Acquisitions Above the Stratus: Procuring Consumption-Based Solutions for a Modern DoD

Abstract

When procuring information technology requirements for systems such as cloud-based services, acquisition professionals often choose from outdated and misaligned categories of supplies or services established by Department of Defense (DOD) Acquisition regulations. Current contract structures constrain scalability, and it is imperative that the DOD revise its contract types to permit new solutions that enable commercial goods to be procured on a consumption basis. This Capstone Applied Project evaluates the impact of procuring modern DoD capabilities as consumption-based solutions by applying relevant policy analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, and case study analysis. The findings indicate that a consumption-based approach to acquiring cloud-based solutions is the most beneficial method for obtaining fair and reasonable prices while minimizing costs associated with contract administration. The authors recommend that cloud computing be placed into a new category within the DOD Taxonomy for the Acquisition of Services and Supplies & Equipment to enable greater flexibility in implementing a newly proposed contract type, consumption-based variable pricing, which must be supported by the revision of language contained in FITARA and 31 U.S.C. §1341 and an extension of FAR Clause 52.241-8.