DOD signs enterprise software deal with Symantec

By Dawn S. Onley

Connecting state and local government leaders

| October 5, 2005

The Defense Department is offering its agencies access to more than 6,000 information assurance products and services.

The BPA calls for discounts on volume software license purchases, software li- censes bundled with maintenance and en- terprise software li-cense agreements. There is a minimum 2 percent discount off General Services Ad-ministration's Federal Supply Service schedule prices for hardware, software licenses, software maintenance and training services.Additional discounts are offered on volume purchases of software licenses or software licenses bundled with maintenance, officials said.Susan Kirkland, Air Force software product manager, said the Air Force had roughly 2,000 information assurance agreements with Symantec prior to the signing of the enterprise agreement. She said the service decided to sign with Symantec after they responded to a request for information on the FedBizOpps. gov Web site.The Enterprise Software Initiative is a joint DOD program to de- velop or procure standard software and hardware across the Defense enterprise. The objectives, according to officials, are to save money and improve information sharing.In July, the Army Small Computer Program, on behalf of ESI, brokered an en- terprise agreement with Quest Software Inc. for a full range of enterprise management products and services. The discounts range from 3 percent to 48 percent off GSA schedule prices for software licenses, and 3 percent to 8 percent for maintenance and services, and training.The Army ESA also is open to the military services, contractors, Coast Guard and intelligence agencies.James Clausen, co-chairman of the Defense Enterprise Software Initiative, said the Symantec enterprise software agreement, as well as other ESAs, are negotiated and signed with the potential to tie into the Office of Management and Budget's SmartBuy program.'This Symantec agreement may become interesting to the SmartBuy program, but we are not now engaged in discussions along these lines with either the SmartBuy Program Office or Symantec,' Clausen added.Under SmartBuy, GSA or another agency negotiates a governmentwide deal for popular software titles to obtain the lowest price and best terms and conditions based on volume purchases.

The Defense Department is offering its agencies access to more than 6,000 information assurance products and services.

The Air Force Operations and Sustainment Systems Group, acting on behalf of DOD's Enterprise Software Initiative, signed a five-year, $182 million blanket purchase agreement with Symantec Corp. of Cupertino, Calif., that became effective Sept. 13.

All Defense organizations, the Coast Guard, intelligence agencies and authorized Defense contractors can place orders using the agreement.

'This BPA provides the full line of Symantec Corp. products and services with considerable discounts on software licenses, hardware, software maintenance and training/services,' according to DOD.

ImmixGroup Inc. of McLean, Va., said it had obtained the ESI deal for Symantec.
The products being offered under the BPA fall under eight main categories:

Virus protection/content filtering

Anti-spyware software

Vulnerability management

Policy compliance

Firewalls/virtual private network

Integrated security

Intrusion protection

Security management.

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