The first-ever use of a credit card on the Internet
During a downturn in the company, Mr. Duggan invested in GTSI, helping the company grow the company from $8 million to $600 million.
Overview
Founded as Government Technology Services Inc. in 1983, by 1996, GTSI had become the leading reseller of microcomputer and Unix workstation hardware, software and networking products to the federal government market, with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.
GTSI sold information technology products and services primarily to federal government clients and also conducted business with state and local governments and prime contractors. In 1995 they pioneered the first-ever use of a credit card on the Internet on an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity government contract as part of a deal with NASA to streamline their procurement processes.
GTSI served public sector customers by teaming with global IT leaders like HP, Panasonic, Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Cisco, reselling a range of over 75,000 products that were manufactured by over 800 vendors.
The company was subsequently acquired in May 2012 by an affiliate of UNICOM Systems, which in 2013 changed GTSI’s name to UNICOM Government, Inc.
History
In 1986, Bob helped establish Government Technology Services to provide the U.S. government’s General Services Administration with its first access to microcomputer hardware and software. GTSI subsequently grew from $8 million to over $600 million in revenue in roughly half a dozen years.
In 1994, GTSI introduced the first browser-based government contract catalog. Two years later it registered its URL and engaged in e-commerce. Then in 1999, it launched the first government IT portal, governmentIT.com, featuring the latest in IT applications for government employees.
The company had its headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia, and had offices across the United States and in Germany and Korea (where the Defense Department maintains a significant presence).