Compaq Computer Corp. also has a substantial number of IDIQ contracts, said Gary Newgaard, vice president of the federal region at Compaq. Service vendors fared even better during the 1998 summer buying season, with vendors such as CSC and BTG Inc. winning large services deals off the schedule. Other vendors, such as Dell and IBM Corp., added leasing and other financing options to their schedule contracts. I think it's going to be a booming business in the future, and the schedule will offer more and more types of services. Vendors predict the range of services offered on the schedule will broaden in fiscal 1999.
Current offerings range from engineering services to desktop management and information security.
SAIC, for instance, recently added telecom and engineering services, according to Eino Huhpala, the company's deputy program manager of GSA schedules. Other companies are focusing on specialty hardware and services instead of adding services across the board. And any expansion of the company's offerings on the schedule most likely will take place within those three areas, he said. Even traditional hardware vendors, such as Dell, Micron, Compaq and Intergraph, are bulking up their service offerings, which can support higher margins. At the beginning of fiscal 1999, Micron kicked off Micron University, a training program with online classes and seminars offered through a partnership with Ziff-Davis Education.