The FBI is once again delaying release of the final solicitation for its agency-wide $5 billion IT services contract, opting to extend the existing contract for a year while it redrafts a new request for proposals that was supposed to be issued Feb. 1.
The agency, which announced the move last week, attributed the delay to the high level of interest from industry, the decision last year to use GSA schedule 70, rather than an FBI -specific contracting vehicle and the month-long government shutdown.
The Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract, or ITSSS, was set to expire April 1.
ITSSS will be replaced by the Information Technology Enterprise Contract Support, or ITECS, reported NextGov.
Contracting officials are going back to the drawing board with ITECS, planning to issue a draft solicitation by April 29. Prospective vendors will have until May 13 to submit questions; industry days will be scheduled in early June; and awards are estimated for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 — i.e. by the end of 2019.