FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Creating Comprehensive Cloud Solutions
Posted by Mary Davie, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Integrated Technology Services on September 12th, 2012
Recently GSA announced the availability of our cloud email solution,
the Email as a Service (EaaS) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA), which will allow agencies to order pre-approved cloud based tools for email, office automation, and electronic records management, as well as the migration and integration services necessary for a swift transition leading to rapid savings. The BPAs offer government recurring purchasing options at a reduced cost that are also convenient and efficient.
Cloud based email services support the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring cloud services into the federal government and reduce federal data centers, which save taxpayer dollars. The implementation of 25 Point Federal IT Reform Plan, and "Cloud First" mandates require federal agencies to consider cloud-based solutions the new default IT solution. Everything agencies need to move to the cloud is available through GSA.
Cloud IT represents an innovative way for government to do more with less at a time when federal budgets are shrinking. Agencies can leverage cloud services to become more efficient. We estimate that agencies that use cloud based email will save 50 percent, about $1 million, annually for every 7,500 users migrated. Last year GSA was the first federal agency to make the move to cloud migrating 17,000 email accounts, saving $2 million to date, with an estimated savings of $15 million over five years.
What makes EaaS even more exciting is that it will leverage GSA’s innovative security program, Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which uses a "do once, use many times" approach to save agencies time and money by providing a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring.
These new BPAs are the latest cloud offering from GSA, however, we have been working in collaboration with government and industry for years to provide government agencies with a comprehensivecloud solutions portfolio for use by government agencies to save millions of taxpayer dollars. In fact, GSA’s history of providing cloud solutions dates back to 2009.
The move to the cloud has not been easy and there have been some growing pains in the process for both government and private industry providers. Government is experiencing slower migrations to the cloud than anticipated and industry is learning what it takes to meet government mandated security controls. Transitioning to cloud IT is a major shift in the way government conducts business, which means that we are constantly learning lessons and making improvements. And out of those lessons we get great solutions, like FedRAMP, which will make sure that every agency, no matter their mission, can rely on the security of their cloud solutions; and the millions spent by agencies conducting their own security assessments can be avoided.
GSA views technology, specifically cloud technology, as a primary driver to transform how government works while saving millions of taxpayer dollars and driving efficient collaboration. We envision a great government through technology and cloud IT is helping us take a giant leap in that direction.
