HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – The Department of the Air Force awarded three blanket purchase agreement orders to small businesses in support of Enterprise Information Technology as a Service Wave 1 in August and September to close out Fiscal Year 2023.
The Air Force awarded the End User Services Risk Reduction Effort Transition Execution BPA orders to CACI and small business Contractor Team Arrangements member Oneida Technical Solutions Aug. 14; Enterprise Service Desk and Unified Endpoint Management BPA orders to CACI and small business CTA members Bowhead and Expansia Sept. 14; and Field Services BPA orders to CACI and small business CTA members Enhanced Veteran Solutions and Oneida Technical Solutions Sept. 22.
“These recent awards are a key part of our efforts to provide the Department of the Air Force with the best-in-class IT support,” said Col. David Chaboya, senior materiel leader for Enterprise IT and End User Services. “These awards are a pivotal step in ensuring there is 24/7/365 IT support for Airmen and Guardians.”
EITaaS is a DAF initiative that leverages industry to provide a standardized, innovative, and agile IT service across the Air and Space Forces. Wave 1 will transform AF IT services from in-house, base-centric delivery models to an enterprise service model.
The End User Services RRE Transition order enables the changeover of all end user services for the bases that participated in the RRE—a limited initial EITaaS program at eight Air and Space Force installations--from the incumbent contractor to the Wave 1 contractors without a loss of support. The Wave 1 services for RRE bases include service desk, Tier 2 support, and unified endpoint management. This transition is expected to be complete in calendar year 2024.
“We’re excited to bring the RRE bases Wave 1 services with CACI and their small business CTA partners,” said Maj. Chris Mavron, EITaaS service delivery program manager. “It’s important that we get this right at those eight installations before scaling DAF-wide, and we’re working closely with stakeholders to ensure a smooth and successful transition.”
The Enterprise Service Desk portion of the BPA orders will resolve enterprise IT incidents and service requests and integrate with various IT service providers and the Wave 1 Information Technology Service Management suite. The UEM solution part of the BPA orders will provide End User Device Management for all 800,000 users in the Department of the Air Force.
The Field Services BPA orders provide for the initiation and operational expansion of the Wave 1 technical support services, including at the eight RRE bases. They provide requirements for program management, field services standup, services for RRE bases through fiscal year 2024, and establishment of an ordering capability for additional bases that want to leverage the Wave 1 Field Services provided by CACI, EVS and Oneida. The Field Services solution will be optional at the major command level and allow for each MAJCOM to determine the best labor mix between government personnel and contractors for their needs.
"The use of CTAs under the FAR [Federal Acquisition Regulation] Part 8 GSA [U.S. General Services Administration] Multiple Award Schedule, combined with small business participation commitments and award incentives for the prime, is a first for the USAF,” said Andrea Panagoulias, director of Small Business Programs at Hanscom AFB. “Implementation of this contract strategy maximizes the utilization of small businesses, leverages their efficiencies and technologies and supports delivery of the latest IT services to our Airmen and Guardians.”
CACI was awarded the EITaaS Wave 1 BPA in August 2022. A BPA is a simplified method of filling recurring needs for services with the customer’s specific requirements in mind—benefits include shorter processing times and the ability for the vendor to scale quickly, resulting in accurate, timely, and cost-effective service delivery.