December 7, 2015
GAO: Out-Of-Scope Delivery Order Modification Was Improper
Source: SmallGovCon, Ian Patterson, November 19, 2015
An agency may not procure new services under an existing GSA Schedule delivery order if the new services exceed scope of the original delivery order.
In a recent decision, Onix Networking Corp., B-411841 (Nov. 9, 2015), the GAO sustained a protest where the agency acquired a new type of software by modifying an existing delivery order for software license extensions because the acquisition exceeded the scope of the initial delivery order. According to the GAO, the out-of-scope modification amounted to an improper sole source contract.
The Onyx Networking decision involved a modification to a GSA Schedule delivery order held by En Pointe Gov, Inc. The delivery order, which was awarded in 2013, called for En Pointe (a licensed Microsoft reseller) to provide software licenses, software maintenance services, and technical support services to the Peace Corps’s existing suite of Microsoft products.
After En Pointe’s award, the Peace Corps conducted market research into available cloud based email services. From September 2014 to May 2015, the Peace Corps evaluated services from both Microsoft and Google. Following the test period, the Peace Corps concluded that the Google product was slightly preferred among its pilot program participants, though both products met the agency’s technical requirements. Read More …
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