SAP loses appeal on Air Force deal

Computerworld - The U.S. government has denied an appeal filed by SAP AG that protested an $88.5 million contract awarded to Oracle Corp.
Last fall, Oracle won the contract for the Air Force Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) project, which is intended to retire hundreds of aging systems in favor of a single supply chain management application. SAP also competed for the contract and filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) when the contract was awarded to Oracle. SAP claimed that Oracle's proposal did not reflect the best value or the lowest-risk option. (See "SAP protests Oracle win of Air Force contract.")
On Friday, SAP was notified by the GAO that its appeal had been denied, said a spokeswoman for the Germany-based software vendor. It's unclear what move the company will make next.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," said the SAP spokeswoman. "Our team felt we had strong grounds for the appeal, and we still feel we're the best option for the Air Force. We're not alone in losing protests."
She said SAP is awaiting a copy of the decision for review, and will then look at its options.
"SAP enjoys strong relationships with more than 110 defense and security customers around the world," she said. "We are committed to continuing our excellent support to these organizations and to pursue additional contracts."
"We are very pleased with the GAO ruling," said Oracle spokesman Bob Wynne. "We are excited to be the product platform selected for ECSS after the Air Force's exhaustive evaluation. We're looking forward to working successfully with the Air Force and their implementation partners to achieve the program's vision."