Since the Fort Belvoir Chapter of AFCEA Industry Day in April 2008, vendor interest in Army's Information Technology Services – Small Business (ITS-SB) opportunity has quickly increased. We've seen a dramatic shift in attention and resources by the vendor community. It is safe to assume this is the result of two contributing factors. First, ITS-SB encompasses certain core competencies of the IT market and is being considered a small business augmentation to the ITES contracts within specific task areas. The six (6) Task Areas (inclusive of multiple sub-areas) are as follows:

1. Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
2. Information Assurance
3. Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V)
4. Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Engineering Services
5. Migration / Integration IT Services
6. Warranty and Maintenance

The Army is looking to small businesses to fill in the gaps left by the two ITES contracts. ITS-SB will supply IT services in the specific task areas missed or limited under the current large ITES-2S and ITES-2H requirements. Even though the Army has trusted Small Businesses in other areas with the massive FIRST contract and more specific SETAC requirements, ITS-SB brings technology services directly to the small business community. As evidence to the necessity of this requirement, contracting officials have released volumes of information and developed an ambitious procurement strategy.

Opportunity Status

Moving quickly, the ITS-SB procurement has completed Phase I – market research and Phase II – vendor comments and market evaluation. Phase I included filling out of small business questionnaires to help the Program officials gauge the market's size and capabilities. Based on the submitted questionnaires, the Contracting Office was able to develop an acquisition strategy. Phase II, which ended May 2, was industry's chance to provide INPUT (pun intended) regarding the acquisition strategy through Corporate Qualification Packages (CQPs). As the procurement moves forward, the Program officials are anticipated to review the submitted information in preparation for an Industry Day in June and ultimately the release of the RFP also currently expected in June 2008.