Interior Department Issues RFP to Procure Cloud Migration Services

The Department of the Interior is requesting proposals to support cloud migration efforts across the agency. According to a solicitation posted on SAM .gov, DOI intends to award a potential $1 billion, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity Cloud Hosting Service III contract, which has a five-year base and three two-year option periods. Work under the contract includes migrating technology services to the cloud and consolidating data centers, FedScoop reported.

The cabinet-level agency manages 108 natural and cultural resources and nine technical bureaus, including the U.S. Geological Survey, Fish and Wildlife Services and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. 

The department’s transition to the cloud aligns with the Office of Management and Budget’s 2019 Federal Cloud Smart Strategy, which outlines the benefits of cloud adoption in federal agencies, and the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative by the federal chief information officer and the follow-on Data Center Optimization Initiative, which aims to reduce the IT footprint for agencies through the consolidation of traditional data centers.

DOI issued the final request for proposal ahead of the $10 billion Foundation Cloud Hosting Services contract’s expiration in 2023. A group of 10 contractors won the contract in 2013.

Several other government agencies and military branches are working to switch to a cloud-based network. The Defense Information Systems Agency announced on Monday that it intends to award a new $9 billion multivendor contract in December to develop the Pentagon’s key military cloud computing backbone.

The General Services Administration, meanwhile, previously issued a special notice about its plan to create a Cloud Marketplace to provide agencies with a streamlined method to acquire and implement secure, integrated commercial cloud service solutions.