Humble Beginnings
The long-lived NASA SEWP mascot- the rubber duck. Photo courtesy of David via Flickr.
Originally known as “Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement,” SEWP I began in 1993 as an $800 million government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) handled by NASA for federal procurement of Unix workstations.
In 2001, SEWP III contracts were awarded with a value of $4 billion for a five-year term. The opportunity was divided into three small-business set-aside competitions (with two awarded to seven companies) and three 8(a) noncompeted set-asides. These competitions were based on two IT categories: Category A, which was centered around computer workstations and servers and Category B, which was centered around a variety of IT peripherals, software and supporting equipment. Small business awardees included DLT Solutions and Intelligent Decisions, with full and open awards going to companies including IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
SEWP IV contracts were awarded to 37 awardees in 2007, with a maximum value of $6 billion and a total of 17 small businesses. Small business categories included: Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), HUBZone Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB). There were also 4 non-competed 8(a) Set-Aside Contracts that were used to complement the competed contracts in providing IT services and solutions. The SEWP IV contract offered a vast selection and wide range of advanced technology including: desktops and servers and associated product-based services such as installation and maintenance to all Federal Agencies (including Department of Defense) and their authorized contractors.
SEWP Program Continues to Grow
After several iterations through the years, which included adding services and changing the name to “Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement,” SEWP V contracts were awarded in May 2015. SEWP has grown in size both in the number of awardees and the dollar amount since 1993, and NASA has both recognized and supported this large change in growth.
In a video statement, NASA SEWP Program Manager Joanne Woytek stated that “SEWP made a major expansion when it went from the SEWP IV contracts with 37 companies to 145 companies with contracts. This was done in a very planned manner. Our goal was to give our customers greater competition, greater responsiveness, a greater… scope of products and services.” Woytek further elaborated, “We had great companies -the 37 companies- I don’t want to underestimate that, but SEWP grew tremendously under SEWP IV: the usage, the customer base more than doubled.”
Intended to be a contract vehicle for a wide range of technical products and services, SEWP V is a GWAC worth an estimated $10.5 billion with a 10-year duration ending in 2025.
Of the 145 prime contract holders in SEWP V, 119 are certified small businesses. Small Business categories in this opportunity include: Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB); Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB); Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB); HUBZone Small Businesses; Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB); and Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB). Specific contract groups within SEWP V were organized by NAICS code and small business type:
Category A (Computer Systems/Servers) – NAICS 334111
Group A – Computer Based Systems (Full and Open Competition)
Category B (Complementary Products) – NAICS 541519
Group B – Mass Storage Devices (Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside) – Mass Storage Devices (Hub-Zone Small Business Set-Aside)
Group C – Server Support Devices / Multi-Functional Devices (Small Business Set-Aside)
Group D – Networking / Security / Video and Conference Tools (Full and Open Competition)
As you can see, as the SEWP program has grown from a small NASA program to a $10 billion GWAC, it has benefited from government initiatives to make the contracting workforce more diverse. Such a large and diverse number of contract holders presents many teaming opportunities for prospective suppliers who may have missed the SEWP V RFP or were not ready to provide the services at the time of solicitation. With EZGovOpps, you can learn more about the SEWP program and evolution, with access to previous SEWP program summaries and awardees. With access to SEWP V awardees and their company profiles, EZGovOpps will allow you to easily research and select possible teaming partners.
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