GSA Just Named 43 Alliant 3 Winners. Here's What It Means for the Rest of Us.
By WALLY ANGEL, ROSE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
Friday, GSA dropped the first round of Alliant 3 awards. 43 companies. Out of 133 proposals. With 33 more slots to fill in future phases. If you're in GovCon IT services, this matters whether you won or not.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱
Alliant 3 is GSA's flagship GWAC for IT services — cybersecurity, cloud, data solutions, systems engineering, the works. No dollar ceiling. The predecessor, Alliant 2, moved over $46 billion through 825 task orders and had its ceiling raised twice — from $50B to $75B in 2022, then again to $82.5B in December 2024 — because agencies couldn't stop buying through it.
GSA evaluated 133 proposals and picked the top 43 scorers for Phase 1. Among the confirmed winners: Booz Allen Hamilton, GDIT, IBM, Leidos, Maximus, Northrop Grumman, and SAIC. But the real story isn't the names on the list.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟮
Alliant 3 is unrestricted. Full and open. No small business set-aside component. Under the previous generation, GSA ran Alliant SB alongside Alliant 2 — a $15B ceiling GWAC set aside for small businesses. That path has moved. GSA replaced it with Polaris, a new small business GWAC with SDVOSB, HUBZone, and WOSB pools. GSA just named 55 apparently successful WOSB offerors earlier this month.
The landscape now:
- Alliant 3 — unrestricted, large business (43 of 76 awarded)
- Polaris — small business set-aside (SDVOSB, HUBZone, WOSB)
- 8(a) STARS III — 8(a) set-aside
The key play for small businesses under Alliant 3 is finding large business partners.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲
In March 2025, President Trump signed EO 14240 — "Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement." It designates GSA as the executive agent for all governmentwide IT contracts and pushes agencies to consolidate through vehicles like Alliant 3. More dollars flowing through fewer vehicles. If you're not on an Alliant 3 team, you're watching the money flow past you.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 & 𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀
1️⃣ Subcontracting opportunities just opened up. Every Alliant 3 prime has SB subcontracting requirements. 43 primes now, 76 when complete. Position yourself BEFORE task orders flow.
2️⃣ Emerging tech focus changes the game. AI, ML, advanced cyber capabilities make you more valuable as a teammate than under Alliant 2. Primes need niche expertise.
3️⃣ Your indirect rates matter more than ever. Task orders can be FFP, T&M, labor-hour, or cost-reimbursable. Primes need subs who can compete across all of them. A competitive wrap rate is your ticket to the table.
4️⃣ Phase 2 is still coming. 33 more spots. Sharpen your approach or study the winners for teaming.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
Alliant 3 is the IT services marketplace for the next decade. Your strategy has two lanes: compete for prime task orders through Polaris or 8(a) STARS III, and position yourself as an indispensable sub on Alliant 3 teams.
The firms that win have the tightest financial operations, the most competitive rates, and the systems to prove it.
Need help getting your rates competitive or your accounting system DCAA-ready? That's what we do. Let's talk.
Wallace Angel
Wallace “Wally” Angel is a strategic CPA with more than 20 years of experience in the government contracting and consulting environments with companies ranging from start-ups to $800M. His government contracting expertise includes FAR and DCAA compliance, indirect rate calculation, forward pricing, proposal writing, pricing, and cradle to grave contracts management and system design and implementation. In his position as Partner, Financial Operations, Wally serves as a trusted advisor to the C-suite in controllership and cash management, revenue recognition, system design and implementation, and full financial planning and analysis.
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