BearingPoint to get $30 million deal

Can separate command systems be integrated for the Navy?

Naval Air Systems Command

BearingPoint LLC will be awarded a contract worth up to $30 million to evaluate the ability of four of the U.S. Navy's major command systems to work together.

Naval Air Systems Command (Navair), Naval Sea Systems Command (Navsea), Naval Supply Systems Command (Navsup) and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (Spawar) each use different applications, said Mark Diehl, the Navair contracting officer responsible for soliciting the contract, which has an estimated value of $25 million to $30 million.

A BearingPoint spokesman said the company could not comment on the contract because it has not yet been formally awarded.

BearingPoint was lead integrator on Navair's system and will be awarded the lead on the new contract. IBM Corp. and EDS, which led work on Navsea and Navsup respectively, will be awarded positions as major subcontractors. Before being acquired by IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers oversaw the Spawar project.

The systems run by each command are:

* Navair: SIGMA, which integrates finance, project planning and other back-office functions

* Navsea: Navy Enterprise Maintenance Automated Information System, designed to control daily business operations, maintenance reports and other activities

* Navsup: Supply and Maintenance Aviation Reengineering Team, a pilot program to replace old systems for supply, maintenance and finance

* Spawar: Project Cabrillo, which handles back-office tasks, strategic planning and supply management.

IBM and BearingPoint switched places as subcontractors on the Navair and Navsea systems and would be best able to coordinate any interoperability issues, Diehl said. He did not know who the subcontractors were on the Navsup and Spawar systems.

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