Pentagon abruptly abandons plans to replace Defense Travel System, no explanation
The Department of Defense abruptly discontinued a new travel management system that had taken five years and tens of millions of dollars to build and deploy, and without explanation told all users of the outdated and highly vilified new system. I am telling you to return to use. was supposed to be replaced.
In a May 24 memo, Undersecretary of Defense Gil Cisneros, for personnel and preparations, announced the abrupt termination of a program called My Travel, stating:
The Department of Defense abruptly discontinued a new travel management system that had taken five years and tens of millions of dollars to build and deploy, and without explanation told all users of the outdated and highly vilified new system. I am telling you to return to use. was supposed to be replaced.
and May 24 memoUndersecretary of Defense for Human Resources and Readiness Gil Cisneros announced the abrupt termination of a program called MyTravel, saying the new system would cease operations entirely on Sept. 13. The memo did not explain the policy change, and a Pentagon spokesperson told the Federal News Network that details of the decision could not be revealed until later this week.
Department of Defense in September 2021 Award SAP Concur has signed a $374 million sole procurement contract to operate MyTravel to replace the Department’s Defense Travel System (DTS) for up to seven years. Not all of that money was spent. The Pentagon’s latest decision effectively means refusing to exercise his five-year option at the end of the contract.
But the Pentagon has already owed at least $13 million for the contract, according to Federal Procurement Data System records. This figure does not include the additional work required to integrate MyTravel with DoD component financial management systems or other aspects of the transition such as training. It also doesn’t include his $10 million separately. Other transaction agreements issued by the department In August 2018, we commissioned SAP Concur, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture, and CWTSato Travel to design a prototype as the basis for the new system.
Just seven months ago, Cisneros memo I informed Pentagon officials that the Department of Defense is beginning to mandate the use of MyTravel in preparation for the end of DTS.
“The ministry continues to make significant investments in systems that increase efficiency and reduce administrative costs,” he said in an October 2022 message. “MyTravel will allow the division to retire its legacy travel system while delivering an industry-leading product that aligns with the division’s broader technology strategy. [including] Cloud computing, cybersecurity and data management. ”
And most recently, in March, when the Department of Defense submitted its 2024 budget to Congress, department said The system has already been deployed in defense agencies and was due to be rolled out to each service by late 2023.
and news Officials told the Defense Travel Administration website that Pentagon officials who have already started using MyTravel will receive more detailed guidance on cancellations “in due course.”
But officials have told defense agencies they plan to revert to the old defense travel system by July 13, presumably to allow enough time to complete MyTravel transactions before the new system shuts down in September. should be set up.
The Department of Defense has been trying to replace DTS since early 2015, when the Defense Digital Agency began working on DTS. Your own separate pilot project Launch a commercial alternative. The current system, widely disliked by users, has been characterized by authorities as “old-fashioned,” “cumbersome” and “inefficient.”
The Government Accountability Office also 2019 survey DTS was responsible for an estimated $965 million of improper payments between 2016 and 2018, the Department of Defense said in its 2021 financial report, saying MyTravel would significantly reduce the rate of improper payments. Said I hope. According to the government’s paymentaccuracy.gov database, that amount will remain high in 2022, with 4.27% of the $8.4 billion in Pentagon travel spending classified as inappropriate.
In the beginning, the agency had very high expectations for MyTravel in other ways as well. At the time of the prototype’s award, officials estimated the system would “exponentially reduce the cost of airline tickets” and save more than 10 million hours of work annually by simplifying the travel booking process. was doing.
Then, in 2021, it was justified when the Department of Defense issued a contract for the production version of MyTravel. Determination by sole source of information Only SAP Concur’s solution can meet the need for a DTS replacement, he said, adding that the work the company has already done to integrate commercial Software-as-a-Service services with DoD systems is “highly specialized.” It was because
“Configuring Concur took three years, including over 30 sprint cycles. [MyTravel] and adapt it to the Department of Defense’s specific operational and regulatory compliance requirements,” the defense official wrote. contract documents Justified the decision to award $374 million in prizes without competition. “Through an iterative sprint process, Concur implemented a configuration of travel and expense products to provide the Department of Defense with Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) compliant functionality. This includes arranging business travel, local travel, trips to military installations, and international travel.Concur has also built the Concur Cloud for Public Sector, hosted on Amazon Web Service (AWS) GovCloud, to support FedRAMP and DoD cyber It provided the baseline we needed for our security requirements.”
The same 2021 document underscored the urgency of moving the department away from DTS, citing user unfriendliness, auditability issues, and high technical debt. Officials argued that only Concur’s solution could achieve that in a reasonable time frame.
“The delay impacts the government as it requires the continued use of an aging travel system,” according to a justification and approval document approved by the Department’s pricing and contracting policy executive, John Tenaglia. “The longer this DTS situation persists, the longer the Department of Defense spends underperforming the full benefits of modern cloud-based commercial travel and expense processing capabilities, and the more time and In addition, continuing to use DTS would require further investment to update DTS, [MyTravel] The last three years have been meaningless. ”
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The Department of Defense abruptly discontinued a new travel management system that had taken five years and tens of millions of dollars to build and deploy, and without explanation told all users of the outdated and highly vilified new system. I am telling you to return to use. was supposed to be replaced. In a May 24 memo, Undersecretary of Defense Gil Cisneros, for personnel and preparations, announced the abrupt termination of a program called My Travel, stating:read moreThe Department of Defense abruptly discontinued a new travel management system that had taken five years and tens of millions of dollars to build and deploy, and without explanation told all users of the outdated and highly vilified new system. I am telling you to return to use. was supposed to be replaced.
and May 24 memoUndersecretary of Defense for Human Resources and Readiness Gil Cisneros announced the abrupt termination of a program called MyTravel, saying the new system would cease operations entirely on Sept. 13. The memo did not explain the policy change, and a Pentagon spokesperson told the Federal News Network that details of the decision could not be revealed until later this week.
Department of Defense in September 2021 Award SAP Concur has signed a $374 million sole procurement contract to operate MyTravel to replace the Department’s Defense Travel System (DTS) for up to seven years. Not all of that money was spent. The Pentagon’s latest decision effectively means refusing to exercise his five-year option at the end of the contract.
But the Pentagon has already owed at least $13 million for the contract, according to Federal Procurement Data System records. This figure does not include the additional work required to integrate MyTravel with DoD component financial management systems or other aspects of the transition such as training. It also doesn’t include his $10 million separately. Other transaction agreements issued by the department In August 2018, we commissioned SAP Concur, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture, and CWTSato Travel to design a prototype as the basis for the new system.
Just seven months ago, Cisneros memo I informed Pentagon officials that the Department of Defense is beginning to mandate the use of MyTravel in preparation for the end of DTS.
“The ministry continues to make significant investments in systems that increase efficiency and reduce administrative costs,” he said in an October 2022 message. “MyTravel will allow the division to retire its legacy travel system while delivering an industry-leading product that aligns with the division’s broader technology strategy. [including] Cloud computing, cybersecurity and data management. ”
And most recently, in March, when the Department of Defense submitted its 2024 budget to Congress, department said The system has already been deployed in defense agencies and was due to be rolled out to each service by late 2023.
and news Officials told the Defense Travel Administration website that Pentagon officials who have already started using MyTravel will receive more detailed guidance on cancellations “in due course.”
But officials have told defense agencies they plan to revert to the old defense travel system by July 13, presumably to allow enough time to complete MyTravel transactions before the new system shuts down in September. should be set up.
The Department of Defense has been trying to replace DTS since early 2015, when the Defense Digital Agency began working on DTS. Your own separate pilot project Launch a commercial alternative. The current system, widely disliked by users, has been characterized by authorities as “old-fashioned,” “cumbersome” and “inefficient.”
The Government Accountability Office also 2019 survey DTS was responsible for an estimated $965 million of improper payments between 2016 and 2018, the Department of Defense said in its 2021 financial report, saying MyTravel would significantly reduce the rate of improper payments. Said I hope. According to the government’s paymentaccuracy.gov database, that amount will remain high in 2022, with 4.27% of the $8.4 billion in Pentagon travel spending classified as inappropriate.
In the beginning, the agency had very high expectations for MyTravel in other ways as well. At the time of the prototype’s award, officials estimated the system would “exponentially reduce the cost of airline tickets” and save more than 10 million hours of work annually by simplifying the travel booking process. was doing.
Then, in 2021, it was justified when the Department of Defense issued a contract for the production version of MyTravel. Determination by sole source of information Only SAP Concur’s solution can meet the need for a DTS replacement, he said, adding that the work the company has already done to integrate commercial Software-as-a-Service services with DoD systems is “highly specialized.” It was because
“Configuring Concur took three years, including over 30 sprint cycles. [MyTravel] and adapt it to the Department of Defense’s specific operational and regulatory compliance requirements,” the defense official wrote. contract documents Justified the decision to award $374 million in prizes without competition. “Through an iterative sprint process, Concur implemented a configuration of travel and expense products to provide the Department of Defense with Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) compliant functionality. This includes arranging business travel, local travel, trips to military installations, and international travel.Concur has also built the Concur Cloud for Public Sector, hosted on Amazon Web Service (AWS) GovCloud, to support FedRAMP and DoD cyber It provided the baseline we needed for our security requirements.”
The same 2021 document underscored the urgency of moving the department away from DTS, citing user unfriendliness, auditability issues, and high technical debt. Officials argued that only Concur’s solution could achieve that in a reasonable time frame.
“The delay impacts the government as it requires the continued use of an aging travel system,” according to a justification and approval document approved by the Department’s pricing and contracting policy executive, John Tenaglia. “The longer this DTS situation persists, the longer the Department of Defense spends underperforming the full benefits of modern cloud-based commercial travel and expense processing capabilities, and the more time and In addition, continuing to use DTS would require further investment to update DTS, [MyTravel] The last three years have been meaningless. ”
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-news/2023/06/dod-suddenly-abandons-plan-to-replace-defense-travel-system-offers-no-explanation/ Pentagon abruptly abandons plans to replace Defense Travel System, no explanation