The Defense Department has decided to re-evaluate proposals for a $1 billion enterprise IT contract following a protest by Peraton, which challenged the award initially granted to Deloitte. The contract, known as IT GEMS, involves global enterprise management IT services for the Defense Manpower Data Center. Peraton's protest, filed in February 2024, raised concerns about the evaluation of technical, management, and staffing approaches, as well as the assessment of past performance and the best-value tradeoff decision. Anticipating a likely favorable ruling for Peraton by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after an alternative dispute resolution conference, the Defense Department opted for corrective action to avoid an unfavorable GAO decision.
This re-evaluation presents a significant opportunity for Peraton, the incumbent contractor under the World Wide COTS Hardware, Software, Maintenance and Integration III contract, acquired through its 2021 acquisition of Perspecta. Peraton will have its proposals, including its use of subcontractors and technical approach, reassessed. The services covered by the contract include hardware, software, and systems integration, supporting global systems such as the Real-time Automated Identification Systems, Defense Biometrics Identification System, and Joint Asset Movement Management System. This development underscores the competitive nature of defense contracting and the rigorous scrutiny applied to major awards.
