The General Services Administration (GSA) wants to simplify and standardize Governmentwide cloud acquisitions by establishing a Multiple Award Blanket Purchase Agreement. The agency’s latest effort, called Ascend, results from months of research and feedback from industry and Government agencies.
GSA has issued a draft performance works statement (PWS) for Ascend and is expected to revise the document based on industry feedback. GSA wants to establish minimum baseline requirements for “the acquisition, business, operations, reporting, and technology capabilities provided by commercial Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) and cloud-focused labor service providers that are not currently accessible under other GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) or Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs),” according to the draft PWS.
The Ascend BPA aims to support both vertical (e.g., IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and horizontal capabilities and provide more effective system integration and managed support services to deliver flexible, diverse, and secure cloud solutions. Ascend will also establish minimum cybersecurity baselines, emphasizing cybersecurity supply chain risk management (C-SCRM), compliance with cybersecurity legislation (Cyber Executive Order 14028), and guidelines from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Bidders considering the Ascend opportunity should be prepared to show GSA “an ability to implement secure cloud service solutions utilizing zero trust architecture cybersecurity baselines that leverage Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) agile processes that achieve results through continuous capability enhancements, minimal downtime, prompt response to emerging needs, demonstrated reliability and availability, and optimized performance with minimized resource utilization.”
Ascend would create three separate pools of vendors to deliver three primary services:
- Pool 1 would include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS), for both unclassified and classified sub-pools
- Pool 2 would cover software-as-a-service (SaaS)
- Pool 3 would focus on cloud IT professional services.
Additional sub-pools will be defined based upon Government requirements.
GSA has not yet determined award dates but plans to release additional information via eBuy and SAM.gov.
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.
Reach out to us to discuss your Ascend bid, so we can discuss how to develop a winning proposal.
service@ostglobalsolutions.com
Upcoming Bid & Proposal Academy Classes
Blueprint for Federal Business Development: Processes, Tools, & AI Use Cases
OST Global Solutions Virtual Classroom MD, United StatesDo you want to know how to find more opportunities, run captures, write winning proposals, and secure multimillion-dollar contracts to grow your company in the Federal market? Over the course […]
Master AI to Enhance BD, Capture, & Proposal Processes – Updated to Include the Latest AI Developments
OST Global Solutions Virtual Classroom MD, United StatesAre you ready to enhance your bid flow, improve your Pwin, cut down the time it takes to do most BD tasks, improve decision-making, and reduce proposal risk by ensuring your submissions are compliant and compelling? This course is specially designed for BD professionals in Government contracting firms seeking to harness the power of AI in their operations. Over three comprehensive sessions, you will gain the knowledge and tools to transform your BD strategies and execution. Learn More
Winning Government Cost Proposals Including AI Essentials
OST Global Solutions Virtual Classroom MD, United StatesDeveloping a Winning Cost Volume course helps you increase your federal contract win probability. We focus on Government contract evaluation, pricing fundamentals such as cost buildup and cost volume elements, price strategy, developing basis of estimate (BOE), coming up with assumptions, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), cost volume narrative, winning in lowest price technically acceptable proposals (LPTA), and much more.
