The Concept:

Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) one of the Federal Government's newest initiatives, is moving forward and formalizing a process to consolidate all internet gateways Government-wide (over 1000) to around 50 secured connections. The implementation would help create a much more robust, secure perimeter by establishing standardized processes for the Government, specifically DHS, to monitor internet connections going in and out of its networks.

The Plan of Action:

DHS has been hard at work putting together the definitions of what this will entail and how it can best be implemented, and GSA has been working with its Networx vendors to find how they can best be utilized to aid in this implementation. The idea would be to find out which Networx vendors (5 total) would be interested in establishing Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) under their existing contracts. From there, each participating Networx vendor would setup a competitive fixed price from which agencies could choose a vendor best suited for implementing their requirement. Essentially there would be no task order competition; agencies would just have to select the best vendor. The current milestone is to get TIC compliant services onto the participating vendor's contracts by November 15, 2008.

Collaboration Rising:

This initiative as part of the Information Systems Security Line of Business (ISS LoB) has strong ties to reducing security risks Government-wide and seems to have a high priority to get implemented as quickly as possible. In doing so, GSA and DHS are overseeing the early stages of this initiative - the procurement and requirement respectively. It is Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which has the oversight on making TIC a reality. TIC represents several agencies working together to provide the standards of a requirement, the mechanism to obtain a solution and turning the pressure back on other agencies to make a decision. Once TIC compliant services are established with the Networx contracts, agencies will then need to decide if Networx is the optimal choice or if procuring this need on their own is the smartest option.

Questions Looming:

With three major players in this and no real competition in the works, is this method of acquisition of solutions really the best answer? Or are time constraints driving this project? By adding TIC solutions to the Networx contract vehicle, GSA is implying those vendors are best positioned to supply a quality solution. It is unclear at this time which primes will opt to join the TIC CLIN but it is clear that teaming with other businesses, both large and small, is likely. But what we do know is that Federal Government is working towards fulfilling this serious security concern through a means (not competitive) that could end up being more efficient and less time consuming than a lengthy, protest-riddled procurement. Whether or not Federal Agencies decide to use Networx or obtain a solution on their own, the bottom line is the Government is well on its way to improving network security.