The General Services Administration is looking at alternative models for cloud contract vehicles and wants input from government and industry on how cloud services are bought and sold and how the process can be improved.

GSA currently offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Email-as-a-Service contracts through blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) and agencies can purchase other cloud services through IT Schedule 70, Networx and GWACs managed by GSA, NASA and Health and Human Services.

Download: Cloud Computing Services PMO RFI

The agency plans to create a new central contract model and wants to cull together the lessons learned over the last four years to ensure the new contract vehicle is effective.

GSA noted this request is separate from other cloud RFIs, like the proposal on creating a new cloud SIN.

More: Draft terms released for cloud SIN

The RFI identifies six areas prime for improvement and lists sets of questions specifically tailored to government officials and industry professionals.

For feds, GSA is interested to learn:

  • What are the agency's needs?
  • How are you using the BPAs? What cloud contracts are being used outside the BPAs?
  • What challenges prevent cloud acquisitions?
  • What contract types would you prefer (i.e., fixed cost, time and materials, cost reimbursement, hybrid, etc.)?
  • Potential usage and budget management structures, education needs and requirements that should be included in a central contract.

The agency is interested in industry's take on:

  • Barriers specific to selling cloud services (i.e., fixed budget does not allow for usage based billing).
  • Product and service categories to be included in a new vehicle.
  • Maintaining flexibility to include new technologies as they are developed.
  • Acquisition structure and creating a consistent acquisition methodology.
  • Including aggregated discounts that would lower costs on subsequent purchases once a certain governmentwide threshold is met.

Responses to the RFI are due by 4 p.m. on March 13 and should be sent to cloud-rfi@gsa.gov.

About Aaron Boyd

Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.

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