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Tag: federal contractors

GSA Chief Wants to Reveal Task Order Data

GSA Chief Emily Murphy May Make Task Order Data More Transparent

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Emily Murphy is contemplating making information on all multiple-award contracts public in the name of transparency. At present, only companies with spots on the solicitations can see relevant solicitations and awards, which offers business intelligence and a competitive edge on the federal market. In 2016, GSA spent over $110 billion through 2,600 multiple-award contracts.

Murphy has had  conversations with both the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Governmentwide Policy. She is currently waiting for the  Federal Acquisition Service to deliver options that might offer some greater transparency. According to Murphy, “This needs to be addressed not just in the microcosm of the GSA schedules…. We need to be looking across government and making sure we are not disadvantaging the schedules program versus other programs, and we are not putting our vendors or our customers at a competitive disadvantage.”

Transparency is only one of four goals Murphy has set for  her term running GSA. Read more here.

Rolling Down the FedRAMP

GSA recently announced the launch of the FedRAMP Tailored Baseline for Cloud Service Providers with Low Impact Software-as-a-Service systems. FedRAMP Tailored aims to support solutions that have low risk and low costs for agencies. This means a streamlined process for a variety of applications. Tailored also standardizes an approach to determine risks associated with cloud applications and provides the government with the freedom to use the cloud while maintaining security.

FedRAMP tailored was open for comment in January and July of 2017. The program provides base security control requirements for industry to meet. Agency authorizing officials are responsible for adding controls where necessary for compliance. GSA believes “The FedRAMP program, including our goals for Tailored, is a key part of issuing an informed, risk-based authority to operate.”

For more information, see the FedRAMP Tailored website. 

And the medal goes to….

 Recipients and Winners of the EIS contract

The ten prime contractors, announced on 1 August 2017, have publicly received new information on who is eligible for which task orders in various cities and categories. That data will inform transition plans for agencies, and describe the competition field for vendors.

Contractors on EIS telecom contract

GSA required all participants to bid on the top 25 EIS Core Based Statistical Areas in order to qualify for the contract. The GSA maps for the contract show Washington DC as the number one CBSA.

The data provided for the contract is more complex than similar service matrices for past contracts (like Networx) because EIS offers more options and more competition. GSA doubled the number of providers who cover the contract from the contractors on Networx, and each of 932 areas has multiple options for providers.

For more information, view the data on Interact.

Uncle Sam Wants You … To Comment on Acquisition Regulations

Per the Trump administration’s mandate, GSA continues to streamline federal regulations. They have subsequently requested industry comment on policies that may be due for repeal, modification, or replacement. GSA especially needs input on less recent items, such as evergreen contracting. The office also encourages information on newsworthy topics such as the Transactional Data Reporting rule.

Of particular interest are regulations that inhibit job creation, seem outdated, have more drawbacks than benefits, create serious inconsistencies, derive  from non-transparent data, or rely on executive orders that have since been rescinded.

Send in your comments to take advantage of this opportunity to comment  on GSA’s policies and practices. Read more at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-05-30/pdf/2017-11052.pdf

 

EIS Schedules (tele)Coming to America

GSA Asks for Industry Help Transitioning to EIS Contracts

GSA is moving small agencies and Native American tribes that hold telecommunications Networx and WITS 3 contracts to Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions(EIS) contracts. Officials expect a May 2020 completion date for the transition.

GSA asked industry for input on how to transition these 36 entities to the new plans.

If groups do not have the resources to transition, they can ask GSA to do most of the heavy lifting. However, groups that use this service must reimburse GSA through contract fees.

For more information, read the RFI.