GSA Seeks Industry Input on Governmentwide Cloud BPA

The General Services Administration announced plans for an enterprisewide cloud-based, multiple-award blanket purchase agreement through which federal, state and local agencies could procure a variety of cloud services.

In a request for information, GSA is soliciting industry input regarding its acquisition strategy, which thus far seeks to deliver commercial software-, platform-, and infrastructure-as-a-service on a “pay-as-you-go basis.” The strategy encompasses “anything-as-a-service” offerings to allow for future cloud offering, and would “allow agencies to acquire and implement secure, seamlessly integrated, commercial cloud service offerings as a replacement for legacy enterprise IT services and products.”

“The IT environments in which the government operates are changing and evolving at a rapid pace, driving GSA to leverage the Multiple Award Schedule Cloud SIN to develop an easy-to-use, government-wide acquisition solution for cloud services in a hybrid model,” GSA IT Category Deputy Assistant Commissioner Keith Nakasone said in a statement. “The number-one thing agencies ask for is an acquisition solution that offers a full set of commercial, secure, soup-to-nuts, cloud products and services. We think now is the right time to make it happen.”

In market research published with the RFI, GSA indicates a growing need across government for cloud services, including “audio, video, collaboration, email, content management, records management and office productivity” services; cloud services whereby third-party providers delivery software tools over the internet, and cloud storage. The RFI indicates the pandemic—and the government’s subsequent shift to remote work and virtual solutions—has accelerated cloud-based requirements.

Industry has until May 24 to respond to the RFI.