GSA May Replace Slack For Workplace Collaboration

The government’s acquisition agency may replace Slack as its go-to workplace collaboration tool, according to a contracting document released Wednesday.

The General Services Administration is looking for an enterprisewide collaboration platform that will allow employees to work together securely and efficiently no matter their location, according to the request for information.

The agency currently uses Slack as its main collaboration tool but is looking to get something more.

GSA’s IT office and Office of Internal Acquisition are interested in “information from vendors for a solution that is not limited to the functionality of Slack but extends beyond its capability,” the RFI states. The agency is interested in cloud-based software-as-a-service options.

“Specifically, we are looking for companies who have built a culture around the delivery of quality digital products,” the request states. Along with a culture of quality, the agency is looking for a “secure enterprisewide collaboration platform” that:

• Offers security features that meet or beat standard federal requirements known as FIPS-140-2.
• Allows administrators to retrieve public and private data to respond to FOIA requests or for legal proceedings.
• Allows public, non-government members to join some collaboration spaces using two-factor authentication method.
• Associates comments and conversation threads with shared files.
• Allows notifications on desktop and mobile devices.
• Syncs desktop, mobile and tablet apps simultaneously.
• Allows users to search all their conversations, including public channels, private groups and documents.
• Allows image and video sharing within conversations.
• Integrates natively with technical stack, including development tools and G-Suite.

The RFI also includes a comprehensive list of technical, feature and administrative questions for interested companies.

Responses are due by April 30. GSA contracting officers are only accepting emailed responses.