The General Services Administration late last week released security standards cloud solutions must meet before operating within federal agencies. The security controls are part of the Federal Risk Authorization and Management Program (FedRAMP) launched by the federal chief information officer in December. FedRAMP is intended to quickly ensure that commercial cloud computing technology meets federal security standards so that agencies can more readily adopt it. The security requirements, largely based on standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will apply to information technology systems at the low and moderate security levels. They address issues such as continuous monitoring…
Browsing: General Services Administration
2011 was not the best year for federal construction projects (i.e. the worst?) across the country. Accounts were slashed, budgets cut and accounts slashed – I count that one twice – in an effort to cut government spending. So what may be left by the wayside as we move into 2012? 3: Justice Department: The Los Angeles Courthouse This $399 million, 650,000-square-foot project is supposed to house the overflow of federal justices in the Los Angeles Area. While the money for this project has already been appropriated, members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on public buildings have asked…
# 5. A 1975 Chevrolet Corvette Price tag: Auction starts at $900 Now I know what you are thinking. Its just a few days after the holidays and you are strapped for cash. But if you have a spare wad of money you should take a trip to Alton, Ill. to bid on one of the cooler cars that has come up for auction recently. The property was seized because of a failure to pay taxes and is being held by the IRS and has about 98,000 miles on it. It also comes in my favorite color – awesome. #4…
Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel is expected to make an announcement on Thursday detailing the administration’s long-awaited Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (Fedramp). VanRoekel will be joined by Dave McClure of the General Services Administration, Department of Homeland Security CIO Richard Spires and Charles Romine of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of Management and Budget said in a news release. They will provide an update about efforts to reform federal information technology and details about how Fedramp will allow the government to more easily purchase and use cloud technologies. The goal of Fedramp is to…
Nearly two dozen companies were awarded spots on the General Services Administration’s Connections II telecommunications contract, GSA announced last week. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a ceiling of $5 billion and will provide agencies with the products and services to integrate telecommunications and networking. Apptis, Inc., BAE System Information Solutions, Inc., General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. and Science Applications International Corp. were among the 21 companies selected to compete for business on the contract.
The General Services Administration’s 15 virtual meetings centers are finally open for business after months of delays. In the face of shrinking travel budgets, GSA is encouraging agencies to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions by meeting virtually. The telepresence centers, which opened earlier this month, cost $399 per hour per location, comparable to the price of public telepresence rooms. Public meeting rooms usually cost between $400 and $450 an hour, said Mark Barounos, CEO for Colorado-based Telepresence World. GSA contracted with AT&T to create the centers at its 11 regional headquarters offices – in Boston; New York City; Philadelphia;…
Starting next week, the public will be asked to brainstorm and submit ideas for improving federal websites. Through the National Dialogue to Improve Federal Websites, set to launch Monday on USA.gov, citizens and web experts can share ideas about user experiences, design and content of federal websites. Those suggestions will guide how federal websites are created, used and managed in the future. People can submit and vote on ideas, and General Services Administration will moderate the two weeks of online discussion. The initiative is part of a larger effort by the White House to cut waste and improve customer service. In…
The General Services Administration awarded 599 small businesses a place on its new governmentwide contract for information technology services, the agency announced today. The Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services (STARS) II contract allows agencies to buy up to $10 billion in IT services, such as IT helpdesk support, cybersecurity, custom computer programming, and computer operations maintenance. The cost of the services offered are prenegotiated to be at least 10 percent less than the initial prices offered to the government. Agencies used GSA’s two preceeding IT contracts for more than $5 billion in services over the past decade. The contract specifically went to businesses that are considered small and…
The electronic government funding saga continues, even if the e-government fund would no longer exist under a spending bill approved today by a House appropriations subcommittee. As tech-conscious readers might remember, Congress whacked the e-gov account from $34 million in 2010 to $8 million in the year-long continuing resolution enacted this April. Under a fiscal 2012 spending bill approved today by the subcommittee, the fund would be folded into the General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services, said Daniel Schuman, policy counsel for the Sunlight Foundation, an open government group that has been birddogging the issue. In all, the combined…
The Koniag Development Corp. has hired former GSA assistant commissioner Ed O’Hare to lead its Technology Business Sector, the company announced Wednesday. O’Hare was the assistant commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service’s Information Technology Services at the General Services Administration before leaving the agency in January. The FAS IT Services is the largest fee-for-service IT procurement and services operation in the federal government, with contracts exceeding $22 billion a year. Immediately after leaving GSA, Dynanet Corp. hired O’Hare to oversee its business development and delivering services to state and federal government customers. Now as senior vice president of the Technology Business Sector for Koniag Development, a…