The Defense Information Systems Agency plans to expand its Joint Enterprise License Agreement, or JELA, program to save taxpayer dollars.
In an interview with Breaking Defense, David White, JELA program manager at DISA, said that the program was established roughly 10 years ago to eliminate duplicative IT purchases across services and ensure that the Department of Defense only has to go through arrangements for a contract once.
“Now the JELA is more tailored towards not just streamlining the acquisition process for our mission partners, but also help managing the risks of the contract, getting everyone on the same page in terms of the modernization efforts, but then having one voice with the different industry partners that we do business with, and having that one voice allows us to get better pricing, unified terms and conditions,” he explained.
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Future of JELA
DISA has already created four consolidated JELAs and is working on a fifth. White shared that the agency wants to transform seven out of the 10 largest IT contracts with duplications into JELAs over the next three years.
Although typically establishing a JELA takes about 18 months, White is optimistic that streamlining the process would be easier under the current administration and the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award winner.
“For the JELA program, for some of the mature contracts that we had, I felt like we were already in line with the [defense secretary’s] initiatives and his desires,” White added.
How JELA Benefits Industry
The official also shared that the program would lessen the burden for industry and allow companies to demonstrate their capabilities on a larger scale.
He explained that, under the current processes, company growth may be impeded due to different contract terms and limits. According to White, JELA’s scope is so large that companies can offer more of their products.
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