VA Awards Google Cloud Applications, Software Development Support Contract

Google Cloud has received a multi-year, $13 million contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the development of new tools and applications for the agency’s clients.

Google will use its Apigee application programming interface management platform to support the VA’s ongoing modernization efforts. Apigee is a FedRAMP-authorized platform that allows users to choose where to host APIs, connects existing data and apps, ensures that APIs are always available and packages digital assets. It uses a multi-layer security and privacy system and artificial intelligence-powered automation.

The contract award comes at the heels of VA’s deployment of the Lighthouse API, an online repository where third-party developers can provide health care apps for veterans. Dave Mazik, director of VA Lighthouse, said Apigee will help provide users with more options for VA-aligned services. Lighthouse API was deployed in 2018 by the VA Office of Information and Technology, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

Google Cloud said in a press release that VA developers can use Apigee to access the Benefits API and produce apps for veterans to submit and track benefits claims. The tool can also be used to create new medical records management tools.

Google Cloud offers various products that support business and government processes. Some of the products include compute engine, cloud storage, operations management, Kubernetes, API, AI and machine learning.