Written by David LeDuc, SIIA
About Apps.gov
In September 2009, the Federal Government launched Apps.gov to streamline application adoption at federal agencies, billed by U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra as the Federal Government’s one-stop source for cloud services. The site is the federal agency storefront for approved cloud computing applications, including business applications, cloud services, productivity apps and social media software.
While the process is streamlined from the difficult procurement process that can slow down deployment of technology, many software companies that have not been doing business with the Government—particularly small and medium-sized companies—have still raised questions about participating in Apps.gov.
To facilitate participation by member companies, SIIA has compiled the following information and resources. Also, if there is significant interest among members, SIIA will seek to setup a webcast to review these details and to take questions from members. If you have additional questions or would like to discuss this, please contact David LeDuc at dleduc@siia.net .
How do I get my services on Apps.gov?
A vendor must be on GSA’s Schedule 70 in order to get on the storefront. The process for getting on Schedule 70 is detailed on the GSA web site at the link below. Once a vendor is awarded a Schedule 70 contract they must respond to the Request for Quote on eBuy, RFQ396098. GSA will then request the vendor resubmit their electronic catalog file in order to distinguish their SaaS products. GSA has added new Cloud Computing Category Codes for SaaS products. Vendors must update their offered services “Contractor (Vendor) Part Number” field with these new Cloud Computing Category Codes. Once a vendor has resubmitted their electronic catalog file with the updates, and the Contracting Officer approves the file, their services will appear on Apps.gov. Following is a list of additional key resources for getting on the GSA schedule and getting your cloud services in the Apps.gov storefront.
-Detailed instructions (and the list of the new Cloud Computing Category Codes)
-How to get on the Schedule
-Contract Training by GSA Office of Small Business Utilization (NY)
-Pacific Rim Region’s Small Business Utilization Center (SBUC)
-RFQ