NB_270_23_1 - NB 270-23-1 IRM – Fiscal Year 2023 State Information Technology Investment Request Data Call
NB 270-23-1 IRM – Fiscal Year 2023 State Information Technology Investment Request Data Call
National
Bulletin:
270-23-1
Date:
November 7, 2023
Subject:
IRM – Fiscal Year 2023 State Information Technology Investment Request Data Call
Action Required By:December 2, 2022
Purpose. This national bulletin requests fiscal year (FY) 2023 workstation information technology (IT) investment data.
Expiration Date. September 30, 2023
Background. To comply with the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act of 2014, manage the agency IT cap, and adhere to the acquisition approval request (AAR) limits, NRCS Management and Strategy (M&S), Strategic Support Services Division, will be partnering with the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center to request and track IT investment requests each fiscal year.
NRCS intends to have one AAR for FY 2023, removing the need for states to submit separate AARs for requirements exceeding $25,000. NRCS has an IT spend budget and corresponding AAR limits for workstation, non-workstation, and type 1 purchases. Collecting IT spend estimates and assembling a plan enables effective and transparent planning, programming, budgeting, and execution for IT resources across the agency. The IT spend plan allows the FPAC assistant chief information officer and NRCS leadership to manage IT resources and implement cybersecurity policies.
All computer orders will be routed through the Enterprise Depot for imaging and distribution. Please see https://usdagcc.sharepoint.com/sites/OCIO-Depot for more information regarding the Enterprise Depot. In FY 2023, NRCS will use the bulk deployment request method through the NRCS point of contact (POC)to request deployment of computers to individuals. See Bulk Equipment and Workstation Requests (sharepoint.com) for more information.
Explanation. In FY 2023, the FPAC Business Center Information Solutions Division (ISD) will use Microsoft Teams to collect IT procurement data for type 1 purchases, non-workstation IT equipment, and computer workstation refresh. ISD will place the workstation refresh orders when standard configurations are selected. Moving toward standard configurations will help streamline the inventory management process, save deployment times, and reduce cost. All other equipment and type 1 purchases must be made through regular procurement processes; you may find guidance at: https://usdagcc.sharepoint.com/sites/FBC-ACC.
Similar to FY 2022, ISD has provided a baseline estimate for refreshing workstations in FY 2023 and placed it in the Microsoft Teams channels that are established by region and state. The Team’s channel permissions are the same from the FY 2022 data call. State POCs will coordinate the input of the workstation refresh and other IT procurement data points in the Microsoft Teams channel spreadsheet.
As described in the FY 2023 State Initial Advisory Full Year Allocations memo (attachment A), a national-level budget has been established this fiscal year to support the replacement of employee workstations. The funds will be held at the national level, but each allowance holder has a fund code specific to each area. National Headquarters will create reasonable spend caps from the IT procurement data call submissions and generate reports of actual spending throughout the remainder of the fiscal year using these codes.
Instructions. The POC will follow the directions in attachment B to populate the FY 2023 data call file in the Microsoft Teams channel with workstation refresh, IT equipment, and type 1 purchases data points. For workstation refresh, choose configurations for each machine eligible for replacement and make any other necessary notations. Keep the following considerations in mind:
All allowance holders should be working toward a 4-year replacement plan to have consistent spending averages each year.
Replacing desktops with laptops will accommodate teleworking.
High-performance machines should be limited to geographic information system specialists and engineers only and no individual should have more than one high-performance machine. Use the option to remote into a high-performance machine from a standard machine to avoid assigning two high-performance machines to an individual.
The “NRCS” tab helps to ensure we are only replacing machines for active employees and that active employees do not inadvertently have more than one machine assigned.
The “Changes and New Hires” tab has a space to add machines needed but not currently in the “NRCS” tab.
By using the depot model with centrally purchased inventory, employees transferring between states do not need to request a new computer for their new location unless their current computer cannot perform the duties of the new position. Instead, submit a digital workplace ticket to update the inventory record. The state may request a machine for the new employee once the Active Directory email address is established with a bulk deployment request. Extras of each configuration will be ordered to be in stock.
The Client Experience Center Technical Service Division technicians determine whether an employee qualifies for a replacement computer based on existing criteria.
The majority of NRCS employees should be able to perform their job functions with the standard machine configuration options. The standard configurations were developed by a joint NRCS and ISD team and are in the “Configurations” tab of the spreadsheet. Any monitors and workstation orders that are not standard configuration must be ordered through regular procurement processes and the sum dollar amount noted in the “Results” tab of the Microsoft Teams spreadsheet for tracking purposes.
Contact. Please contact Rebecca.Salazar@usda.gov for questions regarding this data call or for changes in Teams channel POCs in your state. For questions specific to workstation refresh, please post your questions directly in your Teams channel with an @ symbol in front of the name to tag the person you intend to ask (e.g., @rebecca.salazar for NRCS questions, @michele.hess for ISD questions, etc.). Teams channels are monitored for activity. The deadline for data submission is COB December 2, 2022.
/s/
ANGELA BIGGS
Acting Deputy Chief for Management and Strategy