GSA reveals first round of awards for Alliant 3 contract
GSA announced the first round of 43 awards for the Alliant 3 GWAC, a no-ceiling governmentwide IT services contract vehicle that will eventually have 76 total awardees. This unrestricted enterprise GWAC enables agencies to issue task orders for cybersecurity, data solutions, systems engineering, cloud services, and other IT services, representing a major procurement opportunity for government contractors. The awards come after a year-long delay due to bid protests and mark a significant shift in how federal agencies will procure IT services.
Cabrillo Club
Editorial Team · February 20, 2026 · Updated Feb 23, 2026 · 6 min read

Also in this intelligence package
Action Kit: GSA (General Services Administration) Alliant 3 GWAC (Government-Wide Acquisition Contract) First Round Awards
Event Severity: CRITICAL
Impact Window: Immediate to 90+ days
Affected Contractors: IT services firms in NAICS 541512, 541513, 541519, 541511, 541330, 518210, 541715, 541990
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Immediate Actions (This Week)
- [ ] Review the full list of 43 awardees — Download the official GSA award list and analyze competitive positioning. Identify which awardees operate in your technical domain and geographic markets.
- [ ] Assess teaming opportunities — If you're not an awardee, immediately reach out to prime contractors on the list to position your firm as a qualified subcontractor. Prepare capability statements highlighting your past performance in cybersecurity, cloud services, or systems engineering.
- [ ] Update your capture pipeline — Flag all opportunities in your pipeline that could migrate to Alliant 3 task orders. Agencies with existing Alliant 2 contracts may transition work to Alliant 3, changing competitive dynamics.
- ] **Audit compliance posture** — Verify your firm's current status on FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) authorization, NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) compliance, and CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) readiness. Alliant 3 task orders will require these certifications for classified and CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) work. Reference our [CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide) for detailed requirements.
- [ ] Monitor GSA's Alliant 3 portal — Register for updates on the remaining 33 awards (expected in subsequent rounds) and bookmark the official task order posting schedule.
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Short-Term Actions (30 Days)
- [ ] Develop Alliant 3-specific capability statements — Create tailored marketing materials that map your technical capabilities to the GWAC's seven functional areas: Cybersecurity, Data Solutions, Systems Engineering, Cloud Services, Enterprise IT, Digital Transformation, and Managed Services.
- [ ] Establish prime contractor relationships — Schedule capability briefings with at least 5-7 Alliant 3 awardees. Bring past performance narratives, CPARS ratings, and technical white papers demonstrating expertise in high-priority areas like zero trust architecture or AI/ML implementation.
- [ ] Train your capture team — Conduct internal workshops on Alliant 3 ordering procedures, scope limitations, and competitive strategies. Ensure your BD team understands how task order competitions differ from full-and-open procurements.
- ] **Update your CRM and opportunity tracking** — Tag all federal IT opportunities with potential Alliant 3 applicability. Cross-reference agency customers who are likely early adopters (DOD, DHS (Department of Homeland Security), VA, HHS). Ensure your system can track CUI properly using our [CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide).
- [ ] Strengthen agency relationships — Engage with program offices at GSA, DOD, DHS, and VA to understand their Alliant 3 adoption timelines. Position your firm (or your prime partners) as ready to respond to task orders within 30-60 days.
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Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)
- [ ] Build a dedicated Alliant 3 pursuit team — If you're a subcontractor, assign a full-time BD resource to monitor task order releases and maintain relationships with prime contractors. Develop a 12-month teaming strategy with quarterly reviews.
- [ ] Invest in compliance infrastructure — Achieve FedRAMP authorization if you provide cloud services. Complete CMMC Level 2 certification if you handle DOD CUI. Implement NIST 800-53 controls for high-impact systems. These investments position you for high-value task orders.
- [ ] Develop reusable proposal content — Create a library of technical approaches, management plans, and past performance narratives tailored to Alliant 3's functional areas. This accelerates response times when task orders drop with 30-45 day deadlines.
- [ ] Monitor competitive intelligence — Track which agencies issue the first wave of task orders and which awardees win them. Analyze evaluation criteria trends (e.g., emphasis on AI/ML, DevSecOps, or cloud-native architectures) to refine your positioning.
- [ ] Prepare for Alliant 3 Round 2 awards — If you're pursuing prime contractor status, analyze why Round 1 protests succeeded or failed. Strengthen your proposal for the remaining 33 awards, focusing on technical capability demonstrations and past performance relevance.
- ] **Align with the broader federal IT strategy** — Alliant 3 is part of GSA's modernization of governmentwide contract vehicles. Cross-reference opportunities on OASIS+, CIO-SP4, and SEWP to build a diversified pipeline. See our [Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts) for strategic positioning across multiple vehicles.
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Compliance Checklist
Alliant 3 task orders will require compliance with multiple federal cybersecurity and data protection frameworks. Verify your firm meets these requirements:
- [ ] FedRAMP Authorization — Required for cloud service providers supporting federal agencies. Verify you have FedRAMP Moderate or High authorization depending on data sensitivity.
- [ ] NIST 800-171 Compliance — Mandatory for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Complete self-assessment and remediate any gaps in the 110 security controls.
- [ ] CMMC Certification — DOD task orders will require CMMC Level 2 (or higher) certification. Begin the assessment process now; timelines can exceed 6-9 months.
- [ ] FISMA Compliance — Ensure your systems meet Federal Information Security Management Act requirements, particularly NIST 800-53 controls for moderate and high-impact systems.
- [ ] NIST 800-53 Controls — Implement security and privacy controls appropriate to the task order's impact level (Low, Moderate, High). Document your System Security Plan (SSP) and Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M).
- [ ] FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) Compliance — Verify your firm meets all Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements, including small business representations, Buy American Act compliance, and cost accounting standards.
- [ ] DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) Compliance — For DOD task orders, ensure compliance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clauses, particularly DFARS 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information).
- [ ] Cybersecurity Maturity — Document your incident response plan, supply chain risk management program, and continuous monitoring capabilities. Agencies increasingly evaluate these during source selection.
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Resources
- GSA Alliant 3 Official Page — https://www.gsa.gov/alliant3 (https://www.gsa.gov/alliant3)
- Alliant 3 Contract Terms and Conditions — Available on GSA's eBuy portal
- FedRAMP Authorization Guide — https://www.fedramp.gov/ (https://www.fedramp.gov/)
- NIST 800-171 Self-Assessment Guide — https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final (https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171/rev-2/final)
- CMMC Certification Process — https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/ (https://www.acq.osd.mil/cmmc/)
- NIST 800-53 Control Catalog — https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53/rev-5/final (https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-53/rev-5/final)
- FAR Full Text — https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far (https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far)
- DFARS Full Text — https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars (https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars)
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How Cabrillo Club Automates This
Real-Time Event Detection and Briefing
Cabrillo Signals War Room already detected this GSA Alliant 3 announcement within minutes of publication and delivered this comprehensive briefing to your dashboard. The War Room continuously monitors GSA press releases, Federal Register notices, and contract vehicle updates across all federal sources, ensuring you never miss critical developments like new GWAC awards, protest resolutions, or ordering procedure changes. You don't need to manually track dozens of agency websites—the system does it for you.
Automatic Pipeline Rescoring
Cabrillo Signals Match Engine immediately rescored your entire opportunity pipeline when this event was detected. Any opportunities tagged with IT services NAICS codes (541512, 541513, 541519) or agencies likely to adopt Alliant 3 (DOD, DHS, VA) received updated match scores reflecting the new competitive landscape. The engine automatically adjusts keyword relevance, agency alignment, and vehicle applicability so your BD team focuses on opportunities where you have the strongest positioning—whether as a prime or subcontractor.
Proactive Opportunity Monitoring
Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub tracks all agencies, NAICS codes, and contract vehicles affected by this event. Configure a saved search for "Alliant 3 task orders + cybersecurity + NAICS 541512" and receive instant alerts when matching solicitations appear on SAM.gov (System for Award Management). The Intelligence Hub cross-references this event with your firm's capability profile, automatically flagging opportunities where Alliant 3 awardees are likely to compete or seek subcontractors.
Accelerated Proposal Development
Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) helps you respond to Alliant 3 task orders with AI-powered proposal automation. The system generates compliance matrices mapping your technical approach to evaluation criteria, maintains your win theme library (e.g., "zero trust architecture expertise," "FedRAMP-authorized cloud platform"), and produces first-draft technical volumes using your past performance database. When a task order drops with a 30-day deadline, Proposal OS factors in this event's competitive intelligence—like which primes won Round 1 awards—to optimize your bid/no-bid decision and teaming strategy.
End-to-End Capture Management
Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker manages the full capture lifecycle from opportunity identification through post-submission. When you flag an Alliant 3 task order, the Workflow Tracker automatically routes compliance reviews to your contracts and legal teams, tracks supplier certifications (FedRAMP, CMMC), and generates audit-ready documentation packages. The 9-gate process ensures your team completes capability assessments, teaming agreements, and compliance checklists before committing resources to a proposal.
Ready to automate your Alliant 3 capture strategy? Explore these features in your Cabrillo Club dashboard or contact your account manager for a personalized walkthrough of how the platform handles GWAC opportunities.
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Cabrillo Club
Editorial Team
Cabrillo Club is a defense technology company building AI-powered tools for government contractors. Our editorial team combines deep expertise in CMMC compliance, federal acquisition, and secure AI infrastructure to produce actionable guidance for the defense industrial base.