GSA rolls out IT systems for acquisition

The General Services Administration's IT operations are using two new applications that the agency says will aid federal customers' purchasing and procurement.

GSA Associate CIO of Acquisition IT systems Liz DelNegro said the Enterprise Acquisition Solution integrated (EASi) and the Assisted Services Information System (ASSIST) look to help federal agency customers better navigate the complex procurement process.

EASi will allow customers to choose from standardized solicitation and award packages, as well as get assistance with funding certification, DelNegro wrote in a blog post on the agency's website Sept. 2. It will also interface with the mandatory Integrated Award Environment’s System for Award Management.

According to DelNegro, the application leverages GSA's larger IT application environments, including the Regulation Management Service, a new feature of the Solicitation Writing System and the Enterprise Content Management System. Internally the services are supported through the consolidated Service Oriented Architecture platform. GSA personnel in IT, Federal Acquisition Service and the Public Building Service's Office of Acquisition Management collaborated to produce EASi, she said.

Last September, the agency also contracted with IncentiveTechnology Group to develop, deploy and support EASi. The company said it provided overall business analysis and system enhancements to ensure the system and applications met functional and regulatory requirements.

GSA considers EASi a descendant of the agency’s old Comprizon acquisition platform. According to the federal IT Dashboard, the Electronic Acquisition System/Comprizon is a centralized web-enabled electronic procurement system based on commercial-off-the-shelf Comprizon proprietary software. The EAS Comprizon system automated key Public Building Service acquisition processes and provided a range of functional tools designed to support the office's acquisition preparation, tracking, and reporting for 3,050 active users at regional offices, field offices, and other remote locations nationwide.

ASSIST, the agency's other new acquisition system, sprung from a partnership of GSA IT and the Federal Acquisition Service’s Assisted Acquisition Service. DelNegro said GSA is "midway through" ASSIST's development and implementation.

She said ASSIST supports FAS customers, contracting professionals, and contractors by providing standardized task and delivery-order management. It also integrates contracting with funds management to provide data for business decisions.

According to DelNegro, ASSIST’s registration consolidation project establishes a new central mechanism for GSA, vendor and client registration. It also eliminates legacy hardware, software and license costs while reducing the operational burdens associated with user account maintenance, she said.