GSA to move e-mail to the cloud

The General Services Administration's move to a cloud-based e-mail system is the start of a significant effort to increase efficiency governmentwide, according to an analyst from the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

GSA last week issued a request for proposals for a "software as a service" e-mail and collaboration system. The agency last month reopened a procurement for cloud computing infrastructure, including storage services and Web hosting, in an effort to move information technology to a shared mobile platform.

Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at Brookings, said the RFP is a big move for government, whose cloud efforts thus far have been "scattershot."

"More money will be spent on cloud computing, and many more people will be affected by the migration," he said. "Right now the cloud is a relatively small portion of the overall federal IT budget. It looks like the cloud share is going to grow much larger."

According to GSA, the current e-mail infrastructure will be expensive and inefficient to upgrade and maintain. For example, site-specific server hardware is at least five years old and scattered across 17 regional locations. In addition, the system's archiving capabilities are inconsistent and difficult to use and the storage requirements are becoming unwieldy and costly.

The RFP outlines mandatory features like e-discovery, instant messaging, integration with the agency's existing Voice over Internet Protocol service and the ability to archive and restore information. Bonus capabilities include Web conferencing and compatibility with mobile devices in addition to BlackBerry.

The new system will create an "innovative, creative, cost-effective and evolving environment" at GSA, wrote Chief Information Officer Casey Coleman in the RFP cover letter.

"This will affect the day-to-day life of many federal employees," West said. "It's always a challenge to get people to adapt to new systems, but in other places where this has been done, they've gotten good results, saved a lot of money and have provided user interfaces that are much easier for employees. This will align the federal sector with private practices."

GSA currently has 15,500 individual accounts and 3,000 shared accounts, though that number is expected to grow to 30,000. About 9,300 accounts also are accessed with BlackBerry phones.

West said privacy and security are key concerns for users, but GSA has made great progress in working out security protocols. The RFP requires systems to meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology's moderate level of security.

"This is exactly where federal government should be moving," West said. "The private sector did this years ago."