GSA Schedule | The Contracting Education Academy

November 5, 2018 By cs

FAS, IRS procure modern systems to streamline contracting processes

The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are looking into modernizing their technical assets to modify and streamline their contracting processes, Federal News Network reported last week.

General Services Administration The administrator of the General Services Administration Emily Murphy noted at the 2018 ImagineNation ELC conference that she aims for FAS to rethink procurement operations as it simplifies its schedules program.

She added that technologies such as robotics process automation, machine learning and business process re-engineering will help contracting officers focus on procuring systems according to specific data and business needs.

FAS Commissioner Alan Thomas also disclosed at the conference that the service will leverage GSA’s CIO Application Maintenance, Enhancements, and Operations recompete effort to modernize contracting systems.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.executivegov.com/2018/10/fas-irs-procure-modern-systems-to-streamline-contracting-processes/

October 24, 2018 By cs

FBI drops full and open competition for $5 billion IT recompete

The competitive pool for the FBI’s $5 billion IT commodity and services contract has been shrinking throughout the year and recently got even smaller.

Rather than hold a full and open competition for spots on the Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract, also known as ITSSS or IT Triple-S, the bureau announced that spots will be awarded to vendors that already hold contracts on the General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70.

Bureau contracting officials have been scaling back the contract as they’ve gathered market research through requests for information and industry days. After initial rumors the contract would be split into multiple parts for services like cloud computing and cybersecurity, the bureau announced in April that ITSSS would remain a single contract made up of multiple tracks.

The track structure remains in the latest revision, however, the blanket purchase agreement will now only include vendors with pre-vetted tools and services being offered on Schedule 70, further narrowing the competitive pool.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/10/fbi-drops-full-and-open-competition-5-billion-it-recompete/152031/

October 2, 2018 By cs

GSA introducing options to help automate agency contact centers

Come the new fiscal year, agencies will have access to a set of automated contact center technologies and services through a new special item number on the General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70.

The Automated Contact Center Solutions SIN—numbered 132-20—“provides a deep pool of pre-vetted vendors with a diverse set of contact center solutions,” according to a notice on GSA’s Interact site.

The special category will include vendors offering the latest in automation technology, including artificial intelligence, chatbots, voice and speech recognition, text-to-speech and more.

Managing citizen engagement through the various lines of contact—phone, email, web portals and in-person meetings—if a difficult task. GSA’s own Federal Acquisition Service receives close to 1 million calls a year, according to CenturyLink, which holds a $1.3 million contract to manage the service’s contact center.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/09/gsa-introducing-options-help-automate-agency-contact-centers/151325/

September 14, 2018 By cs

5 pillars of GSA schedules modernization

The back-to-school season is upon the Nation’s Capital. As local students are wrapping-up their first week of classes today, it is time to start thinking about the end of summer and the end of the fiscal year.

The “experienced hands” at gearing-up for a new school know, and others likely will notice, this season unmistakably is one dominated by lists. Accordingly, as we prepare for the new fiscal year, The Coalition for Government Procurement is providing its, “5 pillars for schedule modernization,” to assist the General Services Administration and the Veterans Affairs Department in their efforts to modernize and enhance the schedules program.

Much like the Coalition has done in the past, each of these 5 pillars will be addressed in more depth through subsequent the Coalition’s “FAR & Beyond” blogs in the coming weeks.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2018/09/5-pillars-of-gsa-schedules-modernization/

June 5, 2018 By cs

GSA wants to modernize how the government buys cybersecurity services

The government’s main contracting agency wants to make it easier for federal and state agencies to quickly acquire a broader array of cybersecurity services, according to contracting documents released this week.

The General Services Administration is interested in updating the list of “highly adaptive cybersecurity services” it offers on its IT Schedule 70, according to the request for information.

GSA schedules are essentially lists of pre-vetted contractors that agencies can buy particular goods and services from without going through their own lengthy vetting processes.

Currently, the highly adaptive cybersecurity services, or HACS, list includes penetration testing, incident response, cyber hunt (essentially hunting for adversaries you fear may already be inside your systems), and risk and vulnerability assessments.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/05/gsa-wants-modernize-how-government-buys-cybersecurity-services/148491/

The Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are looking into modernizing their technical assets to modify and streamline their contracting processes, Federal News Network reported last week.

The competitive pool for the FBI’s $5 billion IT commodity and services contract has been shrinking throughout the year and recently got even smaller.

Come the new fiscal year, agencies will have access to a set of automated contact center technologies and services through a new special item number on the General Services Administration’s IT Schedule 70.

The back-to-school season is upon the Nation’s Capital. As local students are wrapping-up their first week of classes today, it is time to start thinking about the end of summer and the end of the fiscal year.

The government’s main contracting agency wants to make it easier for federal and state agencies to quickly acquire a broader array of cybersecurity services, according to contracting documents released this week.

Search this Website