Two teams set to compete on the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Enterprise Networks Re-compete (NGEN-R) contract have officially announced their partnerships on Feb. 2 and 5.
Leidos [LDOS] said Feb. 5 it is working with IBM [IBM], Unisys [UIS], and Verizon’s [VZ] Enterprise Solutions to compete on the NGEN-R Service Management, Integration and Transport (SMIT) program contract. Separately, on Feb. 2 DXC Technology [DXC] said it selected AT&T [ATT] to be a “key member” of its NGEN-R recompete team.
NGEN is the Navy’s enterprise-wide information technology (IT) services contract vehicle, which provides IT services to the Navy and Marine Corps within the continental United States (CONUS) via the Navy Marine Corps Internet (NMCI) and the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN).
The incumbent for NGEN is DXC, which is the merger of the former Computer Sciences Corporation with Hewlett Packard’s [HPQ] Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ Enterprise Services (ES) business. The merger was completed in 2017.
NGEN-R is a follow-on that will add coverage outside CONUS (OCONUS) through the OCONUS Navy Enterprise Network (ONE-Net). It will also be split into two contracts meant to drive down costs, with both new prime contractors required to work together: end user hardware (EUHW) and service management, integration, and transport (SMIT).
NGEN was originally set to end in June, but in September 2017 the Navy said it was moving back the award schedule to late 2018, extended the existing SMIT work by up to 23 months and EUHW by up to 39 months.
The precise extension timelines include initial six-month extensions, extra time for possible protests, and transition periods during refresh periods.
Leidos said its team combines it as the largest government systems integrator and biggest provider of government IT services, IBM with a record on innovation and owner of the largest research and development organizations, Unisys with high-performance security-centric solutions, and Verizon as a leading provider of IT solutions to the government.
“Combined, the team offers commercial best practices through research and development innovation, technology leadership, and the security expertise needed to provide a smooth transition to a future system that will achieve the Navy’s critical modernization mission,” Leidos said in its announcement.
“Leidos is a leading global solutions integrator with a prominent portfolio among the international federal IT solutions and service providers,” Roger Krone, Leidos Chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Krone also highlighted its 2016 acquisition of Lockheed martin’s [LMT] former Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) segment.
“The merger with Lockheed Martin’s former Information Systems & Global Solutions Business strengthened our scale to provide cost-effective, agile, and ‘speed to mission’ capabilities that solve our customers’ most challenging problem,” he added.
Separately, incumbent DXC Technology said Feb. 2 it chose AT&T to be in its NGEN-R recompete team.
DXC highlighted it designed and built the NMCI and has maintained it since the first NMCI contract in 2000. The company said it is building a team of companies in preparation for the NGEN-R contracts.
“We welcome AT&T as an essential part of the new and refreshed, purpose-built team we are assembling to deliver on the Department of the Navy’s future needs,” Marilyn Crouther, senior vice president and general manager at DXC Technology, said in a statement.”
She highlighted DXC’s experience in this work and said “we look forward to the opportunity to continue the tremendous work we’ve done with the NMCI.”
AT&T’s vice president of defense in the public sector unit, Mike Leff, said, “We bring world-class networking and advanced technology capabilities that can help the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps achieve their missions and defend our country.”
DXC was unable to specify by publication time if it will compete for the EUHW, SMIT, or both sections of the NGEN-R program.