Page 33 - FCW, June 2017

ExecTech
GSA’s growing
stable of SINs
The massive Schedule 70 contract is expanding its programs to streamline access to specialized IT offerings
BY MARK ROCKWELL
The General Services Administration’s special item numbers, or SINs, aren’t transgressive, as the acronym might sug- gest. They’re transactional and part of GSA’s effort to keep up with evolving technology and reduce the number of specialized IT contracts, according to a key agency official.
GSA has added five specialized SINs for IT products and services in the past two years and is counting on the num- bers to help agencies view and order increasingly specialized products and
services in its Schedule 70 multiple- award contract related to cloud, geo- spatial, Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM), cybersecurity and health IT.
Jose Arrieta, director of the Office of IT Schedule Contract Operations at GSA, said the goal is to give agencies a clearer path through existing contracts rather than creating their own.
“The multiple-award programs are super flexible,” he said in an interview with FCW, yet agencies and companies
sometimes overlook the contracts’ abil- ity to fill increasingly complex IT needs because it requires sifting through a bewildering and lengthy roster of offer- ings, especially on a vehicle as vast as Schedule 70.
But SINs show how flexible and use- ful existing schedules can be, Arrieta added. They also support other federal acquisition efficiency efforts, such as category management, and can help the government keep up with rapidly changing technology.
New SINs at a glance
Cloud Services
Launched April 2015; 65-plus suppliers
The oldest and most active of this batch of special item numbers, the cloud SIN has booked more than $930 million in orders since its debut. Additional vendors are in the pipeline, and the General Services Adminis- tration is streamlining the process for companies that already sell cloud products and services elsewhere on Schedule 70.
Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation
In progress
GSA is working with the Department of Homeland Security to migrate some 169,000 products and services onto Schedule 70 before the CDM blan-
ket purchase agreement expires in August 2018.
Earth Observation
In progress
GSA is working with the National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency to provide a one-stop shop for commercial geospatial intelligence data, imagery, products and services.
Health IT Services
Launched July 2016;
148 suppliers
Federal spending on health IT has grown at an annual rate of 27 percent since fiscal 2011 and hit $6.5 billion in fiscal 2015.The SIN recently had its first major award — a $15.6 million Enterprise
Blood Management System for the Defense Health Agency and the Army.
Highly Adaptive Cyber- security Services Launched September 2016; 40-plus suppliers
The available offerings include penetration test- ing, incident response, cyber hunting, and risk and vulnerability assessments. Additional vendors are being evaluated and added on a rolling basis.
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