All Bets Are Off if Congress Reviews GSA Decision
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If there's one company that leads in this
group, it's IBM. Despite the fact that IBM is primarily a computer
hardware, software and services vendor, this company is good enough at
federal contracting that it's won systems integration contracts for
everything from helicopters to spacecraft. The fact that IBM is also
the incumbent, that federal employees are already used to IBM's Lotus
product line, and that IBM should have the easiest time in migrating
existing Lotus users to Lotus-in-the-cloud won't be lost on the people
evaluating the proposal.
But that doesn't mean that IBM will have an
automatic win. The GSA does pay attention to the proposed cost, and if
a company proposes a credible solution that's significantly more cost
effective than the company with what might be seen as the best
technical solution, they might win anyway. As unlikely as it may seem,
the GSA really does try to keep a tight hand on the purse strings, and
has been known to be flexible about technical requirements if it will
substantially lower the price.
But to win, the proposed solution will have to be credible. IBM probably can demonstrate that it can meet the government's needs in terms of responsiveness, security (even if this product isn't yet FISMA certified) and the ability to meet the needs of very large organizations. Microsoft, which has a long history in government contracting, although not as long as IBM which won its first government contract in the 19th century, can point to vast installations of desktop, server and Web software throughout the government. But Google might have problems in this area. In addition, all of those Gmail outages, the occasional security breach and the Google cloud's growing pains could give the government evaluators pause.
Or they might not. Google might be able to
convince the GSA that it can deliver everything the federal government
wants, and the GSA might be in a mood to take a break from IBM and
Microsoft. But whatever solution gets chosen will have to be justified,
and that's where we'll see exactly what made the difference. And then
if anyone is still paying attention, we'll learn more during the
appeals. Or we might not.
The only thing you can really count on with the
GSA cloud services contract is that it won't really be over at the end
of September. There's no assurance that whatever company gets the win
will really be the winner. There may not even be one winner or even a
winner at all. The arbiter of what's best for the government is the
GSA, and ultimately they'll decide using their own criteria what's best
for the federal government. Unless, of course, Congress gets
involved.
But to win, the proposed solution will have to be credible. IBM probably can demonstrate that it can meet the government's needs in terms of responsiveness, security (even if this product isn't yet FISMA certified) and the ability to meet the needs of very large organizations. Microsoft, which has a long history in government contracting, although not as long as IBM which won its first government contract in the 19th century, can point to vast installations of desktop, server and Web software throughout the government. But Google might have problems in this area. In addition, all of those Gmail outages, the occasional security breach and the Google cloud's growing pains could give the government evaluators pause.
Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazineÃÃÃs Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
