Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Small businesses struggle to climb the FedRAMP

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Small businesses need lawmakers to ease barriers to product authorization through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, according to industry and federal CIOs speaking before Congress.

FedRAMP is the entity charged with evaluating security and authorizing cloud products.  During a House Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing on the program, CIOs noted challenges for small business in getting offerings approved, such as a lack of transparency with the length of the process and cost.

Or some don’t know it exists it all.

“A lot of small businesses are unaware of the process itself, the security requirements that we have,” said Anil Cheriyan, the director of technology transformation services at the General Services Administration.

It took 20 months for Virtru, a small data protection start-up, to get its product FedRAMP authorized for a federal agency to use, according to testimony from Virtru’s CTO Will Ackerly.  From the beginning, he said, “it was also unclear upon entering the process how long it would take.”  The process cost the company $1.6 million, he told lawmakers.

Entering the FedRAMP approval process can be a “high-risk decision for most small companies” because of the cost “when combined with unknown timelines,” he said.

Looking back, Ackerly said that if his company hadn’t received an agency sponsorship to go through the FedRAMP process, it may not have made it through.

Continue reading at:  Federal Times

GSA offers first look at unique IDs to replace DUNS

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By December 2020, every organization—vendors, grantees, coops—doing business with federal agencies will have a new, 12-character identifier, as the government moves away from the proprietary DUNS number.

The DUNS, created by Dun & Bradstreet in 1962, has been the official entity verification number since it was codified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation in 1998.  The General Services Administration, which administers the program, opened the contract to new vendors last year.

GSA awarded the new contract in March to Ernst & Young, which will administer the new ID number, including managing the transition from Dun & Bradstreet.

As that transition work begins, GSA released the technical details of the new numbers and set a virtual meeting for July 25 for all interested parties to learn more.

Continue reading at:  Nextgov

MAP: GSA regions manage thousands of federal properties

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This story is part of Federal News Network’s ongoing series: GSA @ 70: Mission evolved

From dozens of historic lighthouses to the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, the General Services Administration’s 11 regions run the gamut of federal property management.  They also serve thousands of employees through offices such as the Public Buildings Service, Federal Acquisition Service and Office of Small Business Utilization.

GSA’s regions also have their own unique histories and geographical assets.  In honor of the agency’s 70th anniversary this month, Federal News Network compiled highlights of each region, as well as details on their longest-serving employees.

See the interactive GSA Region MAP at the:  Federal News Network

GSA to transition from DUNS to new unique entity ID by Dec. 2020

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Starting in December 2020, the D-U-N-S® number will no longer be the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. Government.  GSA has published an update outlining how it plans to transition away from DUNS numbers to a new unique entity ID for government contractors by Dec. 2020.  On July 10, 2019, a notice published in the Federal Register indicates that GSA will be holding a public meeting regarding the transition on Thursday, July 25, 2019, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), and ending no later than 2 p.m., EST.

Background

Currently, the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) utilizes the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) ® nine-digit number as the unique identifier for entities throughout the federal awarding lifecycle, in SAM.gov, in other Integrated Award Environment (IAE) systems, on required forms, and in downstream government systems.

In 2016, the government revised both the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR) to remove any proprietary references to D&B and the DUNS® number as the unique entity identifier.  This allowed the government to decouple the required unique identifier from the supporting entity validation services.

As such, the U.S. government is moving to a new unique entity identifier for federal awards management, including, but not limited to, contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, which will ultimately become the primary key to identify entities throughout the federal awarding lifecycle, in SAM.gov, other IAE systems, on required forms, and in downstream government systems.  The DUNS® number will be phased out as the entity identifier for entity record within SAM.

Through December 2020, IAE systems will be transitioning from the DUNS® number to a SAM-generated Unique Entity ID (UEI).  The standard for the new UEI was developed by an interagency working group.  This new entity identifier will be the authoritative identifier once the transition is complete.

More information can be found at gsa.gov/entityid.  Questions related to government implementation can be directed to entityvalidation@gsa.gov.  All media questions should be directed to the GSA Media Affairs at press@gsa.gov.

Public Meeting

The GSA public meeting will be conducted virtually where information on the awards management Unique Entity ID standard will be presented.  The public meeting will be held on Thursday, July 25, 2019, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), and ending no later than 2 p.m., EST.

Procedures for Attendance

To register for the meeting please email entityvalidation@gsa.gov and the meeting information will be sent to you.

For more information please check out GSA’s Unique Entity Identifier Update and its recent notice in the Federal Register.

GSA begins pilot using OTA-like streamlined acquisition process

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The General Services Administration announced Monday its client support center for acquisitions will use a streamlined process, designed to attract startups, to procure innovative, commercial solutions.

As part of a pilot, GSA’s FEDSIM innovation team will rely on the commercial solutions opening (CSO), a solicitation outside the Federal Acquisition Regulation, to acquire technologies and services in the production phase or adapted from existing products from “traditional and non-traditional government contractors.”

“The goal of this pilot program is to provide a streamlined approach for acquiring innovative commercial products and services,” GSA says.

CSO is a recently created tool with simplified contract terms, which Section 880 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2017 authorized GSA to create the pilot.  It’s similar to the Other Transaction Authority of defense agencies but differs in that it’s not legally binding, GSA says.

Continue reading at:  FedScoop

GSA seeks public comment on its e-commerce portal draft solicitation

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The General Services Administration is on a mission to change how federal agencies buy commercial products by establishing a commercial e-commerce portal that would simplify and streamline the government’s estimated $6 billion open market purchases.

The agency announced July 2 that it wants industry input on the proof of concept of that e-commerce portal, which would test for a larger scale offering by starting with just a few agency customers.

“The issuance of the draft solicitation is an important step forward for the commercial platforms initiative,” said Laura Stanton, GSA federal acquisition service deputy assistant commissioner for the office of information technology category and category management, in a news release.

Continue reading at:  The Federal Times

Amazon a top contender for GSA’s e-commerce pilot

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The General Services Administration released a draft request for proposal July 2 for its Commercial Platform Initiative, or CPI, a governmentwide e-commerce program that could offer companies like Amazon.com Inc. the chance to run online marketplaces through which agencies spend as much as $6 billion a year.

Under the CPI, vendors will compete to establish e-commerce platforms that federal contracting officers can use to buy everyday items with their government purchase cards.  GSA will select multiple vendors to participate in a 12-month pilot program that would inform the larger governmentwide effort, according to the solicitation.  After the initial 12 months, the government has the choice to extend the contract for four option years.

“An exciting opportunity lies ahead to create not only a modernized buying experience but also reduce the burden for agency partners and suppliers alike,” said GSA deputy assistant commissioner Laura Stanton.  “We are looking to leverage business-to-business terms whenever practicable, to allow for streamlined buying while obtaining a more transparent and centralized view of this type of government-wide spend.”

Continue reading at:  Bloomberg Government

GSA announces plans to consolidate MAS contracts and asks for industry feedback

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The General Services Administration is conducting market research for its planned consolidation of the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program.  Earlier this month, GSA publicly announced the new single solicitation format, including streamlined terms and conditions, and its intention to collect feedback from government contractors in the industry.  According to GSA, the consolidation is part of its two-year modernization process for the program that began in November of 2018.  The consolidated MAS solicitation is scheduled for release later this year.  And if you have concerns or suggestions for GSA on this significant consolidation, there is still time for your input.

On June 7, GSA publicized its plan to restructure the MAS Program by issuing a news release on GSA.gov and posting an RFI to FBO.gov.  GSA announced that it intends to streamline the federal acquisition process by consolidating its 24 MAS into a single schedule for products, services, and solutions. It hopes to complete the new consolidated schedule, which it calls “Phase One” of the project, during this fiscal year.

Continue reading at:  SmallGovCon Blog

GSA issues draft solicitation ahead of awards on new e-commerce portals

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The General Services Administration issued a draft solicitation Tuesday seeking feedback on proposed requirements for its forthcoming e-commerce portals program.

A multiple-award proof of concept — for sites similar to Amazon, Overstock or Jet.com and required by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act — is expected later this year and will modernize how agencies buy commercial products outside of existing contracts.

GSA estimates $6 billion in open-market purchases are made on government-issued credit cards, but the pilot will begin with a subset of agencies and a $10,000 spending limit on any one order.  Agency officials have asked Congress to raise that micro-purchase threshold to $25,000 for the five-year pilot to better evaluate streamlined buying.

Continue reading at:  Fedscoop

The future of COTS procurement: Top 10 questions from GSA’s section 846 phase 2 report

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On May 2, 2019, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) finally released their Phase 2 Implementation Report (the “Phase 2 Report”) for “Procurement Through E-Commerce Portals,” as directed by Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (“FY 2018 NDAA”).

GSA/OMB offered a sneak preview of the Phase 2 Report at an Industry Day held on December 12, 2018, during which GSA/OMB revealed their intent to proceed with a proof of concept contract utilizing only the E-Marketplace model. Industry pushback against a single model proof of concept was both quick and severe and, coupled with the lengthy delay issuing the Phase 2 Report, many wondered whether GSA/OMB were reevaluating their proposed approach.

Much to the dismay of E-Commerce and E-Procurement portal providers, GSA/OMB stayed the course.  Their Phase 2 Report included two primary conclusions: (1) testing the E-Marketplace model exclusively during the proof of concept phase is the most practical approach, and (2) raising the Micro-Purchase Threshold (“MPT”) to $25,000 for 5 years exclusively for purchases made through the approved portals is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the proof of concept.

While the Phase 2 Report provides these two concrete conclusions, ultimately, the Report raises more questions than answers. And what better way to address these than a good old-fashioned Top 10 List.  So, without further ado, here’s our Top 10 List of questions from the Phase 2 Report…

Continue reading at:  The National Law Review

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