How Government Agencies Buy Apple Devices (And How MBS Can Support)

Every year, more government agencies are equipping their teams with Apple devices. iPad, Mac, iPhone, and other Apple devices move through federal contracting the same way any other major IT vendor’s products do: through established, well-used channels. The contract vehicle for Apple is less well-known than other IT vendors, so many agencies assume they'll need to improvise.

The contract vehicles for Apple procurement exist and often run through several different mechanisms depending on the size of the purchase. Most agencies only ever deal with one or two mechanisms at a time and may not have the entire view.

Types of Government Apple Purchase Processes

Federal purchasing is typically several different processes. The deciding factor of which processes are used comes down to purchase size and who is purchasing. For Apple devices, that generally breaks down into three categories.

Micro-Purchases

Below the micro-purchase threshold, many federal buyers can use a government purchase card directly, meaning there’s no contract vehicle required. Often, an office’s first Apple purchase will happen in this category, where they buy a handful of iPad or MacBook devices. These purchases are typically bought in the same way people typically order office supplies.

Purchase Orders Under a Warrant

When the request grows past a credit card purchase, the typical process is routing the request through a contracting officer with a specific dollar-amount warrant. This is still a fairly fast process, but it requires more documentation and sourcing requirements.

Contract Vehicles

Once a purchase gets to a certain dollar amount or becomes a multi-year program, it typically needs to go through an established contract vehicle. That is where we see NASA SEWP and specific agency or Department-wide contract vehicles come in.

Is There a Partner that Helps With Any Size or Type of Government Purchase?

Finding the best partner to purchase Apple devices for your company can seem like it depends on what type of purchase you are making, but it helps to have a partner that can help at any size purchase.

MBS is built to be the partner that scales and grows with agencies. We are able to help with conversations that start from buying 10 iPad devices to multi-year, multimillion dollar device programs across entire fleets. We have helped government agencies purchase Apple devices and services since 1990 and currently on the GSA, Omnia Partners, and other government contract vehicles. We’re excited to share that we’ll be on the next iteration of NASA SEWP (SEWP VI) when that goes live in the Fall.

There are plenty of partners at each of the categories, but very few partners can operate across all sizes, meet all types of needs, and ensure an excellent customer experience regardless of where the customer is on their journey. That’s important, because most agencies don’t stay in one tier forever. An office starting with a purchase-card order for a few devices may end up planning a much larger deployment just a few years down the road.

Purchasing through different partners for each type of purchase requires re-explaining their environment and starting over, so it helps to have a partner that can help with any size or type of government purchase.

[CONTACT US]

[LEARN MORE ABOUT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS]

—

Mac Business Solutions is a certified Apple and Jamf partner specializing in enterprise Apple device management, lifecycle services, and IT infrastructure for commercial and federal clients.

Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, and MacBook are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.