It s inevitable, Ligas said. It s a merging of telecommunications and information technology, forming an integrated market, he said. With all the services becoming easier and cheaper to buy, doors open for Sprint to make more of its consulting, network management, satellite and cellular services available to the government, Ligas said. Va. Some of these contract vehicles offer even more choices than GSA, he said. The National Institutes of Health, for example, awarded the five-year Electronic Computer Store II contract in 1997 to 47 vendors.
Vendors advertise the available products over the Internet on their respective home pages.
This competition from the procurement organizations of these and other agencies has spurred GSA to streamline and improve its own procurement services, Young said. GSA has been riding the coattails of changes in other agencies, he said. Government agencies can go to the GSA Web site to buy from GTSI, which is the largest reseller of computer products and services to the federal government. But GTSI also operates its own Web site that agencies can use to buy its products. GSA s information is not as up to date as GTSI s, but the agency handles products from thousands of vendors, so it s not GSA s fault, he said.