Here's two interesting questions from the Recovery.gov RFP Q&A we just posted. These questions were asked by people who are eligible to bid on the Recovery.gov RFP that we're presently creating a community bid for. The questions:

Question 101: The requirements for XML firewall appear to have been copy/pasted from the IBM website (see http://www-01.ibm.com/software/integration/datapower/xs40/highlights.html). Is government looking biased towards an IBM solution for XML Firewall?

Answer 101: No, the government is not biased toward IBM or any vendor. The value of XML firewalls is technology dependent. The capability to provide XML firewalls is pervasive throughout industry and is proven to increase the security of Web Services. Technology descriptions were pulled from several Internet locations as a part of market research.

Question 103: The requirements for data Warehouse appear to have been copy/pasted from the IBM website (see http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/infosphere/warehouse/enterprise-new.html). Is government biased to an IBM solution for data warehouse?

Answer 103: No, the government is not biased toward an IBM or any other vendors’ solution. Technology descriptions were pulled from several Internet locations as a part of market research.