The US General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals has taken a first step in vindicating the complaint by Amdahl and five others that the US Navy unfairly favours IBM in drawing up tenders for computer contracts (CI No 1,076). The board ruled in the complaint by PacifiCorp Capital Inc over a $150m tender put out last year that the Navy provided less than full and open competition in soliciting bids for the work, and ordered the requirements to be redrafted. IBM said it was happy that the protest has been resolved and that the Navy can go on with the procurement. While not charging bias outright, the board says the Navy didn’t properly justify restricting competition.
