However, key practices are not being fully implemented at three  agencies: Commerce, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory  Commission. Agencies  that do not address such gaps in transition planning and follow through on  their plans risk delaying their transitions and increase the likelihood that  the government will incur unnecessary costs. Table 1 summarizes the extent to which transition planners have  established telecommunications inventories at the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers (ACE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department  of Commerce (DOC), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Small  Business Administration (SBA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture  (USDA). Homeland Security does not plan to develop such a process. The Agencies Have Generally Established Transition Plans, but None Have Established Measures of Success

The sound transition planning practices we identified include developing a  transition plan that identifies transition objectives, measures of success,  and risks, and that approaches the transition planning process as a critical  project with a detailed time line. GSA Is Taking Action to Identify and Resolve Common Transition Challenges

GSA is working with agencies and various forums to identify and resolve  transition challenges facing agencies in making the transition to the  Networx contracts. To resolve the challenges, GSA has, among other  things, modified incumbent FTS2001 contracts to help ensure contractor  support during the transition, developed guidance to clarify agencies’  information security responsibilities, and established support teams to  assist agencies in using the inventory application developed by GSA. GSA’s actions  should help ensure that information security during the transition will be  adequately addressed. To assist in this effort, GSA required agencies to  validate their inventory using a GSA inventory application. Our report indicates that the department has established lines of  communication in its charter, but as previously discussed, it had not  identified local and regional points of contact. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to determine (1) the extent to which federal agencies  are following sound transition planning practices and (2) the actions the  General Services Administration (GSA) is taking to identify and resolve  common transition challenges affecting agencies. To determine the actions that GSA is taking to identify and resolve  common transition challenges affecting agencies, we reviewed transition  guidance and other Networx documentation developed by GSA and the  Transition Working Group (TWG) of the Interagency Management Council  (IMC), including presentations, meeting minutes, projected time lines,  GSA’s “Fair Opportunity and Statement of Work Guide,” and the TWG’s  “Networx Transition Guide (Pre-Award)”; interviewed FTS2001 incumbent  vendors and Networx vendors (AT&T, Level3 Communications, Qwest,  Sprint, and Verizon Business) and the six agencies selected for review; and  interviewed GSA officials to identify challenges, guidance, and GSA  current and planned actions for the Networx transition. NRC has not performed this  activity for the transition.
Why GAO Did This Study

The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for ensuring that federal agencies have access to the telecommunications needed to meet mission requirements. GSA's current telecommunications program, called FTS2001, has contracts in place that will expire by June 2010. Thus, agencies face the difficult task of transitioning their services to a successor program, known as Networx. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which agencies are following sound transition planning practices and (2) the actions GSA is taking to identify and resolve common transition challenges affecting agencies. In performing this work, GAO selected six agencies based on, among other things, their FTS2001 charges; reviewed transition planning at these agencies and GSA; and analyzed GSA documentation of actions to address transition challenges.

What GAO Found

Selected agencies--the Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, and Agriculture and the Small Business Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission--are generally following sound transition planning practices previously identified by GAO. For example, all have established telecommunications inventories, and most have established transition plans that include transition preparation tasks and time lines. However, other key practices are not being fully implemented at three agencies. For example, Commerce does not plan to clearly define all key transition roles and responsibilities, Homeland Security does not plan to identify local and regional points of contact, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not plan to establish measures of success based on its transition objectives. With limited time available to finalize planning and begin transitions, agencies that do not address gaps in their planning or follow through on plans risk delaying their transitions and increase the likelihood of incurring unnecessary costs. As facilitator for all transition management activities, GSA has identified numerous common challenges that agencies face in making the transition to Networx, and it is taking action to resolve them. GSA uses various forums to identify these challenges, which include ensuring cooperation from incumbent contractors, defining agencies' responsibilities for information security during the transition, and the use of a transition inventory application developed by GSA. To resolve these challenges, GSA has, among other things, modified FTS2001 contracts to help ensure contractor cooperation, developed guidance to clarify information security responsibilities, and established support teams to assist agencies in using the inventory application developed by GSA. GSA's actions should reduce the likelihood that these challenges will hinder transition efforts.