Competitiveness of Federal Computer Procurements

GAO discussed federal agencies' use of competitive procedures in their automated data processing (ADP) procurements. GAO noted that: (1) factors affecting procurement competitiveness included improper review of alternatives, poorly defined requirements, improper bias, and poorly trained or inexperienced contracting staff; (2) agencies did not ensure adequate and appropriate competition in the less than fully competitive procurements; (3) the General Services Administration, which was responsible for overall oversight of federal ADP procurement, did not always adequately exercise that responsibility; (4) over 80 percent of 8 agencies' mainframe computer procurements between 1986 and 1989 required compatability with existing systems; (5) almost 60 percent of those procurements required compatibility with one vendor; and (6) in some cases, agencies had legitimate reasons for limiting competition.