After several rounds of protest, the Government Accountability Office denied the final challenge on April 13, clearing the way for the Air Force and CACI NSS LLC to move forward with a blanket purchase agreement for Enterprise Information Technology as a Service “Wave 1” services.
The Air Force awarded the Wave 1 EITaaS to CACI, as the Contractor Team Arrangement team lead, in the amount of $5.7 billion on Aug. 30, 2022. The award was the result of a competitive acquisition.
EITaaS is a Department of the Air Force initiative that leverages industry to provide a standardized, innovative, and agile information technology service across the Department. Wave 1 will transform DAF IT services from in-house, base-centric delivery models to an enterprise servicer model.
According to program officials, benefits of Wave 1 include being able to adopt new, best-in-class commercial technology to improve user productivity to optimize mission readiness; providing resilient IT and data operations to maintain and secure a mission-ready posture in cyberspace; enhancing the quality and consistency of IT service delivery; and an estimated IT life cycle cost savings of 31 percent.
“This award marks a major milestone in transforming Air Force Enterprise IT into a more modern and efficient service,” said Col. Justin Collins, senior materiel leader, Enterprise IT & Cyber Infrastructure Division. “In addition, it will allow Airmen to shift their focus from day-to-day IT operations to warfighting initiatives and imperatives.”
According to Collins, Wave 1 targets three main areas. First, Wave 1 will provide for IT Service Management, Asset Management and Operations Management, supplying a comprehensive IT storefront from which all DAF employees will order their IT services. There will also be an Enterprise Service Desk and local field services for more than 800,000 users, supporting hundreds of different IT configurations. Lastly, robust End-User Devices and Device Management will be available, allowing Airmen and Guardians to have the equipment, and the use of that equipment, whenever and wherever the mission requires.
The Air Force has tested Wave 1 end user services at eight military installations worldwide. According to Collins, users at these locations experienced faster login times and higher functioning devices.
“We have seen the user experience improve dramatically at the current bases participating in our risk reduction efforts, and we are excited to be moving forward in providing these services to all our Airmen and Guardians,” he said.
The companies in the CTA led by CACI NSS, LLC, include Bowhead Logistics Management LLC, of Springfield, Virginia; Cartridge Technologies, LLC, of Rockville, Maryland; InSequence Inc., of Herndon, Virginia; Cask NX LLC, of San Diego, California; CDIT LLC, of Slidell, Louisiana; Vision Information Technology Consultants LLC, of San Antonio, Texas; Oneida Technical Solutions LLC, of Oneida, New York; Enhanced Veterans Solutions Inc, Fairfax of Virginia; and Expansia Group LLC, of Nashua, New Hampshire.
Collins believes the inclusion of these companies demonstrates his division’s commitment to supporting small business. The agreement provides more than $2 billion of potential revenue to small businesses, with the vast majority allocated to direct awards to small business CTA members.
“We are excited to see such a strong representation of small businesses,” he said. “These partners are crucial to our mission, as they provide agility, demonstrate mission expertise and diversity of thought. With the help of our small business partners, we look forward to building more secure, resilient, and efficient capabilities for our warfighters.”
Work will be performed in Chantilly, Virginia, with additional work performed at locations across the globe, depending on individual blanket purchase agreement order requirements.
Not Yet a Premium Partner/Sponsor? Learn more about the OS AI Premium Corporate and Individual Plans here. Plans start at $250 annually.