VA adds tablet computers to massive technology buy
By
Bob Brewin
The purchase will mark the first large-scale procurement of tablets in the federal government.
Tablet computers gained a spot on the Veterans Affairs Department's upcoming procurement of desktop, laptop and server computers yesterday, the first large-scale buy of tablets in the federal government.
VA kicked off it massive Commodity Enterprise Contract in March with a request for industry comments. Yesterday, VA quietly added two amendments to the procurement that cover all types of tablets on the market.
One amendment specifies Apple iPads and other tablets that run the Android operating system developed by Google, and the other amendment addresses tablets that run the Windows operating system.
The amendments did not specify the number of tablets VA intends to buy since the Commodity Enterprise Contract is an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract.
Roger Baker, VA's chief information officer, told reporters at a press briefing last month that he planned to allow employees to connect their iPhones and iPads to the VA network this October, followed by other mobile computing tools at an unspecified date.
Baker, whose office supports 330,000 VA employees, predicted that in the future employees may be allowed to choose to use a laptop computer and a tablet or smartphone, with this shift on technology potentially spelling the demise of the desktop in the department.
The Apple and Android operating systems currently are not compliant with Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2, which sets encryption standards for wireless communications. Baker said he will not require the use of that standard, a position reflected in the specifications in the tablet amendments to the Commodity Enterprise Contract.
Apple iPads and tablets running the Android operating system acquired under the commodity contract will not have to comply with the FIPS 140-2 standard. But, tablets that use the Windows 7 operating system and the BlackBerry tablet operating system will have to meet those standards, as they have received FIPS 140-2 certification from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Windows 7 has supported FIPS 140-2 since its introduction and last month BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion said its Playbook tablet was the first tablet to receive FIPS 140-2 certification.
Baker said he expects the more than 200,000 employees in the Veterans Health Administration, including 17,000 doctors, will be early users of tablet computers.