GSA, Networx and lessons learned
The General Services Administration has made public a pair of documents detailing takeaways from the longer-than-expected transition of its Networx telecommunications contract.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was first published on FCW.com.
The General Services Administration is trying to apply lessons learned from its Networx telecommunications contract, particularly its rocky transition.
GSA has posted reports, saying it will keep those lessons at hand as it moves on future contracting plans.
In a March 10 blog post, Mary Davie, assistant commissioner at GSA's Federal Acquisition Service Office of Integrated Technology Services, wrote that the FTS2001-to-Networx transition, completed about a year ago, took longer than expected. The agency posted two documents detailing what it learned in making the transition.
A Government Accountability Office study in late December said complex acquisition processes and weaknesses in project planning contributed to delays transitioning to Networx from the GSA's old FTS2001 contracts, resulting in cost increases and missed savings.
Even with the slow transition, Davie said Networx wound up saving more than $678 million in fiscal 2013, with agencies purchasing more than $1.3 billion through the contracting vehicle.
Beyond the savings, however, Davie said GSA has an opportunity to learn from the experience. "We recognize the need to apply lessons from the past to enhance future transition success. We've analyzed lessons learned over the past few years to plan better for a future transition and follow-on contract and program."
GSA is working to implement the recommendations in the GAO's report on Networx transition, she said.
Project planning, executive visibility, coordination between IT and acquisition personnel, managing complex acquisition processes to avoid duplicative efforts, and working to improve telecommunications expertise across government were among the lessons learned from the Networx transition, Davie said.
The two documents posted to the GSA website contain specifics the agency will consider as it moves ahead with its next telecommunications contracting framework, Network Services 2020, or NS2020. The agency said it is also working to create a "Lessons Learned" database that federal agencies can reference.