we went out with a BPA which was on a competitive basis," said Dan McLaughlin, branch chief of departmental systems at the IRS. "The BPA allows for the product line to continue within Treasury and allows it to compete with other product lines from other vendors, thus ensuring high service and hopefully lower prices. It just assures market pressure."

The IRS plans to award TDA-3, a contract valued at $200 million, later this year. According to the IRS, the BPA does not supplant the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, but it provides a needed bridge.

"The BPA allows us to continue what we were doing until TDA-3 is established," McLaughlin said. "When that's established, then we will re-evaluate how we want to use both types of vehicles naturally to our advantage."

Paul Collins, an executive vice president at Intellisys, said the BPA gives the IRS a good option. "BPAs are becoming a very attractive method for agencies to buy a wide range of products and services. Essentially, it enables them to very actively purchase products off of the [General Services Administration] schedule."

Presidio Corp. also is said to have bid for the BPA.