GSA plans e-mail system revamp

The General Services Administration is planning to move its entire e-mail system to the cloud. In a request for proposals released June 14, GSA officials outlined the strategy. The proposal also seeks to create an effective collaborative working environment, reduce in-house maintenance, and apply appropriate security and privacy safeguards.

According to the RFP, the GSA seeks to replace its current e-mail and collaboration environment with cloud services that are integrated “as seamlessly as possible via a single sign-on and that improve business performance by providing GSA users with expanded and new capabilities that reflect industry standards.”

Any vendor planning to bid for the work will also have to provide frequent technology updates and enhancements. The services must include a robust and rapid full-text search capability to enable forensics and e-discovery across archived and active files. The RFP also calls for a seamless and expedited transition from the current environment to the cloud with minimal disruption to operations or data integrity.

According to the GSA, its hardware and software infrastructure currently supports some 15,500 individual accounts and some 3,000 additional shared accounts, with the potential for growth up to 30,000 accounts. Approximately 9,300 accounts are accessed via BlackBerry smart phones.

The deadline for RFP questions is June 17, and July 12 for final proposals.

Read full article at Federal Computer Week.