“Two of the federal government’s largest multiple award contracting vehicles report that after a surge in acquisition of hardware and software to support telework, federal agency buying patterns are returning to normal.”
“Now, federal contract managers are prepping for the annual end-of-year spending spree.”
“In March, NASA’s Services for Enterprise-Wide Procurement shortened its order times to help with agencies’ COVID-19 response needs. SEWP manager Joanne Woytek said an early 2020 rush for hardware and software has slowed as agencies catch up to demand, but how much isn’t yet clear.”
“‘Interestingly, after the first six months where some virtualization and security companies moved up in the usage chart, 10 months in, we are seeing a mostly traditional usage pattern with just minor changes for the top 15 manufacturers,’ said Woytek…”
“The National Institute of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) saw a similar early surge among its stable of GWACs. It also expects a busy, but stable, end of year buying season.”
“‘We expect an uptick as agencies work to meet their category management/SUM [Spend Under Management] goals but pandemic- related procurement has stabilized,’ a NITAAC spokeswoman told FCW.”
“NITAAC’s initial rush from agencies looking for remote solutions at the beginning of the pandemic has steadied as agencies have become accustomed to having remote workforces, said the spokeswoman.”
“Current end-of-year buying patterns at NITAAC’s GWACs were spread across seven key areas—cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics process automation, end-to-end security solutions, IT infrastructure, and data analytics, she said…” Read the full article here.
Source: After early surge, pandemic buying stabilizes for GWACs – By Mark Rockwell, August 19, 2020. FCW.
