GSA rolls out space-based SIN
The agency hopes Schedule 70 special item number for Earth observation solutions will help speed uptake of emerging satellite services.
A little over a month after the General Services Administration proposed a central ordering code for cybersecurity services, it set up a similar code for satellite services.
The agency said the new SIN would help federal agencies to use the shower of new earth observation industry services, such as imagery/communication, distribution and content management, analytics and data products. Those services, it said, are generated by a growing number of established companies and new entrants using newly deployed and acquired satellites.
On its Interact site, GSA said it aims to be a "one-stop-shop as new commercial imagery providers, capabilities, and data solutions emerge in the Information Technology market to meet the needs of federal, state, local, regional, and tribal governments. "
Separately, the agency hopes its proposal for a Schedule 70 SIN for Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation services will help streamline and centralize federal agency ordering for cybersecurity services. It proposed a CDM SIN in March, as the August 2018 expiration of CDM's blanket purchase agreement looms.
The agency placed the CDM SIN on a fast track, with responses to the proposal due on April 5, and SIN awards slated for some time in May, according to GSA officials. The transition for CDM products to the SIN will begin in May also, they said.