FTS to increase professional services help

Soon, federal agency contracting officers will be able to call on the staff of the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service for help with contracting for professional services, GSA Administrator Stephen Perry said Wednesday.

"Military and civilian agencies have indicated a strong need for services in this area," Perry said.

Perry spoke to contracting officers at the Professional Services Expo, a Washington conference sponsored by PostNewsweek Tech Media, publisher of Washington Technology.

FTS assists agencies with acquisition of information technology.

"We're leveraging the FTS unit success [in IT acquisition]," Perry told the contracting officers. "Very soon you'll be able to call upon FTS and they will assist you in the acquisition of a variety of professional services. FTS associates will help you to craft your statement of work, select the solution and the provider that best meets you needs, and then to assist you in managing the task, including providing financing services."

FTS will begin assisting agencies in two or three of the following professional services areas, eventually providing assistance in all areas:

*Professional engineering

*Environmental management

*Energy management

*Language services

*Management organization and business improvement services on the Management, Organizational and Business Improvement Services schedule

*Logistics services worldwide on the GSA Logistics Worldwide Services schedule

*Financial and business solutions

*Marketing, media and public information services

GSA announced in December that it would combine and realign certain functions carried out by its Federal Supply Service and FTS in order to better meet agency customer's needs in procurement of IT products and services and professional services. FTS' offering of professional services contracting help is one action GSA is taking in this effort.