When the Defense Information Systems Agency needs a leading-edge commercial solution, one approach is to acquire it through an Other Transaction Authority.
Other Transaction Authorities are different from contracts because they are not governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and offer greater flexibility for the research and development of prototypes.
Other Transaction Authority prototypes are where high-profile solutions like Cloud Based Internet Isolation and Thunderdome began.
After meeting with the Cloud Based Internet Isolation and Thunderdome project teams, the Other Transaction Authority team within DISA’s Emerging Technologies, Special Interest Contracts and Pricing Division, Procurement Services Directorate, began looking for solutions outside of the traditional acquisition process.