Amazon Web Services is expanding its Public Sector Contract Center, experts offered advice on getting the most from the EIS contract, and are blockchain-related contracts on the rise? This is Public Spend Forum’s Weekly Roundup for June 22, 2018.
AWS Expands Cloud Contract Center for Public Sector Organizations
Amazon Web Services (AWS) expanded its web-based center that works to help public sector entities find and procure multiple cloud service offerings. AWS said the Public Sector Contract Center contains a database of contract vehicles through which the company’s partners offer services to federal, state, local, education and international government organizations. The platform offers information about the General Services Administration‘s IT Schedule 70, NASPO ValuePoint Cloud Solutions and Internet2 procurement vehicles for U.S. agencies, as well as the U.K.’s G-Cloud and Canada’s Shared Services marketplaces.
Tech Officials Offer Advice on Getting the Most Out of EIS Contract
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS) contract is a great opportunity for agencies to modernize. GSA rolled out the EIS contract last year, a $50 billion blanket award that covers governmentwide procurement of traditional networking and telecommunications equipment. However, according to federal IT experts, they need to focus on people and planning to do it right. “It’s critical to get different factions in your agency on board—your business, financial and IT folks all need to be on board,” said Crystal Philcox, director of the IT Services Subcategory in GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. Agencies should also get an understanding of what technologies exist and what might be on the horizon, and build measures into the contract to make future adoption as easy as possible, she added.
Federal Agencies Issue Solicitations for Blockchain-Related Contracts
According to a Bloomberg Government report, blockchain is likely to gain traction in the federal government in fiscal year 2019 as agencies seek offers for contracts related to the distributed ledger technology. The Office of Personnel Management, Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Postal Service are among the agencies that have issued solicitations for contracts that consider blockchain as a supplementary or primary requirement to enhance processes. The report noted that the departments of State, Homeland Security, and Treasury have launched pilot programs to assess blockchain’s potential use in asset management, anti-human trafficking efforts and supply chain management.
Also in the news:
Committee Approves Tech Modernization Fund Increase for FY19
How DHS Moved Its Network to the Cloud
DoD to Reduce Cost, Pricing Data Requirements in New Procurement Policy
Senate Bill Aims to Secure IT Supply Chain
Image Courtesy of Shutterstock