Understanding the GSA Ascend BPA
Summary
The General Services Administration’s FAS ITC (Federal Acquisition Service, Information Technology Center) is standardizing cloud acquisition with the “Ascend” blanket purchase agreement (BPA). It is intended to help agencies simplify cloud acquisition and meet cybersecurity requirements. BPA task orders can be placed under any of three independent primary pools identified by the government: The Primary Special Item Number (SIN) for the three pools is 518210C, Cloud Computing and Cloud Related IT Professional Services SIN. If they are not, preparing and submitting a modification to add the offerings to SIN 518210C will ensure that you are ready for the upcoming Ascend BPA. GSA is gathering industry feedback on Ascend and hopes to issue a draft request for quotations in the second quarter of 2023.