If software purchasing is to be centralized now, it should be much easier
to press the access provisions of the various laws.  Here is the perfect
issue for the various blindness advocacy groups to act in concert.
Microsoft and others cann't ignore this buying power.


   Feds launch government-wide software purchasing pool
   By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press
   (Published June 2' 2003)
   WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration began a government-wide
   purchasing program for computer products Monday, in part to keep
   agencies from overpaying for software.

   More than $100 million could be saved each year through joint agency
   use of the best-price software, the administration said.

   The program will end the practice of agencies negotiating separate
   licenses to buy software, department chiefs were told in a memo by
   Mitch Daniels, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

   Different agencies paid between $200 and $500 for the same desktop
   software, the government found. Another problem was created when
   agencies bought different versions of computer products.

   "The broad mosaic of different software versions ... increases the
   difficulty and cost of securing federal computers," Daniels said.
   "There can be no doubt, therefore, that the federal government can
   become a smarter buyer of commercial software."

   The "SmartBUY" initiative will have a team to negotiate new technology
   licenses by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The goal is "to
   assure that the federal government is leveraging its immense buying
   power to achieve the maximum cost savings and best quality" of
   software, Daniels said.

   The purchases will include commercial off-the-shelf software that
   currently is acquired through license agreements that vary in terms
   and price, according to volume.

   "Agencies should, to the maximum extent practicable, refrain from
   entering into any new or renewal software licensing agreements pending
   a review by OMB and the SmartBUY initiative team," Daniels' memo said.
   "These steps are necessary to better manage information technology
   resources and save taxpayer dollars."


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