DHS Plans a $3 Billion Small-Business IT Contract: Top 20

The Department of Homeland Security will host an industry day in July for its seven-year, $3 billion, FirstSource III multiple-award contract, which is reserved for small businesses, according to a May 19 announcement.

FirstSource III is the topic of this week’s Bloomberg Government Top 20 Opportunities. It will provide DHS offices with IT products and value-added reseller services, with an emphasis on providing managed services and faster deployment of emerging technology, according to a draft scope of work document released in May.

The agency expects to provide registration information for the July industry day by June 29 and plans to release the contract’s draft requirements and evaluation factors by that date as well. Comments by companies regarding the contract scope and evaluation of FirstSource III would be submitted to DHS in August.

The government hasn’t confirmed a release date for the final RFP, but based on the timeline above, BGOV expects a final RFP by September, with contract awards possible by March 2021.

The agency previously released a notice in July 2019 outlining its intent to compete FirstSource III. Bloomberg Government is estimating a seven-year performance period and $3 billion total value based on the details established for FirstSource II.

Incumbent Spending

The predecessor contract, FirstSource II, has accounted for for $3.3 billion in reported spending obligations since fiscal 2012.

The top companies include: Panamerica Computers Inc. ($445 million in obligations), Government Acquisitions Inc. ($315 million), and Blue Tech Inc. ($283 million).

According to BGOV data, by small business set-aside type, the majority of obligations on FirstSource II have gone to small business ($1.5 billion), HUBZone small business ($1.2 billion), and service-disabled veteran-owned small business ($353 million).

What’s Ahead

With FirstSource III, DHS is making some key changes to modernize its acquisition process. The transition to FirstSource III includes the addition of managed services, such as hardware-as-a-service or software-as-a service, and improving access to emerging technology.

With the shift to managed services, DHS could increase the momentum toward leveraging agencies’ purchasing power by renting hardware devices as opposed to purchasing them outright. That trend is taking hold at the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and others.

To maintain emerging technology offerings, FirstSource III will enable contract holders to add or remove products and services as necessary to adapt to changing agency needs. The refreshes will help keep pace with market trends by allowing agencies to pivot to demand, such as the increased use of tablets and the transition from traditional computing to virtual infrastructure.

Using BGOV

Clients can use Bloomberg Government tools to track FirstSource spending and identify recompete opportunities from task orders that may be transitioning from FirstSource II to FirstSource III. DHS has listed end dates by pool in a memo here. Click the links below for saved searches by end dates in each of FirstSource II’s five designated socioeconomic categories:

• Click here for spending with HUBZone businesses; the ordering period expires on Sept. 15, 2020.
• Click here for spending in the 8(a) category; the ordering period expires on Sept. 26, 2020.
• Click here for Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business spending (SDVOSB); the ordering period expires on Nov. 24, 2020.
• Click here for spending with Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB); the ordering period expires on Jan. 6, 2021.
• Click here for spending in the Small Business (SB) category; the ordering period expires on Jan. 6, 2021.

To contact the analyst: Daniel Snyder at dsnyder@bgov.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodie Morris at jmorris@bgov.com