DoD Enterprise Software Initiative

DoD ESI is an official initiative sponsored by the DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO) to lead in the establishment and management of enterprise COTS IT agreements, assets, and policies.  DoD ESI lowers the total cost of ownership across the DoD, Coast Guard and Intelligence Communities for commercial software, IT hardware, and services, with over $6B in cost avoidance since inception.

History

DoD ESI was formed by Chief Information Officers at the Department of Defense to save time and money on commercial software.  In its first ten years of operation, DoD ESI achieved a cost avoidance of over $3 Billion off prices established on the GSA Federal Supply Schedule by negotiating discounts of as much as 86% off list prices for software, hardware and services.  Smart purchasing practices yields better contracting terms and conditions for DoD programs.

• 1998: ESI formed by DoD CIOs
• 1999: First Enterprise Software Agreement (ESA) awarded
• 2002: DoD ESI expands scope to include Hardware and Services
• 2003: Designation as DoD Source for Federal SmartBUY Program
• 2007: Software Asset Management Program expanded to IT Asset Management
• 2010: $4B cost avoidance achieved
• 2013: Introduced software license training program for IT buyers across the Federal Government
• 2015: $6B cost avoidance achieved; ESI enlisted to support Enterprise Software Category Team (ESCT) chartered by OMB

• Award enterprise agreements for IT products and services.
• Implement unified vendor, strategic sourcing and contract management strategy with leading IT vendors.
• Use an agile, low overhead model executed through Software Product Managers (SPMs) in four DoD Components.
• Work closely with OMB and GSA to optimize IT acquisition policy and implement IT Category Management within DoD.

• Over 50 ESI agreements representing approximately 30 OEM publishers.
• Over $6 billion cost avoidance since inception.
• Improved IT asset visibility of DoD ESI suppliers.
• More efficient acquisition processes for ESA users.

DoD ESI's agreements may be used as ordering vehicles by all DoD organizations and authorized defense contractors, which include:

• the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)

• the Military Departments

• the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• the Unified Combatant Commands

• the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DoD IG)

• the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities

• the U.S. Coast Guard

• NATO

• the Intelligence Community

• Foreign Military Sales (FMS) with a Letter of Authorization.

Government contractors performing work for a DoD end user (as defined above) may place Delivery Orders under ESI BPAs on behalf of and for the benefit of the DoD entity if authorized by their cognizant Contracting Officer in accordance with the requirements of FAR 51 and/or DFARS 251 as appropriate.

ESI Agreements that have been designated as a DoD ESI and GSA SmartBUY Contract are open for ordering by all United States Federal Agencies, Department of Defense (DoD) Components, and authorized contractors.

GSA or other applicable ordering organizations/agencies are authorized to place orders under this BPA on behalf of DoD end users and must comply with DFARS 208.7400.

The principal operations of DoD ESI are conducted through the DoD ESI Working Group and Software Product Managers.

The DoD ESI Working Group is comprised of members from major DoD Components and is chaired by an OASD (NII)/CIO staffer and co-chaired by a Service (Navy, Army or Air Force) Working Group representative. DoD Component executive agents appoint a Software Product Manager (SPM) to consolidate requirements and develop business cases, negotiate best-value deals, and administer the resulting agreements.

     Recent policy, such as DoD CIO memo of February 17, 2012, "Optimizing Use of Employee Technology Devices and Software" and OMB memo M-16-02 of October 16, 2015, "Category Management Policy 15-1: Improving the Acquisition and Management of Common Information Technology: Laptops and Desktops", have directed agencies to "cut waste in spending and identify opportunities to promote efficient and effective spending." These policies also direct agencies to "promote and practice efficient acquisition…through consolidated contract vehicles."

     OMB memo M-16-12 of June 2, 2016, "Category Management Policy 16-1: Improving the Acquisition and Management of Common Information Technology: Software Licensing" addresses a number of IT management challenges by directing agencies to buy and manage common commodities – commercial and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software – in a more coordinated way. Full text of these policies can be found on www.esi.mil under the Resources/Tools tab.

• 27-29 August 2018: Air Force IT & Cyberpower (AFITC) Conference, Montgomery, AL

Information Technology (IT) Asset Management (ITAM) is a framework that joins contractual, financial, inventory, and IT governance functions to support life-cycle management and strategic decision-making to optimize the value of IT assets.  ITAM is about tangible assets such as computers, routers, and telecommunication devices, as well as intellectual property such as software that you own, lease or license.  It is linked with the methods and resources for planning acquisition, funding, procuring, monitoring usage, securing, disposing of, and tracking IT assets. 

DoD CIO seeks to implement an enterprise ITAM framework to improve visibility into investments in IT assets, promote common ITAM approaches based on best practices, secure IT assets and DoD information, and leverage ITAM data to improve IT investment and operational decisions.

DoD ESI has targeted contract vehicles for hardware and hardware services. While these are not formal ESAs, pricing and terms and conditions have been found to comply with DoD ESI goals and practices. These contract vehicles should be considered before using other like vehicles or awarding new contracts.