Protest Filed on $7 Million DOD Cloud Support Contract
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By
Frank Konkel
The bid protest could slow down the Pentagon’s cloud acquisition effort.
A $7 million sole-source cloud support contract awarded by the Defense Department to a company with one employee in January has come under bid protest.
Interoperability Clearinghouse filed the protest with the Government Accountability Office on Feb. 5, and contends the Defense Department failed to conduct a reasonable responsibility determination of Eagle Harbor Solutions LLC’s capabilities and resources. Eagle Harbor Solutions is an Alaska Native-owned 8(a) small disadvantaged business that federal contracting database records indicate has an annual revenue of $91,005, a single employee and few past government contracts.
The protest also alleges a conflict of interest due to Eagle Harbor Solutions being a subsidiary of Koniag Government Services and its parent company, Koniag Inc., which provides cloud services to the Defense Department through the Army’s ACCENT contract.
The Defense Department previously said the contract “is for program office support services,” and that Eagle Harbor Solutions “is serving in a support capacity only by providing a small team of highly skilled individuals.” In a press release, Eagle Harbor Solutions said it would provide the Defense Department “a full range of infrastructure engineering, software engineering, acquisition, strategic communications, business operations, cost estimation, and budgetary expertise.”
The cloud support contract is the latest step in the Pentagon’s push to accelerate cloud adoption. Led by the Cloud Executive Steering Group and other executives, the Defense Department’s stated end goal is an enterprise cloud computing contract that could be worth billions.
The Defense Department did not respond to Nextgov questions about whether work will continue with work under the contract or if the department will wait for a resolution of Interoperability Clearinghouse’s protest or take alternative action. GAO has until May 16 to dismiss, deny or sustain the protest.
Update: On Feb. 8, an Eagle Harbor Solutions representative told Nextgov the company has a staff of five, and that its corporate structure allows it to share certain staff with sister companies of Koniag Inc.