Category: IT Services

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Improve patient outcomes with GSA’s Health IT Services Special Item Number

As technology continues to advance, the healthcare industry is rapidly evolving to keep pace with the growing demands of patients and providers. In response to this trend, we developed the Health IT Services Special Item Number (SIN) on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), an innovative solution that provides agencies at all levels with access to a wide range of health IT services.

Health IT is the use of computer hardware, software, or infrastructure to record, store, protect, and retrieve clinical, administrative, or financial information. It’s a critical factor in improving the quality of healthcare, preventing medical errors, protecting data, increasing administrative efficiencies, and decreasing the need for paperwork.

This blog post is part of a series where we’re discussing each of GSA’s key IT Services SINs on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule. Each blog will discuss the benefits for agencies in using the solution, take a look at who is using it, and share an example of how an agency successfully used the SIN to achieve its mission.

Benefits of the Health IT Services SIN:

  • Improved patient outcomes: Provides agencies with access to cutting-edge health IT solutions that can improve patient outcomes by streamlining healthcare delivery and facilitating more efficient communication between healthcare providers.
  • Faster procurements: Does the heavy lifting upfront to offer agencies a streamlined procurement process to find solutions to manage their health IT needs quickly and efficiently. Buying through MAS simplifies the procurement process by providing access to pre-vetted, qualified contractors who can fulfill the agency’s requirements.
  • Improved security: Provides access to health IT solutions that are compliant with federal regulations and industry standards, ensuring that patient data is secure and protected.
  • Wide range of solutions: Open access to a broad range of health IT services, including electronic health records, health information exchanges, and telehealth solutions. These solutions can help agencies to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
  • Cost savings: Helps agencies save money by eliminating the need for extensive market research and evaluation of potential contractors. Additionally, the solution’s pre-negotiated pricing ensures that agencies receive the best value for their purchases.

Top agencies

Agencies invested more than $750 million through the Health IT Services SIN last year. Here are some of our biggest users:

  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of the Interior
  • Department of the Air Force

Use Case: Health IT Services SIN modernizes Southeast hospitals

An agency was looking to modernize some of its hospitals in the Southeastern part of the United States as a “test case” for possible expansion across the whole country. Through the Health IT Services SIN, they instituted major changes at 10 pilot hospitals in their system.

They used the SIN to deliver connected health services between hospitals, share electronic health records and information, and also to provide new health informatics and emerging health IT research resources between doctors and nurses.

This allowed the patients in these 10 hospitals — more than 5,000 patients total — to receive the highest quality and well-informed care because their healthcare providers had access to the latest healthcare information in the most secure, efficient and effective way possible. It also enabled the agency to test out new emerging health IT research and systems for further analysis for possible development in the future.

The final outcome of the pilot was better and more efficient care for patients and more efficient healthcare systems for doctors and nurses providing state-of-the-art care.

Transforming government healthcare delivery

The Health IT Services SIN is an innovative solution that can help federal, state, local, and tribal agencies improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. As demonstrated by the top ten agencies using this technology, Health IT Services SIN is a proven solution that can be implemented successfully in a wide range of government healthcare settings.

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Unlocking the power of E-Commerce for government agencies

​IT modernization is mission-critical for many federal agencies and quick, easy access to the latest technologies is key to their success. However, finding the right IT services to supply those solutions isn’t always easy. That’s why we developed the Electronic Commerce and Subscription services (E-Commerce) Special Item Number (SIN) on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). This solution enables agencies to access a wide range of e-commerce solutions: from networking to email, internet, data, and more, the SIN provides a broad range of leading-edge technologies and resources.

This blog post is part of a series where we’re discussing each of GSA’s key IT Services SINs on the Multiple Award Schedule. Each blog will discuss the benefits for agencies in using the solution, take a look at who is using it, and share an example of how an agency successfully used the SIN to achieve its mission.

Benefits of the E-Commerce SIN:

  1. Cutting-edge solutions: Provides access to a range of e-commerce solutions, including online marketplaces, e-procurement tools, and supply chain management systems. These solutions can help agencies stay ahead of the curve and adapt to new technological advancements.
  2. Faster procurements: Offers a streamlined procurement process that allows government agencies to manage their needs quickly and efficiently. This solution simplifies the procurement process by doing much of the heavy lifting through the master contract and providing access to pre-vetted, qualified contractors who can fulfill the agency’s requirements.
  3. Cost savings: Helps agencies save money by eliminating the need for extensive research and evaluation of potential contractors. Additionally, the solution’s pre-negotiated pricing ensures that agencies receive the best value for their purchases.

Top agencies

Agencies invested more than $430 million through the E-Commerce SIN last year. Here are some of our biggest users:

  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Department of the Navy
  • Department of Defense
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of the Air Force
  • General Services Administration
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of Treasury
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • United States Tax Court

Use Case: E-Commerce SIN helps military base provide email and internet access to deployed soldiers

A military base in Kansas had an immediate need to add email services and internet access to over 3,500 soldiers that were temporarily deployed to train soldiers for overseas activities.

The base was quickly able to use the e-commerce SIN to locate several local small businesses, as well as women-owned small businesses, to add additional email services and internet access services for these soldiers that were placed in forward warehouses during the 120-day exercise.

The contracting staff on base also used this same SIN to provide private phone lines for the mobile headquarters staff, as well as mobile smartphones and hosted PBX services for secured communication between the headquarters staff and forward operating units during the joint exercises. This enabled the home-based and visiting unit soldiers to use real-world scenarios in their training.

Using the MAS e-commerce SIN allowed the agency to quickly implement new electronic commerce services while also allowing them to deliver on a mission-critical need while getting their agency closer to meeting their women-owned and small business goals.

Acquire leading-edge technology and services for your modernization efforts

GSA’s e-commerce SIN provides eligible users with easy access to technologies and services that can support their modernization efforts. As demonstrated by the top ten agencies using this technology, it’s a proven solution that can be implemented successfully in a wide range of government settings.

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Revolutionize citizen communication with Automated Contact Center Solutions

The demand on government agencies is fast-paced, complex, and constantly evolving. It’s no surprise that citizens often face difficulties in connecting with agencies when looking for help, which can cause frustration, impede their ability to get the assistance they need, and ultimately they have a bad experience.

With this in mind, we established an innovative solution to this problem — the Automated Contact Center Solutions (ACCS) Special Item Number (SIN) on the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS-IT). This contract vehicle can help agencies streamline their communications, improve citizen satisfaction, and increase overall efficiency in the execution of their mission.

This blog post is part of a series where we’re discussing each of GSA’s key IT Services SINs on MAS. Each blog will discuss the benefits for agencies in using the solution, take a look at who is using it, and share an example of how an agency successfully used the SIN to achieve its mission.

There are a number of benefits to using the ACCS SIN; here are five of the most important:

  1. Enhanced citizen experience: ACCS provides a range of interactive voice response options that allow citizens to access information quickly and easily, without having to wait on hold or navigate complex menus. This significantly improves citizen satisfaction and reduces the number and workload of call center agents.
  2. Increased efficiency: ACCS automates routine tasks such as call routing, call recording, and call back, freeing up agents to focus on more complex inquiries and tasks. This can help agencies handle a higher volume of calls and reduce wait times for citizens.
  3. Improved analytics: ACCS provides detailed analytics that can help agencies to identify patterns, track performance, and optimize their call center operations. This data can also be used to identify areas where additional resources may be needed, such as staffing or training.
  4. Scalability: ACCS is designed to be scalable and flexible, allowing agencies to easily adjust their capacity based on demand. This can help agencies handle spikes in call volume without sacrificing service quality.
  5. Cost savings: By automating routine tasks and improving efficiency, ACCS can help agencies to reduce their operational costs and allocate resources more effectively.

Use Case: Quick deployment of additional support for hurricane response efforts with the help of small businesses

An agency had an urgent need for additional contact call center support out of their main office. They already had a contact call center with approximately 80 personnel in a 24/7 operation but wanted additional capability added in support of Hurricane Ida and other potential hurricanes that were predicted to hit the Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama coastlines in 2021.

Their contracting staff used the ACCS SIN to quickly add vendors that could support their existing customer service representatives with technologies such as artificial intelligence monitoring, chat-bot technology, web callback services, hosted email web forms, text-to-speech communications, and hosted FAQ services for citizens calling in for information about various hurricanes.

Their staff also utilized this same SIN to take advantage of small businesses offering various services under this SIN and identified both women-owned small businesses as well as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses that were able to assist in some of the new capability development.

This resulted in the agency not only improving its contact center capabilities but also enabling them to take advantage of using small businesses to help succeed in its overall mission.

GSA’s ACCS SIN help you communicate

Agencies invested more than $385 million through the ACCS SIN last year — with the Department of Homeland Security leading the way. ACCS supports providing the public with ready access to government information and services and helping agencies ensure timely, consistent, and accurate responses to citizen inquiries. ACCS provides federal agencies with easy access to a broad range of contact center services that will make that vision a reality.

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Empowering government operations with cutting-edge IT solutions through IT Professional Services SIN

In today’s digital age, technology plays an essential role in every aspect of our lives, including government operations. But agencies don’t always have the resources or expertise in-house to take advantage of the benefits technology can bring. To help agencies that may be stretching resources and budgets in addition to the workload of their acquisition workforce, GSA provides a wide range of IT services through the IT Professional Services Special Item Number (SIN) on the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS-IT). This SIN enables federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to access a broad range of IT solutions from experienced contractors at competitive rates.

This blog post is part of a series where we’re discussing each of GSA’s key IT Services SINs. Each blog will discuss the benefits for agencies in using the solution, take a look at who is using it, and share an example of how an agency successfully used the SIN to achieve its mission.

A few key benefits to using GSA’s IT Professional Services SIN are listed below:

  1. Experienced industry partners: Access a pool of experienced IT professionals who have worked on government projects. These contractors have the knowledge and expertise required to design and implement complex IT solutions that meet the specific needs of your agency.
  2. Faster procurements: Quickly and easily access IT solutions through the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). This saves time and resources and enables you to focus on your core mission.
  3. Cost savings: Leverage competitive rates, lower administrative burden, and reduced use of agency resources. Buying IT solutions through SIN is faster and easier, driving costs down when compared to the costs of the open market.

Top agencies

Agencies invested almost $10 billion through the IT Professional Services SIN last year. Here are some of our biggest users:

  • US Customs and Border Protection
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • General Services Administration
  • Department of Defense (Various Offices)
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of the Navy
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Department of the Air Force
  • Department of the Interior

Use Case: Small businesses provide low-cost, secure application for agency’s foreign aid program

A federal agency administering aid to foreign countries needed to create an application that could run efficiently and effectively on low-cost tablets. This application also needed to operate in areas where only low-speed internet access was available.

In addition, the application had to be secure and protect personally identifiable information and health data.

The agency released a request for information (RFI) under the IT Professional Services SIN using GSA eBuy. The RFI allowed the agency to survey existing capabilities among the vendors on the SIN to determine what requirements to include in a request for proposal (RFP). The agency used the RFI market research to draft and issue a performance work statement (or PWS) under the IT Professional Services SIN for the Field Employee Support Tablet Initiative project. They received six proposals.

Ultimately, a group of three small businesses using a contractor teaming arrangement (or CTA) received the contract award.

GSA’s IT Professional Services SIN, serving you

GSA’s IT Professional Services SIN provides agencies — at all levels — with access to experienced IT professionals, a faster procurement process, and cost savings. By leveraging the expertise of contractors through the IT Professional Services SIN, agencies can implement IT solutions that meet their specific needs, improve efficiency, and better fulfill their missions.

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GSA supports National Strategy to Secure 5G with new acquisition guidance

GSA’s Acquisition Guidance for Procuring 5G Technology supports an ongoing, multi-agency effort to document and share best practices for optimal 5G deployments.

National Strategy

As discussed in past posts, the Federal Government views 5th generation (5G) wireless technology as a future driver of the global economy. It also views the security of 5G information and communications technology and services infrastructure, and the data transmitted and stored on it, as a key national security interest. In addition to protecting data on the network, a trusted, secure supply chain is also paramount. We cannot ensure the security of 5G networks if untrusted equipment or software is allowed to control any part of them.

The National Strategy to Secure 5G is our country’s game plan to manage the risks associated with next generation wireless technologies and the new use cases they open up. GSA’s role is to establish acquisition processes and facilitate federal agency adoption of 5G infrastructure with appropriate security safeguards and adherence to national policies. The desired outcome is a resource that helps agencies identify their standards, specify security controls, and catalog other relevant requirements to provide a secure 5G infrastructure.

GSA guidance

Screenshot of the front page of the "GSA Acquisition Guidance for Procuring 5G Technology" with a white and navy background. There is a colorful technology graphic at the bottom right of the screen.
Download the PDF at buy.gsa.gov or order physical copies at cmls.gsa.gov.

The subject matter experts behind our Wireless Mobility Solutions contracts applied this directive to the early 5G use cases they were observing at various agencies. We coordinated extensively with the interagency Federal Mobility Group, and we incorporated valuable input from experts in other agencies and industry. The result is our Acquisition Guidance for Procuring 5G Technology, a plain-language white paper that charts the progression of 5G in the public sector, outlines its core standards, explores government use cases, and delves into acquisition strategies that balance flexibility with security requirements. In particular, the Guidance features:

  • Tools and strategies for contracting 5G – A model acquisition process that details how technical staff should go about defining requirements and how contracting staff should use them to structure a solicitation.
  • 5G use cases in government – A living list of 5G use cases and pilot programs applicable to the public sector;
  • Standards for 5G – A detailed accounting of the international and U.S. standards that are used to determine requirements for 5G;
  • General background – A plain language narrative describing the evolution of cellular technology, the capabilities 5G offers, its relevance to the public sector, efforts underway to secure it, and its potential to shape future telecommunications products and services.

The wheel keeps turning

A six-sided "5G Wheel" in shades of purple depicting what the GSA Acquisition Guidance for Procuring 5G Technology features: Technology, Standard, Security, Policy, Acquisition, and Use Case.
The “5G Wheel” is one model of visualizing the components that enable resilient deployments.

We’ve previously described our “5G for Government” strategy as the understanding of six core concepts: Technology, Standards, Security, Policy, Acquisition, and Use Cases. Use cases are the real-world applications that agencies are pursuing, or want to achieve. Acquisition is the nuts and bolts of getting the solution in place in the most efficient and effective way. Once you understand the technology, know the standards, consider the security aspects, and are up-to-date on governmentwide policies, then it’s time to plan and execute. If you think of this strategy as a circle or wheel, the Use Case is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. Each rotation strengthens our collective understanding of what makes a 5G deployment secure and successful. The Acquisition Guidance for Procuring 5G Technology is GSA’s first effort to distill this collective knowledge into a usable format to help government technology managers, their contracting offices, and trusted industry partners buy, build, and use secure 5G systems. As a living document, the Guidance will be frequently reviewed to keep pace with changing technology, ensure governmentwide cybersecurity requirements are accurate, and incorporate feedback from stakeholders. Send feedback, questions, and suggestions to wireless@gsa.gov.

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FY22 in review, informing the future

At the beginning of every fiscal year, we sit down to develop our targets, and as I look back on the last year I’m very proud to see what we’ve been able to deliver for agencies.

Employee, customer, and industry input is key

Results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), Customer Loyalty Satisfaction Survey (CLS), and the Industry Satisfaction Survey (ISS) are all part of a broader feedback ecosystem that drives our decisions. These three surveys collectively show a top-line level of ITC health and our progress in improving engagement and experience across ITC’s employees, customers, and suppliers.

This feedback is driving many of the decisions we make. At the end of the day, we’re here to serve, and so we look very closely at those survey results. I’m pleased that year over year, ITC customer loyalty and industry satisfaction remained steady, but I’m even more interested in what these surveys tell us about areas where we can improve.

Customers are telling us that ease of acquiring is the strongest driver of your loyalty and that you’d like to see us further improve internal processes, customer service, and communications generally.

Industry, on the other hand, said procurement process and industry expertise were your strongest drivers of satisfaction. You, too, would like to see improved processes and communications.

We hear you both and are working on ways to improve these concerns. There’s clearly some overlap here, and this gives us some clear direction.

If you’re a small business that’s new to the government market, it can be daunting. We’re working on solutions to make this all easier. One great example that we’re seeing is from the 8(a) STARS III GWAC where of the 258 industry partners who have task order awards, 149 of them received their first GSA contract vehicle task order award through 8(a) STARS III. Brand new to GSA contracting, and they’re already out the gate with orders.

This is great news, and we’re learning what we can from these results.

By the numbers

In every IT subcategory (Hardware, Software, IT Services, Telecom, and IT Security), we exceeded our FY22 targets.

IT Services on the Multiple Award Schedule had a particularly strong year surpassing our target by nearly 29 percent, with a year-over-year positive variance of more than 16 percent.

Mission spend through our IT contracts reached just shy of $34 billion for the first time and surpassed the previous year by nearly 5 percent. Volume over the last 4 years has increased by about $8.5 billion, which is truly remarkable. And most importantly, ITC helped agencies save nearly $2 billion through cost avoidance in the last year alone.

While we celebrate these successes, we’re also looking to the future for what’s next.

Table depicting the FY22 Final dollar spend on each IT Category (IT Hardware, IT Software, IT Services, Telecom Services, IT Security/Shared Services, GWACs, ETS, and HSPD-12, PKI). The total for ITC in FY22 was $33,735,217.

Trends, informing the future

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives are particularly important to the Biden-Harris Administration, and a big part of that is helping small businesses succeed in government contracting. I’m happy to report that ITC handily exceeded our small business utilization goals last year for small businesses generally, women-owned, services-disabled, and HUBZone small businesses. Small Disadvantaged Business performance was also very strong. Small businesses have won approximately $8.45 billion in FY22 (up 9.4 percent from $7.7 billion in FY21) through their work on ITC contracts.

We’ve been working hard on ways to make it easier for small businesses to support the government. We’re setting up Polaris, our next small business contract, and so I expect to see this trend of small business utilization continue.

In terms of the market, IT services are in high demand, and I would expect that to continue too. Automated Contact Center Solutions, Health IT, Cloud adoption, Earth Observation, and Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services were all particularly strong year over year.

Speaking of cybersecurity, that’s another important topic to watch this year. We’re tracking trends and technologies that can help our customers improve their cybersecurity hygiene and strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Looking forward, together

As we wrap up FY22 and kick off FY23, I want to thank our customers, industry partners, and ITC staff. It’s because of our close collaboration that we have these successes to celebrate.

Visit our website to learn more about our solutions, or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

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Celebrating our Veterans

In thinking about Veterans Day this year, I want to pay special tribute to America’s Veterans for their service and dedication to this great nation. I’m grateful for the sacrifices they have made to defend our nation. Our Veterans are an example of the strength, courage, and resolve that allows our country to overcome so many of the challenges we face.

I have spent time with Veterans and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) owners and know their desire to serve continues after they leave active service. I am proud that GSA is committed to working with this community.

GSA working with Veterans

GSA is dedicated to tapping into that strength, courage, and resolve by bringing the SDVOSB community to the federal IT market.

There were more than 800 SDVOSBs across the entire government-wide IT category last year that reported sales. ITC is represented by 357 of those industry partners through our Multiple Award Schedule – IT (MAS-IT) contract and the Veterans Technology Services 2 (VETS 2) and 8(a) STARS III IT services Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC). Through these acquisition vehicles, SDVOSBs won more than $1.46 billion of the IT market last year.

Through GSA contract vehicles like VETS 2, service-disabled veterans continue to serve our nation by providing innovative IT solutions in support of agency missions and the military. VETS 2 is currently the government’s only GWAC set aside exclusively for SDVOSBs.

The VETS 2 option period is coming up next year and we have every intention of exercising that option for those SDVOSBs meeting the terms and conditions of the contract. This will provide federal agencies with continued use of this socio-economic small business, best-in-class solution for their long-term IT service project needs, with the performance of task orders extending out through 2033.

SDVOSBs bringing real mission impact

While I can’t call out individual SDVOSBs, I do want to offer a couple of examples of their great work:

  • One of our customer agencies recently awarded a $248 million order through VETS 2 to provide IT Support Services for their digital infrastructure services center. Through these IT support services, the SDVOSB will fill the agency’s need for maintaining legacy operations and to innovate, at an accelerated pace, to meet the customer’s requirements into the future.
  • Another recent innovative task order award for $166 million was for enterprise services integration and modernization. The scope of the task order is to provide a quality-focused process and capability that enables effective sustainment and modernization of command, control, communication, computers, and information technology systems. The task order will modernize military headquarters to include operations centers, planning rooms, and conference rooms, utilizing innovative technologies such as video walls, audio processors, and multi-classification video teleconference systems.

Veterans, key to the future

Our commitment doesn’t stop with VETS 2 and MAS-IT. GSA’s next small business and socio-economic small business GWAC, Polaris, will have an SDVOSB pool. Polaris is designed to assist agencies in acquiring customized IT services and IT services-based solutions while expanding opportunities for SDVOSB firms. Stay tuned to our Small Business Community of Practice Interact page for updates.

These contracts drive progress on important public policy objectives, including the President’s Executive Order 13985 On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government as we work to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

I’m grateful for the meaningful partnership we have with our Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses and for their continued hard work and dedication to helping agencies achieve their missions every day. I’m really excited for what the future holds.

Visit our website to learn more about VETS 2, MAS-IT, and Polaris or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

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20 years of E-Government

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the eGov Act, and I was recently asked in an interview what I felt had changed the most in the federal technology market and what had stayed the same. It was an interesting conversation, and so I’d like to share my thoughts with you.

Changing times, evolving technology

In 2002 your work revolved around your office building and your desk. Most everyone in government was tied to their office because of the technology at the time — desktop computers and desk phones.

Now think back to when you got your first Blackberry. I think it was 2004/5 for me. All of a sudden you could access your email on the go and connect to your headset wirelessly through Bluetooth.

Then of course the iPhone came in 2007 and has since changed everything. So, while I still have a desk at GSA’s central office, I haven’t had a desk phone in almost a decade or a desktop computer in two decades — today, I work from a laptop and a mobile phone.

In terms of the federal technology market, we are once again seeing two big technological trends that are radically transforming how we all operate: the shift to telework and cloud adoption.

Cloud adoption and telework

The pandemic hammered home the value of flexibility and collaboration. GSA invested in an efficient mobile workforce long before COVID hit, and that investment paid off. Our teams adapted quickly to full-time telework, enabling us to rapidly turn around and help other agencies do the same.

Part of the reason we were able to move so quickly was because we had embraced cloud computing early by investing in modern network architecture using GSA’s Networx contract.

That’s the second driver of modern government, the flexibilities afforded by the wide-scale adoption of commercial cloud services, which link the physical world to our virtual environments.

Think about the interview that inspired this blog post and how that content reaches its government audience. Twenty years ago, we’d record the interview, and the audio would play on a regional radio station. That’s the only way the audience would experience it.

Now, you can use a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone, (or a landline) not just to listen, but to participate. You can chat or post a question, and get a response in real-time. We have captioners (or AI/bots) who listen, transcribe, and produce a running transcript, and even video interpreters who can translate the conversation into American Sign Language.

The cloud-based software-as-a-service we use takes all these inputs and outputs raw data, which is stored and accessed securely within a FedRAMP-authorized environment. All that data is logged and analyzed in real-time while a host of systems operate in the background to defend against malicious actors.

Finally, it all gets encrypted and exits the platform, travels through the open Internet, and crosses the threshold back into a given federal network through Trusted Internet Connections. There are many types of “federal networks” ranging from a wired wide area network at an agency’s headquarters to someone’s home Wi-Fi, accessed through a Virtual Private Network and managed by a trusted vendor.

You may still catch that interview on the radio, but you can also experience it anytime from any device.

Every one of these services must be procured correctly, and that’s what GSA’s contracts ultimately provide.

Shared services — effective and efficient

When done right, a complex resource like what I described above isn’t limited to one department, rather it’s a service that becomes easily available to every employee of the agency — a shared service.

The benefits of such an acquisition are enjoyed across the entire enterprise, and that might be the most exciting change — that government agencies are starting to plan and buy IT more as a single enterprise than a loose collection of disparate parts.

This is federal category management in action. Internally, we’ve restructured our program units to better support enterprise offerings like managed services.

What once was called our office of Telecommunications Services is now Enterprise Technology Solutions because customers increasingly want secure, simple, and flexible capabilities that run on top of traditional networks.

Shared services have both stayed the same and evolved. I have two of the original e-Gov services in my portfolio with USAccess and the Federal Public Key Infrastructure program. Agencies still rely on these offerings every day, and they go a long way to reducing duplication of effort.

GSA, here to help

Of course that’s only the first part of the question. What hasn’t changed is the hard work and dedication of public servants and industry partners working hand in hand to ensure each agency fulfills its mission.

Visit our website to learn more or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

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Last Chance: Signing Deadline Approaches for Expiring Telecom Contracts Continuity of Service MOU

In January, GSA decided it will invoke the Continuity of Service (CoS) clauses for expiring enterprise network and telecommunications contracts. This will allow agencies an additional year to either complete their transition to Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) or find another solution to prevent interruption of services.

Transition has been slow for many federal agencies. As of June 30, 2022, only 94 percent of the planned task orders for transition have been awarded. Also, 5.3 million of the nine million legacy services governmentwide are still in use. These services range from telephone lines to high bandwidth secure internet access.

We urge agencies to push toward completing 100 percent disconnection of services by September 30, 2022 and assess their risk of not completing transition by May 30, 2023. Those who need more time to transition must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be authorized to use the CoS period from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024.

Sign the MOU by September 30th

If an agency does not sign the MOU by September 30, 2022, GSA will remove the agency from the Networks Authorized User List (NAUL) for the expiring contracts. The contractors will begin the disconnect process as early as November 2022 and complete it no later than May 2023.

Agencies that want to take advantage of the CoS period can do so only under these conditions:

  • Agencies must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GSA by September 30, 2022: GSA has sent a copy of the MOU to all potentially impacted agencies. The MOU must be signed by the agency head, or their designee with delegated authority. If an agency’s transition team has not received a copy of the MOU, please contact GSA at eistcc.ta@gsa.gov.
  • On May 31, 2024 (the end of the 12-month CoS period), any services remaining active on the expiring contracts will be disconnected, according to the terms and conditions of their respective contracts. Services cannot be reinstated on those contracts.

If an agency will not complete transition before the CoS period ends, the agency must:

  • Identify the services that will be cut off when the CoS period ends;
  • Develop a contingency plan to maintain operation of those services on another contractual arrangement; and
  • Implement that contingency plan so when the contracts expire and the services are disconnected, the agency’s mission is not interrupted or otherwise negatively affected.

GSA Resources

If your agency is mid-transition, weigh the pros and cons of signing the MOU and make a risk-based decision appropriate for your agency.

GSA remains available to help you assess your transition risk and understand your acquisition options. We are holding monthly EIS Transition Office Hours and monthly Interagency EIS Transition Meetings, both of which act as a forum for agencies to share best practices and lessons learned and ask transition-related questions. For an invitation to these open forums, please email benjamin.todd@gsa.gov.

The legacy telecommunications contracts are expiring very soon. Do not delay in transitioning services and, if needed, signing the CoS MOU and conducting contingency planning.

GSA is and will continue to actively monitor agency progress toward stated EIS deadlines. If you need assistance, have additional data to share on the speed of your transition to EIS, or would like to meet with us, please contact your assigned GSA Solutions Broker.

For more information, visit gsa.gov/eistransition.

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8(a) STARS III Instrumental in Biden-Harris Equity in Procurement Vision

President Biden has a vision for a more equitable and resilient federal procurement system, using federal contract spending to support the participation of small businesses in traditionally underserved communities in the federal marketplace. GSA is committed to doing our part to make that vision a reality.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility to the Core

GSA has worked hard to develop a portfolio to support small businesses from their formation as small 8(a) firms, to more mature small businesses, and finally unrestricted. These efforts help the Administration’s goals of increasing access and building a solid platform for success for a diverse spectrum of vendors across the federal marketplace.

What is so impressive is the robust community we’ve created on the newest vehicle. 8(a) STARS III has 1,110 highly qualified 8(a) contractors – that’s more than 20% of all of the entities in the 8(a) program, including dozens of contractors who are new entrants.

Equally impressive is the breadth of IT services offered to support virtually every form of IT modernization, including a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies.

If you need technology for information assurance or to protect from evolving threats, you can find it on 8(a) STARS III. If you need any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Robotic Process Automation (RPA), you can find it on this contract. It’s a great testament to the talents and skills of the 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) community and a powerful reminder of how small businesses really are the driver of innovation in our economy.

Customer Experience Matters

We designed 8(a) STARS III based on extensive customer feedback to ensure it is responsive to agency needs. For example, a streamlined ordering experience means GSA offers free scope review services and market research for agencies who want it.

Agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) value this kind of customer experience, and as a result, they’ve been a truly meaningful partner in our 8(a) STARS journey for some time.

They adopted 8(a) STARS into their EAGLE Next Gen portfolio because of its ability to meet their evolving IT requirements. And of particular importance to DHS is 8(a) STARS III’s large pool of vetted industry partners who specialize in emerging technology.

8(a) STARS III also provides DHS access to hundreds of vetted companies with expertise in emerging technologies such as Quantum Computing, RPA, Technological Convergence, and Virtual Reality.

Since DHS adopted the 8(a) contracts (beginning with 8(a) STARS II in 2019) into their strategic sourcing portfolio, 8(a) STARS:

  • Accounts for 9% of all IT Services spend across the agency, and
  • Accounts for 13% of their total 8(a) spend.

Along with increased access to IT services vendors specializing in emerging technology and increased opportunities for proven, vetted 8(a) businesses, this partnership allows DHS to continue its strong commitment to the small business community while ensuring DHS is in alignment with recent executive orders and administrative priorities.

Another reason DHS values our partnership is that we provide them, and all of our customers, with many value-added services such as a dedicated program office for acquisition support, tools, templates, and complementary scope reviews.

Executive Director of the Strategic Solutions Office at DHS James Lewis, has stated that they “can achieve more mission for every dollar spent while maintaining a solid commitment to the small business community and leveraging strategic contracts like 8(a) STARS III.”

Where We Stand

To date, more than 217 task orders estimated at $691 million have been awarded to more than 135 industry partners on 8(a) STARS III. That includes more than 40 task order awards going to 8(a)/SDBs that are new to GSA.

I really couldn’t be more proud of the work my team has done to pull this contract together and build the relationships with customers and industry partners to make it so successful.

You can visit our website to learn more about 8(a) STARS III or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

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