The General Services Administration (GSA) is hosting an Industry Day for its highly anticipated Ascend Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) on October 3, 2024. This event is your opportunity to learn about the updated strategy for Pool 1 and refine your approach for this cloud procurement vehicle.
What You Need to Know
The Ascend BPA will reshape how federal agencies acquire cloud services. By consolidating hundreds of existing contracts into a single vehicle, Ascend offers scalable cloud solutions that will drive significant growth in federal IT spending—projected to exceed $1 billion annually.
- Pool 1 focuses on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Pool 2 handles Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Pool 3 covers Cloud Professional Services like adoption, management, and optimization.
What’s New? Key Updates from GSA
In response to industry feedback, GSA has implemented several important updates to the Ascend BPA. These adjustments streamline the procurement process and ensure secure, compliant cloud adoption for federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments:
- Security and Compliance: Only FedRAMP-authorized or Department of Defense Cloud Authorization Services (DCAS) solutions are eligible, with stronger supply chain risk management (SCRM) and cybersecurity controls.
- Data Ownership and Portability: Agencies retain full control over their data, with service providers required to ensure easy migration if needed.
- Financial Controls (FinOps): Standardized reporting tools give agencies greater control over cloud service usage, costs, and budgets. Updated cloud service metering options allow users to set thresholds for automatic usage suspensions, improving financial oversight.
- Simplified Catalog Requirements: Vendors must maintain catalogs at the BPA level, simplifying service comparisons for agencies.
- Enhanced Cybersecurity Flexibility: Vendors can offer more control over configuring cloud environments, providing agencies with greater flexibility.
- Sustainability Compliance: Vendors must comply with current environmental and sustainability regulations, though GSA has removed prescriptive requirements regarding specific energy sources.
These changes aim to reduce risks, improve efficiency, and simplify cloud adoption across federal agencies.
Ascend BPA Pool 1 Industry Day: Your Next Step
Join GSA’s Industry Day to get a firsthand briefing on the revised Pool 1 requirements and acquisition strategy. This is a key event for cloud service providers looking to participate in federal contracting.
- When: October 3, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET
- Registration Link: Register for Industry Day
How OST Global Solutions Can Help
At OST Global Solutions, we understand the complexities of federal procurements like the Ascend BPA. We offer expert support to ensure your proposal aligns with GSA’s requirements and stands out from the competition:
- Strategic Planning: We’ll ensure your solutions align with GSA’s evolving needs.
- Win Themes Development: We develop win themes that highlight your unique value proposition, tailored to GSA’s priorities.
- Solution Development: We’ll guide you in crafting solutions that meet—and exceed—GSA’s expectations.
- Competitive Analysis and PTW: Our in-depth competitive analysis and Price to Win (PTW) assessment will strategically position you against competitors.
- Proposal Planning & Development: From drafting to submission, we’ll help you develop a compelling, compliant proposal based on GSA’s Draft RFP.
Partner with OST Global Solutions to Prepare for Ascend BPA Pool 1
The Ascend BPA is set to transform federal cloud procurement. Make sure your business is ready by partnering with OST Global Solutions. We’ll help you navigate the details of this critical procurement vehicle and position your company for success.
OST Global Solutions is a professional business development consulting firm. We have experience supporting large, strategic bids like Ascend. We can provide capture and proposal teams to develop a complete, winning Ascend proposal, or we can provide consultants on a case-by-case basis to fill gaps on your business development team. Our services related to the Ascend proposal consist of capture management, proposal management, proposal writing, graphics support, editing, desktop publishing, and cost volume development.
Register for Industry Day: Sign Up for Industry Day
Upcoming Bid & Proposal Academy Classes
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