VA Awards More Than $496,000 To Improve IT Infrastructure As Part Of ‘Buy Vs. Build’ Initiative

“As we continue VA’s transformation, we will look for managed service offerings from which VA can benefit. This allows VA to focus its attention and resources on providing health care and benefits to Veterans.”

Last week the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the award of a $496,405.35 task order to Favor TechConsulting (FTC) LLC to provide Identity and Access Management (IAM) services to improve and maximize cost savings to VA’s current information technology (IT) infrastructure.

The task order, which was awarded Feb. 1, enables VA’s “Buy vs. Build” initiative, the result of a challenge from VA Secretary David Shulkin to work with private industry to find creative contracting approaches to save money by purchasing commercially available IT products for less money, versus having VA develop its own.

“This award is representative of the innovative contracting approaches VA needs to achieve our goal of Buy vs. Build,” Shulkin said. “As we continue VA’s transformation, we will look for managed service offerings from which VA can benefit. This allows VA to focus its attention and resources on providing health care and benefits to Veterans.”

VA determined that FTC’s proposal to implement Okta Inc.’s Identification as a Service (IDaaS) IAM solution, an alternative to its current IAM solutions, has the potential to result in short-term cost savings of approximately $350,000 and even greater long-term savings once fully implemented in a production environment of over $25 million a year.

The task order was awarded under VA’s Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract, which delivers contractor-provided IT service solutions, including technical support and cybersecurity among other IT and health-related IT requirements. The T4NG contract awards support the department’s modernization effort, improving the way VA serves Veterans.