First ITES order due by March

Army officials expect to announce the first task order in the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions program by March 1.

Officials at the Program Executive Office — Enterprise Information Systems plan to issue the first ITES delivery in the next 10 to 14 days, spokesman Steve Larsen said Feb. 16.

Interest in ITES has been expressed by the Army's Program Executive Office-Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, which shares an Orlando, Fla., building with a Navy organization that will connect this year to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet. The Army also wants to add more servers located nationwide for its Army Knowledge Online portal, and one of the Army's regional IT centers, called Directorates of Information Management, needs IT support services, according to industry officials.

Larsen declined comment on specific IT projects that officials at PEO-EIS, located at Fort Belvoir, Va., are considering.

The $1 billion ITES program aims to consolidate hardware acquisition so equipment works together more easily. It also marks the service's first try at performance-based contracting. The new procurement concept involves government telling industry the IT capability needed, vendors providing answers, then government selecting the best proposal considering technology and cost.