The Veterans Affairs Department has awarded a $4.4 million contract for mobile device manager software to Firstview Federal Technology Solutions LLC., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business in Rockville, Md. The contract award was anticipated to be awarded before Sept. 30, the end of federal fiscal 2012.
The award is important because it means VA can ramp up the number of mobile devices it can securely manage on its network and enable employees and physicians to bring their own devices, such as Apple iPhone, according to Roger Baker, VA CIO at a Sept. 26 briefing.
Originally, the mobile device manager (MDM) was a standalone contract in the request for information (RFI), but, in the often opaque world of government, that changed. The task order “includes MDM but it was not the same effort that was originally put out in the RFI,” said a VA spokeswoman. No other details were available.
Firstview is a current vendor on VA’s Transformation Twenty One Total Technology, or T4 contract, which is a $12 billion multiple-award contract that allows VA to order IT support services off of it up to that sum and the 14 vendors on it can compete for the task orders. This type of contract vehicle aims at speeding up the federal acquisition process.
Firstview won the task order for the mobile applications collaborative environment and device manager, which supports VA's New Models of Care effort.
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Baker has said that VA's “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy will set limitations on personal devices for information security to protect veterans information. But the BYOD capability will be a boon for the thousands of medical students who practice annually at VA hospitals, he said. With the MDM, they will be able to use their own mobile devices if they agree to certain restrictions.
Purchasing more mobile devices will be based on the business case for productivity and savings from having the devices, he said.
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