With rapidly evolving cyber threats, cybersecurity is an ongoing priority for the U.S. Government. In a major announcement this week, the General Services Administration (GSA) hailed a new, government-wide enterprise software acquisition agreement for best-in-class, data-centric security, and electronic signature solutions with Adobe. The agreement will help agencies better meet compliance requirements with current information security and electronic government policy recommendations, and it is focused on driving strategic IT resourcing across the government.

In the wake of the high-profile hack of federal IT systems and the theft of data on millions of Americans last year, SIIA hosted an event on Capitol Hill featuring Members of Congress, Hill staff, and industry who all discussed how data-centric security measures could be used to better protect federal information and information systems.  This announcement demonstrates that the Government recognizes the need to implement cutting-edge solutions, and that doing so across agencies can combine increased security with substantial federal cost savings.

The new software offering will be made available by GSA to not only all federal agencies, but also state, local, and tribal governments via the IT Schedule 70 here on the Acquisition Gateway.  As outlined by GSA’s announcement, the agreement promises the following key details to improve data-centric security and reduce costs:

• Increased acquisition efficiency for data security and electronic signatures.
• Over $350 million in potential cost savings for the American taxpayer.
• Agencies will be afforded tiered discounts by leveraging the buying power of the federal government.
• Reduced contract duplication and administrative cost with clear Terms & Conditions.
• Users afforded the option to replace paper processes with fully automated electronic signature workflows.

David LeDuc is Senior Director, Public Policy at SIIA. He focuses on e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy. Follow the SIIA public policy team on Twitter at @SIIAPolicy.