OMB reminds agencies to be brand-neutral

The Office of Management and Budget on Friday reminded agencies that technology acquisitions should be based on performance and value, not on preferences for how technology is licensed or distributed.

The memo from federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy Daniel I. Gordon, and federal Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria A. Espinel advised agencies of long-standing policy that helps to ensure "federal investments in IT are merit-based, improve the performance of our government and create value for the American people."

The memo urged agencies to consider alternatives to brand names, such as proprietary, open source and mixed source technologies. "This means selecting suitable IT on a case-by-case basis to meet the particular operational needs of the agency by considering factors such as performance, cost, security, interoperability, ability to share or reuse, and availability of quality support."

OMB issued a similar memo in April 2006, Federal News Radio reported, for brand specific, sole source procurements of more than $25,000.