With $30B IT contract expiring, FBI issues RFI for cloud services

With its $30 billion IT contract set to expire this fall, the FBI is looking for industry input on a wide-ranging cloud computing solution to service the bureau.

The Feb. 16 request for information details the agency’s potential move to the cloud, which includes inquiries about infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service and software-as-a-service capabilities.

“Cloud computing will allow the FBI to efficiently manage, operate and run a very large-scale computing infrastructure to deliver the capacity, availability and performance that will permit end users to focus on mission accomplishment,” the RFI said.

The move is in compliance with the 2010 Federal Cloud Computing Strategy, which dictated that federal agencies leverage IT services as a commodity, precipitating the move toward cloud computing. It also coincides with the October expiration of the FBI’s secretive Information Technology Supplies and Support Services, or ITSSS, blanket purchase agreement.

Last November, the FBI issued a special notice detailing that its Information Technology Acquisition Unit was in discussions on the “continuation of need for a similar vehicle” once ITSSS expires this fall.

The $30 billion contract was awarded to 46 vendors in 2010 and services parts of the Department of Justice’s IT infrastructure.

Interested vendors have until March 2 to respond the latest RFI.