You may have been looking up at the sky recently to catch a glimpse of the rare "comet of the century", but this won't be the only comet returning this year—GSA has plans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 for COMET II, a multiple award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for IT modernization, transformation, and operations/maintenance. The current COMET vehicle, which stands for CIO Modernization and Enterprise Transformation, has awarded task orders totaling almost $1 billion, making it a great success for GSA and all contractors involved, especially when it comes to updating GSA’s legacy systems.

We think of the General Services Administration (GSA) as a federal agency that assists in acquisition and real estate, but did you know GSA also plays a large role in the presidential transition? In the ten weeks from election to inauguration, the president-elect will prepare to take over the executive branch including over 140 agencies, sub-agencies, and millions of personnel.

We've learned in the past few years that cybersecurity scams are on the rise, and they aren't as simple as the infamous gift cards for your boss gimmick. Bad actors have become more skilled in their phishing and hacking, making it more important than ever to have a strong cybersecurity posture. As a government contractor, you inevitably deal with sensitive government information, data, and software, so there are certain government regulations you have to follow to defend against compromising your network.

When we enter a new year, it’s common to spend time reflecting on the past year and set goals for the next 365 days. While our calendar year isn’t over just yet (don’t worry we aren’t glossing over Halloween), the federal government Fiscal year (FY) just ended on September 30th, and we are taking the time to glance back at 2024 and report our findings.

To answer your question right away, no, you don’t have to hire a consultant. GSA doesn't require you to have help, but the real question is—will you need it? This is a question that many contractors do not consider initially, and may end up needing assistance last minute. If you have several years of experience selling to the government and have a team dedicated to government acquisition and sales, you probably won’t need to hire someone. However, many of our clients are small businesses who may not have the bandwidth or resources to handle GSA Schedule acquisition and maintenance. Your GSA Schedule contract can last up 20 years, and within that timeframe it requires a lot of special attention, beyond the initial process of getting your contract awarded.

Another opportunity is on the horizon for GSA IT contractors. GSA has released the final draft solicitation for Pool 1 of their new Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) called Ascend. This contract vehicle will serve as a one-stop-shop for government customers to acquire secure cloud service offerings from GSA contractors. The first pool focuses on Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (Paas), and will be followed by 2 other pools geared toward Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and and cloud-IT related professional services. Let’s breakdown this upcoming BPA and what it could mean for you as a GSA IT contractor.