The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Service Center agencies may be in locations as diverse as Puerto Rico, Alaska and Ohio, but they’re soon moving to a single computing vendor. Following a competitive bid that included many of the world’s major computer manufacturers, Gateway, Inc. has been selected by the USDA Service Center agencies as the sole vendor to provide more than 20,000 PCs to migrate the agencies to a common computing environment (CCE). The Service Center supports the Farm Service Agency, Rural Development Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service.
As part of its technology refresh process – which is typically a three-to-four-year cycle – the agencies will phase in more than 18,000 Gateway E-Series desktops at more than 3,000 locations nationwide, as well as more than 4,800 Gateway 450 notebooks for Service Center agents in the field. These notebooks feature Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology, which includes the Intel® Pentium® M processor, related chipsets and integrated wireless LAN capability. In addition to enhancing USDA employee productivity by enabling wireless Internet connections from a broad range of locations, the notebooks are thinner and lighter and feature almost twice the battery life of the USDA’s previous platforms. By selecting one vendor under its CCE initiative and upgrading aging technology, the agencies will benefit from reduced technical support costs, reduced help-desk and installation time, and lower overall procurement costs. “We chose Gateway because the company offered the best value over the proposals we received,” said Scott Snover, CCE project manager for the USDA Service Center agencies. “We knew Gateway could do an excellent job of meeting our needs and supporting its products throughout their full lifecycles.”
According to the primary integrator involved in the USDA implementation, the agency also chose Gateway because of its ability to create customized solutions. “Gateway has never been a one-size-fits-all vendor,” said Dennis Obial, president of Government Acquisitions, a Cincinnati and Washington, D.C.-based provider of computer/IT products and services to government agencies. “With many government agencies, such as the USDA, we work with Gateway to create highly specific solutions.”
Government Acquisitions is providing primary program management, delivery logistics, delivery data verification and first-call DOA and warranty support for the first 30 days following delivery to support the USDA CCE initiative. The USDA will benefit from Gateway’s Custom Integrated Solutions (CIS) group, which will provide a simplified out-of-the-box experience for the agency, including pre-imaged PCs with USDA software already built-in. CIS has a track record of serving government customers – whether it is creating Gateway Profile PCs mounted on hinge-arms for military mechanics to burning asset tags onto the covers of Gateway notebooks for law enforcement agencies.
Gateway’s government team has achieved significant momentum in recent weeks, securing customer wins with Tinker Air Force Base, Georgia State Parole and Pardons, the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and others. By offering government-focused solutions such as mobile server offerings, biometrics bundles, grid computing and all-in-one, space-saving PCs, Gateway is transforming itself from a traditional PC maker to a branded integrator of technology solutions. As a branded integrator, Gateway will launch an array of branded products across a host of new categories for the balance of the year, and will integrate those products into customized solutions for its business customers. For more information, visit http://www.gateway.com/about/ir/pdf/gtw_webcast_01a_035.pdf
