GSA to offer cloud-based email services

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced Thursday that it awarded contracts to 17 companies for their cloud services, a move that makes cloud-based email systems available to federal agencies and state and local governments.

Lockheed Martin, Dell Federal Systems, IBM and SAIC were among the companies that secured contracts with GSA, which awarded a total of 20 blanket purchase agreements for the cloud services. GSA said these new agreements align with the Obama administration's push for federal agencies to move to the cloud and will help the government cut costs.

“GSA has added another excellent option for agencies looking to rapidly move their email to the cloud to save time, resources and taxpayer dollars,” Mary Davie, acting commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said in a statement.

The Obama administration has adopted a "cloud first" policy, which encourages federal agencies to move some of its IT programs and data to the cloud. The administration has argued that moving to cloud-based services will help the government save money by reducing the number of expensive data centers needed to store information and power legacy IT programs.

GSA was the first federal agency that moved its email system to the cloud, using Google's email service. GSA says the move has saved the agency $2 million to date and it's estimated to slash the agency's IT costs by $15 million over the next five years. 

The 17 companies will also offer federal agencies and local governments migration and integration services to help them move to a cloud email system, as well as assist with electronic records management.

While cloud services have been touted for their cost-saving benefits, some security experts have raised concerns about whether they're secure enough to protect classified government data.