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Alliant 2 replacement will include CMMC requirements
Another of the General Services Administration’s emerging next- generation IT acquisition contracts will contain the Defense Department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements.
Carlton Shufflebarger, acting executive director of IT services in GSA’s Office of Information Technology Category, recently confirmed that GSA’s Polaris small- business governmentwide contracting vehicle will include the CMMC requirements. Polaris will eventually replace the canceled Alliant 2 Small Business contract.
GSA has already folded CMMC language into its 8(a) Streamlined Technology Application Resource for Services III request for proposals. The clause could require contractors chosen for the new vehicle to adhere to CMMC even if they’re not pursuing DOD business.
“With technologies like 5G being rapidly implemented over the next few years, there will be many more internet-connected devices, which will make our security posture even more
important,” Shufflebarger said during a webcast sponsored by AFCEA’s Northern Virginia Chapter in October. “Cybersecurity is at the forefront of federal IT implementations. It’s becoming everyone’s responsibility.”
He described CMMC as another tool in the toolkit, adding that “DOD is one of our most valued customers. We place great importance and priority on meeting their needs. So we wanted to ensure that our contracts meet DOD’s needs
today and in the future, as well as other agencies.”
Incorporating cybersecurity and supply chain risk management requirements more broadly is a priority for GSA’s Polaris, said Lee Tittle, small-business program lead in GSA’s Office of IT Category, during the same AFCEA event.
He also listed other GSA priorities for the emerging Polaris small- business IT contract. “First and foremost, we want to expand the industry partner base,” he said. Although the agency has emphasized
that the contract would include woman-owned and HUBZone small businesses, Tittle said it would not be limited to those specific sets of firms.
Additionally, he said, GSA officials want to increase IT modernization opportunities for agencies within the contract’s scope. He directed
participants to a request for information posted on the agency’s Polaris Interact page for more information on how GSA might expand technologies offered through
the vehicle.
GSA issued the RFI, which is in
questionnaire form, in October. The questions ask vendors about their experience with a host of new and emerging technologies, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, 5G implementation and augmented reality.
Tittle said the draft RFP for Polaris will likely be released in December. It will define the contract’s scope even further and include the schedule for issuing the final RFP.
— Mark Rockwell
$4.6 billion
is the new ceiling for DOD’s DEOS cloud contract (down from $7.6 billion) after a protest and re-award
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