Contracts/Awards

GSA to take corrective action again on DoD’s $7.6B cloud contract

GAO dismissed Perspecta’s second protest of the enterprise email and cloud collaboration contract called DEOS awarded to GDIT in August after GSA said it woul...

Jason Miller@jmillerWFED

June 10, 2020 5:51 pm

2 min read

The Defense Department’s $7.6 billion cloud email and collaboration contract continues to be hung up by protests nearly 10 months after the initial award.

The General Services Administration told the Government Accountability Office it would take corrective action for a second time on the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS). GAO dismissed the latest protest from Perspecta on June 8.

GSA told GAO it will amend the solicitation, ask for revised proposals, and take other steps to address the pre-award complaint.

Under DEOS, the Pentagon wants to implement Microsoft Office 365 and associated capabilities including word processing and spreadsheets, email, collaboration, file sharing and storage.

This was the second time Perspecta filed a complaint with GAO after GSA awarded DEOS to General Dynamics-IT in August.

After Perspecta’s first protest, GSA took corrective action in October and planned to accept new proposals.

But sources confirmed that GSA disclosed Perspecta’s pricing information to GDIT.

Washington Technology reported this disclosure was on a pricing template and that led to Perspecta filing the latest pre-award protest in April.

“Perspecta is appreciative of the decision made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) with regard to our protest of the DEOS solicitation and we look forward to cooperating with the General Services Administration (GSA) in the next steps of the competitive process,” a company spokeswoman said in an email.

An email to General Dynamics IT seeking comment on GSA’s decision was not immediately returned.

A GSAS spokeswoman only would confirm the agency would take corrective action, but didn’t offer any details, citing as the reason that DEOS still is an active procurement.

DoD’s record with large cloud contracts continues to be mired in protests. The JEDI contract, a potential $10 billion vehicle over 10 years, has been stuck in a similar protest cycle over the last two-plus years.

The challenges with getting DEOS off the ground also is forcing agencies to find a new path to implement email and collaboration software. The Air Force, for example, will have every airman using O365 by the end of fiscal 2020. The Navy, meanwhile, has also said it will need to continue providing email services via its NGEN contract until DEOS becomes available.