E-Commerce Times - page 2

The U.S. government plans to initiate an updated contracting vehicle for the acquisition of cybersecurity information technologies for federal agencies this month. The purpose of the program is to make it easier and more efficient for federal agencies to obtain cyber protection services. Specifically, GSA will include cyber technology providers on a major listing of approved federal contractors.

Source: US Launches IT Contract to Spur Cybersecurity Purchases | Government | E-Commerce Times

U.S. government agencies spend an overwhelming amount of their annual information technology budgets simply to maintain old and out-of-date systems. As a result, the amount of money available for investing in modernizing IT keeps shrinking, thus depriving vendors of major marketing opportunities at the federal level. The official federal IT budget has remained at about $82 billion per year for several years.

Source: Outdated Federal IT Gobbles Up Vendor Opportunities | Government | E-Commerce Times

U.S. government agencies have been directed to share with each other software code that has been developed on a customized basis. Much of the code involves commercial vendor offerings. In addition to interagency sharing, government units are required to share portions of their customized code with the general public, a move characterized as promoting an open source approach.

Source: Federal Agencies Told to Share Their Software | Government | E-Commerce Times

HPE and HP are facing a potential class action lawsuit brought earlier this month by four former employees. The companies engaged in widespread age discrimination during a restructuring of the legacy computer and printer manufacturer, according to their complaint. HP from 2012 to 2015 made a series of discriminatory job cuts involving tens of thousands of workers, the suit alleges.

Source: HPE, HP Sued for Elbowing Out Older Employees | Tech Law | E-Commerce Times

Federal agencies will continue to spend heavily on IT over the next five years, but the pace and direction of spending will be complicated by shifting priorities, congressional constraints and a presidential election. The bottom line is that the overall rate of IT spending will be above $98 billion each year for next six federal fiscal years, according to a forecast Deltek released last month.

Source: Changes in Federal IT Spending Require Nimble Contracting | Government | E-Commerce Times

Selling information technology to the U.S. government is never easy, and it’s even harder when a vendor cannot highlight the qualitative differences it believes separates its competencies from other providers competing for the same work. Yet a major contracting tool federal agencies use in seeking IT products and services tends to smother those differences in skills and competencies.

Source: Vendors Gain Congressional Support on IT Pricing | Tech Law | E-Commerce Times

What’s not to like about the U.S. government offering IT vendors $17.5 billion for products and services? The opportunity is attractive, and many vendors have expressed interest in a Department of Defense contract that covers the acquisition of a broad range of IT capabilities. A request for proposals for the Encore III contract was issued in March. Bids were accepted through late April.

Source: Defense IT Contract Rekindles Pricing Complaints | Government | E-Commerce Times