SSA launches IT services contract recompete
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By
Ross Wilkers
Self-service and artificial intelligence technologies are a priority area for the Social Security Administration in this iteration of the contract that counts CGI Federal, Leidos and Peraton as primes.
The Social Security Administration has formally launched the recompete of its main IT services contract for acquiring hardware and software in support of customer service functions.
CGI, Leidos and Peraton are the current primes for SSA’s Information Technology Support Services Contract awarded in 2017. Peraton inherited Northrop Grumman’s spot on the program in 2021 after acquiring the blue chip defense hardware company’s IT services unit.
SSA is planning to select up to seven companies for the ITSSC Recompete and they will go through a cybersecurity supply chain risk assessment before their awards are finalized, the agency said in a Tuesday notice to release the final solicitation.
Those assessments represent the final round of a three-phase evaluation process, where SSA will first look at non-price factors and then analyze the proposed prices.
The non-price factors include relevant experience from three example projects, subcontracting plans, technical approaches and management approaches.
The ITSSC Recompete contract covers a potential 10-year period of performance, including one initial base year and up to nine individual option years. SSA did not disclose a ceiling value in the request for proposals.
For this new iteration, SSA is pushing to expand its use of self-service and artificial intelligence technologies to give customer service agents more resources and time to handle complex claims.
SSA is also looking to ramp up its migration toward cloud-based solutions, modular system architectures, and more streamlined user experiences for customer and employees alike.
Bids for the ITSSC Recompete are due by 10 a.m. Eastern time on Sept. 28.
GovTribe data indicates SSA has obligated roughly $3 billion in order volume to-date against the current ITSSC contract with Leidos the top recipient at 60%, or $2 billion. Peraton is next at 29%, or $875 million. CGI Federal represents the remaining 11%, or $327 million.