Tag Archives: GSA

Using Modern, Agile Dashboards to Power Today’s Government Programs

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Nearly every federal agency is currently tackling a major IT modernization project. The need for functional, transparent, and user-friendly project management systems has never been higher. But tracking, managing, and overseeing these projects can be difficult for the agencies involved. Projects like the Federal IT Dashboard that the General Services Administration (GSA) successfully relaunched in March 2022 is an example of how a unified, user-friendly, and cost-effective dashboard can give agencies the tools they need to manage an expanding portfolio of projects. This ambitious project, taken after the previous dashboard had aged and become too costly to maintain, is a big step forward for the agency.

The GSA wanted to create a one-stop, accessible version of the resource, which gave agencies the insight they needed to understand and better manage their IT portfolios and investments. Their investment in a contemporary, easy-to-use dashboard is a testament to the role that a powerful, modern dashboard system plays in government program management. A well-built dashboard delivers an overview of the agency or program’s state of affairs, giving agencies the visibility they need to make informed decisions.

Atlassian Dashboards Management Blog Embedded Image 2022The Value of a Single View Across Complex Programs

One of the biggest advantages a dashboard can bring to an agency is the ability to zoom in and out of complex, multi-faceted programs and projects. This interactivity lets agencies gain insight into their project and program structures at multiple levels.

Dashboards also help with project tracking, transparency, and accountability across internal and external stakeholders. The dashboard becomes an interactive map, allowing users to dive into the details at each level of the projects they contain, giving leaders the big-picture view they need to see the impacts of a multi-faceted project.

Custom dashboards are built for an agency with a specific use in mind. While these solutions offer incredible levels of customization, they can often be costly to develop and maintain. Fortunately, there are other options that are easy to use, quick to implement, and more cost-effective than their custom counterparts. Powerful enterprise dashboard platforms are one such option. They deliver a secure, easy-to-use, simple-to-understand viewpoint that can scale from the 10,000-foot view across the program portfolio to individual tasks in a single project.

The ideal platform can bi-directionally integrate with one or more instances of the agency’s favorite project management tool to deliver an aggregated, strategic, enterprise view of everything happening across those projects and programs. It’s also important to have native integration on top of a preferred project management platform. This can bring visibility to the work being done across multiple projects and programs and delivers insights that a standalone project management tool couldn’t, such as tracking overall operational performance and measuring risk.

Working with modern commercial software can help agencies of all sizes use informative, easy-to-use dashboards, helping teams connect strategies with their technical execution at a glance. As a strategic portfolio management tool, powerful dashboard platforms that integrate with a world-class project management tool let agencies see the bigger picture without having to invest in costly tools that are built from scratch and outdated as soon as they are deployed.

Here at Atlassian, we’re celebrating the modern, agile approach to project dashboards, and we encourage agencies to consider adopting similar solutions in the spirit of financial and developmental efficiency. Our mission is to help unleash the potential of every team. We believe effective dashboards can be a key component in bringing agency teams together to help them achieve their missions. 

Download our whitepaper “Jira Align: Key Steps Toward an Adaptive, Efficient, and Effective Government” to learn how Atlassian is helping agencies meet their mission requirements!

The Technology Modernization Fund’s Projects for Zero Trust Innovation

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In the wake of the 2019 pandemic and its long-lasting effects, most agencies have begun adapting new security standards to meet changing needs. The 2017 government action plan, The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), aims to aid federal agencies with funding in order to accelerate the thorough completion of projects. While the TMF did not directly award grants for pandemic relief, many of its cybersecurity projects meet critical needs that were enhanced by the pandemic and working from home. Three of its major projects are centered around helping departments accelerate the transition to zero trust, the most effective security strategy. These projects focus on Zero Trust Architecture in the US Department of Education (EDU), Advancing Zero Trust with the GSA, and Zero Trust Networking with OPM.

Zero Trust Architecture

One project is the TMF’s funding of Zero Trust Architecture for the EDU. The TMF will invest $20 million into the department over a two-year span to strengthen the zero trust architecture in order to increase the security of citizen data maintained by the department.[1] This includes over a hundred-million students and borrowers that the EDU supports. The project’s goal is to improve security of data through strategy, architecture, design, and implementation roadmaps. The department will also have a catalog of services with Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) technologies.

Advancing Zero Trust

The TMF has awarded $29,802,431 to go toward the US General Services Administration (GSA) for advancements in zero trust.[1] As the GSA’s shared services support millions of users and hundreds of facilities, it is vital for the agency to advance their cybersecurity architecture. Through its TMF funding, the GSA intends to focus on three main areas:

  1. Users and Devices: The GSA aims to replace directory designs to meet new demands of telework and multi domain, hybrid cloud architecture. It will implement virtualization with security strategies, (including a single-sign-on multi-factor authentication option,) in order to:
    • Increase cybersecurity identification and protection
    • Add both equitable, online identity verification and in-person options for improved accessibility to vulnerable populations
    • Reduce the barriers to Login.gov by expanding the website features for both current and future users.
  2. Networks: By leveraging SASE solution and upgrading public buildings’ security network, the GSA hopes to add micro segmentation to secure networks.
  3. Security Operations: The GSA intends to adopt increased machine learning and artificial intelligence driven algorithms. This would help connect diverse data sources, highlight system threats, and provide managerial oversight.

Carahsoft TMF Zero Trust Blog Embedded Image 2022Zero Trust Networking

Finally, the TMF has allotted $9.9 million towards accelerating the adaptation of zero trust networking in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).[1] The OPM hopes to improve cybersecurity architecture across data, identity, devices and endpoints, network and environment, and application workload areas. They aim to use the TMF funds to reduce the surface area for attacks and increase managerial visibility over networks. In doing so, they will improve the security of data and privacy protections for over two million civilian federal employees.

Increased financial assistance allows companies to implement vital security measures. In 2015, OPM experienced a security breach for their personnel systems, which led to the loss of more than 20 million personnel records.[2] In order to solidify their systems, the OPM conducted research on zero trust before ever receiving funding. As a result of the TMF’s aid, the OPM can now implement this latest security architecture faster than anticipated. OPM has created five different teams to execute this: architecture engineering, cloud operations, service management, service automation, and migration.[3]

Government Services for the People

TMF is vital to accelerating and improving agency projects. With the extra funding, organizations can afford better oversight measures, such as non-company experts. The variety of security measures, such as managerial oversight, smaller attack surface areas, micro segmentation, and identity verification, that TMF aids are all vital to the changing work landscape. Even features such as expanding website attributes will enhance public connection to government agencies in a post-COVID-19 landscape. With this increased connection, the federal government can better achieve its goal of being for and by the people.

 

View Adobe’s Experience Cloud Demo page for more insights on Technology Modernization Fund and cybersecurity.

 

[1] “Investments: Advancing Zero Trust” The Technology Modernization Fund. https://tmf.cio.gov/projects/#advancing-zero-trust

[2] “The Awards Focus on Zero Trust and Include a Major Investment in the Login.gov Federal Digital Identity Solution,” FCW. https://fcw.com/security/2021/09/7-new-tmf-awards-include-one-classified-project/259192/

[3] “Technology Modernization Fund support awarded to 7 new agency IT projects,” FedScoop. https://www.fedscoop.com/opm-speeding-zero-trust-tmf/

Modernizing Cybersecurity & MultiCloud Services with TMF

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What is TMF?

The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is an action plan created as part of the 2017 Modernizing Government Act. The goal is to have a funding vehicle that would aid agencies in accelerating project completion. This is enacted via a loan which will be repaid based on individual project agreements. In order to implement and perfect technology modernization, the Technology Modernization Board (TMB) prioritizes projects that engage several agencies at once, address security gaps, and improve the public’s access to services. The TMB is responsible for eighteen different projects across ten federal agencies, seven of which were awarded American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to address urgent IT modernization challenges.

How it Works

The fund is overseen by the TMB, which is comprised of government IT officials and cybersecurity experts with expertise in technology, transformation, and operations. The board reviews IT-related project proposals submitted by government agencies to determine which projects deserve funding, and how much. Priority is given to proposals which meet certain criteria [1] such as improving security, increasing operational efficiency, and adapting scalable technology. Since its inception, the TMB has loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to agencies and programs such as Foreign Labor Application Gateway and Farmers.gov. Technology modernization proposals are sent to the board through a two phased approval process.

The first phase is the Initial Project Proposal (IPP). IPPs act as a low burden prescreening for both agencies and the Board. Agencies submit a rough outline of their project proposal, while only approved and unique projects go to the Board for review. In their proposal, agencies must discuss a general plan process and whether project funding has been explicitly denied or restricted by Congress.

The second phase, the Full Project Proposal (FPP), is submitted directly to the Board. FPPs must have a comprehensive description of the proposal, project milestones, and a funding schedule. Agencies should also have a pitch presentation prepared for the Board.

Once funded, TMF projects are reviewed quarterly by the Board to ensure milestones and schedules are met. Corrective action is implemented when necessary to help agencies remain on track, and technical experts are there to provide support to teams to improve capability and fix troubleshoot issues.

TMF’s Importance Today

The TMF process is helpful as it provides greater flexibility to agencies and funds technology modernization efforts by allowing repayment options and payback terms for up to five years. Across the board, government agencies have accelerated modernization efforts because they no longer need to wait for funding. Now, agencies can act and gain funding as the project goes on. Oftentimes, company departments that are overlooked by either the government or their own agency will go through the TMF to gain adequate funding for important projects. This financing shows that accountability and oversight make a difference. It allows agencies to provide new capabilities in a timely manner in a rapidly changing environment. Without the TMF loans, these contributions, delivery, and improvements would not be possible.

Modernizing Zero Trust

One of the eighteen funded projects allows the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to modernize legacy network systems and implement an advanced zero trust architecture [2]. Through technology modernization funds, the GSA will advance zero trust architecture by improving zero trust blocks. Firstly, the GSA will replace directory designs to meet the new expectations of hybrid cloud architecture. These updates will be multi-domain and multi-cloud applicable. Secondly, it will develop modernized enterprise single-sign-on that will include multi-factor authentication. This way, security will be improved by a micro-segmented authentication system that adheres to a zero trust strategy. Lastly, the GSA will add artificial intelligence and machine learning driven algorithms to help detect threats to systems. All together, these measures will help protect government clients’ sensitive information from bad actors.

Carahsoft Cybersecurity & MultiCloud TMF Blog Embedded Image 2022Data Modernization

Another project goal is to modernize the Department of Labor (DOL)’s enterprise data management and analytics capabilities. The aim is to improve the availability and analytic capabilities of data to developers, journalists, researchers, and other federal agencies. Currently, the DOL faces issues with data consistency, quality, and availability. Proposed improvements include incorporating predictive analytics software to report capabilities to the DOL’s IT department, and implementing data management capabilities and to support application programming interface (API). This would share data with both the DOL and the public. These efforts could aid in cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved services [2].

TMF and Multicloud Services

One initiative that the TMF has provided funding for is cloud-based security enhancements. So far, these include funding for:

  • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to complete migration to the cloud for all applications ($500 thousand)
  • To the Department of Energy (DOE), to migrate enterprise emailing to the cloud ($3.7 million)
  • To the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to move critical business systems from on-premises databases to the cloud ($13.8 million) [3]

Single clouded services have limited control and less flexibility. With the combination of two or more public clouds, private clouds, or a combination of both, an agency will gain better control and oversight on the cloud. This will allow a customer’s sensitive information to be better protected. This is especially important in light of 93% of businesses are moving to multi-cloud architecture [4].

The Future of TMF

With the Technology Modernization Fund, government agencies are able to improve their cybersecurity, increase data management capabilities, and support the public they are created to serve. TMF acts as a mitigated process to gaining funding for projects. Due to the implementation of the TMF, improvements in security such as multi-factor authentication, API, zero trust, and segmentation were enacted in the federal government. Because of TMF, government agencies are better able to serve customers by keeping their information secure and meeting their constituents and employees’ needs in a modernized, efficient, and scalable manner.

 

View Adobe’s Experience Cloud Demo page for more insights on Technology Modernization Fund and cybersecurity.

 

[1] “Awarded Projects,” The Technology Modernization Fund. https://tmf.cio.gov/projects/

 [2] Miller, Jason. “Special Report: Benefits of Technology Modernization Fund Validated,” Federal News Network. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/11/special-report-benefits-of-technology-modernization-fund-validated/?_sm_au_=iVVnDfDJW3W3ZHZskN1JRKsp6MH81

 [3] Wiggins, Don. “Advance Your Government Mission with Secure Hybrid Multicloud,” Equinix. https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2021/02/16/advance-your-government-mission-with-secure-hybrid-multicloud/

[4]  Parmar, Dipti. “Why Organizations Need a Multicloud Strategy and How to Create One,” The Forecast by Nutanix. https://www.nutanix.com/theforecastbynutanix/technology/why-organizations-need-multicloud-strategy

How to Navigate the Federal Mobility Group’s 5G Testing Framework

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5G technology promises to be a game-changer for federal agencies and how they operate and deliver services. Government agencies prepared to take full advantage of the increased bandwidth and edge computing that 5G brings will have a leg up in finding new and innovative ways to deliver on their mission.

This represents a rare opportunity for federal agencies to embrace digital transformation across their organizations. However, how to best accomplish this is still somewhat murky. The Federal Mobility Group (FMG), part of the General Services Administration, was created in 2019 to help agencies navigate this new technology.

What is the Federal Mobility Group and the 5G Testing Framework?

The Federal Chief Information Officer Council established the FMG as a federal community of practice, a group that brings public sector mobile technology experts together to address common mobility challenges. The FMG studies emerging technologies like 5G and establishes policies, guidance and best practices and serves as a single source of truth for the federal mobility community.

One of their primary deliverables has been the 5G testing framework, which guides agencies looking to test and implement 5G technologies. It establishes testing capabilities and lab and testbed assessment approaches. The framework includes:

  • End-to-end 5G testing architecture and mapping to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G standards
  • A modular approach listing all possible testing elements needed for different use-cases
  • Two examples showing how to use the framework to understand the test elements and determine which are needed for a use-case
  • Performance and security metrics that can be collected on a 5G testbed

The framework is being used to guide initiatives like the Department of Defense (DoD) implementing 5G on bases and commands. And it will continue to help civilian agencies exploring the use of advanced technologies.

Carahsoft FMG 5G Testing Framework Blog Embedded Image 2021How is the Framework supposed to be used?

The framework includes five specific steps to create a viable testbed. This creates a modular approach that can be replicated and standardized across the federal government.

Step 1: Define use cases

Agencies should first define what the technology being researched will be used for. The working group that created the framework identified potential 5G use cases ranging from autonomous vehicles to devices that support multiple classification levels.

Step 2: Understand test elements and standards

The architecture being used should be clearly articulated. The framework identifies four primary elements of a 5G test environment:

  • User equipment such as drones, autonomous vehicles, etc.
  • Radio access networks like smart cells, macro towers, and similar networks
  • Mobile edge cloud
  • Core network infrastructure

Step 3: Determine which high-level test resources are needed

Have a full understanding of what is required to have a relevant test. This may include space to test in, network size, devices, traffic volume and more.

Step 4: Develop a test plan

The test plan should have relevance to the use case and include a clear objective, testing approach and metrics to be collected.

Step 5: Choose framework modules to conduct testing

The framework identifies four modules for testing.  Not all modules are required to be in the final plan but all should be considered. The modules are:

  • Architecture (5G versus LTE)
  • Spectrum (which to use)
  • Application traffic generation (live or emulated)
  • Network (type of network used)

What should the end result be?

In April 2021, FMG, along with collaborators, hosted a two-day workshop to show what the framework looks like in practice. In this case, the webinar focused on two specific use cases:  unmanned aircraft and smart warehouses. The Federal Aviation Administration discussed the use case for unmanned drones that leverage 5G cellular technology. The DoD tested 5G-enabled smart warehouses that feature automated inventory processes. Both are still in the experimental stage, but the testing framework will help ensure proper methods are used and the process arrives at sound conclusions.

 

Interested in learning more about what the 5G testing framework means to your agency? Contact a Carahsoft 5G representative or visit Carahsoft to learn more.

What to Expect With EIS Network Modernization Initiatives

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The goals set by the General Services Administration (GSA) through its Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS) contract are high – and rightfully so. EIS, which will serve as the government’s primary vehicle for telecommunications-related services, is designed to enable agencies to modernize their networks, particularly through new technologies such as software-defined networking, 5G wireless services, and managed services.

EIS has two additional end goals: greater efficiency with taxpayers’ dollars and, ultimately, greater effectiveness in carrying out agency missions.

The EIS contract was awarded in 2017 to nine companies offering, at minimum, virtual private network services, managed network services, voice services, and ethernet. Agencies had been required to transition away from the previous contract vehicle—Networx—to EIS by the Spring of 2020. GSA extended the deadline to May 2023 to provide agencies with more time.

Three years into the effort, with many delays and three years to go, what should we expect to see when the deadline approaches?

Modernization through the cloud

First and foremost, we’ll see a dramatic shift to cloud computing and the implementation of technologies to enable and enhance the move. According to Allen Hill, director of the Telecommunications Services Office at GSA, “Today’s network is not what we need to support the Cloud Smart initiative. We have to create a network that is based on cloud technology.”

As a function of this shift, most agencies’ highest priorities will focus on modernization, as this shift will provide dramatic cost saving and improved quality of service. According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, “IT infrastructure modernization—particularly improvements in networks and the hosting of compute and storage through the cloud—has been a major driver of value in private-sector industry. … The public sector, however, has struggled to modernize its infrastructure and has not realized the same [benefits].”

Zero trust is paramount

EIS also serves as a catalyst for agencies to implement a zero-trust model, helping enhance network service delivery and data protection. Zero trust is a security model based on the concept of maintaining the strictest possible access controls by trusting nobody—not even users inside the network. In doing so, federal IT teams wouldn’t have to configure and maintain various levels of access control, which can ultimately serve as an attack vector.

The blossoming of SD-WAN

Finally, EIS will provide a platform for agencies to implement software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN), which will offer easier network management. An SD-WAN is essentially a virtual wide-area network—a network abstracted from its hardware—allowing the federal IT team to remotely manage and quickly scale resources. Because it’s virtual, it’s more flexible and available than a standard WAN.

Patience is key

That said, patience is key relative to EIS. GSA has stated its preference is for agencies to take a strategic approach to modernization, focusing on mission objectives and the technologies to support those objectives, rather than implementing technology for technology’s sake.

So, for now, we wait and see.

Visit our webpage to learn more information on key features of managing and auditing access rights across your IT infrastructure.

Leaders In Innovation: Identity and Access Management

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Agencies have been learning the importance of identity and access management for nearly two decades, but, like many technological evolutions, the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged adoption on an entirely new scale. As remote work became the norm, agencies adapted to use technology like smart identity cards in new ways, enabling capabilities like digital signatures. These new features are secured by the common access card (CAC) in the Department of Defense (DoD) or the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card in the civilian environment, and all follow the principles and strategies of identity and access management.

Learn more: 8 cybersecurity experts from across the Federal government and industry discuss identity and access management in the latest Leaders in Innovation report.

Shane Barney, the Chief Information Security Officer at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department, said as agencies move to the cloud, a new common framework focused on data around identity credentialing and access management is necessary.

“I know GSA is working toward that. I’m excited to see where we are heading with that, honestly, because we’ve been working in the identity world for quite a while now, very early on adopting some of those frameworks and trying to figure out a standard and hoping we are getting it right, and I think we’ve made good decisions, we made a couple of errors along the way and more good lessons,” he said in an executive brief sponsored by RSA and Carahsoft.

COVID-19 Has Also Highlighted Challenges

While agencies adapted to renewing or extending smart card authorizations, the pandemic made clear that other form factors must play a larger role in the months and years ahead, especially as agencies move toward a zero trust architecture.

Steve Schmalz, the Field Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Group at RSA, said agencies, like the commercial world, are starting to understand how cloud and remote workers are making the perimeter disappear.

“Zero trust is a fantastic conceptual way of dealing with that and talking about how you have to make sure to authenticate closer to the resource or make use of attributes and entry based access control to determine whether or not somebody should be allowed access to a particular resource,” Schmalz said, “That process of implementing attribute-based access control, looks like what you would have to do to implement a full zero trust architecture, where before individuals or processes get access to another resource, you have to check, you have to do some authentication.”

FNN Leaders in Innovation Blog Embedded ImageThe Future of FIDO

The changes happening, whether at DoD, the U.S. Army or across GSA’s shared services, are not going unnoticed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). David Temoshok, the NIST Senior Policy Advisor for Applied Cybersecurity, said the standards agency is updating the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201 document to allow for new kinds of tokens such as those from FIDO Alliance.

“As FIDO continues to mature as an organization in standardizing secure authentication processes, one of the things that they have established is a certification program for devices to both be certified for conformance to the FIDO specifications, but also to evaluate the security because FIDO tokens and the FIDO authentication processes use cryptographic keys for cryptographic authentication processes, which are very secure, very resistant to man-in-the-middle and phishing attacks,” he said. “We would be recommending their use for both external authentication processes, but also internal, where it’s convenient for agencies to use that.”

Connecting the Dots with ICAM

Along with NIST’s FIPS-201 update, the Homeland Security Department has made identity the center of its continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program. Rob Carey, the vice president and general manager for global public sector solutions at RSA, said what continues to become clear throughout this discussion and use of identity credential and access management (ICAM) is the old way of “one type of approach for all” continues to be proven unworkable.

“We’ve used the term to any device, anytime, anywhere, and DoD for probably 20 years now. Now we’re at the precipice of delivering that. As you validate, authenticate, the question is the back end, how are the systems and the business processes embracing this authorization to move forward to allow the right people to access the ERP or the financial management system,” Carey said, in a panel discussion sponsored by RSA and Carahsoft. “How are we connecting those dots with this somewhat new and better framework that we’ve talked about using role-based access, attribute-based access control?”

As agencies continue to prioritize zero trust architecture, the growth of identity and access management will only become more prevalent. Download the full Leaders in Innovation report to hear from agency leaders at UCIS, CISA, U.S. Army, DHS, DoD, GSA and NIST on how they’re tackling the challenges and reaping the benefits of identity and access management. 

A Guide to GSA MAS Contract

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The Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), previously referred to as Schedule 70, is the General Service Administration’s (GSA) go-to source for IT acquisitions. GSA covers federal, state, and local government as well as other areas supporting the government that are not necessarily .gov addresses: executive agencies and other eligible users.

It is the largest government contract, supporting more than $30 billion of purchases annually through GSA schedules—roughly one in every three government transactions is going through GSA schedules. There are over 17,000 GSA contractors and GSA advertises over 11 million different items available within their schedules program.

FFYE Blog Series GSA MAS Blog ImageGSA is currently engaged in an activity called MAS Consolidation, enabling a new single solicitation process that streamlines terms and conditions across multiple schedule programs. This new process is GSA’s effort to make it easier for both industry and government to contract by having a single, consolidated set of terms. Previously, there were separate schedules for different commodity types, i.e. furniture, office supplies, or software. Consolidation of the varied schedules will enable customers to find total solutions under one contract vehicle while ensuring that necessary terms and conditions are met.

How to Utilize the MAS Program

Carahsoft’s GSA MAS Contract enables us to offer more products and services to the government in a streamlined manner. The need for duplicative GSA contracts has been eliminated and all products can be offered within the same contract vehicle. The prior Schedule 70 contract was specific to IT products and services; today we can offer products and services across lines of business without going through a new contract acquisition phase.

MAS was created in part because in today’s environment, the half-life of a piece of software is six months to a year while hardware refreshes every few years. A contract vehicle like this allows agencies to keep up with the pace of change from a technology perspective and is a real enabler from a mission delivery perspective.

On the industry side, there is a process to apply for the schedules. You must meet the requirements of the schedules program, demonstrating past performance and agreeing to abide by federal acquisition regulations. In addition, there are some particular flow downs and other requirements of the contracts.

The contract acquisition process itself can be somewhat complex for industry, but once it is completed you have a direct link into the government contract and a marketplace that needs services and commodities of all kinds.

Benefits of Procuring Under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule

Speed:  GSA is recognized for its speed of procurement. Agencies know that if they purchase via GSA they will benefit from GSA’s work with technology vendors and cost savings associated with volume purchases. Going through the regular contracting process could take up to a year to complete a purchase while GSA purchases tend to occur in a matter of weeks.

Best-in-Breed: Agencies know they are getting best-in-breed products. GSA is the government’s go-to source and vehicle for IT acquisitions, so agencies can be confident they will get the latest technology.

Small Businesses: GSA requires vendors to employ a certain percentage of small businesses, so it helps agencies fulfill those small business mandated goals in the federal government.

IDIQ: GSA MAS Schedule 70 is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) based contract. It’s a pre-negotiated contract that includes pricing for products and services available at pre-negotiated rates, so individual agencies do not need to haggle; they just have to decide how much of a product they want and when they want it.

End User License Agreements: GSA offers benefits in the area of terms of service and end user license agreements. Individual consumers usually must accept—sometimes disadvantageous—terms and conditions in order to use technology, but GSA negotiates with vendors before products are added to the schedules. So agencies can buy products from the schedules program with confidence that all the terms of that purchase are in line with federal acquisition regulations. Issues like auto renewals of service or subscriptions are pre-negotiated (and often removed) with GSA, so individual customers and agencies need not negotiate with vendors.

Count on Carahsoft and our reseller partners to deliver and implement cutting-edge cloud solutions and services at the best value. Request a Quote Today and start the conversation with our team on how we can assist you this federal fiscal year-end.

Top 10 Community Blog Posts of 2019

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In 2019, government agencies focused on various government initiatives – FedRAMP, FITARA, 21st Century IDEA – to help streamline internal processes, ensure security, and innovate public services. To accomplish these missions, agencies implemented various technologies such as DevOps, Citizen Engagement, IoT, and other emerging technologies. Check out our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2019 below for insights from various industry leaders including CIOs, CTOs, Solutions Engineers, and more.

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