DISA Contract Consolidation: How Will DISN/DoDIN Support Contracts Be Affected?

Published: September 03, 2014

Acquisition ReformCommunications ServicesDEFENSEDISASatellite Communications

As part of its recent Forecast to Industry, officials from the Defense Information Systems Agency discussed the consolidation of contracts they will be undertaking over the next several years in response to sequestration. Very little of the discussion revolved around the consolidation of contracts supporting the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN), recently renamed the Department of Defense Information Network, or DoDIN. Presumably, DoDIN support contracts are still susceptible to consolidation despite the lack of discussion about them. This post explores which contracts might be vulnerable to consolidation and where business opportunities might present themselves in the years to come.

Last week I posted a brief analysis of contracts supporting the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Defense Enterprise Computing Centers that might be vulnerable to consolidation in the next 2-4 years.  At its recent Forecast to Industry event, DISA officials stated repeatedly that contracts will be consolidated in the years to come as a cost savings measure.  The plain fact is that when sequestration returns in fiscal 2016, it will reduce DISA’s budget by a considerable percentage.  The agency has no choice but to reduce the amount it spends on contractor-provided goods and services.  What the percentage reduction in DISA’s budget will be remains to be seen, but vendors should be prepared to see it drop significantly compared to agency budgets in years past.

Another area of discussion at the DISA Forecast revolved around contracts that support the Defense Information Systems Network, otherwise known as the Department of Defense Information Network, or DoDIN.  Here the impetus to consolidate contracts was less pronounced.  In his comments Jesse Showers, the Vice Director of Network Services at DISA outlined basic requirements for 10 project areas with anticipated budgets over $10 million that will be satisfied using a small number of large contract vehicles.  These vehicles and requirements worked out as follows:

  • Work on the Operations, Sustainment, Maintenance, and Net Assurance of the DoDIN will be performed by vendors holding GIG Services Management (GSM) – Operations, Engineering, Transition and Implementation, and Projects and Support contracts.
  • Transport and Bandwidth Services will be provided by vendors holding DISN Access Transport Services (DATS) until these requirements transition to other, undetermined contracts in fiscal years 2015-2016.  Meanwhile, the forthcoming Global Network Services contract(s) will absorb work currently being performed under the JHITS contracts and various task orders awarded to GSA Networx vendors.  Finally, based on what Mr. Showers stated, work being performed under DISN Transmission Services Pacific II (DTS-PII) will fall under the recompete of this contract DISA will conduct in FY 2017.
  • SATCOM support will continue under the Future Commercial Satellite (FCSA) contract until fiscal 2019.

So, where will future opportunities be found?  Curiously, Mr. Showers’ comments did not focus on contract consolidation, suggesting that work supporting the DISN/DoDIN will be more stable over the next several years.  If this is the case then the information in the following table will prove useful.    

I’ve listed here all of the support contracts that will be expiring from FY 2014 on.  Unfortunately, the data for many of these efforts is lacking detail, so in some cases I cannot point readers to specific types of work.  What I can do is put on everyone’s radar the contracts, expiration dates, and incumbents so that those seeking to compete for work on the DISN/DoDIN will understand what and who they’re up against.  I suspect a lot of the requirements currently being fulfilled by these vendors will be consolidated into either Global Network Services or the GIG Services Management Contracts, but in case they aren’t this list will help you zero in on potential opportunities in the next few years.