The Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS) – recently added to the Networx contract to meet OMB M-08-05 – promises changes in the communications and networking Managed Services landscape.

GSA developed MTIPS for the Networx program to allow agencies to physically and logically connect to the Internet in full compliance with the OMB’s Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) initiative.

TIC is basically a framework that defines the way in which government agencies interact with the Internet going forward.  It addresses a major challenge that the OMB defined in the federal space and provides for the reduction, consolidation, and standardization of the number of Internet connections from over 5,000 in 2007 to less than 100 by the end of 2010, which is the goal.

MTIPS facilitates that reduction of Internet connections in government networks and provides standard security services to all government users said Frank Tiller, Director, Service Development Division, Network Services during a GSA presentation announcing MTIPS March 13, 2009.

Right now Tiller said MTIPS will include an Einstein 2 Enclave with passive detection capability. When Einstein 3 is ready it will be added. Einstein is the network monitoring tool used by DHS to automatically monitor and analyze Internet traffic when it moves in and out of federal computer networks by filtering packets at the perimeter.

Tiller said MTIPS services also include Security Operations Centers (SOC) for agency protection, transport services from agency WAN to TIC portals and redundant Internet access services. It also allows for agencies to meet their unique requirements.

This sounds just like one more in the endless announcements made by government agencies each day on how policy will be implemented. But it is not. MTIPS is a really big deal.

Why MTIPS is a Big Deal
“MTIPS is a big deal for the government and anyone in IT who cares about using the Internet as an extension of their core WAN services,” Sprint’s Steve Parrott told 1105 Government Information Group Custom Media during a recent interview.

The goal is to provide for a more secure infrastructure for the government in which the Internet is a legitimate solution for supporting internal and external clients.  “To achieve this goal, they’re going to need the service providers like Sprint (and the other approved Networx providers) to help do that.”

What will be offered will be a pre-packaged bundle of previously à la carte services (e.g. intrusion detection and prevention, secure managed email, anti-virus and managed firewall services) and included integration with Einstien to fortify agency networks against a wide array of threats.

But while Sprint is one of the authorized providers of MTIPS, Parrott said the deal is far bigger than Sprint. It shows some major new thinking about how the government views the Internet.

New Thinking
First there is the awareness factor. “It shows that the government believes the Internet is really important and should receive top-notch protection,” said Parrott. “They’re worried about the rising number of Internet based attacks, data leakage, spam, etc. These concerns are forcing agencies to rethink all of this. They’re raising awareness – and the bar – around cyber security.”

Second the ways things have always been done aren’t cutting it. “Government is acknowledging there’s a risk to each agency doing their own home-grown Internet security solutions and policies,” Parrott explained. “Agencies have been patching these together for years, using different vendors for different parts (e.g. firewalls, VPNs). But it doesn’t make sense anymore to have standalone gateway services.”

Third, by choosing integrated over standalone services, the government is acknowledging that there’s a better way; a standards-based, integrated approach where everything is seamlessly part of the agency’s wide area network.  “In other words, security is now a ‘feature’ of the WAN, not some bolted-on solution,” noted Parrott.

Finally, Internet security belongs with the experts. GSA made a very specific decision to include the MTIPS offering as part of Networx versus the enumerable other government contracts.  “Effectively, they recognize that this job must be done by people who understand the Internet, not people who are simply security minded,” said Parrott.

GSA has also recognized that the Internet and security go hand-in-hand.   MTIPS is a natural extension to the other IP services available on the Networx contract.

A New Model
This all makes sense when you step back and think about it said Parrott. “Why does a firewall have to stand alone? Why shouldn’t you be putting controls – where, how, who, and what happens – when the Internet connects to the WAN? Why should security stand alone? Government knows that to deal with the new cyber threats, they have to embrace a better approach.”

Parrott sees MTIPS as another sign that convergence is getting traction as organizations look at moving away from a standalone model to services that are inherent to the network, all the way up to cloud computing. “The MTIPS award announcement should be a good model for everyone to look at and consider in each enterprise’s network and solution,” added Parrott.

That’s because MTIPS gives the federal government a new way to approach and solve these problems.

Historically in a Managed Services environment an agency could contract with an IT organization to manage agency IT responsibilities. One supplier could handle desktops, a second to do the network and a third to provide the professional services to integrate the services.

“What’s happening now is that lots of elements are coming off the table and new ones are coming in that the historical agents can’t do,” noted Parrott.

“For the Internet, GSA is saying now I expect everybody – except the largest government entities – to buy it from the named providers,” Parrot explained. “So if you are working with an IT shop that is providing your firewall and Internet access, you need to buy the AT&T version or the Sprint version (or the other Networx provider’s version).”

While a customer may be used to working with an integrator before, they are realizing they really have to work with one of the providers because they provide the “glue” to put the solution all together. “This only works because we provide the glue, and that’s where the Managed Service is,” added Parrott.

That is a game changer according to Parrott. To make his point Parrott compares the Internet to electricity. “No one ever asks you anymore if you need electricity. Today nobody asks anymore do you need the Internet.”

With MTIPS, GSA basically redefined the way the Internet is going to operate for government in one move. “GSA moved it out of an IT world into a service provider world. They secondarily said there’s a very specific model for how it’s going to work,” said Parrott.