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Tag: cloud

Will Ascend make it easier to buy cloud services?

GSA recently released a draft statement of work as part of their latest effort to give agencies an easier way to buy cloud services. They are calling it Ascend.

At a recent ACT-IAC sponsored conference, Sonny Hashmi, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service within GSA, said “I don’t want to make the presumption that we’ve figured it out. The process to get to an endpoint on Ascend is going to require a lot of dialogue, and I don’t want us to move forward without it. It goes back to how we were talking about user-centric design. There’s got to be a user need, and in this case, it’s got to be an agency need that Ascend will address. That will dictate what the vehicle looks like, how it’s going to be designed because, without it, it is not going to be successful.”

“At this point, we’re being very deliberate about making sure that there is an actual need on the other side of this. Adoption is going to happen not just because it’s going to be a forcing function, but because there’s actually a need that we’re solving. If we’re not, if it turns out that we’re behind and agencies don’t have a need, then I would rather actually not do this. While we’re excited about this program, ultimately, its job is to solve a problem and help agencies to deliver on their mission. If there’s a better way or different way to solve the problems that we are facing, we’re happy to change tactics on it.”

The draft statement of work for Ascend creates three separate buckets of vendors to deliver infrastructure – platform-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, and cloud professional services.

The draft solicitation states, “the Ascend BPA is part of GSA’s cloud marketplace vision of empowering agencies to develop and implement enterprise-level cloud acquisition strategies through a modernized and simplified approach to meet their IT and cybersecurity requirements. The BPA will emphasize cloud smart/security smart objectives and establish minimum baseline requirements for the acquisition, business operations reporting, and technology capabilities provided by commercial cloud service providers (CSPs) and cloud-focused labor service providers that are not currently accessible under other GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) or governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs). The Ascend BPA will focus on enabling support for both vertical (e.g., IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and horizontal capabilities across the ecosystem and will provide more effective system integration and managed support services for the delivery of flexible, diverse, and secure cloud solutions.”

Hashmi said, “we’re hoping this will be one mechanism or the primary and most usable mechanism for agencies to think about when they’re thinking about modernizing their digital stacks.” Hashmi feels Ascend will allow agencies to buy “by the drink”. This gives GSA the ability to on-ramp new cloud service providers as they become available. It also gives contract holders the opportunity to bring innovation to the federal sector as required and needed.

Hashimi feels this gives agencies greater flexibility. Hashmi said, “the other thing for me is creating a marketplace that is competitive. It can’t just be a small number of highly capable cloud companies. If you don’t create continuous opportunities for new companies to join the marketplace, then we have failed because this market is changing very rapidly.” From past experience, GSA found agencies didn’t want to just contract for cloud services, but a full range of support from the cloud itself along with integration services and ongoing support.

The first versions of Ascend came under scrutiny by industry associations. However, Hashmi said these concerns and other questions concerning the BPA are exactly why GSA put out a draft statement of work. The draft statement of work allows for feedback from agencies, associations, and anyone critical to Ascend’s success.

Are you interested in Ascend and what your company can offer on this procurement vehicle? Give us a call.

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Alliant 2 is Out/Polaris is In

After a year of protests and federal court hearings, the Government Accountability Office has canceled its $15 billion Alliant 2 Small Business contract. GAO is calling the replacement contract “Polaris.” A GSA spokesperson said, “Polaris will not only guide small businesses through the federal market, it will also help GSA customer agencies through the acquisition of IT service-based solutions, and give GSA a chance to improve our offerings and set the agency on a solid course for the future.” (GSAblogs.gsa.gov, October 1, 2020)

Administration sees the industrial base broadening by:

  • Pricing Strategy: GSA plans to increase its pool of qualified small businesses that serve federal agencies. GSA will employ Section 876 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, allowing contract awards to qualifying contractors without consideration of prices for hourly services. Focus on price competition ultimately takes place at the task order level.
  • On-ramps: Allows for an expanded industrial base as technology changes and for vendors to be considered on the GWAC following an initial award period.
  • Opportunity Expansion: An increased opportunity for HUBZone and woman-owned businesses.
  • Embracing Technology to Maximize Efficiency: Polaris will provide agencies with access to emerging technology providers, especially those offering artificial intelligence, automated technologies, blockchain, 5G implementation, cybersecurity, and cloud. (ibid)

The vendor evaluation strategy will be similar to that used in the Veterans Technology Services 2 and Alliant 2 contracts. Both were guided by industry comments. FAS may utilize an online proposal submission tool to speed up Polaris contract awards, as well as a modified evaluation strategy. (Federal Computer Week, October 5, 2020)

Questions about the Polaris evaluation strategy and how your company might do business on the platform? Give us a call.

Updating Govt Cloud Security

Cloud vendors will soon see standardized security liability language in all government contracts. This is partly due to agencies’ migration to the cloud being sped up once the pandemic hit and increased teleworking, making the need for cybersecurity assurances essential. (Nextgov, May 20, 2020)

Thomas Santucci, the director of the Data Center and Cloud Optimization Infrastructure Program Management Office at GSA, recently elaborated on the subject, “I think there is a need to update our [service level agreements] with the cloud providers and we’re actively working on that within [the General Services Administration]…. OMB has just stood up a [program management office] to work on a cloud SLA template for the federal government to be attached to every contract.” (ibid)

When referring to the pandemic, Santucci said, “Users are now remote rather than in a central building or campus. Agencies that are doing well are mostly in the cloud with little or no impact. Remote users do not need a [virtual private network] to gain access to their emails or files, collaboration products have significantly reduced file duplicates, and bandwidth consumption is between the home internet connection and the cloud. It’s a great success story.” (ibid)

Officials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) believe moving to the cloud does not mean security is a “one and done” feature. There are many considerations that customers may be responsible for under contracts. Increased use of cloud services is not 100 percent secure.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-California recently wrote to NIST Director Walter Copan, requesting NIST work to establish metrics to accompany their Cybersecurity Framework. The framework allows entities to implement security controls based on their needs. Matsui’s letter to Copan asked for ways to evaluate the security implications of those decisions. Matsui states, “with quantifiable measurement tools, cybersecurity strategies can be compared across industries and between entities. Metrics and measurements that facilitate comparisons and assess risk will be valuable for consumers, companies, and governments.” (ibid)

Wondering how your contract or upcoming proposal might be impacted by cloud migration and updated service level agreements? Give us a call.

Wanna Connect a Hybrid Cloud?

The Department of Defense (DoD) wants a hybrid cloud environment to serve as the cornerstone for department-wide use of artificial intelligence. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) issued two sources sought notices from all business that can provide system engineering and integration “to support the procurement, implementation, and operation of a hybrid and multi-cloud deployable development and production platform for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) solutions.” (Fedscoop, November 25, 2019)

This hybrid cloud environment will form the basis of the Joint Common Foundation (JCF), a DoD/Government  AI/ML development platform, containing Data, Tools, and Processes. JCF will include shared data, reusable tools, frameworks, and standards. Additionally, it will include cloud and edge services to develop, secure, test and evaluate, deliver, and sustain capabilities. “The JCF will incorporate the architecture and software artifacts of the Enterprise Development, Security and Operations (DevSecOps) initiative and evolve toward enabling the DoD Artificial Intelligence Strategy.” (ibid)

Proposed vendors answer specific questions about past experience integrating multiple cloud providers at scale with continuous development and integration while meeting security compliance standards. A solicitation conference will be held in early 2020, followed by a request for quotation, and award by the end of September 2020.

The award of JCF will move swiftly. Give us a call if we can answer any questions or assist with your proposal efforts.

COMET Commeth!

The General Services Administration (GSA) has released the second and much sought after piece of the IT services procurement known as COMET. The solicitation aims to create a multiple-award blanket purchase agreement (BPA) on top of IT schedule 70.

GSA plans to make between 10 and 12 awards with a minimum of 25 percent set aside for small businesses. The BPA will require a host of IT services, including operations and maintenance, cloud and the continued development, and support of the acquisition systems portal beta.SAM.gov. GSA’s goal is a three-step evaluation approach, including an in-person technical challenge.

In April, GSA issued the RFP for the first and substantially smaller piece of COMET focused on architecture, engineering, and advisory support. (FedBizOpps)

Have questions about COMET and how your company fits in? Give us a call at 301-913-5000.