GSA schedules Twitter chat for cloud broker idea

Turns out, finding a cloud broker is an idea worth talking about.

Or so the General Services Administration thinks. The agency has scheduled a Twitter chat on Aug. 28 regarding its efforts to find a cloud broker – an entity that manages the performance and delivery of cloud services, and negotiates relationships between cloud providers and cloud consumers.

GSA issued a request for information on the concept on July 17 with a deadline of Aug. 17. But, according to agency officials, so many responses came in that the deadline was extended to Sept. 7.

In an Aug. 21 blog post announcing the Twitter chat, Kevin Youel Page – acting assistant commissioner of GSA's Integrated Technology Service – detailed some of the enthusiasm with which industry has reacted to the RFI, including a well-attended industry day along with the flow of written responses.

“[C]loud migration represents a major change in the way that government does business, which means that our acquisition model must continue to evolve to respond to the shift,” Page wrote. “It will not be simple or easy, but GSA remains committed to paving the way to help agencies find innovative and cost-effective acquisition solutions, and I ask industry to join us in accepting this challenge. We are excited to hear your thoughts and ideas.”

To take part in the Twitter chat, follow @GSA_ITS and be online on Aug. 28 starting at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.