EDS Corp. has been picked by NASA to manage the space agency's travel arrangements under a $20 million contract.
The company's government business, based in Herndon, has won a number of travel contracts under the General Services Administration's eTravel program since it began in May 2004.
The eTravel program is one of the Bush administration's electronic government initiatives aimed at improving government operations.
"The selection of an eTravel vendor is a milestone toward achieving NASA's e-gov goals and 'staying green' on NASA's e-gov scorecard," NASA chief information officer Patricia Dunnington said. The scorecard is a grading system the administration uses for evaluating how well agencies are meeting the goals of the administration's management agenda. Making better use of e-government capabilities is one of the agenda's five goals.
In addition to EDS, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems in Reston and CW Government Travel Inc. of San Antonio compete for work from various agencies under the eTravel program. The three contractors were picked by the GSA to provide an online travel management service that includes planning and authorizing trips, making reservations and approving travel vouchers. The system also must deter fraud and provide reporting and auditing capabilities.
EDS has won nine eTravel contracts, worth a total of more than $370 million, including contracts with the Agriculture, Homeland Security and Commerce departments.
"Travel and financial managers especially like the enterprise management, reporting and auditing tools," said James Duffy, EDS's vice president of global sales and client solutions for U.S. government business.
NASA employees will be able to use the system by September to authorize and book travel online, the agency said.
"This new, fully integrated travel system will provide all NASA employees a more productive tool for managing their travel needs, and it will further enhance NASA's overall business practices," said Bobby German, director of NASA's Integrated Financial Management Program. He is responsible for the implementation of eTravel at NASA.
Nick Wakeman is senior editor of Washington Technology. For more details on this and other technology contracts, go to www.washingtontechnology.com.
