FAA awards GTSI $63M contract

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded GTSI a five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract under the FAA’s Strategic Sourcing for the Acquisition of Various Equipment and Supplies (SAVES) program.The government information technology solutions provider said today that the contract is for one base year and four option years and is worth $63 million if the agency exercises all options.SAVES is part of the FAA’s Flight Plan goal to control costs while delivering quality customer service. In addition, it will help the FAA standardize its technology, consolidate buying and monitor IT spending.The GTSI contract is a strategic buying vehicle that consolidates the FAA's procurement of Sun Microsystems, Cisco and other IT peripheral devices. GTSI said it will provide high-end solutions involving Sun UltraSparc and Advanced Micro Devices Opteron servers, Sun storage arrays, Cisco routers and switches, and other equipment.GTSI said the FAA’s Office of Financial Controls, with support from the FAA’s chief financial officer and acquisition executive, created a strategic sourcing initiative in five commodity areas: office supplies, office equipment, IT hardware, printing and courier services. GTSI won one of two IT hardware contracts.“The FAA is looking to achieve cost efficiencies and minimize its risk,” said Todd Leto, senior vice president of sales at GTSI, in a statement. “We value our long-term relationship with the FAA and are pleased that this contract will give them that ability and help them achieve their goals.”GTSI said it will help the FAA reduce the total cost of ownership of IT hardware, create a standardized method of purchasing IT hardware agencywide, and devise a specific method of reporting and measuring assets.“From Day One, GTSI and the entire team have had one singular focus: provide the FAA with the most powerful and economic computing solution possible,” said Bill Vass, president and chief operating officer of Sun.