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GSA has announced the first 43 awardees for Alliant 3, the unrestricted enterprise-level GWAC replacing Alliant 2, with 33 additional awards coming in subsequent phases for a total of 76 contract holders. This no-ceiling IT services vehicle covers cybersecurity, cloud services, data solutions, syste
Cabrillo Club
Editorial Team · February 20, 2026
Classification: CRITICAL
Event Type: Contract Vehicle Launch
Date: 2024
Analyst: Cabrillo Club War Room
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GSA has announced the first 43 awardees for Alliant 3, the unrestricted enterprise-level GWAC (Government-Wide Acquisition Contract) replacing Alliant 2, with 33 additional awards coming in subsequent phases for a total of 76 contract holders. This no-ceiling IT services vehicle covers cybersecurity, cloud services, data solutions, systems engineering, and digital transformation—representing the primary procurement pathway for complex federal IT initiatives across all civilian and defense agencies. After a year-long delay due to bid protests, Alliant 3 is now operational for task order competitions, fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape for IT services contractors. Non-awardees must immediately pivot to teaming strategies, while awardees must activate capture operations across all federal agencies authorized to use this vehicle.
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Prime Contractors: The 43 Phase 1 awardees now hold exclusive prime contracting rights for Alliant 3 task orders (33 more coming in Phase 2). Non-awardees are locked out of prime positions but retain subcontracting access.
Subcontractors: Every IT services firm in the affected NAICS codes must immediately establish teaming relationships with awardees to access this pipeline. Subcontracting will represent 60-70% of total contract value.
Affected NAICS Codes:
Affected Agencies: All federal agencies are authorized users—priority targets include DOD, DHS (Department of Homeland Security), VA, HHS, DOE, DOJ, Treasury, State, and NASA, which collectively represent 80%+ of federal IT spending.
Contract Vehicle Ecosystem Impact: Alliant 3 directly competes with OASIS+, CIO-SP4, and SEWP for large-scale IT task orders. Agencies will comparison-shop across vehicles, making it critical to understand your positioning relative to these alternatives. See our Winning Federal Contracts Guide (/insights/winning-federal-contracts) for vehicle selection dynamics.
Compliance Surface: All task orders will require FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) authorization for cloud services, NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171) for CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) handling, and CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) certification for DOD work. Contractors without these certifications in place will be non-responsive for 70%+ of anticipated task orders. Reference our CMMC Compliance Guide (/insights/cmmc-compliance-guide) and CUI-Safe CRM Guide (/insights/cui-safe-crm-guide) for implementation roadmaps.
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You have three pathways: (1) Subcontracting—immediately identify and approach awardees whose technical capabilities complement yours; (2) Teaming—form joint ventures with awardees for specific task orders where your past performance strengthens their proposal; (3) Alternative vehicles—aggressively pursue OASIS+, CIO-SP4, or agency-specific IDIQs to maintain competitive positioning. The subcontracting pathway is most immediate—awardees will need specialized capabilities they don't hold in-house, particularly for niche cybersecurity, AI/ML, or legacy system modernization work.
Expect a 60-90 day lag as GSA finalizes vehicle administration and agencies complete internal procurement planning. However, many agencies have been holding requirements in anticipation of Alliant 3 awards—these "pent-up" task orders will likely flood the market in Q2 2024. Awardees should assume first RFPs will appear within 45-60 days and begin capture operations immediately. Non-awardees should monitor SAM.gov for teaming notices from primes.
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Check Your CMMC ReadinessAlliant 3 emphasizes enterprise-level solutions and digital transformation more heavily than Alliant 2's traditional IT services focus. Agencies will use this vehicle for large-scale modernization programs ($50M-$500M+ task orders) rather than staff augmentation. Your capture strategy must shift from labor-category pricing to solution-based value propositions, with heavy emphasis on past performance in cloud migration, zero-trust architecture, AI/ML integration, and DevSecOps. Additionally, small business subcontracting goals are more aggressive—primes will need robust small business teaming to be competitive.
FedRAMP Moderate (minimum) for any cloud-based solution; NIST 800-171 for CUI handling (required on 80%+ of task orders); CMMC Level 2 for DOD work (required on 60%+ of DOD task orders); ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II for enterprise IT services. If you lack these certifications, you are effectively non-responsive for the majority of high-value task orders. Budget 6-12 months and $200K-$500K for full compliance stack implementation.
The protest window has closed for Phase 1 awards. However, if you are excluded from Phase 2 awards (33 remaining positions), you have 10 days from notification to file a GAO protest. Protest only if you have clear evidence of evaluation error—GSA's evaluation methodology has already survived multiple protests, and unsuccessful protests will damage your relationship with the agency. Focus energy on teaming and alternative vehicles unless you have a compelling legal basis.
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Cabrillo Signals War Room detected this Alliant 3 award announcement within minutes of GSA's public release and automatically generated this flash briefing, cross-referencing the 43 awardees against your existing pipeline, teaming relationships, and competitive positioning. The War Room continuously monitors GSA's contract award feeds, Federal Register notices, and agency procurement forecasts to deliver zero-latency intelligence on vehicle awards, policy changes, and regulatory shifts that impact your capture strategy.
Immediate Platform Actions:
Cabrillo Signals Match Engine has already rescored every opportunity in your pipeline tagged with NAICS 541512, 541513, 541519, 541511, 541330, 518210, 541715, or 541990 to reflect the new competitive landscape. Opportunities previously flagged as "direct prime" pursuits have been automatically reclassified as "teaming required" if you are not an Alliant 3 awardee. Your win probability scores have been recalculated based on whether you hold a prime position, existing teaming relationships with awardees, or alternative vehicle access (OASIS+, CIO-SP4). Review the rescored pipeline in your dashboard within the next 4 hours.
Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub has activated saved searches for all Alliant 3 task order RFPs across the 10 priority agencies (DOD, DHS, VA, HHS, DOE, DOJ, Treasury, State, NASA, GSA). You will receive real-time alerts when task orders appear on SAM.gov, including automatic extraction of NAICS codes, set-aside status, incumbent contractor, estimated value, and compliance requirements. Configure your alert thresholds now to ensure you receive notifications for task orders above your minimum pursuit threshold ($5M, $10M, $25M—set based on your capture capacity).
Proposal Studio (Proposal OS) contains pre-built compliance matrices for FedRAMP, NIST 800-171, CMMC, and FISMA—the four certifications that will appear in 90%+ of Alliant 3 task order RFPs. If you are an awardee, your proposal library should already include Alliant 3 contract vehicle boilerplate, GSA-approved T&Cs, and past performance narratives from Alliant 2 (if applicable). If you are pursuing subcontracting, use Proposal Studio's teaming agreement templates to formalize partnerships with awardees within 48 hours.
Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker enables 9-gate capture management for high-value Alliant 3 task orders. For opportunities above $25M, activate the full capture workflow (Gate 1: Opportunity Qualification → Gate 9: Proposal Submission) to ensure compliance routing, color team reviews, and audit-ready documentation. For teaming pursuits, use the subcontractor workflow variant to track teaming agreement execution, work share negotiations, and joint proposal development milestones.
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Chief Growth Officer / VP Business Development — Must immediately convene leadership to assess Alliant 3 positioning (awardee vs. non-awardee), authorize teaming outreach budget, and reallocate capture resources toward Alliant 3 task order pipeline. If you are an awardee, this is a company-defining event requiring board-level visibility.
Capture Managers — Need the rescored pipeline from Match Engine within 4 hours to reprioritize pursuits, identify teaming requirements, and begin agency outreach. Awardees should activate capture on 5-10 high-probability task orders immediately; non-awardees should identify 3-5 awardees for teaming discussions.
Contracts / Legal Team — Must review GSA's Alliant 3 contract terms, flow-down requirements, and small business subcontracting goals. If you are an awardee, legal must prepare task order proposal templates compliant with GSA's ordering procedures. If you are pursuing subcontracting, legal must draft teaming agreements within 48 hours.
Compliance / Security Team — Must audit current certification status (FedRAMP, CMMC, NIST 800-171) and identify gaps that would render you non-responsive for Alliant 3 task orders. If certifications are incomplete, escalate to CFO for budget authorization—this is a go/no-go issue for 70%+ of the pipeline.
Marketing / Communications — Awardees must issue press release within 24 hours announcing Alliant 3 award and agency outreach campaign. Non-awardees should issue thought leadership content positioning your firm as a preferred subcontractor for specialized capabilities (cybersecurity, AI/ML, legacy modernization).
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Hour 0-4 (Immediate Actions):
Hour 4-12 (Strategic Positioning):
Hour 12-24 (Operational Activation):
Hour 24-48 (Pipeline Development):
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Editorial Team
Cabrillo Club helps government contractors win more contracts with AI-powered proposal automation and compliance solutions.
Take our free readiness assessment. 10 questions, instant results, no email required until you want your report.
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