NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to Benefit from Cloud-based Computing Services
Posted by Signal Magazineon August 31, 2017:
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), responsible for space robotics and Earth science, among other planetary things, will lean on cloud-based computer services to keep its data secure but accessible to its scientists.
JPL hopes to save costs in its cyber-related operations under its new Institutional Computing Environment (ICE) services contract with ManTech International Corporation.
Located in Pasadena, California, JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed by the California Institute of Technology (known as Caltech). The NASA laboratory outsources all of its information technology (IT) needs.
The new ICE contract covers a broad range of IT management services for 7,000 users, employees and contractors, including mainframes, back-office servers, computing hardware for end users and desktop machines. On the software side, the contract includes systems and applications, some JPL-specific; cloud computing; application management; and other IT services. JPL also contracts out for its communications and network services, including data, voice, mobile and wireless communications.
"JPL is a very unique animal—their very nature makes them a very unique customer," says Chris Bishop, senior vice president, strategic sales, for ManTech's Mission Solutions and Services group. "And they are very innovative and forward thinking. Their motto is 'Dare Mighty Things,' and that permeates everything they do, whether they are talking about their core mission of providing planetary robotics or whether it is IT."
ManTech will take over the helm of JPL's ICE services on January 1, 2018, under a $180 million four-year base contract, which includes contract extensions over a 10-year period, with a total potential value of $450 million. ManTech will partner with two companies under the contract, the 1901 Group, which will help provide tailored service management solutions, and World Wide Technology Incorporated, which will assist in providing supply chain fulfillment services.