Focus of IG investigation now oversees GSA’s IT supply schedule program

April 22, 2013 by

An ongoing investigation by the Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general into contract steering and wasteful spending raises questions about a former OPM official who left the agency in September 2011 to oversee the General Services Administration’s biggest federal supply schedules program.

The probe found that top OPM officials steered consulting work to prominent human resources expert Stewart Liff, raising broader concerns about the overall procurement practices inside the agency’s human resources services division, according to an interim report by OPM Inspector General Patrick McFarland.

Investigators found that Liff was hired in 2010 and 2011 without competitive bidding through a “pass-through company,” with three task orders paid out on the contract totaling about $450,000.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20130416/ACQUISITION01/304160003/Focus-IG-investigation-now-oversees-GSA-8217-s-supply-schedule-program?odyssey=nav%7Chead

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Hacked U.S. tech contractors oppose anti-China procurement law

April 9, 2013 by
Technology contractors are warning Congress that a new counter-cyber spy law will leave agencies even more vulnerable to breaches by slowing the purchase of security systems to screen for Chinese-made components.

It might seem counterintuitive for companies allegedly robbed of proprietary designs by Chinese hackers to oppose protections. And it’s worth noting that information technology businesses generally are reluctant to publicly accuse China of hacking, partly because they have Chinese customers.

But the firms say discriminating against China could encourage retaliation and additional federal security audits could prevent the timely installation of safe network controls.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2013/04/hacked-us-tech-contractors-oppose-anti-china-procurement-law/62316/?oref=nextgov_today_nl 

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Federal IT funds circle the drain due to poor procurement policies

April 5, 2013 by

It may seem like a simple thing to fix — if the U.S. government wants more vendors to compete for contracts, just ask more companies to take part. However, those looking to reform the procurement process are running into snags that favor the status quo, and a new survey shows just how much money is wasted. A greater emphasis on open standards and boosting the role of CIOs are two possible solutions now being studied.

Federal agencies routinely pass up opportunities to improve information technology performance, and save money at the same time, by failing to seek vendor competition in the procurement process, according to a recent survey.

Federal IT professionals revealed that their agencies could save as much as $15.8 billion per year — about 20 percent of annual IT spending — by being more aggressive in utilizing multiple vendors in a more competitive environment for infrastructure projects.

The survey of 208 federal specialists was conducted in January by MeriTalk, an online community of public and private sector IT professionals.

Reporting on the survey in early March, MeriTalk said that 95 percent of respondents believe there are benefits to using more than one vendor in an area of their infrastructure, and 44 percent believe that adding a vendor drives down acquisition costs. However, five percent of agencies reported that their entire IT infrastructure uses just one vendor, and another 23 percent use just two or three.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/77636.html.

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No good news for government IT in sequestration delay

January 8, 2013 by

A just-past-deadline deal to put off a decision about drastic federal spending cuts until February will provide little solace for government technology chiefs and may be more damaging than if the draconian cuts had gone into effect, observers said Wednesday.

With no final decision on how or even whether to avert the slate of automatic cuts known as sequestration, agency leaders must spend two more months planning and budgeting for the most austere outcome or risk violating budgeting laws by overspending, said Alan Balutis, a former chief information officer at the Commerce Department and now a director at Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group.

The major change resulting from the last minute deal is that if and when a sequestration-averting plan comes through, agencies will have only seven months to rejigger their spending to conform with final budget allowances before the government fiscal year ends in September 2013, Balutis said, rather than nine months if a deal had been reached by January 1, the initial deadline.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2013/01/no-good-news-government-it-sequestration-delay/60433/?oref=nextgov_today_nl.

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DHS to recompete online immigration contract

December 26, 2012 by

The Homeland Security Department will award contracts to multiple companies to fix a long-suffering program aimed at computerizing immigration paperwork, after a lackluster job by the current vendor, according to federal officials and internal memos.

The original five-year, $536,000 plan for “Transformation” has grown into a potentially two-decade effort that, officials told Nextgov, could cost more than $3 billion if not stopped. So far, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS agency, has created one online form with the $792.6 million it has spent since contracting with system developer IBM in 2008. It is unclear how much of that sum went directly to IBM.

Keep reading this article at http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/12/dhs-recompete-online-immigration-program-crisis/60144/?oref=homeland_security_nl.

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GSA has yet to approve any cloud products under FedRAMP

December 21, 2012 by

Up against a self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline, the government’s purchasing arm has yet to endorse any cloud products for quick acquisition. Some applicants and testers say the General Services Administration has been mum about the hoped for announcement on approvals.

Confusion over paperwork has complicated efforts for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, according to interviews with cloud vendors and inspectors. FedRAMP, a security evaluation process, is intended to certify services for immediate use in any government agency. Inspections began in June.

Last week, GSA, which runs the program, released rules on the color scheme, placement and permitted uses of the FedRAMP seal of approval. Several auditors said constructive discussions about the contents of their evaluation reports and providers’ security plans have consumed more time than expected.

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OMB touts ‘historic’ $20 billion in contracting savings

December 11, 2012 by

Agency spending on goods and services contracts fell by $20 billion during the past year, the Office of Management and Budget announced Thursday.

Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan ascribed this “historic” savings level to “a concerted and collaborative effort by all federal agencies.”

The downward trend in contracting — a $35 billion drop-off or 16 percent decrease within three years — surpasses the goal President Obama set in 2009, Jordan told reporters in a conference call. Its decline represents a “dramatic reversal of the unsustainable 12 percent contract spending growth rate experienced from 2000 through 2008,” he said.

Jordan added contract spending on management support services, such as information technology systems development, was cut by $7 billion during the past two years by “buying smarter and buying less,” another administration goal.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/12/omb-touts-historic-20-billion-contracting-savings/60010/?oref=govexec_today_nl.

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Pentagon directive targets fake parts, vulnerabilities in arms systems

December 7, 2012 by

A  new Pentagon directive is calling for new safeguards against fake parts and software vulnerabilities in arms and information systems. The mandate, which took effect Nov. 5, is likely to bring new momentum to funding of technology to protect military supply chains.

Signed by Teresa Takai, defense chief information officer, and Frank Kendall, under secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, the directive asks for guidance, mechanisms and systems to control the security and configuration of software and hardware. It asks defense to push for new technology for “creating and identifying non-cryptologic software and hardware that is free from exploitable vulnerabilities and malicious intent.”

It calls for heads of defense units to come up with best practices to reduce occurrence of fake or compromised products. The order also asks for a way to give all critical components in systems an item unique identification so fakes can be better weeded out, and requires the implementation of test and evaluation protocols.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/12/pentagon-directive-targets-fake-parts-vulnerabilities-arms-systems/59897/?oref=nextgov_today_nl.

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GSA launches governmentwide acquisitions dashboard

December 5, 2012 by

The General Services Administration launched a new online dashboard Tuesday (Nov. 27, 2012)  that lists agencies’ information technology spending using governmentwide acquisition contracts.

The dashboard’s goal is to help agencies make “data driven” decisions about where to invest IT funding and to give federal IT vendors insight into new business opportunities, the agency said in a press release.

Governmentwide acquisition contracts, or GWACs, are master contracts for popular IT products and services that agencies can simply purchase for a set price rather than negotiate their own agreements with the vendor or put requirement out for competitive bids.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2012/11/gsa-launches-governmentwide-acquisitions-dashboard/59758/?oref=govexec_today_nl.

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GSA plans new governmentwide software contracts

November 14, 2012 by

The General Services Administration (GSA) plans to create a slate of new blanket purchase agreements with large commercial software publishers to be used governmentwide, according to solicitation documents issued Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012.

The new contracts will allow agencies to use software from a collection of large publishers based on standard rates negotiated by GSA rather than negotiating purchases themselves.

Officials from GSA’s SmartBUY program and a cadre of software advisers from across the government are seeking input from major publishers as they put the BPAs together, the sources sought document said.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2012/11/gsa-plans-new-governmentwide-software-contracts/59418/?oref=ng-channeltopstory.

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