SUMMER VACATION AT GSA? NOT HARDLY

The General Services Administration continues to work on acquisition and IT management projects, even as many head to the beach or buckle in for the last two months of the fiscal year.  Here are three things the agency is working on that made the news this week:

1Fine-Tuning the Ascend Cloud RFP:  GSA sent out a new draft this week for the Ascend cloud procurement, a project that could channel as much as $5 billion in cloud acquisitions.  Contractors have a chance to comment on the draft and help shape the procurement.

2.  Promoting the Technology Modernization Fund in Congress:  The Technology Modernization Fund is a key revenue source for agencies seeking to upgrade outdated tech solutions.  More recent discussions have been about using the fund to improve various customer experience capabilities.  Administrator Robin Carnahan met with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and other House leaders this week to promote the program’s success and seek House assistance in ensuring that the Fund continues to have a viable amount of funding in FY’23.  This is important leadership on a program of interest to contractors and their customers.

3Staffing Up the CIO’s Office:  GSA CIO Dave Shive has recently added 25 new tech hires to his office and another 40 are said to be on the way.  Key positions being filled include DevSecOps engineers, designers, product managers, and cloud engineers.  The additions will definitely change how contractors support the CIO’s office and could give GSA the ability to work with other agencies who need help in these areas.  GSA continues to move on important IT and acquisition projects.  Look for the second round of Polaris RFP’s in September.