GSA Announces New Start Date for $50B IT Service Contract After Legal Challenges

The long-awaited Alliant 2 Unrestricted contract vehicle will finally go into effect on July 1, after seven months in limbo as protests were sorted out by the government and, later, the courts.

The General Services Administration in November awarded 61 spots on the second generation of Alliant, the governmentwide acquisition contract, or GWAC, specifically for IT services. The $50 billion contract saw protests in the pre-solicitation phase and immediately after the initial awards were announced, as almost 100 prospective vendors didn’t make the cut.

Those initial protests were resolved by the Government Accountability Office. But before the end of 2018, two companies—Centech and OBXTek—filed suit in federal claims court arguing that GSA’s selection process was unfair.

The court ruled in GSA’s favor on all four suits.

“I am pleased to announce that GSA has prevailed in all litigation filed in connection with the Alliant 2 GWAC and will promptly proceed with contract performance,” Alliant 2 Procuring Contract Officer John Cavadias wrote in a June 5 post on GSA’s Interact site. Cavadias said the new expected start date for the vehicle will be July 1, extending the new initial five-year order period through June 30, 2023.

The contract also includes an additional five-year option period that would extend it through 2028.

“The court's decisions further solidify the validity of GSA's innovative procurement approach, highest technically rated offerors with a fair and reasonable price,” Cavadias said. “We look forward to supporting the IT needs of all federal government agencies by providing a best-in-class contract vehicle to meet their requirements.”

The details of the court’s decision were not immediately available. But Cavadias said documentation on all four decisions should be made available in the coming days.