GSA Seeks Feedback on Proposed Cloud BPA

The General Services Administration is asking industry for feedback on a proposed strategy to release a cloud-focused blanket purchase agreement.

The government intends to create a multi-award BPA for commercial software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service offerings on a pay-as-you-go basis, GSA said Thursday.

Keith Nakasone, GSA’s deputy assistant commissioner for the information technology category, said advancements in IT are forcing the agency to adopt new acquisition strategies, including ones for the emerging hybrid cloud model. 

“The number-one thing agencies ask for is an acquisition solution that offers a full set of commercial, secure, soup-to-nuts, cloud products and services. We think now is the right time to make it happen,” Nakasone added. 

According to a request for information posted on the GSA website, the proposed BPA will also cover cloud-focused labor services in support of all federal, state and local government agencies. 

GSA said it observed that federal government agencies have been transitioning to more cloud-based solutions to improve agility and better support telework, trends that were largely pushed by the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to GSA, the increasing adoption of cloud has reduced the federal government’s on on-premise and legacy systems. 

The proposed vehicle will also promote the Office of Management and Budget’s Cloud Smart tenets and the Presidential Management Agenda’s IT Modernization Goals, GSA said.

GSA asked industry respondents to fill in a survey to the RFI by May 24. All information submitted, including those on capabilities, may be shared with other government organizations.