Agencies soon can lease PCs through NIH buys
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In advance of a pending General Accounting Office report on its contracting practices, the National Institutes of Health has announced plans to add PC leasing to its three large requirements contracts. The staff of the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center is working on the contract negotiations. NITAAC runs the agency's large indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts.
In advance of a pending General Accounting Office report on its contracting practices,
the National Institutes of Health has announced plans to add PC leasing to its three large
requirements contracts.
The staff of the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center is
working on the contract negotiations. NITAAC runs the agencys large
indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts.
"We want to make sure we have the language right" from a legal perspective,
said Leamon Lee, associate director for NIH administration. NIH definitely plans to add
leasing options to its Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners, Electronic
Computer Store II and Image World contracts, he said.
Lee did not specify a time frame for when the leasing services would become available.
Agencies will be able to choose either a standard lease or a lease-to-purchase option,
he said. As a buyers requirements change, it can amend the choices, he said.
GAOs forthcoming report on governmentwide acquisitions involves a number of IDIQ
contracts, including NITAACs buys and the Transportation Departments
Information Technology Omnibus Procurement, Lee said.
Lee said he is confident the report will not adversely affect NITAAC.
While awaiting the report, NITAAC officials reported sales increases for NIHs
three multiple-award contracts.
NITAAC figures showed that CIO-SP sales climbed more than 20 percent, and
Image World sales surged almost 27 percent during the first eight months of this fiscal
year, compared with the same period last year.
ECS II sales rose 3.4 percent through May of fiscal 1998, a small increase considering
the contract has 45 prime contractors. ECS I had 17.
"We didnt expect Image World to do as well as CIO-SP and ECS I and II,"
Lee said.
He said NITAAC had not signed a rumored contracting agreement with the ITOP Special
Projects Office. "I doubt it will happen," he said, citing contract
administration issues and other NITAAC marketing commitments.
The center also has reorganized its operations and reportedly is close to signing an
agreement to let Washington, D.C., agencies use the contracts.
Total sales
(in millions)Leading vendors sales
ECS II$167.8 $39.1: Government Technology Services Inc.
of Chantilly, Va.
CIO-SP$121.8 $33.2: SRA International Inc. of Arlington, Va.
Image$15.1 $4.1: Universal Hi-Tech Development Inc. of
World Rockville, Md.
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