EDS to protest Army portal contract award

The company says the military did not choose the right service for AKO.

EDS will join CherryRoad Technologies in protesting the Army’s award of the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) Enterprise Services contract, which was awarded earlier this month to an industry team led by Lockheed Martin.

“It is our intention to file a protest today," said Kevin Clarke, an EDS spokesman. "We believe the selected proposal did not reflect best value to the Army and was not chosen in a manner consistent with the procurement process.”

“The fact that the incumbent contractor has already filed a protest reinforces EDS’ concern over the award,” he added. EDS’ industry team members include America Online, Avenue A/Razorfish, Battelle, BearingPoint, Capgemini, Reliable Integration Services and Sun Microsystems.

CherryRoad filed a protest earlier this week on the basis of matter of interpretation, said military and industry officials familiar with the situation. The Government Accountability Office will render a decision by late October.

The Army awarded a $152.1 million contract for one year with six option years to Lockheed Martin earlier this month. Under the performance-based contract, the company and its team members will administer the service’s Web portal and oversee its knowledge management program.

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