The Defense Department is making progress in the transition to the General Services Administration's $50 billion Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions telecommunications contracting vehicle despite the time it took to develop an “entirely new business strategy,” according to the Defense Information Systems Agency.
DISA, which is leading the move off Networx to EIS for DOD via its Defense Information Technology Contract Organization, said issuance of 52 task orders is “nearing completion” in a press release Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic has neither stopped nor slowed the transition effort, according to DISA’s press release.
Networx is GSA’s current telecommunications contract; agencies are also moving task orders off legacy WITS-3 and local service agreements to EIS. Networx, WITS-3 and local service agreements will expire in 2023. Agencies had until Oct. 1 to modify these legacy contracts to address problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. By March 31, agencies must be at least 50% of the way moved off Networx.
More than half of the task orders associated with consolidating Networx, WITS-3 and local service agreements for individual circuits into one order per specialized program have been awarded at “substantial cost avoidance,” the release noted. Twenty-nine of 52 task orders have been awarded, and four are awaiting proposals from industry. Three more task orders are being prepared for release to industry and 16 are being evaluated, according to DISA.
DOD is not engaging in a like-for-like transition to swap legacy services for equivalent options under EIS. Instead, it crafted a new business strategy to modernize via EIS, according to the release. Douglas Packard, the DISA official serving as the department’s executive agent for EIS transition, said time spent on developing th ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
