Tag: SD-WAN

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Terrestrial connectivity problem? Meet GSA’s satellite solutions.

Problem: Meeting the need for reliable and flexible connectivity

The digital landscape and the federal IT market are extremely fast-paced and ever-evolving; federal agencies require robust, flexible, and reliable connectivity solutions to maintain their operations seamlessly, regardless of location. Even more critical are remote or emergency situations where traditional broadband solutions may fall short. Many agencies face such challenges, needing reliable connectivity for maritime and remote operations. This is one way GSA’s goals of simplifying federal procurement processes helps ensure agencies get what they need and deliver for the American people.

Solution: Leveraging Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites through EIS

LEO satellites’ recent innovations have made them more affordable and accessible. Closer to Earth than traditional geostationary satellites, LEO satellites offer faster response times and more reliable data exchange, both essential to maritime and remote operations.

One great example hits close to home. GSA is also our customer, and the agency uses our solutions. My team collaborated with GSA’s Chief Information Officer to integrate LEO satellite services as part of their Software Defined – Wide Area Network solution to provide high speed connectivity for remote locations, as well as alternate connectivity in a potential emergency situation. Working through the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract vehicle, we helped the organization get the necessary equipment and services. This partnership shows how GSA’s EIS can transform modern IT solutions.

“We’re focused on providing a secure, forward-leaning work environment where we can accomplish our mission regardless of location or emergency situation,” said Erika Dinnie, associate CIO at GSA’s Office of Digital Infrastructure Technologies.

“We streamlined our network, eliminated bottlenecks, incorporated software-defined networking to simplify network management, and implemented a zero trust security posture.”

Enhanced operational efficiency and real-time data exchange

By deploying a SD-WAN that includes LEO satellite services, agencies can revolutionize their operations, allowing for cost-effective, real-time data exchange from remote, airborne and maritime locations. This enhances GSA’s ability to efficiently monitor and respond to environmental changes and emergencies. Agencies can get game-changing real-time data exchange. 

Successfully implementing through EIS highlights the contract vehicle’s flexibility and shows the practical benefits of adopting cutting-edge technology to meet mission-critical needs.

Why agencies should consider LEO services

LEO satellites offer many advantages for federal, state, local and tribal agencies, especially those operating in remote areas or requiring reliable backup solutions. Key benefits include:

  • Faster response time: Due to their lower altitude, LEO satellites transmit data quicker and suffer lower latency than other satellite services.
  • Cost-effectiveness: Innovations and increased competition have made LEO solutions more affordable than ever.
  • Reliable connectivity: LEO is ideal for remote or underserved areas where traditional broadband services are unavailable or unreliable.
  • Scalability and flexibility: Agencies can easily scale services based on their needs, ensuring uninterrupted operations.

Acquiring LEO and SD-WAN services through EIS or MAS IT

Agencies looking to use LEO satellite solutions or enhance their network infrastructure with SD-WAN can use GSA’s EIS and Multiple Award Schedule IT contracts.

EIS Contract Vehicle

  • Offers a comprehensive suite of services, including LEO satellite integration and SD-WAN architecture.
  • Simplifies the procurement process with pre-vetted vendors and streamlined acquisition procedures.
  • Provides cost savings through aggregated federal buying and increased competition among suppliers​​​​.

MAS-IT

  • Agencies can purchase satellite communication services through the COMSATCOM Special Item Number 517410.
  • Provides a wide array of IT products and services, including managed network services and cloud-based solutions​​​​.

Expert support and resources

GSA’s Solutions Brokers can help agencies navigate the acquisition process and select the best solutions to meet their specific needs. They provide technical consultation, scope reviews and solicitation templates to ensure a smooth and efficient procurement process​​​​.

Interested in learning more? Please watch our recent webinar about GSA’s LEO satellite solutions, as part of our Executive Education Series. The event featured GSA’s satellite and mobility subject matter experts and a special guest calling in live from Utqiagvik, Alaska! Slides from the presentation are available below for download.

Slides for November 6, 2024 Low Earth Orbit with Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions CLP Class 508 ReviewedDownload

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GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions Instills Cybersecurity Confidence

On May 12, the White House issued the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. This EO underlines the fundamental problem of how cybersecurity weaknesses leave critical infrastructure open to debilitating attacks. It also outlines what government agencies must do to improve their collective defensive posture, reduce risk, improve visibility and secure their infrastructure.

GSA’s Information Technology Category (ITC) tracks cybersecurity trends and is involved in conversations with industry experts on this topic. We incorporate the EO’s technological goals in our contract solutions, like Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions Contract, or EIS.

When it comes to network security, Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA) is the gold standard. We even published a Zero Trust Architecture Buyer’s Guide to help agencies build toward it. EIS is featured prominently in the guide, because it offers baked-in security “building blocks” to create customizable solutions.

Managed Security Services

The EIS Managed Security Service (MSS) is a comprehensive service that protects an agency’s information technology assets—hardware devices, network, software, and information—from malicious attacks. It includes capabilities such as authentication, anti-virus, anti-malware/spyware, intrusion detection, and security event management. MSS comprises the following sub-services: Trusted Internet Connections Service (TICS), Managed Prevention Service (MPS), Vulnerability Scanning Service (VSS), and Incident Response Service (INRS).

Managed Network Services

The EIS Managed Network Service (MNS) enables an agency to outsource a portion or all of its network planning, design, implementation, maintenance, operations and customer service as a strategic move to improve IT services and lower costs.

Software Defined – Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) Services

SD-WAN services provide significant benefits by giving agencies central security management and visibility, the ability to segment networks where security policies can be tailored per application and data type, and identity-based user access.

Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Services (MTIPS)

MTIPS version 2.2 provides security for all external connections to public Internet, Extranet, and Cloud Service Providers. As agencies look to implement the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) TIC 3.0 guidance, MTIPS may be complemented with additional EIS services to achieve the updated security capabilities of a TIC 3.0 Traditional TIC solution.

FedRAMP Authorized Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Tools

SaaS gives an agency access to applications hosted in the cloud. The provider manages the security, availability, and performance of the applications as part of their service. Using SaaS allows an agency to reduce the time, expense, and risk associated with the installation and maintenance of software on agency computers. EIS SaaS meets all federally required security standards for Cloud services.

EIS delivers solutions to agencies that will meet CISA’s latest Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 guidance and ZTA requirements which include the Core Zero Trust Logical Components described in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-207. GSA continues to collaborate with CISA to provide guidance to agencies advancing legacy networks towards a zero trust architecture.

In the past decade, the typical federal agency network has evolved from being static with a known perimeter to mobile-friendly with nodes across the country. We are now regularly reminded that security solutions must correspondingly evolve to secure agency data and be able to ensure the safe transport of information to and from cloud applications, data centers, and remote users. If they don’t, the U.S. will continue to be vulnerable to malicious actors all over the world.

The Cybersecurity EO prioritizes “accelerated movement to secure cloud services; centralized and streamlined access to cybersecurity data to drive analytics for identifying and managing cybersecurity risks; and investment in both technology and personnel to match these modernization goals.” EIS already supports these by supplying SD-WAN services, 5th Generation (5G) telecommunications technology, Internet of Things (IoT) offerings, and Cloud-based security solutions.

Using EIS to buy IT infrastructure ensures a greater degree of consistency in the government’s telecommunications and network infrastructure services. It also consolidates the government’s purchasing power, driving lower prices on products and services that to satisfy complex security, flexibility, and visibility needs. EIS solutions offer the foundation needed to adapt to evolving threats and continue accomplishing your mission. The sooner agencies transition, the sooner they can take advantage of the secure solutions available on EIS. Accelerate your transition progress by Taking A.I.M. at EIS.

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Can Your Network Adapt to Current and Future Demands? With SD-WAN, It Can!

How adaptable is your network?

Think back on how your organization worked through the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and you’ll have your answer.

Having a Modernized Infrastructure Paid Off

Agencies with modernized services such as Ethernet-based networks and software-based IP phones were able to operate with minimal disruption as their workforce shifted to full time telework. They took advantage of scalable bandwidth to quickly meet increased network requirements without the need for physical or onsite changes. This agility is one of the many advantages of modern infrastructure and cloud deployed applications. IP Voice users similarly kept making calls regardless of their physical location, and those with Unified Communications leveraged capabilities such as chat, conferencing, collaboration tools and presence applications to keep their workforce on mission.

SD-WAN Integrates and Orchestrates Your Network

IT leaders are actively seeking to implement a new networking technology called Software Defined – Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). SD-WAN can securely connect your headquarters, data centers, branch offices, and remote workers with numerous cloud-based services. SD-WAN can enable Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) use cases, segment users and applications, and play a role in Zero Trust Network architectures.

SD-WAN Is Now a Managed Service Under EIS

We recently added SD-WAN to our Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract. SD-WAN is ideal for improving network performance since it increases visibility and control enterprise-wide. It saves money and increases performance by allowing the use of different types of internet connections such as broadband internet, 4G/5G wireless internet or high-availability Direct Internet Access based on availability and need. It can even be incorporated with existing Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) circuits for critical applications.

SD-WAN Features and Ordering At-a-Glance

Our team created four new use cases for SD-WAN, Ethernet, IP Voice and Traditional TIC to show key info as a handy reference. These single-page infographics highlight the technologies we see driving modernization, the business value those technologies can offer you, and our implementation recommendations. We also offer supporting documents such as in-depth savings analyses, service guides, and whitepapers.

Software Defined - Wide Area Network graphic
SD-WAN Modernization Use Case pictured above. Download the PDF version.

In a GSA analysis of SD-WAN, medium-sized agencies can achieve a cost avoidance of 42%. Our SD-WAN Overview and Ordering Guide lays out everything you need to evaluate SD-WAN and acquire it on EIS. How’s your network able to support the ever-expanding use of cloud services? Utilize the numerous GSA resources to assist your organization to modernize with SD-WAN.

For additional information on what IT modernization could look like for your agency, please contact your designated GSA representative or call 855-482-4348.

Visit the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions page to learn more and use our IT Solutions Navigator to find the vehicle that’s right for you.

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