Planned FY 2023 Cloud Investments at the Department of Agriculture

Key Takeaways

• The USDA has adopted a shared services model with cloud computing at the center.
• The department requested $20.4M in FY 2023 funding related to cloud work.
• Cloud-related opportunities include storage provision, migration support, and zero trust capabilities.

Because it was one of the agencies to begin adopting cloud-based solutions the earliest, the Department of Agriculture probably doesn’t come to mind for most people as a place where cloud business can still be found. Yet over the last 3 fiscal years the USDA has spent more than $400M on cloud, including $119M in FY 2021, according to data in Deltek GovWin’s Cloud Computing Database. Now, with the release of the department’s latest budget request for FY 2023, the USDA has provided a wealth of information concerning cloud investments it plans to make.

The USDA has been moving to a IT shared services model at the center of which are enterprise capabilities delivered as a service. Planned investments continue following this model, with efforts scattered across the department, including the following.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Responsible for monitoring the threat to U.S. agriculture posed by invasive pests and species, APHIS has been busy migrating its systems to the cloud for several years. Those efforts will continue in FY 2023 with the procurement of remote cloud storage to support the agency’s operational and program data systems, and to reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Requested budget $3.2M for this work.

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

The agency responsible for overseeing the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), FNS is requesting $8M over the next ten years ($5M in FY 2023) for its Enhanced Program Operations through the startup of an Innovation Team for Application System Modernization and Cloud Hosting initiative. The funding requested will be used to consolidate core services across FNS’ application portfolio, to enhance its security posture, and to upgrade hardware and bundle sustainment support. These objectives will be accomplished by awarding a contract to upgrade and enhance the agency’s SharePoint 2016 to SharePoint Office365 and to add Power Applications for the enhancement, integration, and decommissioning of legacy Microsoft Access applications.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

An agency that collects U.S. agriculture statistical data, the NASS needs to update its Data Collection System by migrating it to the cloud. NASS plans on doing this using contractor support. It requested $11M for its Data Center and Cloud Standard Investment, which is related to the migration effort, for FY 2023.

Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)

The OCIO is incorporating zero trust capabilities into its IT environment. In FY 2023, this effort will include augmenting and extending Cloud Access Security Broker services by ensuring Zero Trust requirements and capabilities are researched, gathered, and incorporated into GSA Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions task orders. Requested funding in FY 2023 totals $1.2M.

Altogether, USDA components/offices requested $20.4M for cloud-related work in FY 2023 and much of this will be contracted out to industry partners. The USDA is, therefore, a viable place for contractors seeking the opportunity to compete for a win new business next fiscal year.