Tag: Cloud

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End of Year OneGov Update: Expanding Access and Strengthening Partnerships

Since the launch of the OneGov Strategy in April 2025, GSA and our agency and industry partners have made remarkable progress executing 19 agreements with leading technology companies, fundamentally shifting how the federal government procures and manages IT. 

The OneGov Strategy is built on a simple, but transformative idea: the federal government should act as one buyer for common IT needs. Over the past nine months, that vision has moved from concept to execution—delivering significant savings, stronger accountability, and a more unified approach to technology acquisition across government.

Building momentum together

Through OneGov, GSA has worked hand-in-hand with federal agencies and industry partners to secure landmark agreements that demonstrate what’s possible when we buy as one.

Since April, the OneGov team has finalized multiple high-impact agreements that deliver discounts ranging up to 90% on widely used commercial software and services. Recent agreements include Adobe, AWS, Anthropic, Box, Docusign, Elastic, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, Perplexity, Slack, and ServiceNow —with additional agreements in development.

These deals are more than just better pricing. They establish consistent terms, standardized licensing, and clear accountability—ensuring agencies receive reliable, secure, and mission-ready solutions.

How we’re structuring the strategy

We’ve developed a tiered framework to guide prioritization, ensuring all interested Original Equipment Manufacturers, Resellers, Service Providers, and Integrators have an understanding of the approach.

Tier 1, which is the current focus, includes software and cloud providers with more than $500M in annual federal spend, a presence across all 24 CFO Act agencies, and a portfolio of FedRAMP-authorized cloud solutions (excluding on-premise). Tiers 2 through 4 follow the same product scope but reflect decreasing levels of government spend and agency footprint:

  • Tier 2: $200M–$500M in spend, 18+ CFO Act agencies
  • Tier 3: $50M–$200M in spend, 10+ agencies
  • Tier 4: $10M–$50M in spend, 5+ agencies 

The OneGov team is working to determine a timeline for engaging OEMs and other IT companies that do not meet the Tier criteria above. Additional Information will be provided on the OneGov site (http://ITVMO.gsa.gov/onegov) as it becomes available.

Aligning with leadership on pricing integrity

Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia recently emphasized the importance of transparency and fairness in technology pricing, calling for an end to inflated or inconsistent deals across government. OneGov directly supports that mission through best-and-final-first pricing, transparent benchmarking, and direct OEM relationships that eliminate hidden margins and ensure every dollar delivers mission value.

Setting expectations: Industry Participation and Engagement

As interest in OneGov continues to grow, GSA has established a clear process for OEMs seeking to participate, engage, and be included under the strategy.

If you are an Industry Partner interested in staying informed on future opportunities, new requirements and criteria, or upcoming agreements:

  1. Review the OneGov OEM Engagement Package: This document outlines eligibility requirements, submission expectations, and evaluation criteria. It’s available on the ITVMO website here (PDF).
  2. Submit the Industry Questionnaire: Completing the Industry Questionnaire will show your interest in getting more information on the OneGov strategy and participating in future opportunities.

Once you’ve read the OEM Engagement Package and are interested in submitting a limited-time offer for consideration:

  1. Prepare your submission materials: Submissions should include a brief company overview, a list of core products or services currently sold to the federal government, and proposed enterprise pricing models or discount structures. GSA will also review your current contract vehicles and alignment with federal cybersecurity and compliance standards.

    Also, complete the Product and SKU Information Spreadsheet for all products/services that align with your limited-time offer.
  2. Submit through the OneGov OEM Submission Form: To begin the review process, complete the official OneGov Limited-Time Offer Form. This form collects key evaluation details and ensures consistency in how submissions are processed across all vendors.

    As part of your submission, upload the completed Product and SKU Information Spreadsheet, company overview, and any other information you think essential for the review.
  3. Evaluation and engagement: GSA evaluates submissions based on the following components. Selected Industry Partners will move into structured discussions with the OneGov team to explore potential agreement models.
  • Relevance: Offers should be for currently available, broadly used products and services
  • Individual: Offers should be for individual products and/or services.
  • Eligibility: Offers should be eligible to all customers for new or existing contracts or orders.
  • Best Available: Offers should meet (or exceed) all currently available discounts. 
  • Cost Savings: Projected cost savings/avoidance should be clear & easy to understand.
  • Duration: Offers should be valid through September 30, 2027, or longer (ideally, the duration of the current administration).
  • Relationship: While discount offers will always be welcome, the OneGov team is looking to develop direct relationships with vendors (as opposed to any reseller arrangement).

Please note: Submitting for review does not guarantee participation under OneGov. Submissions are reviewed holistically as part of a broader governmentwide acquisition strategy designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and alignment with federal priorities.

Looking ahead

The OneGov Strategy is more than an acquisition model; it’s a cultural shift in how the federal government and industry collaborate. Over the coming months, GSA will continue working with agency CIOs, procurement leads, and Industry Partners to expand OneGov beyond software into infrastructure, cybersecurity, platforms, and IT services.

We’re proud of the progress made so far and grateful to the agency and industry teams whose partnership makes this work possible. Together, we’re modernizing how the federal government buys and manages technology, driving smarter spending, stronger security, and better outcomes for every taxpayer.

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Update to Better Contracting Initiative 2

In an earlier blog post, Transforming Government IT Procurement: Better Contracting Initiative Priority 2, I introduced the Better Contracting Initiative (BCI) as a driving force behind our ongoing efforts to modernize government IT procurement. 

I described the Governmentwide Acquisition Strategy initiative led by the IT Vendor Management Office (ITVMO) to centralize engagement with critical Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and negotiate universal contract and process improvements to ensure that all agencies benefit from best-in-class terms and pricing as “One Customer.”

Today, I’ll provide details on the ITVMO’s Governmentwide Microsoft Acquisition Strategy (GMAS), an unprecedented initiative to forge a strategic partnership between the government and Microsoft, and provide immense value to the government and one of its critical IT suppliers.

The GMAS origin

In 2023, the ITVMO launched the GMAS initiative to help standardize government contract terms and pricing for Microsoft products and services, offered by many resellers, regardless of where or how agencies acquire them. The goal was to consolidate best-in-class terms into a universal term sheet that agencies could apply to any government buying vehicle. With best-in-class terms and enhanced cybersecurity standards, all government agencies, large and small, would benefit from the U. S. government’s size and weight, and avoid the inefficiencies of negotiating certain contract terms at each procurement. The process was designed to be collaborative, both across the government and with Microsoft, to generate efficiencies for all parties.

Comprehensive due diligence and preparation

After reviewing Microsoft contracts from each of the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies, the ITVMO compiled a list of 150+ contract terms and conditions worthy of standardization due to their varying language and benefits. ITVMO also performed an extensive price analysis that revealed substantial variance in pricing from resellers due to factors not always driven by “size of the prize.”

These contractual and price variances revealed an opportunity to capitalize on identified flexibilities, establishing best-in-class contract elements to apply to all government contracts.

With every CFO Act agency participating, the ITVMO hosted a Civilian Services Acquisition Workshop (C-SAW). Over two days, the group collaboratively concentrated the original list of terms and price reduction concepts down to 24. These 24 items comprised the foundation of the GMAS initiative.

Partnership with Microsoft

Over the course of several months, the ITVMO, Office of Management and Budget, and Microsoft’s Federal Division discussed the government’s requests and proposed additional ways to establish a strategic partnership. 

The teams walked through each item to understand the specific requests and the underlying challenges. Stakeholders from Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) engaged with Microsoft’s cybersecurity teams to discuss the critical security elements and standards that GMAS aimed to achieve. 

Recently, the government provided a detailed compendium of solutions for Microsoft to formally consider at the corporate level, as many of the items require updates to long-standing corporate policies. Considerations and discussions on the original 24 challenges are ongoing as of October 2024.

Looking ahead

Microsoft has committed to working with the ITVMO to advance the initiative’s progress. We will continue to work with Microsoft to finalize a path forward.  Throughout the project, Microsoft has acknowledged how implementing consistency across contracts between agencies and resellers would improve its performance as a product and service provider. 

Having spent the last six months working with Microsoft, the government is pleased with the emerging alliance. Clearly, both sides value the other as a critical partner, as demonstrated by the willing collaboration of the GMAS effort. The government is confident that this project will yield unprecedented success and pave the way for more strategic endeavors with other critical IT industry partners.

The GMAS initiative is truly a first-of-its-kind effort to solidify the government as “one customer” in the eyes of a critical industry partner. Building on the anticipated success of GMAS, the ITVMO intends to launch similar efforts with other IT OEMs in FY25. 

Stay tuned for more updates on GMAS and upcoming ITVMO initiatives to improve IT buying conditions for the federal government.

Visit our website to learn more about how GSA’s Office of Information Technology Category addresses the BCI through the ITVMO.

Please follow us on LinkedIn to join our ongoing conversations about government IT.

To get updates for this blog, please sign up on the right-hand side of the page where it says Sign up for Blog Updates.

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Ascend Updates

Agencies across government continue to struggle with buying and adopting cloud technologies. GSA repeatedly hears customers say that they want and need an acquisition vehicle that addresses cloud-specific technologies and requirements, offers a less complicated way to buy them, and provides standardized security and data management features.

The Ascend Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), to complement GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Cloud SIN 518210C, will meet the government’s demand for more comprehensive, secure and compliant cloud-based solutions. It allows GSA to develop a solution for federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governments that will make buying cloud less complicated.

With Ascend, GSA delivers what agencies are looking for:

  • Security requirements: Cybersecurity and interoperability requirements, regulations and standards are extremely challenging to navigate. Ascend will include recently updated standards on supply chain risk management (SCRM) and cyber SCRM (C-SCRM). It will provide access only to FedRAMP– or Department of Defense Cloud Authorization Services (DCAS)– authorized cloud solutions. Ascend will make it easier for agencies to comply with cybersecurity mandates.
  • Data ownership and portability: Ascend establishes the requirement that agencies own their accounts and data, and cloud service providers (CSPs) have to make the data portable in case the agency wants to move it.
  • Standardized reporting: Customers require visibility into financial information for contract administration, cost control, chargeback and budget management/forecasting (i.e., FinOps). Ascend offers standardized reporting of this information.
  • Subject matter expertise: Leaders need to ensure that contracted technical personnel have knowledge, skills, abilities, taskings and mindsets for cloud services, not just general IT skills. Ascend is built on the Cloud SIN 518210C, which accounts for specific cloud technologies and cloud-related IT professional services.
  • Compliance: Federal agencies must comply with constantly updating executive orders, OMB memos, acquisition laws and policy targets. Ascend has these complex requirements built in upfront to reduce agencies’ risks and ensure compliance.
  • Ease of ordering: Customers across government need access to a catalog of cloud services under a single acquisition solution to promote flexibility, agility and continuous injection of emerging technologies. Catalogs are standardized at the BPA level to make it easier for customers to compare services and associated prices.

Industry input, implemented

We’re closer to releasing a final solicitation of Ascend Pool 1, which covers the basic BPA requirements and Infrastructure as a Service/Platform as a Service requirements through three subpools. We recognize how important your invaluable feedback is through your responses to our requests for information, draft performance work statement and the draft solicitation. We heard you! We carefully balanced your feedback against agencies’ needs to be able to buy and manage cloud effectively.

As a result of your feedback, we’ve changed some of the BPA requirements:

Order catalogs: At first, we required contractors to provide catalogs at the ordering level.

  • Now the requirement is to deliver and maintain catalogs at the BPA level following a specific format to standardize Ascend BPA catalogs.

Cybersecurity logs: At first, the contractor had to provide cybersecurity logs.

  • Now the requirement is to enable the feature for eligible users upon request.

Authorized cloud services: The BPA includes only what is in the BPA catalog. At first, we required the contractor to restrict cloud services usage.

  • Now contractors must provide the capability for eligible users to restrict the usage of cloud services through configuration files and policies, which in turn, gives eligible users more control over what cloud services are being used.

Cybersecurity incident reporting and incident response timelines: Aside from following timelines established by current law, we required incidents to be reported to the administrative agency.

  • Now the requirement is less complex and no longer requires reporting to the administrative agency. Reports are further defined at the task order level for reporting to eligible users.

Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity (CFE): At first, GSA specified required sources of CFE.

  • Now the requirement is to offer cloud services that comply with current environment and sustainability legislation, regulation and policies at any given time.

FinOps: At first, contractors were required to monitor and automatically suspend cloud services when consumption reached certain thresholds.

  • Now the requirements are to enable metering options and allow for eligible users to set metering thresholds and automate suspending specific cloud services once metering thresholds are at a certain level. The contractor must also notify the eligible users.

Next steps

We are still working through minor adjustments. We plan to send out another draft solicitation and hold another industry day before issuing the final solicitation. Again, we appreciate the feedback we have received throughout the market research process.

Resources

For questions about the Ascend BPA, please reach out via email to cloudenterprisewide@gsa.gov.

Our cloud subject matter experts are here to provide guidance, and support agencies and vendors navigating our contract vehicles. Reach them at cloudinfo@gsa.gov.

Follow our Cloud and Software community on GSA Interact to learn the latest Ascend updates, or use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

Follow us on LinkedIn to join our ongoing conversations about government IT.

To get updates for this blog, please sign up on the right-hand side of the page where it says Sign up for Blog Updates.

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Transforming Government IT Procurement: Better Contracting Initiative Priority 2

As part of our ongoing efforts to modernize government IT procurement and management, the Better Contracting Initiative (BCI) has been a cornerstone of our strategy at the Governmentwide IT Program Management Office. Today, I am excited to discuss the strides we are making under the BCI, particularly Priority 2, which focuses on negotiating common enterprise-wide software licenses.

We’ve embarked on a journey to streamline how our federal government procures and manages its software assets. Our new Governmentwide Acquisition Strategy initiative not only aims to enhance operational efficiencies but also to achieve substantial cost savings and increase buying efficiencies.

Strategic collaboration and enhanced efficiency

Our approach under Priority 2 of the BCI involves collaboration and strategic negotiation directly with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which are essential in managing the government’s vast array of IT resources. By centralizing our engagement processes and encouraging industry to view government agencies as “one customer,” we are ensuring that all government agencies, large and small, benefit from the best possible terms and prices, avoiding the inefficiencies of fragmented and duplicative contract terms.

IT Vendor Management Office’s role in the Governmentwide Acquisition Strategy initiative

The IT Vendor Management Office (ITVMO) has been instrumental in this effort, spearheading direct engagements by developing partnerships with OEMs, conceptualizing solutions for governmentwide challenges, negotiating resolutions, and establishing guidelines that will serve as the benchmark for software procurement across federal agencies. The Governmentwide Acquisition Strategy initiative is truly a governmentwide endeavor.

Steps to success

The ITVMO first identifies target OEMs by soliciting quantitative and qualitative data from all 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies. Using analysis of governmentwide spend and the gravity of common OEM-specific challenges, the ITVMO recommends an OEM to address, which is then validated and approved by government leadership.

The ITVMO then collects contract data from all 24 CFO Act agencies and performs significant analysis on terms and pricing to identify inconsistencies and abnormalities (both good and bad). With the help of a Governmentwide Integrated Project Team, the ITVMO builds a list of best-in-class terms and target pricing to pursue via a variety of recommended solutions.

After a comprehensive review and discussion of these recommended solutions through a Civilian Service Acquisition Workshop, which further supports implementation of BCI through Prong #3 focusing on getting requirements right the first time which will avoid waste and save financial resources, the CFO Act agencies and the ITVMO works to finalize a set of governmentwide requests for the OEM.

Finally, the government engages the OEM in a collaborative fashion by walking decision-makers through the government’s challenges and recommended solutions for the purpose of cooperative adjustment and, ultimately, acceptance of our governmentwide concepts through modifications to all governmentwide acquisition vehicles so that all federal entities get the benefits of our “one customer” approach.

Consistency in contracts = Better contracting

The initiative is part of a broader effort to not only manage costs but also to ensure that the software we procure is secure, reliable, and meets the diverse needs of the federal workforce. To that end, we’ve made significant progress in identifying key areas where terms and conditions can be standardized to benefit all agencies. Our focus has been on improving license flexibility and mobility, enhancing cybersecurity measures, and implementing cost-effective pricing strategies. The feedback from various stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating strong support for a more unified approach to software licensing in the federal sector.

Looking ahead

As we continue to advance this initiative, the insights gained from our ongoing discussions and negotiations will inform our strategies, ensuring that the federal government remains a prudent and effective purchaser of IT resources. To that end, the ITVMO is putting together a guide for agency acquisitions, specific to critical OEMs, to ensure broad recognition and adoption of the best-in-class practices we learned about throughout the Governmentwide Acquisition Strategy process. The goal is not only to save money but also to improve our IT infrastructure, making it more responsive to the needs of our agencies and the public.

The Better Contracting Initiative is a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence in government IT procurement. With Priority 2, we are setting new standards for how the government collaborates and negotiates in the IT realm, ensuring better outcomes for all our stakeholders. Stay tuned as we continue to make strides in transforming government IT procurement for the better.

Visit our website to learn more about how ITC is addressing the BCI through the ITVMO.

Please follow us on LinkedIn to join our ongoing conversations about government IT.

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Moving Up(front) with Upfront SaaS Payments

As agencies continue transitioning to cloud solutions that make government services more efficient and accessible, simplifying how they pay for these solutions may seem like a minor detail, but it is critical and it’s a big deal. 

Due to the expertise, influence, and progressive-thinking of GSA’s Information Technology Category (ITC), we’ve worked to find a new approach to give agencies better solutions while ensuring cost-effectiveness and compliance with regulations.

Effective May 2024, GSA changed its rules about upfront payment for software licenses delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS). 

The change affects Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Special Item Numbers (SINs), most significantly SIN 518210C Cloud Computing and Cloud Related IT Professional Services.

The change is another step toward delivering lower costs by aligning federal IT purchasing with commercial practices.

Background

We know that the software service delivery model has changed rapidly in recent years and to better serve our customer agencies and industry partners, we’re adapting, too.

Last year, we asked for industry feedback on the SaaS payment model and ways to align with industry best practices and the commercial marketplace. 

Based on their feedback and our research, we published a significant update in the recent MAS refresh, which should allow for increased competition and lower-risk entrance of small businesses into the SaaS marketplace. 

Good for agencies, good for cloud service providers

Traditionally, software was provided via a CD-ROM that needed installation and updates. However, with rapidly changing technology, most of it is now offered via the SaaS model. These services were billed in arrears on a month-to-month basis for a long time. 

With our recent update, we are providing the option to allow for payment up front, that is, paid at time of delivery for software delivered as SaaS that meet specific criteria, while keeping the option for month-to-month billing.

This change provides agencies with more flexibility and control to align task orders to SaaS license needs. Using the upfront payment model allows agencies to negotiate with vendors and resellers to realize more potential savings. 

Next steps for vendors  

To offer the upfront payment option, vendors must submit a modification adding it to their schedule contract. We encourage vendors to offer SaaS through the Cloud SIN 518210C so customers can easily discover it. And along with that, adding the upfront payment pricing and month-to-month pricing options to give agencies more flexibility. 

Aligned with commercial best practices, upfront payments can significantly reduce not only the cost of SaaS licenses, but also the administrative burden through one task order and one invoice to process. 

Best practices and resources

GSA has developed several resources to assist agencies in navigating cloud payments and IT procurement:

  • Acquisition Resource Guides: These guides provide detailed advice on managing costs, ensuring data protection, and selecting the right vendors.
  • Data Dashboards: Tools like the searchable data dashboard help track AI-related contract actions and spending, providing valuable insights for decision-making.
  • Cloud SME Support: Our cloud subject matter experts are here to support agencies and vendors navigating our systems. They can be reached by email through cloudinfo@gsa.gov.

By following these best practices and utilizing available resources, federal agencies can effectively manage their cloud payments and enhance their IT infrastructure.

Visit our website to learn more about the MAS Refresh, or follow the Cloud and Software community on Interact.

Follow ITC on LinkedIn and subscribe for blog updates.

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Planet Earth – Keeping Us Grounded

Looking toward Earth Day this year got me thinking about ITC’s efforts to promote a sustainable future. I’d like to share a few things we’ve done and what we’re working on.

One of the Biden-Harris Administration’s core goals is to put the United States on a path toward net-zero emissions, economywide, by no later than 2050. 

The federal government has a big role to play.

Reading the IT leaves

One trend that we’re seeing is the government relying more on “as-a-service” models for enterprise IT infrastructure. 

Another trend is buying less government-owned physical hardware. Agencies are getting what they need through industry and letting industry manage everything on the backend. 

We see this clearly reflected in our hardware buying data.

Relying more on industry-provided infrastructure through the cloud and other “as-a-service” solutions shrinks the government data centers’ overall footprint. This move reduces the government’s consumption of raw materials and energy. 

We’re seeing this trend across the government. Of course, data centers are just one piece of the IT sustainability puzzle. But it’s encouraging to see those numbers going down.

Looking to the horizon

So what is ITC doing specifically? Well, a lot!

  • In our Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract, we’ve built sustainability criteria into the contract. Section G.12 — Requirements for Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainability and Green Initiatives support environmental sustainability practices through using energy-efficient, virtual, and streamlined technology that facilitates agile and expansive network communications. 
  • Complex Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Solutions (CS3) Section C.2.1.5 — Climate Change Risk and Mitigation has a contract deliverable to prepare and update as needed a corporate climate risk management plan. This plan identifies and addresses mitigating climate change risks to land-based equipment and services associated with the satellite communication services that CS3 provides.
  • Our Governmentwide Strategic Solutions (GSS) for desktops and laptops has a mandatory Electronic Product Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Governmentwide Program. This comes from OMB Memo M-16-02, which provides standard configurations and minimum requirements for desktops, laptops, and tablets. The offering mandates EPEAT for all end-user devices and optional equipment (i.e., monitors) to meet the standard and be sold through the program.
  • The Alliant 2 Governmentwide Acquisition Contract is another great example of how the federal government leads in environmental sustainability. Alliant 2 requires greenhouse gas emissions (GEG) disclosures and reduction targets from its contractor pool. It is a contractual deliverable. We intend to continue this practice on Alliant 3.
  • With Defense Enterprise Office Solution (DEOS), GSA is helping the DoD leverage enterprise commercial cloud environment to enable cross-department collaboration while reducing the physical footprint of on-premise infrastructure.
  • Looking to the future, we’re working hard on the Cloud Marketplace Blanket Purchase Agreement, a vehicle that will enable agencies to further their cloud adoption strategies by offering common cloud capabilities more easily.

We know that moving to the cloud can reduce an agency’s footprint, but we’re taking that even further. We’re in the early stages of writing in environmental directives related to carbon pollution-free energy for the data centers that will provide those cloud capabilities: geothermal, hydroelectric, hydrokinetic, nuclear, solar, wind, and the like. (I have solar panels at home and I’m also a big fan of wind farms)

Also in the works is Polaris, our small business-focused contract. We’ve outlined two areas of sustainability in the Polaris RFPs:

  1. Products purchased from Polaris are at the EPEAT Bronze Level, and 
  2. Polaris contractors can provide their Sustainable Practices and Impact Statement (i.e., GHG disclosures).

How do we move forward? We planet.

We’ve got a lot yet to do to ensure we meet the president’s goals on sustainability. We’re working hard toward that aim.

As I reflect on Earth Day this year, I’m proud of the important strides we’re making to help agencies buy more sustainable IT products and we continue to seek opportunities to become more sustainable.

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

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