The General Services Administration has announced that project Alliant has been halted after a group of technology service providers claimed that the U.S. government broke its own laws in August when it selected contractors to participate in the sweeping technology initiative on which Washington plans to spend up to $50 billion. In the lawsuit against the government, Serco Incorporated claims the federal selection process for the program was "arbitrary and capricious," and did not, as required by law, properly account for vendors" past performance, references, and technical capabilities.
Under Alliant, the government plans over the next 10 years to upgrade computer systems that power everything from Department of Defense networks to crucial, federal communications systems and infrastructure. Serco, a U.S. subsidiary of a U.K.-based contractor, is asking the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to re-open the selection process. The company has been joined in its lawsuit by vendors Nortel, Stanley Associates, CGI Federal, Centech Group and several other companies that were shut out of the Alliant project. The complaint was filed in late September.