ENCORE III Information Technology Services (ENCORE III)

The Defense Information Systems Agency established ENCORE III, a multiple-award master IDIQ for global information technology services supporting the military services, DoD, and other federal agencies, with ordering authority extending to September 15, 2028—roughly 2 years 1 month of active procurement window remaining. The vehicle carries a shared ceiling of $17.5 billion and succeeded ENCORE II (awarded April 24, 2008); it is organized into a Full and Open Suite and a Small Business Suite.

Activity remains robust but has moderated from a 2024 peak. The vehicle has generated 127 task orders since the first award in November 2017, with 4 orders placed in 2026 through March 1 (the most recent award date), following 8 in 2025, 16 in 2024, 8 in 2023, and 5 in 2022. Combined potential value across all task orders stands at $3.26 billion, with $1.73 billion (53 percent) obligated to date.

Task-order scope spans enterprise IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services, network operations, systems engineering, software development, and mission support across 19 documented performance areas including command and control, communications, intelligence systems, and Joint Information Environment (JIE) components. Recent awards illustrate the breadth: End-to-End Systems Management Center (small business, $13.6 million ceiling), Web Content Filtering–Enterprise Break and Inspect (unrestricted, $18.6 million), Comprehensive Modernization (unrestricted, $209.9 million), and US Army Global Secure Network (unrestricted, $238.9 million obligated).

Competition is moderately concentrated. Booz Allen Hamilton leads by order count with 15 orders worth $389.8 million in combined potential value. By potential value, Booz Allen, Next Tier Concepts, Madian IT Solutions, By Light Professional IT Services, and Compqsoft account for 52 percent of the portfolio, while the remaining 41 primes serve smaller roles across 127 orders.

Customer concentration is high: Defense Information Systems Agency dominates with 97 of 127 orders worth $1.91 billion in potential value (84 percent of all orders). Other funding agencies—Defense Microelectronics Activity, DOD Washington Headquarters Services, Department of the Navy Installations Command, and Army PEO Enterprise Information Systems—collectively account for the remaining 16 percent.

Set-aside distribution reflects the vehicle's mixed structure: 57 percent of orders (72) carry no set-aside designation, while 43 percent (55 orders) are total small business set-asides. Pricing across task orders mixes firm fixed price, cost-plus fixed fee, and fixed-price level-of-effort arrangements. Task-order durations typically run 18 months to 4 years, with ceilings ranging from under $1 million for operational support tasks to over $200 million for large-scale modernization efforts.

The ENCORE III suite of contracts will provide global information technology (IT) capabilities, attributes, and services under multiple award ID/IQ task order type contracts that support the military services, the DoD, and other Federal agencies. The scope of the IT tasks to be performed in the ENCORE III suite of contracts is encompassed in 19 performance areas. The hardware, software, and associated products will be incidental to the services that are provided. Areas that must be supported include Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and Mission Support areas, as well as all elements of the Joint Information Environment (JIE). Unique user data, information, and user applications which are not considered part of the JIE, can also be procured using the contracts.