ITAA Aids Government ASP Users

The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) today released new guidelines designed to help federal government customers of ASPs navigate the terms and conditions of service level agreements (SLAs), the core documents of agreement between an ASP and a customer.

“A recent survey conducted by ITAA found serious confusion by government purchasers over the use of Application Service Providers. Our new SLA guidelines published today will allow buyers to cut through the hype to better understand how the ASP model can help them meet their bottom line objectives,” said ITAA President Harris N. Miller.

SLAs in the federal government take on special characteristics because federal purchasing is largely governed by Part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The ITAA guidelines include information on security, tracking and reporting, system performance, remedies, upgrades, help desk services and several other key aspects of a service level agreement.

“ITAA has done an outstanding job in carrying the ASP initiative into the federal market,” said Christopher R. Yukins, a partner in the Northern Virginia offices of Holland & Knight LLP, an international law firm. “The SLA guidelines – the first of their kind – will help clarify the use of the ASP model in federal agencies. The window of opportunity is clearly open to ASP vendors, to prove the model to the federal market.”

John Bonello, Attorney with McKenna & Cuneo, LLP added, “ASP vendors – and other high technology companies – should recognize the benefits of the multi-billion-dollar government marketplace, and should, if possible, ensure that they have a channel into the federal markets.”

The ITAA provides global public policy, business networking, and national leadership to promote the continued rapid growth of the IT industry. ITAA consists of over 500 direct corporate members throughout the U.S., and a global network of 41 countries’ IT associations.

The Association plays the leading role in issues of IT industry concern including information security, taxes and finance policy, digital intellectual property protection, telecommunications competition, workforce and education, immigration, online privacy and consumer protection, government IT procurement, human resources and e-commerce policy.