GSA cannot limit countries where vendors store cloud data, GAO says

Ralph White is the managing associate general counsel for procurement law at the Government Accountability Office.

Requirements for web-based email services — and where those cloud services store data — could be changing, if agencies adhere to some new suggestions just out from the Government Accountability Office.

The issue is an acquisition protest decision GAO just issued with respect to a blanket purchase agreement for cloud services the General Services Administration is trying to set up. And it raises an issue that comes up frequently in discussions about federal cloud computing, namely, where the data gets stored in which countries.

GSA, in its request for quotations said storing that data outside the United State would be OK — but only certain countries. The criteria they used is part of what led to a protest from a couple of vendors and it’s what led GAO to uphold that protest.

Ralph White, managing associate general counsel for procurement law at GAO, joins In Depth to discuss the decision.

Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu is fill-in anchor for Francis Rose today.

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