IT security and management vendor BigFix has formed a partnership with solution provider Patriot Technologies to provide asset discovery and systems management solutions to all U.S. federal agencies, including those that fall under the Department of Defense, such as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all military departments, NATO, defense agencies, and intelligence agencies.
A White House mandate requires federal agencies to keep accurate and up-to-date information on their IT assets, said Tom Burke, vice president of sales at BigFix. His company was one of two asset management software providers so far that have been added to a government contract schedule with a cap of $1 billion.
"Because of cyber-warfare you've got to be able to protect all your computers," he said "But most organizations have a hard time identifying all their computers on the network. When we put our software into their computer networks it finds 15 percent to 20 percent more computers than the organizations thought they had."
To read about Ingram Micro's stepped up support for government VARs click here.
Contract line items included in the Patriot deal include the BigFix Platform, which manages Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Unix workstations and servers, as well as BigFix Asset and License Management.
BigFix Asset and License Management, with infrastructure-scale real-time visibility, discovery and control capabilities, assures IT managers that all assets, even those with intermittent connectivity, comply with relevant standards, the company said in a statement. The software continuously discovers, tracks, secures, and manages all IT assets with no manual tracking or updating required.
The blanket purchase agreement has been designated a DOD Enterprise Software Initiative, a joint initiative designed to implement an enterprise software management process within the DOD. The BPA has also been designated a General Service Administration SmartBuy, a federal government procurement vehicle designed to promote effective enterprise level software management, the companies said.
The DOD's Enterprise Software Initiative allows pre-negotiated volume pricing for all government agencies. The terms of the BigFix and Patriot Technologies ESI (Enterprise Software Initiative) agreement state that BigFix solutions, along with training, professional services, and maintenance are available immediately at ESI pre-negotiated pricing.
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