GSA retools SmartBuy

After much discussion with agencies and vendors, the General Services Administration is refocusing its enterprise software-licensing program to be more flexible and better coordinated within the government.

Emory Miller, GSA's project director, said the SmartBuy program will look at a variety of business models, including a tiered methodology, quantity discounts and a model that asks vendors to lower their prices if agencies buy a suite of software products.

"We learned a lot from industry, because SmartBuy depends on vendors' willingness to partake in the program," Miller said at a luncheon sponsored by the Association for Federal Information Resource Managers. "We are no longer focusing on total cost, but more on total cost of ownership." *