Acquisition

Why the Army is wary of other transaction authority

Undersecretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said that while agile acquisition authorities are welcome, there's a risk in using them.

Modernization

EIS contractors want more time for transition

EIS contractors are chafing under what they see as a slow transition from GSA's old telecommunications contract to its next-generation vehicle.

Acquisition

Lawmakers eye CDM legislation

Legislation may be coming with the aim of putting the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program back on track.

Acquisition

Why CDM vendors need more flexibility

Prime contractors on the government's Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program need the ability to respond with agility to changing threats.

Acquisition

GSA extends wireless bulk buying plan

Citing savings and a developing agile contracting vehicle, GSA gives federal customers more time to work with its wireless blanket purchase agreements.

Acquisition

VA goes all in on APIs

The agency's new Lighthouse project looks to nurture a community of developers to build apps incorporating VA data.

Acquisition

Senate panel approves DHS authorization

A Senate panel voted up a DHS authorization bill, but it stripped out provisions to focus the agency on improving election system cybersecurity capabilities.

Modernization

DOD details its plans for JEDI cloud contract

The timeline for a department-wide commercial cloud solution is aggressive, but Pentagon officials say deeper in-house expertise and better internal cooperation can get them to an award this year.

Acquisition

Can Census staff up for 2020?

With the decennial count looming, a watchdog report finds problems with how the Census Bureau handles background checks of temporary employees.

Acquisition

After breach, OPM ignored contracting requirements in ID monitoring deal

Nearly four years after the data breach, OPM was found to have improperly awarded a multi-million contract for identity theft services.

Modernization

DOD scales back $950M cloud agreement

A DIUx-driven Other Transaction Authority agreement with REAN Cloud that had been DOD-wide will now be limited to U.S. Transportation Command, and given a much lower ceiling of $65 million.

Acquisition

NGA previews acquisition overhaul

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is looking to revamp its acquisition process to lean heavily on small businesses and agile spending authorities.

Acquisition

Contractors gripe about DHS clearance woes

Varied and uneven security clearance processes for contractors across DHS components are leading to confusion and problems for vendors, industry experts told a congressional panel.

Acquisition

Solving the 'technical debt' problem

Increasingly IT managers are recognizing that it's time to stop borrowing against the future when it comes to overly complex and outdated applications.

Acquisition

OMB wants acquisition innovation

Administration officials say agencies need to streamline acquisition for the sake of their financial health.

Modernization

EIS vendors show progress on testing

Major carriers on the government's $50 billion telecommunications contract are advancing on required systems testing.

Acquisition

Alliant 2 Small Business bogged down by size standard appeals

Because of an unusual volume of complaints, it appears that Alliant 2 Small Business won't be open for business any time soon.

Acquisition

Can DHS purchase innovation?

At a reverse industry day, representatives from DHS and industry discussed what's keeping government from innovating.

Acquisition

IG: DHS isn't tracking problem contractors

DHS needs a better system to track barred and suspended contractors, according to a new report from the agency's watchdog.

Acquisition

Are RFIs a waste of time and money?

Vendors expend valuable resources on market research efforts for agencies, without knowing whether there's a business opportunity in the offing.