The General Services Administration's electronic-bidding portal has been down since Jan. 11 due to a security flaw that allowed users of the system to change others' bids once they were logged onto the site.
Forecasters suggest that federal IT contractors can expect 2006 to be almost as good as 2005, but contractors also should expect several new or increased legal risks to arise in the new year. Here's a rundown:
Many IT contractors for the Homeland Security Department have seen new initiatives bogged down by policy issues and political concerns. Four persistent policy questions are likely to affect major upcoming IT programs in 2006.
Few things can instill more fear in a contractor's heart than a notice announcing a government audit. Preparedness is best defense when the auditor calls, experts advise.
Testifying before the Senate last July, Emily Murphy, chief acquisition officer of the General Services Administration, said the agency was considering bringing back its practice of doing post-award contract audits on its multiple-award schedules.
Washington Technology kicks off its 20th anniversary year not with a look back, but with a look forward. We've distilled the sea of policy issues, technology trends and emerging markets to the 20 that are ? or should be ? top of mind for systems integrators, IT services companies and resellers in the government market.
The General Services Administration will shut down its GSA Preferred IT tracking system after audits found the program did not perform as well as the system it replaced.
Accela Inc. has won a 10-year, $3 million contract with Sacramento County, Calif., to deliver a Web-based system to support land management activities.
Representatives of the Patent and Trademark Office and open-source software vendors have agreed to improve software code resources available to patent examiners to better determine whether an invention is new or not obvious.
FedBid Inc. of Vienna, Va., has won a five-year contract from the General Services Administration to provide online reverse auction services for the federal government.
House Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) threatens to kill funding next year for the controversial Treasury Communications Enterprise departmentwide contract.
The Industry Advisory Council has dropped e-government from the name of one of its shared interest groups and adjusted the name of its procurement group to reflect changes in the market.
The Office of Personnel Management is seeking a contractor to train the agency's workforce on new software designed to help modernize its financial and procurement systems.
The FBI faces special risks in developing the Sentinel case management system because it plans to do so at the same time that it is rolling out its new enterprise architecture, according to a letter issued this week by Government Accountability Office auditors.
