U.S. General Services Administration
GSA, Air Force discuss future of IT procurement during 2GIT Industry Day
More than 250 information technology professionals, executives and industry experts participated in GSA’s 2nd Generation Information Technology (2GIT) Industry Day on Oct. 24 to learn more about how the U.S. Air Force will acquire IT hardware and support service in the years to come.
Hosted by the regional IT Schedule 70 Branch, the event provided guests with the opportunity to learn more about the new 2GIT Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) —a 5-year, $5.5 billion IT support agreement developed jointly by GSA and the Air Force.
“It is the single largest acquisition we’ve ever had in GSA Region 4,” said GSA Regional Administrator Brian Stern during his opening remarks. “That translates into more competition and more opportunities for small businesses to work with the government.”
Developed to replace the Air Force’s soon-to-expire NETCENTS-2 Products contract, the 2GIT platform is being developed for the Air Force as a vehicle to receive world-class IT hardware support to meet its mission needs while saving taxpayer dollars.
“A key factor of President Trump’s management agenda is the modernization of the federal government’s IT resources,” said Stern. “After all, how can the government effectively serve the American people if we rely on outdated technology that can no longer keep up with our needs?”
In addition to helping modernize the Air Force’s IT assets, 2GIT utilizes multi-agency, multiple award agreements to streamline the ordering process for IT Hardware for the federal government. These Second Generation IT Products Blanket Purchase Agreements will also be available to all branches of the military, other government agencies and tribal entities through GSA’s Cooperative Purchasing program.
In an effort to provide a more open and transparent process, GSA included several recommendations from industry experts and leaders into the draft 2GIT request for quotation (RFQ), which guests attending the industry day were quick to note in their feedback.
“Being in this business for 30 years and now (having) encountered your openness, candid discussions of the project goals along with your proactive communication is exceptionally refreshing,” said one guest via a feedback form. “Additionally, your description of how you intend to support this procurement effort with your Letter of Supply discussions with the OEMs and your Fastlane efforts are highly encouraging.”
GSA will continue to collect feedback on the draft RFQ through Nov. 7 in anticipation for a final RFQ to be released in early 2019. For more information, review the draft RFQ oneBuy website under solicitation RFQ1336271 or on the FedBizOpps website.
U.S. Air Force Maj. William Griffin speaks on value of 2GIT
to both the federal government and to industry during the recent
2nd Generation Information Technology Industry Day in Atlanta.