As our nation faces COVID 19, telehealth services are more important than ever – GSA can help. GSA’s Health Information Technology (IT) solution was established in 2016 in partnership with the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to advance IT systems and services for agencies with a health mission.
Digital health tools can help providers stay on top of the virus’ spread.
With telehealth solutions, we can help keep people safe and healthy. Patients can interact with doctors and their health information remotely while avoiding crowded hospitals or public transit. Telehealth can also map the spread of outbreaks and identify hot spots.
GSA Health IT Services on GSA Schedule
GSA’s Health IT Services Special Item Number (SIN) provides access for federal, state, and local governments to a wide range of health IT services to include telehealth, innovative health IT solutions, emerging health IT research, and other health IT services.
The SIN advances the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan in:
Expanding the adoption of health IT products and services;
Advancing interoperable health information solutions; and
Strengthening healthcare delivery systems.
Given the current healthcare climate and recent advances in health IT, the government will have an increasing need for industry experts who have strong health IT-specific qualifications.
The right health IT tools, now
The Health IT SIN, with close to 500 industry partners, provides a great selection of experts, who are non-traditional system integrators focused on clinical and business-related health IT. They have the skilled staff best suited to implement solutions for healthcare environments. With labor categories that include medical doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, GSA’s Health IT SIN is here to help with emerging government Health IT requirements.
GSA’s EIS Path to the Future online series will focus on sharing best practices that will help federal agencies prepare for EIS transition activities.
Be sure to attend if you are a:
CIO/IT staff member
Contracting Officer
Contracting Specialist
Financial staff member
Program manager
Project manager
Telecom staff member
Transition executive or manager
You can sign up to attend some or all of the sessions listed below. Attendees will earn one Continuous Learning Point (CLP) for each session attended – up to six for the series. Your GSA support team will be available to answer your questions during the event.
The sessions:
Tips for Proposal Evaluation Wednesday, June 10 2 to 3 p.m. (ET) Join us to hear from DOI about how they sustained their EIS task-order award after a GAO protest and the lessons they learned that will benefit all agencies.
Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) 3 Wednesday, June 17 3 to 4 p.m. (ET) In this session, you’ll learn from GSA and DHS/CISA what’s expected of agencies to protect their networks. Discover what is available to help your agency meet security requirements using EIS. We will discuss how solutions can be packaged to provide the security you need now and will need later.
Transition Closeout Thursday, June 18 2 to 3 p.m. (ET) As government agencies move to the EIS acquisition vehicle, legacy telecommunications contracts will expire. GSA will limit the use of its legacy telecommunications contracts and freeze all future growth on those vehicles. Extended use of these contracts is limited to agencies who are making sufficient transition progress to be 100% off the expiring contracts by September 30, 2022. The Networks Authorized User List (NAUL) will be updated to remove users in phases, which is expected to begin in summer 2020. In addition, GSA will stop processing any new Networx/WITS contract modifications and any new LSA implementation orders on October 1, 2020. Join us for this session to ensure that your agency is positioned well for the future and will avoid disruptions in service.
EIS Ordering Wednesday, June 24 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. (ET) After your task order is awarded and you’ve developed your implementation plan with your EIS supplier, it’ll be time to begin the ordering process. This interactive discussion will review who should be involved, what information needs to be conveyed, and how an agency begins the process. GSA will share all of this – and more – to help you expedite your ordering process.
Rules and Tips for Awarding EIS Contract Modifications Prior to Awarding Task Orders Wednesday, July 15 2 to 3 p.m. (ET) This session will cover the authorization of orders, Network Site Codes (NSCs) not in the traffic model, requesting status of vendor submissions (modifications) that affect your task-order award(s), and modification priority.
Solutions to Modernize your Enterprise Network Wednesday, July 22 2 to 3 p.m. (ET) During this session, we’ll discuss advancements in network technologies – such as software-defined networking and managed security services – and how your agency can leverage these technologies as part of your EIS modernization plan. We will also explore the as-a-service model common with cloud computing and its applicability to network services.
On the registration page, check the boxes for each one-hour event you would like to attend. You must have a .gov or .mil email address to register.
For more information, visit our pages for EIS and the EIS transition. Members of the media who would like more information or to attend should contact us at press@gsa.gov.
GSA is here to help! If you have questions about EIS or the EIS transition, please contact your telecom agency manager.
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The unprecedented and extraordinary efforts by businesses and Federal agencies to keep employees and customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic have also inadvertently opened the door to cyberattacks.
Large-scale transitions to work-from-home technologies, heightened activity on many public-facing networks, and greater use of online services have presented new openings for cyber attackers to exploit. As people around the world shelter in place, they turn to online platforms to chat with friends, shop, work, and go to school. That transition to virtual life puts a large strain on cybersecurity controls.
Federal agencies face new daily challenges in assuring the security of networks. In the midst of the current global pandemic that imperative is even greater — they must protect their institutions while ensuring that daily tasks go on uninterrupted. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommends that agencies “make risk-based decisions as appropriate to meet mission needs” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is important now for agency leaders to focus on supporting technologies and capabilities that are absolutely essential to their organizations’ operations. Priority actions — and relevant technologies — may include testing already existing security plans, continuously monitoring security systems, and maintaining access security. GSA’s Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) Special Item Number (SIN) provides Federal agencies with rapid access to cybersecurity vendors who can assist with the following priority actions and more.
Best practices
Testing and having incident response plans in place are helpful for any agency. If an agency has plans such as incident response, disaster recovery, or continuity, it is important to test those plans and assess any risks as soon as possible. GSA’s HACS SIN provides rapid access to vendors evaluated for incident response services.
Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) should continue to monitor their systems closely in order to identify cybersecurity events and incidents as soon as they may appear. Focus areas include monitoring networks for new strains of malware, monitoring collaboration tools such as Google Drive or Dropbox, and monitoring personnel activity. CISOs can also monitor their systems by using Intrusion Detection Systems or their preferred live network monitoring software. The HACS SIN is an efficient way to access these capabilities.
Access management in a remote work environment is another essential focus area during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though cybersecurity is essential, so is the physical safety of the American people. Agencies are encouraging teleworking whenever possible to adhere to the Government’s social distancing guidelines, and cybersecurity experts are needed to help make telework safe and secure for employees.
With many — if not all — of an agency’s employees working from home, click-through rates for phishing emails may increase when employees no longer work closely enough with coworkers to ask them in person about suspicious activity. Remote work can also require agencies to enable offsite access to critical and/or confidential information, which can increase the risk of a cyber attack. Employees can mitigate this risk by adhering to their agency’s access control policy and utilizing secure connections (such as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and/or VPN) when accessing Government networks containing sensitive information.
The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a human challenge, with heads of agencies and employees all juggling professional duties with personal and family responsibilities. The risk of cyberattacks will be elevated, but by focusing now on cyber activities — testing response plans, monitoring security systems, and maintaining personnel security — agencies can successfully maintain their security.
GSA is here to help connect Federal agencies with vendors that provide necessary cybersecurity services during this time through the HACS SIN solution. For more information, visit the HACS Homepage. To learn more about the additional services the HACS SIN provides, watch our HACS Overview Video.
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In these tough times, we know how hard agencies are working to continue the good work of government. You don’t have to go it alone – GSA is here to help.
Our solutions make it easier to get mission-critical supplies and services to address the needs of first responders on emergency frontlines. They also provide access to the tools and technology necessary to keep the government running.
Addressing changing environments: continuing operations in an emergency
GSA’s contracts are set up for the quick acquisition of computers, software, mobile devices, cloud and virtual network solutions, cybersecurity, identity management, and health IT solutions.
As federal, state, local, and tribal agencies address the unique challenges presented by a pandemic, GSA will be here when needed as a trusted partner – in the middle of an emergency and in preparation for the next one.
Expedited support services for agencies
GSA is offering expedited support to agencies, including market research services to identify companies that can respond to emergency-related requirements and providing assistance on telework IT requirements as well as expediting requests for GWAC Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA).
How can my agency get help?
GSA is uniquely positioned to fulfill agency needs and help them implement lasting enterprise solutions to enable modern capabilities.
GSA has several solutions set up to help right away:
GSS Laptop and Desktop Blanket Purchase Agreements
Contact us if you need help finding solutions during this crisis. Our Response Solutions Team is ready to assist you in making the right procurement decisions for your mission.
Contact info
For prompt support with emergency IT requirements, contact GSA’s National Customer Service Center: Call: 855-482-4348 Hours for live chat and calls: Sunday 8 p.m. – Friday 8:30 p.m. CST Email: ITCSC@gsa.gov
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Since GSA’s VETS 2 Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) opened for business in 2018, agencies from across the federal government have discovered its talented contractor pool, easy ordering, and competitive pricing as a great resource to meet their technology requirements. VETS 2 also benefits agencies by offering both Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned (SDVO) small business credit and access to a coveted Best-in-Class contract solution. This has resulted in 50 task order awards valued at nearly $600M in just over two years.
It’s easy to see why this GWAC has grown so popular. VETS 2 provides access to 69 highly qualified companies capable of completing virtually any IT service requirement, including emerging technologies like agile software development, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. VETS 2 also happens to be the only GWAC in the federal government that is set-aside exclusively for SDVO small businesses. These features make VETS 2 an excellent choice for customers looking to enhance business processes or solve a problem at their agencies.
In two short years, DOD and civilian agencies have utilized VETS 2 for a range of mission-critical requirements; including cybersecurity, IT helpdesk services, data analytics and an agency-wide web conferencing solution. With agencies continuing to identify GSA Best-in-Class GWACs as preferred sources for IT requirements, the future is bright for VETS 2.
Agencies interested in hearing more about VETS 2 are invited to participate in a future webinar hosted by the GSA VETS 2 team. Information about future training can be found at www.gsa.gov/vets2. Questions pertaining to VETS 2 can also be sent to vets2@gsa.gov.
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The successful transition to Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS), the federal government’s $50 billion, 15-year, Best-in-Class acquisition vehicle for telecommunications and networking, is a strategic priority for GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service.
Originally set to expire in 2020, GSA is extending the expiring contracts by an additional three years to May 2023. In extending these legacy contracts, GSA requires agencies to meet certain critical milestones to continue using services on the extended contracts.
Additionally, GSA is taking steps to curtail the growth of services on the extended contracts by freezing modifications and limiting use. These actions will minimize the impact of GSA having to maintain dual operations.
Freezing Modifications on Extended Contracts
Effective October 1, 2020, GSA will implement controls on its extended Networx, WITS 3, and LSA contracts by freezing all future growth on these vehicles. All new services should be provided under the EIS contracts.
Processing Modifications on EIS Contracts
GSA recognizes that many agencies have released their EIS solicitations and are waiting for EIS contract modifications to be evaluated and awarded by GSA. We are prioritizing modifications needed for agency awards.
Limiting Use of Extended Contracts
On March 31, 2020, GSA will begin to limit the use of its extended contracts for agencies that are not making progress towards transition. GSA will disconnect agencies, in phases, to meet the September 30, 2022 milestone for 100% completion of transition. The first phase will include agencies that have been “non-responsive” to transition outreach from GSA. Future phases will be based on each agency’s status at that time and the individual circumstances impacting that agency’s transition progress, such as protests or pending contract modifications.
Once a phase is complete, agencies identified will no longer be allowed to process any modifications or orders, will be ineligible for an exception, and will have their active services disconnected.
We applaud the agencies that are taking active steps to modernize and we will continue to monitor progress across the federal government. Taking steps to curtail growth on the extended contracts will encourage agencies to transition existing and new services onto EIS. GSA will continue to communicate with agencies at all levels, provide resources and support to agencies through transition, and pull all available levers in support of significant cost savings, greatly improved efficiencies, and enhanced cybersecurity— all achievable through EIS.
Questions? Contact Allen Hill, Executive Director, GSA’s Office of Telecommunications Services at allen.hill@gsa.gov or (202) 701-7891.
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As cyberattacks increase in size and frequency, it is important for every agency to protect its network from incidents that can jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system. The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security determined that 74 percent of federal agencies participating in their 2018 assessment had cybersecurity programs that were either at risk or high risk.
While an agency can take proactive measures to prevent cyberattacks, an incident may still occur. When a cyberattack or other damaging incident occurs in an agency’s network, reactive measures such as incident response must be taken to preserve the integrity of the information system.
Incident response is the methodology an organization uses to respond to and manage a cyberattack. A data breach or cyberattack can wreak havoc and potentially affect employee security, intellectual property, and agency time and resources. Incident response protocol aims to reduce this damage and recover as quickly as possible.
Incident response protects organizations against four common types of incidents:
GSA’s Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) Special Item Number (SIN) offers incident response services to help organizations with compromised systems. These services help to determine the extent of the incident, remove the adversary from systems, and restore networks to a more secure state.
HACS incident response services can also be used to proactively plan for future attacks. The benefits of preparing and maintaining an incident response plan helps agencies handle cybersecurity events and minimizes the impact of potential threats while strengthening an agency’s defenses against any future incidents.
Below is an example of an incident response plan:
Incident Response Step
Action Taken
Preparation
Create an asset list and system baseline.
Detection and Analysis
Analyze events to determine whether they constitute an incident.
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Prevent further damage from an incident, and determine the cause of an incident so that the system can be returned to the previously known neutral state. Restore compromised system to operational status.
Post-Incident Activity
Provide final report of the incident identifying current procedures for efficacy and whether those procedures were followed properly.
Another benefit of the HACS SIN is that the vendors included under the incident response subcategory have passed a technical evaluation and can provide individualized incident response plans. If an agency already has an incident response plan, vendors can evaluate the plan and provide services that adapt to that individualized plan. Vendors use qualified resources to minimize the impact of cyber-attacks and avoid future incidents. Incident response services can also augment agency resources during a large scale incident.
For more information on incident response and how GSA’s HACS SIN can provide your agency with incident response services, please visit the HACS Homepage.
To learn more about the additional services the HACS SIN provides, watch our HACS Overview Video.
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Improve the way Federal agencies adopt, buy, build, and use technology—this is one of the key strategic goals of GSA and our primary job here at the Federal Acquisition Service. But what do we do when the technology in question is more theory than practice? How should we in government plan to adopt, buy, build, and use artificial intelligence (AI)?
2019 saw several key events that could shape the ways we apply AI to the work of government across an ever-changing digital landscape.
We begin in February when the President launched the American AI Initiative—the official AI strategy of the United States. The initiative formalized a governmentwide effort to promote and protect national AI technology and innovation in collaboration and engagement with the private sector, academia, the public, and like-minded international partners.
Having multiple pilot programs already in play, GSA moved quickly to make the most of the new strategy, forming fresh collaborations and leveraging long-standing partnerships to familiarize our customers and vendors with AI applications.
Augmented Intelligence
In June, the White House released its action plan to implement the Federal Data Strategy. GSA was tapped to develop an ethics framework and prepare the federal workforce for critical data-related activities such as analysis and evaluation, data management, and privacy protection. To that end:
We focus on very narrow process improvements with short development cycles using an agile framework that provides us with continuous feedback for better alignment of solutions.
We are investing in training and developing our IT acquisition professionals to be transformative agents of change.
We sought a vision with the customer in mind, a human-centered design.
The goal of AI for the government is not to replace people, but to augment the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of public service. Ultimately, we believe mission success is contingent upon collaboration and partnerships that spur innovation in delivering AI solutions.
Start with a Plan
Thinking about AI but don’t know how to start? The AI Community of Practice produced this handy self-assessment to help select the right automation solution for the job.
Adopt an Agile Framework
AI innovation requires an agile mindset to prove mission value. Technology advances so fast that in order to keep up we must be able to create something usable quickly, to enable faster customer feedback, while leaving room for emerging solutions. Identifying problems and finding immediate solutions early on means that multiple alternatives can emerge more quickly. This lesson has served us well in implementing RPA technology. Using the agile approach, we readily identified what tasks can be and can not be automated, requirements, and potential risks and implications. AI has the capability to eliminate low level tasks that are repetitive and well defined so more focus can be placed on critical business concerns.
Invest and Prioritize in Training
Learn to assess skill sets to achieve mission needs. Conduct market research and review human capital processes to see what courses are offered to educate and empower people to do high-level work and train them for the road ahead. Everyone knows the saying “when you take care of your people, they’ll take care of you.” Invest in people by providing support, trust, and opportunities. This will empower your team and help them to better fulfill mission needs, connect deeply with customers and create memorable experiences.
Human-Centered Design
Our customers and shareholders drive the demand for innovative AI technology. Customer mission needs must come first. Human-centered design is a way of meeting our customer needs by making systems more responsive. We are currently seeking feedback from industry on HCD Services.
Collaboration spurs Innovation
Collaboration not only inspires innovation, it’s essential to educating your workforce and empowering them to deploy effective AI solutions. Joining networks such as the AI Community of Practice helps your team foster best practices, learn from use cases, identify tools, and spark ethical discussions around AI technology. Such partnerships are key to scaling up AI procurement practices. Offices throughout agencies dedicated to developing AI capabilities must start talking. What are your organization’s biggest challenges to achieving your operational mission? Communities of practice can help you find partners across government trying to tackle similar challenges through the use of AI, machine learning and automation.
Preparing for the Future
On January 29th, we held our first in a series of emerging technology events. This first iteration focused on AI and generated interest across government and industry. With an agenda boasting 16 experts in the field, we kick-started a conversation on the benefits that AI could bring to government.
AI in Federal Procurement Event Panels
We’re excited and ready to demonstrate continued success in meeting customer and shareholder needs through innovative AI solutions.
Attend the most comprehensive federally sponsored training event for acquisition professionals – FAST 2020.
The GSA-hosted Federal Acquisition Service Training (FAST) Conference 2020 is a multi-day, national training conference for the federal acquisition workforce, industry partners, and customer agencies. FAST 2020 will be in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. GSA is offering comprehensive training led by renowned procurement experts free of charge to all federal acquisition professionals.
FAST 2020 will also offer industry the opportunity to network with large and small businesses within the same industry and develop teaming arrangements to win future business. Agency partners will be able to conduct market research with industry partners on-site!
Attend the FAST 2020 Training Conference to help you better meet your agency mission. Network with fellow acquisition professionals and learn from them. Earn up to 20 CLP credits, collaborate with your peers, and see the latest industry solutions in the exhibit hall. ITC is offering over 30 thought-provoking classes so you can learn IT procurement from every angle.
Being Brilliant at the Basics for Industry Partners
IT Modernization Emerging Technologies and Innovation
Leveraging the Power of the Internet eTools
What’s Next in Acquisition
Add FAST 2020 to your Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to begin the travel and conference participation approval process within your agency. To help you, we’ve created a sample justification letter [doc] to attend the FAST conference.
Register Now! for the FAST 2020 conference in Atlanta, Ga., April 14-16. I hope to see you there!
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When it comes to information technology modernization efforts, agencies have to develop holistic strategies that match their evolving needs without compromising their ability to carry out their mission. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission is to help others, but when it came to technological transformation, USAID had to start by helping itself.
Let’s take a look at how USAID became the vanguard for smart cloud adoption in support of a complex, global mission.
A Legacy of Innovation
For nearly a decade, USAID has strategically deployed cloud technology to enable and scale its operations both at home and abroad. Working in some of the more challenging locations around the world, USAID often operates in low network connectivity bandwidth environments that present their own unique security vulnerabilities.
To operate in these harsh operational conditions, USAID adopted cloud technology early. In 2010 they moved to cloud-based email, messaging, and collaboration tools. In 2012, USAID completed nearly all of the goals of the Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) when it consolidated to a single enterprise data center.
Data Consolidated, Optimized, and Secured
Most recently in 2018, USAID successfully migrated the enterprise data center to a hybrid cloud solution with full disaster recovery capability. The new USAID Enterprise Data Center/Disaster Recovery (EDC/DR) solution provides government Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) as well as redundancy for USAID’s network and business-critical systems.
USAID can now use more modern technology like scalable, on-demand resources; no restrictions for memory, processing, and storage; and the ability to restore data in several hours versus days or weeks. Using tagging in the cloud environments will enhance USAID’s ability to comply with the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) and Technology Business Management reporting requirements. Finally, the cloud solution is FedRAMP-authorized, ensuring the new infrastructure services meet rigorous security standards.
Working with GSA
USAID used IT Schedule 70 for its EDC/DR infrastructure acquisition.
USAID sought to acquire public and government IaaS as standardized, highly automated infrastructure services owned by cloud service providers (CSPs) and offered to USAID on demand.
Before the award, the USAID engineering team performed an analysis of alternatives (AoA) backed by thorough market research. The AoA recommended a hybrid cloud solution to meet USAID’s EDC/DR requirements.
A high-level design that could connect to both public and government IaaS CSP was proposed in the AoA by the engineering team. It suggested two co-locations on opposite ends of the country to ensure operational and geophysical redundancy. A RFQ (Request for Quote) guided by the AoA and EDC/DR requirements was released for competition. The acquisition was structured so that the co-location IaaS solution was purchased as a commodity owned by the CSP. In this modern virtual data center, USAID leverages high availability system components as a Disaster Recovery solution without additional costs.
Solution Acquired, Results Analyzed
The result is a fully scalable virtual data center, with dynamic policy-driven services and improved performance. All of this comes at a 30% lower cost for operations and maintenance.
With cloud, USAID now can use multiple data centers’ hosting systems, services, applications, and storage without relying on any particular geographic location.
This is critical given that USAID leads the U.S. government’s international development and disaster assistance work in over 80 countries around the globe. These efficiency gains have enabled reinvestment in more advanced and innovative technologies. USAID has matured to being 100% cloud-enabled, using all service models. With no legacy systems to support, the agency can move to new, modern solutions in a much more agile fashion than other federal departments that are weighed down by aging systems and infrastructure.
What Does Your Mission Require?
As a facilitator of USAID’s cloud accomplishments, GSA is here to help your agency use the cloud to achieve its long-term mission and strategic goals. This includes aligning with federal mandates like the new CloudSmart Strategy and leveraging government-wide tools to modernize your IT infrastructure.
To help discover ways that GSA can enable your agency’s mission through cloud, contact cloudinfo@gsa.gov, visit our Cloud Information Center at gsa.gov/cic, or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.
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