Noteboom The Law Firm

VA Offering Billions in New Information Technology Contracts

August 6, 2010 - The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Information Technology department has undergone severe changes over the last couple of years. From the implementation of strict performance guidelines to cutting IT projects millions of dollars deep, the VA IT department has seen numerous changes. Now, in an effort to bring the IT department up-to-date, the VA will offer almost $12 billion in contracts to IT businesses over the next 5 years.

The VA's current budget for their IT program is approximately $3.5 billion annually. As more veterans cycle back from deployments, they will place higher demands on the existing VA system. Because of this, the VA's IT budget will need to increase about 10% per year.

The VA created a program called Transformation Twenty-One total Technology (T-4). They created this program so as to get a hold of their technology in a different way from their current model. That current model is using the General Services Administration to offer widely encompassing contracts to tech vendors. The VA uses the T4 program to have tighter management over both:

• Vendor selection; and
• Management.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki referred to the VA's IT issues as "significant;" last month when the VA cancelled a failing $500 million project. Their new T4 program allows the VA to precisely plan out their future spending to include $7 billion in IT procurement with an additional $5 billion through VA contracts with outside agencies. Those contracts will cover:

• Security;
• Networks; and
• Hardware.

Finally, the VA is hiring employees for their IT department. Over the next couple months, the VA's IT department is going to have a new face, new contracts, new vendors, and a more efficient overall department.