NASA SEWP

NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) is a government-wide acquisition contract managed by NASA's SEWP Program Office, providing all federal agencies competitive access to IT products, hardware, software, and solutions, with a reputation for fast order processing, strong pricing, and excellent customer support.

What is NASA SEWP?

SEWP is a government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC) that has evolved over five generations to become one of the most-used IT procurement vehicles in the federal government by transaction volume. SEWP V (the current generation) carries a $20 billion total contract ceiling across all awardees. SEWP VI is expected to be the next generation vehicle.

SEWP is organized around product and solution groups:

• Group A: IT products from large businesses (hardware, software, networking equipment, storage)
• Group B: IT products from small businesses
• Group C: IT solutions and services from large businesses (integration, support, managed services)
• Group D: IT solutions and services from small businesses

Unlike Alliant 3 or CIO-SP4, which focus on complex services, SEWP is particularly strong for IT products and commodity technology: servers, networking equipment, workstations, commercial off-the-shelf software, cybersecurity tools, and cloud solutions. SEWP does not have a minimum order threshold, making it accessible for even small-dollar technology purchases.

SEWP is known for several features that make it popular with federal IT buyers:

• Speed: The SEWP program office has a reputation for resolving protests and processing orders faster than comparable vehicles
• Pricing: SEWP's competitive structure and large number of awardees drive strong pricing for commodity IT
• Customer support: NASA's SEWP program office actively assists agencies with order placement
• Manufacturer participation: Many major technology manufacturers (Dell, HP, Cisco, Microsoft) are SEWP awardees or are represented by SEWP resellers

Why SEWP matters for government contractors

IT product resellers and solution providers should evaluate SEWP as a core vehicle for reaching federal buyers. For companies reselling commercial IT hardware and software, SEWP provides access to all federal agencies through a single vehicle. For IT solutions providers, SEWP Group C/D covers the integration and managed services work around product deployments. SEWP competes directly with the GSA MAS IT categories, many agencies compare SEWP and MAS prices before purchasing. SEWP awardees often find their most competitive pricing advantage against MAS for high-volume commodity products.

Example

A federal IT reseller holds SEWP Group B and Group D contracts (small business). A USDA contracting officer needs 500 laptops and 50 ruggedized tablets for field use, plus a 3-year maintenance and support contract for the devices. The CO posts a quote request to SEWP Group B awardees for the hardware and to SEWP Group D for the support services. The reseller quotes competitive pricing on the hardware (beating three MAS vendors by 8-12%) and wins both orders, $2.1M for hardware and $380K for support. The combined order is processed through SEWP, which tracks the transaction against the vehicle ceiling and reports it to the SEWP program office.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can agencies use SEWP for cloud subscriptions?

Yes. SEWP covers commercial cloud solutions including SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS subscriptions, both direct cloud subscriptions and cloud solutions delivered through resellers and integrators. Cloud is one of the fastest-growing categories of SEWP orders. SEWP VI is expected to expand cloud and as-a-service ordering capabilities further.

How does SEWP compare to GSA MAS for IT products?

Both cover IT products, and pricing comparisons between them are common. SEWP often has stronger pricing for high-volume hardware (servers, storage, networking) due to its specialized IT focus and competitive structure among specialized IT resellers. MAS has broader scope and is useful for purchases spanning multiple categories. Many agencies obtain quotes from both before placing large IT product orders.

Is SEWP only for NASA and its contractors?

No. SEWP is a government-wide vehicle, all federal civilian agencies and DoD components can use it. NASA manages the vehicle but is not a special or preferred user. Any federal contracting officer can place orders against SEWP. "NASA" in the name refers to the managing agency, not the customer base.

What is the SEWP "quote request" process?

When an agency needs IT products through SEWP, the contracting officer submits a quote request through the SEWP online system. SEWP automatically distributes the request to all eligible awardees in the relevant group. Awardees respond with quotes. The CO evaluates responses (price is typically the primary factor for products) and selects the winning quote. SEWP's online system facilitates this process and maintains records.