Commerce plans mega IT pact for small businesses

The Commerce Department next week plans to release a solicitation worth at least $500 million for a governmentwide information technology support services contract that is set aside exclusively for small businesses.

At an industry briefing today, Commerce unveiled details about the Commerce Information Technology Solutions (Commits) contract, which is expected to be worth at least $500 million but could go as high as $1.5 billion. It is reserved exclusively for small, small disadvantaged, 8(a) and women-owned businesses.

The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract will provide support solutions in three major functional areas: information systems engineering, information systems security, and systems operations and management. Commerce expects to award about 36 prime contracts.

Commits will help agencies reach their own socio-economic goals and will funnel more work to small businesses.

"In talking about and looking at our own goals, we realized that while people have [small business] goals, they don't have a tool or mechanism to achieve them," said Alan Balutis, deputy chief information officer at Commerce. "The perception is that the proliferation of governmentwide contracts and blanket purchase agreements has hurt the small and minority business community."