Network Operations Center (NOC) Support Services
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Office of Information Technology
Enterprise Network and Technology Support Directorate (ENTSD)
Network Operations Center (NOC) Support Services
Request for Information (RFI)
Purpose:
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), is seeking market research information for CBP to develop an acquisition strategy to acquire contractor services to perform the Attachment 1 draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), and Attachment 2 Award Term Evaluation Criteria and Rating Scheme.
This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for informational and planning purposes and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotes. Nor does it constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that CBP will conduct an acquisition for these services. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. CBP will not be responsible for any costs incurred in furnishing this information. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned.
All information received resulting from this RFI will be used by CBP for acquisition planning and market research purposes only. Information received will be used for internal CBP use only. However, your response may be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, and the DHS FOIA regulation, 6 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Part 5. If you wish CBP to consider any portion of your response as "confidential commercial information", you should clearly mark the portion as "confidential commercial information". The procedures for identifying "confidential commercial information" are set forth in the DHS FOIA regulation cited above and are available on the DHS website http://www.dhs.gov/xfoia/editorial_0579.shtm. CBP, at its discretion, may request respondents to this RFI to meet with CBP program and contracting officials and to elaborate on information in their written response. Respondents to this RFI may not be notified of any results derived from a review of the information provided.
Background:
The Network Operations Center (NOC), within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), is responsible for the end-to-end operations and management of the CBP network. The NOC controls the interactions with network service providers (Verizon and AT&T) and other vendors to meet CBP service requirements.
The NOC is a 24 hour a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year (24x7x365) place of operations that provides network operations support, incident and/or problem identification, troubleshooting and maintenance for CBP Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), and Wide Area Network (WAN).
The NOC is the focal point for network troubleshooting, updating, router and domain name management, and coordination with affiliated networks. The NOC is responsible for providing network fault monitoring, network utilization, network availability, problem tracking and escalation, problem reports and documentation.
The NOC is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring, reporting, troubleshooting, escalating, and coordinating of events related to network communications. Activities impacting the NOC may include: (1) loss of connectivity, (2) slow-downs or latency, (3) scheduled or unscheduled outages, and (4) maintenance or upgrades.
The NOC is staffed 24x7x365 with three shifts of mid to senior level technicians. Shift turnover is conducted between each shift and includes a comprehensive list of open events, scheduled/upcoming changes and other "critical" items. The Contractor shall support up to 17,000 devices via automated alerts as well as customer calls, emails and trouble tickets transferred from external support groups.
The Primary NOC is located in the DC Metropolitan Area and the Secondary NOC is located in Orlando, Florida, and staffed as active/active operations centers. The active/active operation provides for increased situational awareness, increased availability, and the staffing to ensure continuity of operations should something happen to the other location.
Scope:
The contractor shall provide support services to ensure the NOC maintains operations 24x7x365. This includes providing support at the Primary and Secondary NOC that operate in the confines of a secure facility, organized, staffed, and equipped to manage Network Operations and Maintenance (O&M) functions that are relevant across the CBP enterprise for up to 17,000 CBP LAN, MAN, WAN, and Homeland Security Data Network (HSDN) devices. The Contractor shall provide network operations support services to CBP LAN, MAN, WAN, and Homeland Security Data Network (HSDN). Examples of current CBP owned and operated devices include:
• Cabling
• Routers
• Switches
• Firewalls
• Specialized appliances or hardware that provide network services (e.g., Domain Name Services/Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DNS/DHCP), Proxy Services, and Security Services)
These support services include Transition, Program Management, Network Operations Support (24x7x365), Network Performance and Analysis Support (8x5), Release Management (Service Request, Change, and Configuration Management Support, Information System Security Officer Support (8x5), Knowledge Management and Performance Reporting (8x5), Network Tools, and Surge Support. The Contractor shall support Virtual Private Networking (VPN) solutions, remote access services support, access control, and identity management tasks. The Contractor shall provide trained, qualified, and cleared staff to support these functions 24x7x365.
A more detailed outline of the scope of this support is contained in the draft PWS attached to this RFI.
Responding to this RFI
A. Responses to the RFI should include the following information:
1. Name and address of contractor.
2. Name, e-mail address, and telephone number of contractor's primary point of contact for the response.
3. Identify if your company is on any type of Government Wide Contract (GWAC) or DHS Strategic Sourcing Vehicle. If your company is a GSA schedule holder, identify the schedule.
4. Size of company providing the response to the RFI (large business, small business, disadvantaged small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, woman-owned small business, or HUBZone small business).
5. If other than a small business, will your plan include small business participation to meet the requirement?
6. Provide a listing of no more than three (3) contracts or task orders that the contractor has been awarded for similar NOC support services (can be performing as the prime or as a subcontractor). If the past performance was as a subcontractor to a prime, indicate the percentage of subcontracted work. These services should be of similar size, scope, and complexity, awarded within the last 3 years and include the following information:
i. Contract number, FSS or BPA number, or task order number
ii. Agency
iii. Period of performance
iv. Description of services
v. Contract/task order/BPA total amount
vi. Contract type (FFP, T&M, Labor Hour, cost plus fixed fee or cost plus award fee)
7. Explain your capabilities performing the requirements in paragraph 4 of the attached PWS. In general, how would you satisfy these requirements?
8. A description of any pertinent cost issues or cost control measures. Are there any specific requirements identified in the PWS that could potentially be "re-visited" by the Government that would allow completion of the mission at a lower contract price?
9. Please submit a rough order of magnitude estimate for this effort to include labor categories and local labor rates in accordance with the site location(s). If sufficient information is not provided to support a fixed price arrangement, provide what additional information would satisfy your ability to fix price.
10. The Government is interested in receiving feedback on your experience working with award terms, as an incentive, based on contractor performance. Based on your experience, describe any pros or cons of award term. Or if you don't have any experience with award terms, please provide your thoughts about performing under the terms of a contract that contains the possibility of a unilateral award term, beyond the base and option periods. See attached Award Term Evaluation Criteria and Rating Scheme.
11. Are there any issues or questions you have regarding performing the scope of work as defined in the excerpt to the draft PWS attached to this RFI? Do you have any recommendations to improve how the tasks are defined or to help you develop a more comprehensive offer should a Request for Proposal (RFP) follow?
B. All responses to this RFI are due no later than 1PM, EST, May 19, 2016. Responses received after this due date may not be reviewed by CBP.
C. All responses to the RFI must be submitted by e-mail only (no telephone calls or letter response) to:
Monica Y. Watts
Office of Administration
Email: monica.y.watts@cbp.dhs.gov or monica.watts@dhs.gov
D. The page limit for vendor responses to the RFI is 15 pages. Please do not include company marketing information as part of your response to the RFI. The RFI responses shall be in Times New Roman or Arial font with 11 font size on company letterhead.
Monica Y. Watts, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-344-2938, Fax 202-344-1254, Email monica.watts@dhs.gov
