EC2M ARMY KNOWLEDGE ONLINE(AKO) SERVICES
This Request for Information (RFI) is for market research and planning purposes only. The purpose is to gain knowledge of the interest, capabilities and qualifications of Industry that can be used to satisfy the requirement. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor is it to be considered as a Request for Proposal (RFP), or as an obligation on part of the Government to acquire any products or services.
Objective: The US Army Contracting Command - New Jersey (ACC-NJ) is issuing this RFI to survey the market for potential contractors capable of executing the Army Knowledge Online-Enterprise Service (AKO-ES) requirements for transformation, modernization, virtualization and migration of the AKO-ES into approved Army hosting environments. This effort will be in accordance with attached Army Directive 2016-38 (Migration of Army Systems and Applications to Approved Hosting Environments and Consolidation of Data Centers), dated 09 DEC 2016.
This effort will run in parallel to the day-to-day Operations and Maintenance (O&M) effort under the existing Task Order, W15QKN-17-F-0006 under GS00Q09BGD0056, with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation.
Background: AKO-ES is comprised of a series of integrated systems for the purpose of combining information, applications, and processes across Department of Defense (DoD) organizational boundaries. AKO-ES provides web-based enterprise information services to approximately 2.5 million DoD customers in every country where the DoD has a presence on a twenty-four (24) hour, seven (7) day a week, 365 days a year (24x7x365) basis. Enterprise services are provided to these customers on both classified and unclassified networks and include portal, instant messaging, directory, discovery, and Single Sign-On (SSO).
In accordance with April 2013 Secretary of the Army guidance, "... the Army must modernize current AKO infrastructure and services to become more interoperable across DoD, compliant with Joint Information Environment (JIE), and implement current best practices of cloud-based managed services." The AKO "transformation" will achieve that modernization and provide a suite of cloud-based enterprise services that are integrated and interoperate with each other.
Army Directive 2016-38 has slated the AKO-ES Data Center for closing in 4th QTR 2017, however, it is understood that the outlined efforts will require additional time.
Army Directive 2016-38 states at Enclosure 2 (4) and (5)
"4. Intent of the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff, Army. Our IT system and application rationalization and migration effort aims to accomplish three major objectives:
a. Reduce the number of Army IT systems and applications and optimize those remaining to operate in modern, cloud-enabled computing environments. We can no longer afford unconstrained IT spending nor embrace local IT hosting
solutions apart from our desired enterprise approach.
b. Realize that cyber-related threats to our systems, applications, and networks pose significant risks to our ability to generate and sustain ready forces; protect the unit and personal information of our formations, Soldiers, and Family members; and secure our installations and activities. We can no longer underwrite these risks or tolerate antiquated IT software, hardware, and policies that present potential attack surfaces for exploitation.
c. Reduce our IT hosting-related costs by establishing and adhering to authorized network and hosting capabilities at each Army installation and command and by hosting every enterprise-level system and application in facilities capable of providing first-class service while reducing vulnerabilities and potentially saving resources.
5. Application Migration and Data Center Consolidation Strategy. To achieve these three major objectives, the Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6 published a comprehensive set of strategies and policies that provide the requisite foundation for action. Army commands and activities will aggressively execute those strategies and adhere to those policies within available resources."
AKO as a platform supports the strategic goals of the Army Data Strategy by making data more visible, accessible, trusted, and interoperable. AKO's following key capabilities, which provide benefit to the Army, enable these goals.
Portal Services. The AKO portal provides a single entry point for Soldiers to get access to the wide variety of records and systems they must access. From training records via the Army Training and Certification Tracking System (ATCTS), to an Official Military Personnel File via Human Resources Command, to financial records via the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, AKO provides a single entry point (along with a single identity and set of authorization credentials) for access to these services. Examples of the variety of services accessed by Soldiers include myMilPay, myTravelPay, myMedical, myMedicalReadiness, myDental, myPersonnel, myTraining, myEducation, myClothing, etc.
Identity and Access Management. AKO is the single source for complete Army identities, additional information needed by many Army systems that is not resident in DOD systems. These identities are a combination of the Defense Manpower Data Center-provided enterprise identity and Army specific attributes from other authoritative sources, such as the Total Army Personnel Database, the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System (DCPDS), and other data sources. The identities are used hundreds of thousands of times each day by over 600 applications and systems across the Army for authorization and access management via AKO's "Single Sign On" capability.
Enterprise File Storage. AKO provides online file storage to all Soldiers, Army civilians, and Army contractors so they can upload files and then be able to access their data from anywhere in the world, especially when deployed or travelling. Additionally, AKO provides organizational storage so that organizations have the same capability and are not limited to what can fit on a CD or DVD for transport. Enterprise file storage on AKO-Secret Protocol Router Network (SIPR) is a critical tool for the force due to the restrictions on transporting classified data. Currently, no other Army capability provides this enterprise Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPR) and SIPR file storage functionality.
Requirement: The AKO-ES program is required to modernize elements of the system in order to meet the mandated requirements Army Directive 2016-38 and move AKO-ES to an Army-specified data center in accordance with the overall consolidation effort. AKO-ES must remain operational, with no degradation in service or availability, throughout all modernization/transformation/virtualization and migration activities. The key elements of AKO-ES slated for modernization/ transformation/virtualization and migration include, but are not limited to, the AKO-ES Portal, Identity and Access Management (IdAM), and Storage. The efforts to modernize/ transform/virtualize these elements must follow all required Information Assurance standards, be able to obtain a timely Authority to Operate (ATO) and provide a cost effective solution.
Any interested Offeror must be able to start by the end of 3rd QTR 2017, with personnel who are knowledgeable of the current AKO-ES architecture, have the required certifications, experience and clearances to be able to evaluate the current architecture and make informed recommendations for the path forward to meet the requirements of Army Directive 2016-38. Then, these personnel will be required to accomplish these modernization/transformation/virtualization and migration efforts over the next 18 to 24 months. Given the outlined time constraints, a ramp up or transition period is not anticipated.
Capability: Interested sources shall provide a corporate capability statement. The statement shall explain why the source believes that it has the technical capability to meet the Government's requirements in the transformation/modernization/virtualization and migration of a system such as AKO-ES; the contractor's demonstrated experience within the Army/DOD environment with similar projects to include experience of personnel, organizational history on meeting this or similar requirements, corporate acumen in managing projects and government contracts of the same or similar nature, experience implementing the products identified above, and ability to expand its workforce to perform multiple, concurrent, tasks, e.g., through teaming, hiring, internal reassignment, etc. This statement shall not exceed 15 pages. The page limit does not apply to advertising material such as company brochures and catalogs.
This information will be used for market research and analysis to determine what capabilities currently exist. This notice should NOT be construed as a request for proposal or any obligation on the part of the U.S. Government. No award will be made from this announcement. No telephone calls and/or request for solicitation information will be accepted or acknowledged.
Interested parties ARE REQUIRED to provide contractor name, address, and information regarding any Government contracts that they may hold such as the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) contract vehicle or General Services Administration (GSA) multiple awards schedule (MAS) that may satisfy this potential requirement.
Response Format:
RFI responses are due from Industry by 08 May 2017. Responses shall not exceed 15 pages in length, excluding company brochures and catalogs. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), a response to this synopsis is not an offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Response to this synopsis is voluntary. The Government will not award a contract on the basis of this synopsis, nor pay for information provided in response to this synopsis. Responses to this synopsis shall be sent via email to Daniel Schlisserman at daniel.p.schlisserman.civ@mail.mil by 08 May 2017 at 3PM Eastern Time. If a formal solicitation is generated at a later date, a solicitation notice will published and a performance work statement shall be provided.
Daniel P. Schlisserman, Phone 609-562-3161, Email daniel.p.schlisserman.civ@mail.mil
