Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Army's computer procurements during fiscal years 1985 through 1989, focusing on the: (1) extent to which the Army's procurements of mainframe computers and peripherals required compatibility with certain manufacturers' equipment; (2) Army's procurement methods; and (3) Army's Warner Amendment procurements.
GAO found that: (1) the Army initiated a total of 489 procurements and obligated a total of $269.1 million for mainframe computers and peripherals, of which 478, or 98 percent, required compatibility with some manufacturers' equipment; (2) 427, or 89 percent, required compatibility with a certain manufacturer's equipment, and the Army obtained that manufacturer's equipment under 305 of these; (3) the Army obligated the most dollars by modifying existing contracts; (4) the Army frequently used General Services Administration schedule purchases as the procurement method for obtaining compatible equipment; (5) the Army procured compatible equipment from small businesses twice, obligating $3.3 million; and (6) 14 of the Army's 15 Warner Amendment procurements were for compatible equipment.
