Technology | The Contracting Education Academy

August 23, 2018 By cs

Someone is waging a secret war to undermine the Pentagon’s huge cloud contract

As some of the biggest U.S. technology companies have lined up to bid on the $10 billion contract to create a massive Pentagon cloud computing network, the behind-the-scenes war to win it has turned ugly.

In the past several months, a private investigative firm has been shopping around to Washington reporters a 100-plus-page dossier raising the specter of corruption on the part of senior Defense Department and private company officials in the cloud contract competition. But at least some of the dossier’s conclusions do not stand up to close scrutiny.

The dossier insinuates that a top aide to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis worked with Mattis and others to steer the contracting process to favor Amazon Web Services, or AWS—and enrich the aide. The aim of the dossier seems clear: to prevent the deal from going solely to AWS, the odds-on favorite in part because it operates the CIA’s classified commercial cloud. Far less clear, however, is who backed its creation and distribution.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/08/someone-waging-secret-war-undermine-pentagons-huge-cloud-contract/150684/

August 17, 2018 By cs

Pentagon’s startup outreach office no longer an experiment

Diving into long-term relationships can be scary, but the Defense Department said it’s ready to go to commit to its startup outreach program.

Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), the office charged with bringing Silicon Valley tech to the Pentagon, will now be known as Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

The name change reflects military leaders’ “commitment to the importance of its mission” and signifies the permanence of the group within the country’s defense apparatus, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

“DIUx has generated meaningful outcomes for the department and is a proven, valuable asset,” Shanahan wrote in a memo to agency leaders. “Though DIU will continue to experiment with new ways of delivering capability to the warfighter, the organization itself is no longer an experiment.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/08/pentagons-startup-outreach-office-no-longer-experiment/150408/

June 29, 2018 By cs

Here’s how not to screw up a $50 billion networking contract

The clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline for agencies to switch over to the General Services Administration’s massive new contract vehicle for network and telecom services, and federal IT leaders are worried agencies might blow it.

Last year, GSA rolled out the Enterprise Infrastructure Services contract, a $50 billion blanket award that covers governmentwide procurement of traditional networking and telecommunications equipment, as well as a mix of emerging technologies. All agencies are required to transition to EIS by 2020, and the contract could last up to 15 years.

EIS has the potential to streamline innovative tech purchases, boost federal cloud usage and strengthen cybersecurity across the government, top IT officials said at a forum hosted by ACT-IAC, a government and industry organization.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/06/officials-heres-how-not-screw-50-billion-networking-contract/149137/

See GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Services fact sheet here: EIS_Fact_Sheet

June 21, 2018 By cs

How should the tech industry handle high-profile government contracts?

In March, Gizmodo reported that Google had formalized a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to improve image recognition capabilities for drones.

The news prompted an immediate ― and predictably negative ― response. Despite Google’s attempt to message the contract as serving “non-offensive uses only,” news outlets were quick to explore the ethical implications of this partnership and question how the technology could be extended to weaponry.

Google’s leadership anticipated this external response. What they didn’t plan for was the degree of internal backlash they’d receive. Following the announcement of the partnership, Google employees began complaining about working for “the business of war.” Some workers left in protest. In April, about 4,000 Google employees signed a letter to the CEO requesting the cancellation of the project.

On June 1, Google announced that it won’t be renewing its contract with the DoD when it expires. Accompanying that announcement was the news that Google will be updating its code of ethics.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/opinions/2018/06/14/how-should-the-tech-industry-handle-high-profile-government-contracts/

May 31, 2018 By cs

USDS to certify new acquisition specialty

The U.S. Digital Service is adding a digital services contracting certification to create a cadre of “technology acquisition mavericks.”

After two pilot efforts , USDS, along with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, is launching a new certification program for digital services contracting for civilian agencies with an eye to reducing the cost and time it takes to procure digital services in government.

The idea for new program stemmed from a Challenge.gov winning submission, proposed by ICF International and ASI Government.

Government “didn’t teach how to buy digital services,” said Joanie Newhart, Associate Administrator for Acquisition Workforce Programs, Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2018/05/23/usds-new-specialty.aspx

See the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s memorandum May 18, 2018 on this subject at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/fac_c_digital_services_05_12_18.pdf

As some of the biggest U.S. technology companies have lined up to bid on the $10 billion contract to create a massive Pentagon cloud computing network, the behind-the-scenes war to win it has turned ugly.

Diving into long-term relationships can be scary, but the Defense Department said it’s ready to go to commit to its startup outreach program.

The clock is ticking toward a 2020 deadline for agencies to switch over to the General Services Administration’s massive new contract vehicle for network and telecom services, and federal IT leaders are worried agencies might blow it.

In March, Gizmodo reported that Google had formalized a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to improve image recognition capabilities for drones.

The U.S. Digital Service is adding a digital services contracting certification to create a cadre of “technology acquisition mavericks.”

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