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Tag: Technology Modernization Fund

Modernizing and Funding IT

GSA will continue IT modernization through the new fiscal year, according to Suzette Kent, Federal Chief Information Officer, and Emily Murphy, GSA Administrator. (Federal Times, October 21, 2019)

While Kent and Murphy were speaking at the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Imagine Nation conference, the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), announced $8 million of funding to be made available for the Department of Agriculture and $4 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (TMF provides funding to agencies for IT projects.) TMF recently granted GSA $20 million for its New Pay HR system.

The EEOC will implement a Cloud-based charge and case management system while the Agriculture project will replace an outdated, manual IT system used for food inspection and certification. Both of these systems have thousands of touch points around the country. The Office of Management and Budget has said both agencies will leverage modern commercial capabilities to move their digital modifications. (ibid)

Interested in the upcoming GSA RFQ or DoA or EEOC opportunities? Give us a call.

The Future is Cloud-y

In February, GSA released a draft request for proposal (RFP) to consolidate and upgrade all of the Defense Department’s back office functions into the commercial cloud. GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service is now in the early stages of doing the same for civilian agencies with Civilian Enterprise Office Solutions (CEOS). (Federal News Network, May 7, 2019)

To help ensure supply chain security, DHS took the lead on early efforts. GSA has taken over efforts to reduce the attack surface of the network. With managed service, security is already embedded in the solution, making it more secure than the currently situation. (ibid)

Alan Thomas, GSA FAS commissioner and a board member managing the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), has recommendations/lessons learned for agencies applying for Fund loans to modernize their IT:

  • Agencies submitting proposals this year need to build incremental benchmarks into their proposal, or their funding will likely be pulled.
  • Quarterly reviews will be conducted on agencies receiving funding.
  • Agencies should make sure their proposals focus on value creation and cost savings as the agencies must pay back funding provided by TMF.
  • Agencies should coordinate internally on proposals prior to submission; otherwise, they run the risk of being turned down for funding. (ibid)

FAS is also in need of IT modernization. The FAS internal systems, FSS 19, is nearly 40 years old. It uses older programming languages (COBOL, PowerBuilder) that solved specific problems instead of approaching an integrated solution. FAS is in need of a new, updated IT solution to bring the agency out of the 1970s. (ibid)

Are you a software provider or integrator looking to bring civilian agencies into the 21st century? Let’s talk! 301-913-5000.

 

 

Tech Mod Fund Already Active

Tucked inside last week’s House Appropriations Committee bill, was a $25 million line item adding to the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). The TMF was created in fiscal year 2018 with $150 million aiming to help agencies with IT projects deemed critical; it is intended to make a significant impact on agency services and quickly deliver a return on investment. Although funding has faltered several times already, it appears the House will continue to add it as a line item until it is passed.  (Nextgov January 22, 2019)

Six different projects have been awarded, or loaned, under the original $150 million. Agencies have five years to pay back these amounts. (ibid) Included are the following receipts:

  • GSA received $15 million
  • Agriculture $5 million
  • Labor $3.5 million
  • HUD $45 million

Funding is provided via TMF board approval. The board consists of seven federal tech leaders, who weigh proposals through a two-round application process before voting on which efforts to approve and fund. (ibid)

Want to know more about which agencies are seeking funding and how to get positioned to bid?  Give us a call at 301-913-5000.