Aviation securityTSA denies Unisys' ITIP contract bid, reaffirms selection of CSC
Unisys filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the awarding the TSA’s Information Technology Infrastructure Program (ITIP) contract to Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC); the ITIP award has been worth over $1 billion to Unisys and going forward was valued at $500 million over five years to run TSA’s information technology infrastructure; the 2-year long battle is now over, with TSA denying Unisys’s bid and saying CSC will restart the contract 1 September
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied Unisys’s long-running bid to retain a major Transportation Security Administration (TSA) information technology program, likely putting to bed a more than 2-year struggle over the contract.
The Washington Post’s Marjorie Censer writes that in the spring of 2008, TSA held a new competition for the $500 million IT infrastructure program — the Information Technology Infrastructure Program (ITIP) — meant to provide computer support services at various sites.
Incumbent Unisys and fellow losing competitor Northrop Grumman protested in summer 2008 after they were not selected to move forward for additional evaluation — but withdrew their protests when the TSA backed down and let them continue to pursue their bids (“Unisys withdraws protest to GAO over TSA’s ITIP contact,” 4 March 2010 HSNW). When CSC of Falls Church was ultimately selected in 2009, both Unisys and Falls Church-based General Dynamics filed protests that were upheld by the GAO. TSA officials went back to the drawing board before the agency again selected CSC this year.
The GAO denied Unisys’s most recent protest late last month.
The TSA said in a statement that it would now restart the contract with CSC and transition IT responsibilities beginning 1 September.
Unisys, which continued to do work for the TSA while the protests went forward, said in its own statement that it was disappointed by the GAO’s decision but cannot comment on its next steps as it reviews the decision.
For its part, CSC said it is pleased to start work on the program. “This is a top priority program for CSC,” the company said in a statement.
