GSA launches revamped contract for cloud computing
Procurement increases security standards while offering similar services.
The General Services Administration has reopened its cloud computing procurement and launched a new tool for agencies to collect information about cloud services.
The agency posted last week an Infrastructure as a Service request for quotes on its E-Buy website, its online procurement tool. The RFQ asks for cloud storage services, virtual machines and web hosting, part of an effort to move information technology to a shared mobile platform.
GSA cancelled its original cloud contract in February, 11 months after it launched. Dave McClure, associate administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, said in March that the new procurement would take changes in the cloud market into account and provide a safer hosting environment for government data.
The new RFQ mandates moderate rather than low-level information security requirements developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
GSA launched on Thursday info.apps.gov, a website that provides agencies with information about cloud services. The site is a "clearinghouse for all things cloud computing," said GSA spokeswoman Caren Auchman.
According to GSA, the portal was designed to provide information about cloud services, best practices and the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative. It expands on apps.gov, the agency's cloud computing storefront, with industry highlights, notable use cases and information on upcoming cloud events.