Georgia Tech-Buying Agency Cuts Out Solution Providers

Rep. Alan Powell, a Democrat in the Georgia legislature, said he has met with several solution providers after they lobbied him on the matter earlier this summer. At issue, they say, is a decision by the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) to eschew a bid list in favor of the Western States cooperative, which limits the state's technology acquisitions to direct purchases from Dell Computer, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

"The Georgia Technology Authority has a pretty good amount of authority over all other state budget items," Powell said. "They had done away with the state bid list for microcomputers and peripherals. We also used the federal [General Services Administration list for bidding purposes. This was replaced by GTA."

A GTA spokeswoman said the Western States contract only includes PCs and peripherals, not other technology solutions such as LANs and WANs. The agency expects the new purchasing procedures to save the state about 3 percent to 6 percent on PC and peripheral purchases and, after studying the issue, doesn't believe that the Western States pact would unduly harm solution providers, the spokeswoman said.

Solution providers claim they have been hurt by the decision and say it could set a bad precedent.

"My problem is with the state of Georgia . . . telling everyone they've done business with in the last seven or eight years, 'We think the Western States [cooperative is the be-all and end-all,' " said one solution provider, who wished to remain anonymous. He said his company has done several million dollars in business annually with the state.

According to information published by the Western States alliance, Georgia,including all state agencies, local governments, courts and public education institutions,buys computer systems directly from HP, IBM, Gateway and Dell.

Powell said solution providers made their case that the GTA's decision to work exclusively with the Western States cooperative could raise the state's IT costs, curtail high-tech business in Georgia and lead to job cuts.

"It's going to bump the price up," he said. "I'm concerned that it's going to create layoffs."