Tag: Cost Saving

Posted on

How to Save More Using Networx

If you had to take a course about Networx called “How to Get the Most from Telecommunications,” would you pass with flying colors, fail, or just get by?

If you know what Networx is, what options are available, and your organization has placed orders using Networx, congratulations, you’ve passed Networx 101. If you want to learn how to get the most from Networx for your organization, you’d be advised to take a 200-level course, or just read this blog post.

Today, not every agency is taking advantage of some of the newer Networx technologies that offer savings and enhanced features to support agency missions. Think of this blog as the Networx 201 cliffs notes, outlining acquisition choices you can make under Networx that may deliver more savings, allow you to take advantage of improved technologies Networx partners offer, and add value without raising your costs.

Networx 101: The Basics

GSA’s Networx offers agencies access to major telecommunications companies and industry partners. In total, the federal government buys over $1.3 billion annually in networking and telecommunication services through Networx.

Acquiring services under Networx Universal or Networx Enterprise gives you the ability to focus your agency resources on building seamless, secure operating environments while ensuring access to the best technology industry has to offer to connect your enterprise.

We’ve saved more than $8.4 billion taxpayer dollars (compared to commercial prices) and lowered telecommunications costs for agencies by aggregating and leveraging our collective buying power since 1999 with Networx and FTS2001.  We’ve saved about $350 million through the first half of FY13.  Last year, the Networx program saved taxpayers over $700M.

Agencies that use Networx save 30%-60% over the cost of most services at commercial rates. This money can go back into agency mission areas.

So, how do we do even better?

Networx 201: Unleashing Better Value

Tip #1—Take advantage of our Unit Pricer and Agency Pricer tools. You can call us at 855-ITaid4U (855-482-4348) or email ITCSC@gsa.gov to request we help run some pricing numbers for your enterprise or project. This allows you to view and compare prices across Networx vendors. We can also show you exactly how much you spend, where it goes, and how much you’ve saved.

Agencies can continuously access new services priced both separately and as a customized solution through contract line item number (CLIN) and fair opportunity ordering. You can see pricing by carrier, which drives down pricing up to 80% over the life of the contracts for some technologies.

Tip #2—Most to-date savings with Networx come from a move away from legacy telecom/network services into newer Networx technologies that offer more for less. So what are some of these technologies that offer better value?

I’ll touch on a few here, but there are others. Please contact your Technology Service Manager (TSM) to learn more about how you can optimize your Networx acquisition choices.

Network-Based IP VPN services account for nearly half of Networx usage today. This is expected as voice, data, and video traffic “converged,” or consolidated, into enterprise-wide IP based wide area networks. If you haven’t explored this service yet, you may want to.

Cloud-based services like Web Conferencing, which provides more benefits than an audio service, requires no capital investment, and is more fully featured since it offers the ability to share information via your desktop.

Common Security Services can increase savings and utility, such as Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS) since it provides a universal platform to comply with government mandates.

Yes, we’ve seen cost savings and value over the years with Networx. But we don’t have to stop here.

Networx includes all the services that FTS2001 did, but it also has some gems not everyone has found yet. Check out your options thoroughly. Ask questions. Call your TSM. When technologies and services available to us do more, do it better, and cost less, our choices become a lot easier.

Please share comments or additional ideas in the comments section below, or follow us on Twitter@GSA_ITS to join the conversation.

Posted on

Managed Mobility Myth-Busters

In my last blog, we talked about FSSI Wireless. Today, let’s take a closer look at GSA’s other new complementary program: Managed Mobility.

How does Managed Mobility complement your wireless plans and devices? What are the benefits of Managed Mobility?

Think baseball and sunshine. All your resources are gathered (bats, balls, uniforms, players, coaches, stadium, field, fans, food) and you’re ready to go. But take away the sun and add dark clouds and rain, things don’t go quite as planned. It can be miserable and hard to manage. FSSI Wireless is where you go for your main mobile resources (plans and devices), and Managed Mobility sheds a light on how to best use them.

Our Managed Mobility Program, which launched in May, will help agencies improve enterprise-wide mobile management and keep pace with mobility management best practices and solutions.

With other federal agencies, we launched the Government-Wide Mobile Device Management Program as part of the Administration’s Digital Government Strategy (DGS). We’re hoping to transform government services and use of mobile technology in line with 21st century expectations.

So, to help you understand the Managed Mobility program offerings and benefits, let’s clarify what is true and what is not:

Mobile Management and FSSI Wireless are the same.

FALSE.

These two complementary mobile technology solutions pack a one-two punch. You can buy mobile plans with devices from FSSI Wireless, which will transform how government buys wireless service plans and devices and lower prices.

The Managed Mobility Program will also transform how government manages those devices after buying them. We want to help you better embed mobile management seamlessly into your entire IT portfolio in a way that meets your agency’s needs.

The Managed Mobility Program is a contract vehicle or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA).

FALSE.

Managed Mobility is not a BPA or other governmentwide vehicle. This program instead identifies and evaluates potential solutions currently on existing contract vehicles that can be procured today. The program creates and maintains a list of potential sources of supply, which meet the greatest number of government requirements.

We don’t need a new contract vehicle for mobile management today.

TRUE.

Based on fluidity, ongoing market evolution, and federal policy space, our cross-government team found the best approach today is to highlight solutions assessed to meet shared enterprise-wide needs. As the market and policy mature, we will revisit what we are doing today.

You can buy a Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Application Management (MAM), and Mobile Life-Cycle (MLC) solution on the list.

TRUE.

You can use the Managed Mobility program’s central repository, information, and staff to identify the solutions that best meets today’s requirements.

You can buy non-mobile IT equipment on the Managed Mobility Solutions list.

FALSE.

Non-mobile IT equipment and services and IT-focused management solutions are not part of this program. You can check out all GSA’s IT solutions.

Buying mobile management solutions from GSA can save acquisition time.

TRUE.

It takes less time to procure an MDM, MAM, or MLC solution than you might think. Much of the work to define requirements, identify potential sources of supply, and secure some baseline pricing to budget your acquisition has already been completed. The time frame for procuring an MDM, depending on the requirements, is much shorter than the typical procurement cycle.

Agencies must procure solutions on the potential solutions list to comply with the Digital Government Strategy (DGS). 

FALSE.

Other solution providers may have solutions that better fit your agency’s need.

If your requirements are not reflected in this program, contact our Managed Mobility Program.

TRUE.

We will continue to assess the requirements and MDM market to meet the greatest governmental need.

I hope I’ve debunked some myths and helped you better understand GSA’s Managed Mobility Program. For more information, read more about our Managed Mobility program.

Share comments or additional ideas in the comments section below, or follow us on Twitter@GSA_ITS to join the conversation.

Posted on

Managed Mobility: Game On

Think of GSA’s Managed Mobility Program as having two VIP players working together to give government a slam dunk when it comes to increased access to cost-effective wireless devices and services and enterprise-wide mobility, data, and applications management.

The two key players are Managed Mobility and FSSI Wireless. You’ve heard a lot about FSSI Wireless’s steady progress and what immense value it will bring to government.

GSA’s Managed Mobility Program promises the same benefits.

First though, for those of you who have been glued to your television for “March Madness,” I want to thank you for tearing yourself away for a few minutes to read this blog!  But in case I lose you before you finish reading, let me make this one quick point:  While you are zombie-eyed watching the college basketball championships this month and knee deep in stats, brackets, and upsets, GSA and our cross-government Managed Mobility working group partners are busy evaluating responses due March 8th to our Request for Technical Capabilities, so that over the next month we can deliver a managed mobility win for government.

Blending Mobile into Enterprise-Wide IT
The challenge: Managed mobility is an emerging need of the federal government as our workforces and users increasingly demand mobile access and applications. Allowing agencies to better and more cohesively manage all aspects of mobile devices is a priority. This means everything from managing acquisition, configuration, and provisioning to security, finding lost devices, and remotely enabling and disabling features, to final disposal and disposition. Getting every agency’s mobile assets and applications seamlessly blended into the enterprise-wide IT effort is an ultimate goal.

Our Road to Win
Last May as college basketball teams across the nation started to plan and train for the upcoming season, the White House released its Digital Government Strategy. DGS #5.5 directed GSA to “set up a government-wide Mobile Device Management Platform.” Centralizing requirements gathering and solution evaluation reduces the burden on agencies while increasing their options’ quality and reducing cost government-wide.

GSA took the ball, did its homework, and teamed up with partners in DHS, DOJ, DISA, USDA, the White House Communications Agency, and other security, policy, and IT experts in industry and government.

Our next challenge was to make a game plan. The Managed Mobility Team recognized the managed mobility space is fast-moving and always changing, a bit like college basketball, so we needed a winning strategy. We initially developed a set of sought and desired Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) capabilities.

Secondly, we knew there were managed mobility solutions already available on existing, easily accessible contract vehicles. We wanted to leverage these resources rather than initially set out to build a new franchise from the ground up. The benefits of this game plan are faster, easier access to existing solutions without significant initial dollar investment as the emerging market continues to change.

Today, GSA and our partners are evaluating responses to our RFTC to identify solutions already available and opportunities to create new IDIQs and Schedule 70 BPAs if it makes sense. We will create a central repository so stakeholders can quickly find and scan solutions with links to contract vehicles and directions to acquire each one.  In addition, we will track and share best practices, and implement strategies and mechanisms for the Managed Mobility Program to grow, evolve, improve, and respond to changes in mobile technology, policy, and requirements.

Beating the Time Clock
GSA takes our Digital Strategy Directive #5.5 seriously. Working with our government and industry partners, we will identify the GSA managed mobility toolset and make our central repository available to agencies ahead of the DGS deadline of May 23, 2013. When we launch our repository, government agencies will be able to access managed mobility solutions seamlessly in an easy-to-use, secure, integrated solution. At that point, we will prepare for the next game in the tournament, responding to the evolving MDM commercial market and the needs of our federal customers.

So, you’ve made it to the end, thanks for sticking around to the final buzzer. Now, you have a clear understanding of GSA’s Managed Mobility Program strategy and updates, what progress we’ve made, and what you can look forward to.

Please share comments or additional ideas in the comments section below or follow us on Twitter @GSA_ITS to join the conversation.

Posted on

The Twelve Facts of HSPD-12

Physical and Cybersecurity are more critical than ever.  Identity management is an important part of securing our government facilities and data.

Identity management is addressed through HSPD-12, and we are often told how complex, expensive, and difficult to implement Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentialing solutions.

Periodically stories emerge, often from agencies in the throes of implementing HSPD-12 or OMB Memorandum 11-11, that FAS’s PIV card offering is either too expensive or not flexible enough to meet the agency’s needs.

GSA’s USAccess Managed Service offering is over 5 years old. It’s time to take stock of some facts.

In the spirit of the season, I present “The Twelve Facts of HSPD-12”:

    1. GSA serves all of government: GSA has 99 customer agencies participating.
    2. No agency is too big or too small: These agencies range from 3 to 115,000 cardholders.
    3. No agency is too complex: We have experience in deployment and onboarding processes across complex agency structures, geographically diverse locations, and widely different operating environments.
    4. We have the experience: USAccess has completed credential issuance for over 800,000 Personal Identification Verification Cards.
    5. We offer breadth of service: USAccess offers a full range of services needed to support the PIV lifecycle, including certificate re-key, credential reissuance, and renewal.
    6. We value transparency: The cost of cards can easily be calculated at www.fedidcard.gov.
    7. We calculate total cost of ownership: The website not only contains cost figured for basic enrollment and maintenance, but also enrollment station infrastructure costs that can be matched to an agency’s need.
    8. We are affordable: Total annualized program costs for agency
      customers (including all PIV issuance infrastructure, system development, card issuance, and lifecycle maintenance from the GSA USAccess team) are under $40 per card holder.
    9. We offer a Shared Service: Individual agencies can save further and get “Shared First” credit with OMB by sharing the enrollment infrastructure with other agencies.
    10. We continue to compare prices: GSA continues to do research regarding deployment and startup costs for agencies and has never found an individual agency with a lower cost to deploy and operate.
    11. We save the government money: Most agencies pay between 4 and 9 times more doing this themselves!
    12. We encourage others to share information: The next time you hear “I can do it cheaper myself!” please engage us in dialogue that may help us improve our services and the services we offer to the federal government.

While I don’t think this would do very well as a holiday song, I hope it clarifies some common misconceptions of our HSPD-12 program. If you have any questions about our HSPD-12 or any other identity, credentialing, or access management offering, please visit gsa.gov/hspd12 for more information. From all of us here in ITS, I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.