On May 9, the General Services Administration released a $2.5 billion RFQ for cloud email as a service (EaaS) to consolidate Federal government email systems. GSA anticipates awarding multiple SmartBUY Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) for the five-year contract, which allow Federal agencies to procure commercial software and software-related services at reduced prices.

The RFQ is available on GSA eBuy, and calls for five key service offerings. Three are mandatory: EaaS, migration services, and integration services. The two optional services are office automation and electronic record management.

Shifting to cloud services is an integral part of the Administration’s IT reform plan to reduce wasteful spending. As noted in the 25-Point Implementation Plan released last December, “Within 12 months, GSA will utilize these requirements to stand up government-wide contract vehicles for cloud-based email solutions.”

Moving Email to the Cloud Could Save 44%

At an April 12 Senate hearing, David McClure, GSA’s Associate Administrator for Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, quoted Forrester Research estimates of how much the government could save by shifting email services to the cloud: $11 per mailbox each month, or $1 million in annual savings for every 7,500 users—a cost savings of 44% over existing on-premise email solutions.

“We’re already seeing 15 agencies that have identified 950,000 email boxes across 100 email systems that are going to move to the cloud,” U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra said during an April 27 White House Forum on Transforming IT Management, where he encouraged industry to “aggressively compete” to provide the government with the greatest innovation at the best value.

Additional RFQ Details

• The RFQ number in eBuy is RFQ564166; also referenced is QTA011GNB0010.
• RFQ questions are due in writing May 20, 2011, 11:59 PM ET.
• The RFQ closing date is June 19, 2011, 11:00 PM ET.