70 -- Tech support for Direct Connect O/S390

The United States Department of Agriculture, National Finance Center, intends to issue a Sole Source Award under the Simplified Acquisition Procedure (SAP) to Sterling Commerce Inc. for Technical Support on government owned software (1) Direct OS/390 Capacity Server, (2) Direct OS/390 501-1000 Mips, (3) Direct AIX Package, (4) Direct (TCP/IP) Windows NF Base Server and (5) Direct AIX Package. This acquisition is being conducted under the commercial item procedures set forth in FAR Parts 12 and 13.5. Interest organizations may submit thier ability to fill the line items in writing to the identified point of contact no later than 3:00 p.m. local time on October 20, 2003. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open competition basis, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. All responsible sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. No solicitation document exists for this procurement. If no compelling responses are received, award will be made to Sterling Software Inc.