GSA has announced that it met a goal of brining $1.35 billion in savings on IT products, service and solutions for agency customers in fiscal 2013.
In a post on the agency’s blog, GSAnoted some savings achievements: the Networx program saved subscribing agencies $678 million in fiscal 2013, GSA helped an agency save 20 percent in cost for connecting security to the public Internet, SmartBUY blanket purchase agreements saved $775 million in software costs, and most agencies using GSA’s USAccessProgram (HSPD-12 Identity, Credentials and Access Management) shared service saved between four and nine times the amount it costs to do it on their own.
GSA said there’s more it can do however, such as helping agencies make smarter decisions by analyzing large data sets – taking advantage of new tools to leverage “big data.”For example, theagency is piloting an initiative to make prices-paid data more widely available in government-wide acquisition contracts to enable better buying decisions.
GSA also said it has been reviewing and modernizing its Federal Supply Schedules contracts, and that in fiscal 2013 it made progress with helping agencies through its Managed Mobility Program, including setting up a managed mobility information center and FSSI Wireless purchase agreements to deliver more savings thisfiscal year. Further, GSA said it is reducing price variability on wireless service plans, and that less variation will help agencies make better cost-saving business decisions.
