International Business Machines Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation, doing business as IBM, delivers enterprise IT infrastructure, cloud modernization, mainframe hardware and software maintenance, cybersecurity services, and federal IT solutions to the federal government as a prime contractor across 580 civilian and defense agencies, with a 99% prime-contract footprint that competes without set-aside restrictions on multiple government-wide acquisition vehicles and agency-specific indefinite delivery contracts.

IBM operates at enterprise scale across federal civilian agencies and the Department of Defense. The company is a for-profit manufacturer and IT services organization headquartered in Armonk, New York, with a child contracting entity based in Bethesda, Maryland (UEI: VV9KH3L99VE3). IBM competes full-and-open; the vendor holds no SBA set-aside certifications and does not pursue set-aside categories. Recent awards across 2022–2026 total 15,825 prime and sub actions worth $359.04 billion in combined potential value, with $24.06 billion obligated.

Customer concentration is severe and split between volume and dollar metrics. By award count, the top five agencies account for 17% of awards—Defense Information Systems Agency (716 awards, $853.5 million), Department of Agriculture Forest Service (633 awards, $584 thousand), Social Security Administration (534 awards, $2.13 billion), Department of the Army (389 awards, $207.5 million), and Office of Personnel Management (367 awards, $926.8 million). By potential value, the rankings diverge sharply: Internal Revenue Service ($12.72 billion across 263 awards), Naval Sea Systems Command ($10.02 billion across 212 awards), Naval Information Warfare Systems Command ($2.66 billion), Transportation Security Administration ($2.52 billion), and Social Security Administration ($2.13 billion) anchor 8% of combined potential value. The IRS and Navy represent the largest dollar concentrations, while DISA and USDA Forest Service drive volume.

IBM holds six major parent contract vehicles. The Federal Supply Schedule GS35F4984H (Multiple Award Schedule / GSA) carries 6,243 task orders worth $16.11 billion in combined potential value—IBM's largest single vehicle. The OASIS+ Unrestricted GWAC (GSA, multiple award, $999.999 billion ceiling through April 14, 2030) anchors comprehensive professional IT services across civilian agencies nationwide. Alliant 3 (GSA, multiple award, $999.999 trillion placeholder ceiling through March 9, 2036) extends similar IT services scope with newer contract terms. The Enterprise Systems IBM Support (ESIS) single-award IDIQ with the IRS ($999.999 million through July 14, 2031) provides mainframe, cloud, and cybersecurity task order authority. Foundation Cloud Hosting Services 2 (Department of the Interior, multiple award, $2 billion through May 27, 2028) delivers cloud hosting and migration services across Interior bureaus and other civilian agencies. The Defense Commissary Agency Electronic Shelf Label single-award IDC ($112.5 million through October 26, 2030) represents specialized retail technology infrastructure support.

IBM's service delivery spans enterprise mainframe hardware and software maintenance, Red Hat technical services, cloud modernization including enterprise container platforms and identity and access management, data encryption and cybersecurity continuous diagnostics, application development and modernization on platforms including Alliant II and CIO-SP3, HPSS (Hierarchical Storage Management) product support, travel and expense management systems (E-GOV Travel Service Next Generation at $141.5 million awarded November 26, 2024), and specialized consulting for federal IT infrastructure and business operations. Representative recent prime work includes a $287.9 million delivery order from DoD (August 2024, OASIS) for A4 and SAF/IE Enterprise Support Services (69.6 FTEs, 81,664 contractor hours in FY2024 at $72.25/hr blended); a $181.7 million delivery order from FEMA (September 2023, CIO-SP3) for NFIP Risk Mapping Assessment and Planning System operations and maintenance (280 FTEs, 582,979 hours in FY2024 at $110.29/hr); a $151.2 billion delivery order from USCIS (August 2025, Alliant II) for Architecture Engineering Support Services designing and maintaining enterprise networks, data centers, and cloud systems through March 1, 2031; a $147.9 million delivery order from IRS (June 2024, Alliant II) for Modernized E-File support through March 29, 2029; and a $135 million delivery order from NOAA (June 2024, Alliant II) for National Weather Service National Centers for Environmental Prediction data center operations and maintenance through June 11, 2033.

Activity has remained steady. Awards per fiscal year ran 86 (2022), 87 (2023), 94 (2024), 53 (2025), and 14 (2026 to date). Sixty-two awards with ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $2.6 billion, presenting recompete exposure. Delivery orders completing under major vehicles (ESIS, Alliant II, OASIS, CIO-SP3) and agency-specific BPAs and IDIQs constitute the bulk of near-term recompete risk.

Across SCI-reportable federal service contracts (a subset covering only contracts above $150,000 threshold and excluding goods, products, and classified work), IBM invoiced $2.11 billion across FY2022–FY2024, with FY2024 invoicing $783.2 million across 1,527 FTEs. Government-paid rates on prime contracts span a wide spectrum—10th percentile $106.64/hr, median $170.04/hr, 90th percentile $422.80/hr—reflecting mix of labor-hour and time-and-materials work against fixed-price delivery orders and diverse labor categories from help-desk to senior architects. On prime SCI-reportable contracts, subcontractors performed an average 19% of contractor hours; IBM named 766 total subcontractors across prime contracts in the dataset.

IBM operates as prime on 99% of awards and subs on 1%. Named subcontractors include small businesses (Malik Consulting, Creative Global Consulting LLC—an 8(a) and WOSB, Cloudwave Inc., Rei Systems Inc., Omnisolve Inc.) and larger primes when IBM performs as sub—notable examples include Leidos, SAIC, Accenture Federal Services, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and PAE Government Services for various DoD, State, and civilian agency engagements. Sub-award work reflects specialized software development, labor augmentation, point-of-sale terminal support, and domain expertise in treasury systems, aviation logistics, and healthcare IT.

IBM's federal portfolio concentrates in NAICS 51 (Computer and Software Stores, 6,548 awards; Other Computer Related Services, 2,438 awards; Electronic Computer Manufacturing, 1,725 awards). PSC coding reflects IT equipment systems configuration (3,273 awards), IT and telecom support (2,313 awards), and information technology software (1,627 awards). The vendor's capability framing spans mainframe operations and modernization, cloud infrastructure (Azure, AWS, hybrid), enterprise application development (including Oracle, SAP, and custom Java/Python stacks), cybersecurity and compliance, data analytics and business intelligence, IT staffing and help desk, and specialized domain support (travel, payroll, retirement systems, weather, commissary operations).

Teaming posture: IBM performs the majority of work directly but regularly engages small business subs for labor augmentation, specialized technical consulting, and subcontractor socioeconomic objectives. On major contracts like FEMA RISK MAPP (FY2024: 25% sub-hours) and DoD A4/SAF/IE (FY2024: 39% sub-hours), subcontractor share runs material. Across the SCI-reportable footprint, IBM's sub-engagement averages 19% of hours, indicating a delivery model that leans toward prime execution with selective subcontractor partnerships rather than full subcontracting out.

Federal grant footprint is minimal in the source material. One sub-grant award appears (October 2025, University of South Florida, "Future of SARS-CoV-2 in Ecological Communities") where IBM is a sub-recipient under a prime grantee. This represents negligible grant activity relative to IBM's contract dominance and suggests the vendor's federal business is contract-led, not grant-driven.