In Oct 2015 the Whitehouse Office of Management & Budget issued a directive to agencies to:
- Reduce the number of contracts for laptops and desktops; prohibit new awards; and limit purchases to a small number of high-performing contracts
- Standardize laptop and desktop configurations for common requirements
- Develop business practices to optimize price and performance.
Agencies were prohibited from issuing any new solicitations for laptops and desktops.
All civilian agencies were directed to use one of three existing government-wide acquisition vehicles to purchase any desktops or laptops:
- NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP)
- General Services Administration (GSA) IT Schedule 70
- Dept. Health & Human Services/ Natl. Inst. Health Commodities and Solutions (CIO-CS)
On Tuesday Feb 2nd GSA, NASA, and NIH will host an Industry Day in Washington DC to address the new directive. There will also be an option to attend a virtual session via webinar.