John Zangardi: DHS Will Modernize IT Systems Through $50B EIS Contract

John Zangardi, chief information officer of the Department of Homeland Security, believes the General Services Administration’s $50B Enterprise Infrastructure Services contract will help the DHS effectively reform its IT systems, FedScoop reported Thursday.

Zangardi announced during the Billington Cybersecurity Summit that he has formed a group to oversee the overhaul.

He added that the DHS will work to leverage the EIS contract to distribute IT modernization benefits throughout the entire department. 

“As we move out into the future with [Internet-of-Things devices], it’s going to be greater in an even greater capacity,” Zangardi said.

Zangardi is coordinating with Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Claire Grady and the deputies of the department’s component agencies to implement the modernization plans.

​The DHS will leverage the EIS procurement vehicle in the second or third quarter of 2019, using funds from the agency’s budget for fiscal year 2020.

The GSA tapped 10 companies in 2017 to vie for task orders to deliver telecommunication services such as cloud infrastructure and network security under the potential 15-year EIS contract.