Interior issues draft cloud RFP valued at up to $1B

The Interior Department is again going big on cloud computing.

The department, through its U.S. Geological Survey, has issued a draft request for proposals for DOI-wide cloud services worth up to $1 billion through a single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. Individual task orders would be issued under the Cloud Hosting Solutions III contract for a variety of cloud services while empowering DOI bureaus.

“The Cloud Hosting Solutions acquisition puts DOI bureaus in control of how, when and where they wish to receive service,” the draft RFP states. “It is a catalyst to make DOI a world-class service provider and a framework for modernizing DOI’s culture, processes and capabilities to put the needs, expectations and interests of the clients first.”

The draft RFP also lays out five strategies “fundamental to the transformation of DOI.” They include: improving the cloud service experience, empowering DOI employees, achieving support services excellence, establishing a culture of continuous performance improvement and enhancing strategic partnerships.

Main drivers for the new cloud contract include an impetus for cloud migration and data center consolidation, both of which stem from directives issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

The contract comes as the Interior Department’s Foundation Cloud Hosting Services contract, awarded in 2013 to 10 different vendors, is set to expire. That contract has a ceiling value of $10 billion over 10 years.