Industry Questions and NOAA Response.pdf

1. Industry Question 1

Would you kindly confirm if this is an entirely new effort or is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If so, would you please provide the incumbent contract details?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 1

This is a new effort.

2. Industry Question 2

Will successful vendors be required to also be FedRAMP compliant? If so, can companies who are not currently FedRAMP compliant design solutions to run in FedRAMPed environments such as Palantir's FedStart. Will this meet the FedRAMP requirement?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 2

The solution must be Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program

(FedRamp) compliant. That means that any cloud-based components used in the solution (such as the cloud platform/toolset the solution runs on or cloud-based software running on that platform) must be FedRamp approved. We are also still required to comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

800-53 High baseline controls for the things we manage/build/configure ourselves, even if that is running on a FedRAMP approved platform.

3. Industry Question 3

With regard to this requirement 3.1.2. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - High

Value Asset are there specific accreditation or standards vendors are required to achieve in order to meet this standard?

3. REQUIREMENTS/SPECIFICATIONS:

3.1.Security:

3.1.1. Federal Information Security Modernization Act - High Impact (Confidentiality -

Moderate, Integrity - High, and Availability - High).

3.1.2. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - High Value Asset

NOAA Response to Industry Question 3

The Request for Information (RFI) states that Cloud Advanced Weather Interactive

Processing System (AWIPS) must meet Federal Information Security Management

Act (FISMA) High baseline control requirements (Confidentiality - Moderate, Integrity - High, Availability - High) security requirements and that it is identified as a High Value Asset (HVA). Respondents should align their solutions with guidance from the NIST, specifically the standards defined in the latest release of

NIST SP 800-53 (5.1.1). In addition, the solution should comply with the

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) control overlay for HVA systems (version 2.0). Incorporating these standards ensures that the solution provides comprehensive risk management, secure architecture, and robust incident response capabilities.

4. Industry Question 4

Can the Government clarify the anticipated contract start date offerors should assume for schedule purposes?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 4

The acquisition timeline has not been finalized. The Government will use the responses received through this RFI to inform the development of the acquisition strategy and associated schedule.

5. Industry Question 5

Will the Government confirm if the discussed deployment date "end of 2026" refers to the

Calendar Year or the Fiscal Year?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 5

The reference to “end of 2026” was intentionally left broad to avoid prematurely constraining potential solution approaches. Respondents are encouraged to propose a deployment timeline, whether based on the calendar year or fiscal year, that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy.

6. Industry Question 6

Can the Government clarify if continuation of on-premises AWIPS sustainment and O&M is included in this scope, and if so, provide a summary of the expected scope (e.g., hardware refresh, software patching user support)?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 6

The RFI clearly states that NOAA seeks to transition from the current on-premises

AWIPS architecture to a cloud based solution. Responses should focus on cloud-based solutions. Sustainment of the existing on-prem infrastructure is not included in the scope of this effort.

7. Industry Question 7

Will the Government confirm if sustainment and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support to the Network Control Facility (NCF) falls within the scope of this RFI response?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 7

No. The RFI does not explicitly include sustainment and O&M support for the NCF in the scope. The primary focus is on transitioning the broader AWIPS functionality to a cloud-based solution.

8. Industry Question 8

Can the Government clarify if sustainment and O&M support for the Satellite Broadcast

Network (SBN) falls within the scope of this RFI response?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 8

No. The RFI does not identify sustainment and O&M support for the SBN are not identified as within scope. The primary focus of the RFI is on transitioning AWIPS functionality to a cloud-based architecture. While respondents may suggest solutions that incorporate or depend upon the SBN, support for the SBN is not a stated requirement.

9. Industry Question 9

Can the Government clarify whether the system-wide availability requirement encompasses network communications between the cloud environment and end users and additionally provide a detailed scope of the Availability requirement?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 9

The Government acknowledges that networking is a critical part of this solution.

For the purposes of the RFI, assume that network capabilities are being provided by the Government unless the responder’s potential solution requires some other provision of network capabilities.

10. Industry Question 10

Can the Government clarify which personnel and roles (e.g., key staff, technical leads, capture/PMO) would be required or can attend orals?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 10

Please include any information and/or suggestions on the structure of “orals” when answering RFI Question 5.2 in the RFI. The responses to the RFI and the associated questions will assist the Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for Request for Proposal (RFP) release.

11. Industry Question 11

Will the Government provide scenarios in advance or on-the spot evaluation prompts for the orals?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 11

Please include any information and/or suggestions on the structure of “orals” when answering RFI Question 5.2 in the RFI. The responses to the RFI and the associated questions will assist the Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for RFP release.

12. Industry Question 12

Can the Government clarify if the NWS network solution is within the scope?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 12

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 9 above.

13. Industry Question 13

Can the Government clarify whether remediation of outstanding legacy software technical debt is within the scope of the cloud AWIPS effort, and if so, describe the expected volume, priority areas.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 13

The extent to which remediation of legacy software technical debt is within scope will depend on the nature of the proposed solution and the degree to which the proposed solution relies on the existing AWIPS software baseline. Respondents are encouraged to address how their approach manages or mitigates technical debt as part of their overall strategy.

14. Industry Question 14

Can the Government provide clarification on whether all National Centers will be operational on

AWIPS by the end of 2026?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 14

Not all of the National Centers will be fully operational with the on-premises

AWIPS by the end of 2026. For the purpose of this RFI, respondents should assume that the National Centers will be using Cloud AWIPS operationally from day 1.

15. Industry Question 15

Can the Government clarify if grid production and dissemination (i.e., GFE) will be within the scope?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 15

The NWS is looking to move away from grid editing; however, timing is dependent on an updated operational model being implemented and the supporting technology being available. Grid production, product generation and dissemination will be retained as long as there is a need for deterministic forecasts to be provided to the public.

16. Industry Question 16

Does the Government intend to decommission the SBN by the end of 2026? If yes, please outline the required tasks, sequencing, and contactor responsibilities.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 16

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 8 above.

17. Industry Question 17

Can the Government clarify whether migration of all NCF functionality to the cloud is in scope, and if so, provide the functional areas, sequencing, and any interim hybrid-operation expectations?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 17

Respondents are encouraged to suggest a potential solution that meets the specified requirements in the RFI. Responses to this RFI will assist the Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for RFP release.

18. Industry Question 18

Can the Government clarify how does this RFI or work tie in with the current

DOCEA133W17CQ0082 work or contract?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 18

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 1 above.

19. Industry Question 19

Can the Government provide the number of attendees allowed for the one-on-one meeting?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 19

There is no limitation on who vendors bring to the one-on-one sessions. While there is no set limit, vendors should keep the number of attendees to a reasonable level necessary to support a productive discussion.

The purpose of these one-on-one sessions is to gather objective feedback for the

Government on the requirements and to foster open dialogue. These sessions are not a platform for vendor promotion.

20. Industry Question 20

Can the Government confirm if the current "Lift and Shift" AWIPS used by Incident

Meteorologists meet the AWIPS FISMA security controls? Will additional controls be required by the new "Cloud AWIPS"?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 20

As the RFI states that Cloud AWIPS must meet FISMA High baseline control requirements (Confidentiality - Moderate, Integrity - High, Availability - High) security requirements and that it is identified as a HVA. Respondents should align their solutions with guidance from the NIST, specifically the standards defined in the latest release of NIST SP 800-53 (5.1.1). In addition, the solution should comply with the CISA control overlay for HVA systems (version 2.0), Incorporating these standards ensures that the solution provides comprehensive risk management, secure architecture, and robust incident response capabilities.

21. Industry Question 21

The Availability requirement is 99.999%. Which parts of the solution need to meet a strict SLA of five nines of availability, or is the requirement specific to critical components of the solution?

If the latter, please specify which specific components must meet the SLA.

What additional SLAs do you have?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 21

This is an overall availability requirement in order to meet the NWS’ mission to produce timely forecasts, watches, and warnings. The Government encourages respondents to address RFI Questions 5.1 through 5.5 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding possible SLAs .

The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical Library.

22. Industry Question 22

To better understand the AWIPS User Base, please specify how AWIPS's users are classified into user groups (roles) and the number of users in each user group.

If the user groups are classified across multiple Agencies (e.g., FAA, etc.), please provide information regarding the respective Agencies' expectations from AWIPS.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 22

Within the on-premises system, AWIPS utilizes the following roles:

● standard (e.g., forecaster)

● privileged user (e.g., system administration)

● escalated user (e.g., focal point)

Non-NOAA Federal partners who have access to AWIPS are limited to standard roles.

Responses to this RFI will assist the Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for RFP release.

23. Industry Question 23

What user authentication technology is currently used by AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 23

Common Access Card based authentication for all users. NOAA has recently distributed Yubikeys to employees, and this will also be permitted going forward as a method for authentication to NOAA systems.

24. Industry Question 24

What is the average data volume and the data classification for daily processing?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 24

Data Volume: The National Weather Service (NWS) has 3 types of offices; (1)

Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs), (2) River Forecast Centers (RFCs), and (3)

National Centers. WFOs and RFCs have an average daily data volume of 500 GB while National Centers have an average daily data volume of 1 TB.

Data Classification: AWIPS ingests a variety of data types such as GRIB2, netCDF, text (in various formats), radar and BUFR.

25. Industry Question 25

What is the anticipated target cloud hosting platform for AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 25

The Government is not specifying a target cloud hosting platform to avoid prematurely constraining potential solution approaches. Responders are encouraged to identify a cloud hosting platform that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy. Responses to this

RFI will assist the Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for RFP release.

26. Industry Question 26

How does the Government acquire hyperscaler cloud services for the AWIPS cloud accounts?

For example, does the Government have a direct enterprise agreement with the hyperscaler, or does it leverage the current partner's/systems integrator's reseller agreements to acquire cloud services?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 26

Respondents are encouraged to suggest a hyperscaler that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy. Responses to this

27. Industry Question 27

What is the scope of work, associated with this RFI, that NOAA envisions? For example, Who owns the hosting? Who provisions the cloud services?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 27

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 25 above.

28. Industry Question 28

What are the approximate total monthly/yearly costs for running the AWIPS platform?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 28

The Government will not disclose cost information in order to avoid unduly influencing or constraining potential solution architectures and cost models.

Respondents are encouraged to propose cost-effective approaches tailored to their technical solutions.

29. Industry Question 29

What level of customization or configurability is NOAA seeking in the cloud-based AWIPS to allow forecasters to tailor probabilistic outputs for specific stakeholders, such as transportation, agriculture or wildfire management, and weather-related concerns?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 29

The ability to calculate, analyze, display and produce products based on joint probabilities of hydro-meteorological with datasets such as land, sea, or air traffic

(transportation), available fuels (wildfire management), population demographics, land usage, etc that could be joined with hydro-meteorological data to provide potential impacts to personal safety, utility infrastructure, transportation, etc.

30. Industry Question 30

What are NOAA’s expectations for visualizing probabilistic forecast data, such as percentile-based outputs and exceedance thresholds, in a way that is intuitive for forecasters and external partners?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 30

The ability to view multiple representations of probabilities (percentile, exceedance, etc) as well as the ability (forecaster perspective) to “drill down” to view underlying components and/or ensemble members in either a geospatial, volumetric, point sounding, cross-sectional, or time-series perspective.

31. Industry Question 31

How does NOAA want the cloud-based AWIPS to interface with the National Water Model

(NWM) to provide probabilistic streamflow and total water level guidance for coastal and inland flooding applications?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 31

The National Water Model (NWM) is one of the many data sources that should be able to be displayed in AWIPS.

32. Industry Question 32

NOAA indicated that the agency performed a limited capacity "lift and shift" migration to the cloud for the AWIPS software. What are some of the challenges the team faced and the lessons learned as part of this limited migration?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 32

This information was provided as background into efforts to date by the

Government. To ensure an open and unbiased consideration of innovative approaches, the Government is not releasing information on our efforts at this time.

Respondents are encouraged to propose solutions based on industry best practices and their technical expertise.

33. Industry Question 33

NOAA references "more generalized approach whereby workload can easily be distributed across many field offices, national centers, and/or deployed locations. This transformation emphasizes an approach that enables workload to be distributed seamlessly across field offices, national centers, and deployed teams." What constitutes "workload" in this context? Does it denote any or all of the following: (a) user activities; (b) data ingestion and storage; (c) processing via application of algorithms to ingested data; (d) production of visualizations from processed data; and (e), generation and dissemination of products such as data, notifications, alerts, etc.?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 33

In this context, the workload is that of the forecaster to use AWIPS in order to produce the products and services necessary to fulfil the NWS’ mission. Workload also includes all of the supporting information technology system processes necessary to enable the forecaster activities.

34. Industry Question 34

NOAA indicates that, "the agency is shifting from a deterministic forecast and warning paradigm to one rooted in risk-based decision-making. This approach integrates probabilistic forecasts with non-weather and water datasets to better support risk analysis and guide decisions to mitigate hazardous impacts to communities at all levels, from regional and state to city and local."

This appears to be a fundamentally different conceptual framework from that of current AWIPS.

Is it NOAA's vision that Cloud AWIPS begin as a technology transformation to support the current conceptual framework (i.e., a deterministic forecast and warning paradigm) and evolve into one that supports the new paradigm, or should Cloud AWIPS begin primarily as a conceptual transformation to adopt the new paradigm as its foundation?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 34

It is primarily the latter, to a probabilistic impact based risk decision paradigm and include legacy approaches only to the extent needed to bridge the transition. NWS sees the shift as being a phased approach that quickly establishes a base capability within 12-18 months with full capability in less than 5 years.

35. Industry Question 35

As it relates to the requirements in the RFI sections 2 and 3, what is the status of the current microservices pilot? Can the Government share any applicable lessons learned to inform responses to this RFI?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 35

The Government is currently 30 months into a 36 month microservices refactor for backend processes such as data ingestion. To ensure an open and unbiased consideration of innovative approaches, the Government is not releasing information on our efforts at this time. Respondents are encouraged to propose solutions based on industry best practices and their technical expertise.

36. Industry Question 36

As it relates to the requirements in the RFI sections 2 and 3, can the Government share the status of the River Forecast Center (RFC) /Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) Cloud lift and shifts?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 36

The Government continues to make progress within the Lift and Shift to support both RFCs and CWSUs. The current focus is on establishing the necessary data flows needed by the forecasters.

37. Industry Question 37

IAW RFI 4.5, can the Government provide a plug number for AWS Cloud hosting / consumption and associated software licensing costs so offerors can include in their ROM when providing

O&M ROM cost for the first year?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 37

Respondents are encouraged to suggest cloud hosting/consumption estimates and associated software licensing costs that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy. Responses to this RFI will assist the

Government in establishing an acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for

RFP release.

38. Industry Question 38

Could the Government provide a detailed assessment of progress to date on the current efforts to modernize AWIPS by transitioning it to a cloud-native, microservices-based architecture as well as progress planned for the remainder of CY2025? Is this confined to EDEX or are they any other AWIPS components /services for which refactoring is, or shortly will be, underway?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 38

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 35 above.

39. Industry Question 39

Can the Government please confirm the contractor that is migrating AWIPS into the Cloud will not responsible for sustainment the legacy system on prem? For estimating purposes, should offerors assume the sustainment cut over occurs after AWIPS is migrated into the Cloud?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 39

The RFI clearly states that NOAA seeks to transition from the current on-premises

AWIPS architecture to a cloud based solution. Responses should focus on cloud-based solutions. Sustainment of the existing on-prem infrastructure is not included in the scope of this effort.

40. Industry Question 40

Will the Government please confirm offerors need to be cloud agnostic in terms of developing an approach as the ultimate selection of the cloud hosting environment is inherently Governmental?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 40

41. Industry Question 41

Can the Government confirm what Authority to Operate (ATO) assumptions with regards to schedule for transitioning to cloud are in place?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 41

NOAA and the Department of Commerce mandate that all FISMA systems are subject to an annual independent security controls assessment. The Authority to

Operate is contingent on the results of the assessment and normally does not exceed one year in length. The scope of the assessment is contingent on the elements of the solution which have been deployed to production (or are ready for production deployment at the time of the assessment).

42. Industry Question 42

The RFI specifies 99.999% availability over 24x7x365 operations across 11 time zones. Would the Government provide desired performance metrics and priorities for the "Primary Missions

Essential Functions (PMEF)" to assist offerors with providing an accurate cost boundary ROM and ROM for operations IAW RFI 4.4 and 4.5?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 42

The Government encourages respondents to address RFI Questions 5.1 through 5.5 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding the application of availability requirements to Primary Missions Essential

Functions (PMEF). The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the

Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical

Library.

43. Industry Question 43

Could the Government provide more specific details on known technical debt or significant integration challenges anticipated with specific legacy components or data interfaces that will be encountered during the migration of on-prem applications and operations to Cloud AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 43

The Government is not providing this information at this time to avoid prematurely constraining potential solution approaches. The Government encourages respondents to address RFI Questions 5.1 through 5.5 with specific questions and needed details in order to support a future proposal. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical Library.

44. Industry Question 44

Can the Government provide the kind of support required for AWIPS local applications? Will there be direct development work for migrating those applications?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 44

The Government has not made any final determination on the disposition of local applications within Cloud AWIPS. For example, the outcome of NOAA Response to

Industry Question 15 will have a great impact on the future of local applications.

45. Industry Question 45

Has the Government considered and / or developed a detailed migration plan or approach? Is it shareable?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 45

Responses to the Government from the RFI will help shape any detailed migration plans or approaches based on the feedback received.

46. Industry Question 46

Who will manage workstations if the system moves to desktop browser environments and who will handle software patches. Is it likely that these aspects of management will fall under contractor responsibility?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 46

This is to be determined based on the implemented solution. As a result, respondents are encouraged to suggest a potential solution that meets the specified

47. Industry Question 47

What considerations are being made regarding data flow latency, particularly if SBN continues to be used?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 47

The future of the SBN is outside the scope of this RFI. However, the Government encourages respondents to address RFI Questions 5.1 through 5.5 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding the functionality provided by the SBN required. The information provided to these

RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy,

48. Industry Question 48

What approach or approaches to transition has the Government explored?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 48

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 45 above.

49. Industry Question 49

How will risk be managed relative to the schedule, especially under a firm-fixed-price contract?

For example, if a 2026 deadline is missed, will legacy systems remain operational until full transition?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 49

Respondents are encouraged to provide input on risk mitigation strategies, particularly those related to schedule adherence under a firm-fixed-price contract structure, in response to RFI Question 5.5. Responses will assist the Government in developing an acquisition strategy that appropriately balances risk and performance objectives.

50. Industry Question 50

Is the 2026 deadline a firm requirement or flexible?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 50

Respondents are encouraged to propose a deployment timeline, whether based on the calendar year or fiscal year, that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy.

51. Industry Question 51

How will schedule and cost trade-offs be handled during the transition?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 51 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding contract structure to handle schedule and cost trade-offs during the transition. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the

Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical

Library.

52. Industry Question 52

Will there be ready-to-run software at the time of transition, or will software development continue concurrently?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 52

Respondents are encouraged to suggest a software state that best aligns with their recommended solution and associated implementation strategy. Responses to this

53. Industry Question 53

How does the Government envision balancing continuous availability (99.999%) with patching and updates that require little to no downtime?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 53

Respondents are encouraged to suggest a potential solution that allows for patching and updates with little or no downtime. Responses to this RFI will assist the

54. Industry Question 54

Can the government further clarify the following statements: “agency is shifting from a deterministic forecast and warning paradigm to one rooted in risk-based decision-making. This approach integrates probabilistic forecasts with non-weather and water datasets to better support risk analysis and guide decisions to mitigate hazardous impacts to communities at all levels, from regional and state to city and local”?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 54

NWS Watch, Warning, Advisory paradigm provides generalized risks based on a single value forecast. Risk-based decision-making leverages probabilistic forecasts with specific concerns/vulnerabilities/exposure of a given region, state, city, or locale to allow for optimization of planning and mitigation of adverse weather & water impacts.

55. Industry Question 55

Will the Government provide the technical debt/backlog items for all AWIPS software components?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 55

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 43 above.

56. Industry Question 56

Will the Government provide the current 5-year feature roadmap?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 56 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding NWS’ roadmap. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying

Technical Library.

57. Industry Question 57

Will the Government provide current and historical (at least 36 months) trouble ticket statistics?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 57 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding help desk calls and trouble tickets. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical Library.

58. Industry Question 58

Will the Government provide the Help desk calls and trouble tickets by type, tier, and time (e.g.

weekly, monthly) for the past 36 months?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 58

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 57 above.

59. Industry Question 59

Will the Government provide how many trouble tickets resulted in new development requests or backlog items that are currently in progress or slated for future work?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 59

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 57 above.

60. Industry Question 60

Will the Government provide the latency requirements for data to be accessible in CAVE for forecasters both in WFOs and in the role of IMets?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 60 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding latency information for data processing and visualization. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the

61. Industry Question 61

Will the Government provide access in Cloud Services to AWIPS data flows including

NOAAPort/SBN and local data sources from the Local Data Acquisition and Dissemination

(LDAD) and Open Radar Product Generator (ORPG)/Supplemental Product Generator (SPG)?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 61 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding data flow access and integration requirements. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical Library.

62. Industry Question 62

Will the Government provide documentation regarding currently used APIs for NOAA Weather

Radio and NOAA Weather Wire Service?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 62 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding APIs for NOAA Weather Radio and NOAA Weather Wire Service. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping

63. Industry Question 63

Will the Government provide APIs for NOAA Weather Radio and NOAA Weather Wire Service for testing during development?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 63

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 62 above.

64. Industry Question 64

Will the Government provide more detailed information regarding concurrent user’s data volume usage (i.e. CAVE volumes) in nominal versus worst case (severe weather situations)?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 64 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding Common AWIPS Visualization Environment (CAVE) data usage by users. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the development of the solicitation and accompanying Technical Library.

65. Industry Question 65

Will the Government provide an updated acquisition timeline?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 65

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 4 above.

66. Industry Question 66

Will the Government provide any small business or set aside goals for teams?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 66

Not at this time. Responses to this RFI will assist the Government in evaluating market capabilities and informing the acquisition strategy, including potential small business considerations.

67. Industry Question 67

Will the Government be willing to include FAR PART 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 67

The applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part for this acquisition has not yet been determined. The final approach will be informed by responses to this

RFI, including the extent to which proposed solutions align with commercial practices under FAR Part 12. The Government welcomes industry input on appropriate contract vehicles and regulatory frameworks to support the acquisition strategy.

68. Industry Question 68

Regarding the "Cloud AWIPS" cloud environment mentioned in the RFI: Could NOAA please provide more specific details about the proposed architecture? This additional information would allow development of more accurate Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) pricing estimates.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 68

The Government will not disclose cost information in order to avoid unduly influencing or constraining potential solution architectures and cost models.

requirements in the RFI.

69. Industry Question 69

What are the specific latency requirements for real-time data processing and visualization across the 11 time zones?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 69

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 60 above.

70. Industry Question 70

Are there any specific requirements for data residency or data sovereignty, particularly for

OCONUS locations?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 70

No

71. Industry Question 71

Given the questions submitted to the government and the time needed to incorporate the government's answers into our responses, would it be possible to grant a two-week extension for submitting our RFI responses?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 71

No. The Government is unable to extend the response deadline due to internal planning and scheduling requirements

72. Industry Question 72

Would the Government consider limited RFI responses on NAICS code recommendations to one page and increasing page limits on response to RFI questions to 11 pages? This would keep page count the same, ensuring time spent reviewing submission focuses on solutions to the maximum extent practicable.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 72

Yes. The page limit for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code recommendations is revised to one page, and the page limit for responses to the

RFI questions is increased to eleven pages.

73. Industry Question 73

Please confirm that outcomes and lessons learned for case studies submitted in response to question 5.4 may be included in 'case study materials' submitted as separate attachments, and no separate response to question 5.4 need be submitted as part of offeror's 10 page response to RFI questions.

NOAA Response to Industry Question 73

Correct. Per Section 5.4 of the RFI, case study materials "do not count within the

11-page written response limit" and should be submitted as separate attachments.

Therefore, outcomes and lessons learned may be addressed fully within those separate case study materials. Respondents are not required to include a separate response to 5.4 in the main 11-page document, provided that the relevant information is clearly presented in the attached case study materials.

74. Industry Question 74

Would the Government provide an estimated timeline for 1:1 Industry Engagement post-RFI

Submission?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 74

The Government anticipates that one-on-one industry engagement sessions will most likely be conducted in July, following the review of RFI submissions.

Additional details, including scheduling and format, will be provided at a later date.

75. Industry Question 75

Based on the sentence in the RFI - “Simultaneously, work is in progress to migrate the functionality of the legacy AWIPS to a cloud-based platform by creating microservices that can be orchestrated into a complete operational system.” The RFI indicates that the AWIPS Program is responsible for migrating the full functionality of the legacy AWIPS software application to a cloud-based platform.”

Can you define the AWIPS Program and who within this program is responsible for migrating

“Software “functionality of the legacy AWIPS to a cloud-based platform?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 75

This information was provided as background into efforts to date by the

Government. To ensure an open and unbiased consideration of innovative approaches, the Government is not releasing information on our efforts at this time.

Respondents are encouraged to propose solutions based on industry best practices and their technical expertise.

76. Industry Question 76

Based on this sentence in the RFI - “Simultaneously, work is in progress to migrate the functionality of the legacy AWIPS to a cloud-based platform by creating microservices that can be orchestrated into a complete operational system.”

What is the AWIPS Program’s timeline to fully migrate on-prem AWIPS functionality integrated into the Cloud AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 76

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 75 above.

77. Industry Question 77

Can the government verify whether the current “lift and shift limited capability cloud implementation of the current AWIPS” is the proof-of-concept version created by the

“IntelligentBridge” contract?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 77

These are two separate projects.

78. Industry Question 78

As a follow-up to the previous question, (Industry Question 77), are we performing a lift and shift of the legacy AWIPS II System?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 78

79. Industry Question 79

The statement in the RFI mentions "the possibility of implementing and initiating NWS operations within Cloud AWIPS by the end of 2026." Could you please clarify whether the expectation is for a full deployment of AWIPS in the cloud by the end of calendar year (CY)

2026, or if the goal is to achieve a proof of operations at several sites, including a successful and repeatable migration approach, to be completed by CY2026?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 79

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 5 above.

80. Industry Question 80

The statement in the RFI mentions "the possibility of implementing and initiating NWS operations within Cloud AWIPS by the end of 2026." If the full deployment is not expected by

CY2026, is it expected to be complete in the subsequent 3 to 5 years?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 80

Respondents are encouraged to describe the operational capabilities that could reasonably be achieved by the end of 2026, as well as to outline a projected timeline for full deployment over the subsequent 3 to 5 years. The Government welcomes phased implementation strategies and associated timelines that align with each respondent’s proposed technical approach.

81. Industry Question 81

Will any modernization of the capability or applications be a requirement post Lift/Shift?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 81

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 32 above.

82. Industry Question 82

Can you define "Full Implementation", and will documentation be provided?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 82

The term 'Full Implementation' is intentionally undefined at this stage to allow respondents the flexibility to propose what a complete and operational deployment would entail based on their solution architecture and capabilities. The Government is not providing additional documentation at this time, as input from this RFI will help inform the definition of full implementation and the development of associated requirements.

83. Industry Question 83

With the migration of the 170 NWS sites' legacy AWIPS into a cloud-based system (Cloud

AWIPS), can you please define the Cloud AWIPS boundary in relation to all interfaces?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 83

The Government is not defining the Cloud AWIPS boundary or its interfaces at this stage to avoid prematurely constraining potential solution architectures.

84. Industry Question 84

The legacy AWIPS uses a localization feature. With the "Lift and Shift” Migration, this will result in 170 localized instances to maintain initially. Is this correct?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 84

The answer to this question is dependent on the respondent’s suggested potential solution. Respondents are encouraged to propose solutions that meet the functional requirements outlined in the RFI. The information provided will assist the

Government in refining the acquisition strategy, timeline, and requirements for the solicitation.

85. Industry Question 85

As a follow-on to the previous question, (Industry Question 84), did the proof-of-concept generate a set of requirements for a single instance for the Cloud AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 85

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 84 above.

86. Industry Question 86

Will Interface Control Documents (ICD) be provided for interfaces to Cloud AWIPS based on legacy and proof-of-concept systems?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 86 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding Interface Control Documents requirements. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy,

87. Industry Question 87

Will a Concept of Operation (CONOPS) be provided for the legacy system and Cloud AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 87 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding Concept of Operation (CONOPS) requirements. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining technical requirements, and informing the

88. Industry Question 88

An availability of 99.999 (5 – 9s) was stated. Is this for the operational availability or the uptime availability?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 88

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 21 above.

89. Industry Question 89

Is the availability only required within the Cloud AWIPS boundary?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 89

For the purposes of this RFI response, assume yes.

90. Industry Question 90

With a User Base of approximately 3200 active AWIPS users, is the requirement for a maximum of 800 concurrently active users?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 90

Typical range is approximately 450 forecasters (daytime) and 300 forecasters

(nighttime) with a surge force during high impact weather conditions (up to 800 concurrently). Additional users are on the system performance support, software installations, etc. as needed. There are 3500 active accounts on the system currently.

91. Industry Question 91

Will all required NWS products and services be identified in addition to the six Primary Mission

Essential Functions (PMEF) in 3.6.1, and their performance criteria?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 91 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding NWS products and services and the associated performance criteria. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping

92. Industry Question 92

Are there unique requirements associated with satisfying the PMEF?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 92

Due to the broad nature of this question, the Government is unable to provide a definitive response. The Government encourages respondents to address RFI

Questions 5.1 through 5.5 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding unique PMEF requirements. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping

93. Industry Question 93

To ensure that the interoperable requirement can be met, will all technical, functional, and performance documentation be provided?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 93 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding interoperability requirements. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining

94. Industry Question 94

Will latency requirements be provided for any or all products?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 94 with specific questions and needed details in order to support proposal development regarding latency information for products. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping the acquisition strategy, defining

95. Industry Question 95

Text or Terminology in Question “The NWS is undergoing a transformation in our operational techniques, processes, and procedures.” Can NWS provide updated operational techniques, processes, and procedures, along with a ConOps and operating model?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 95 with specific questions and needed details in order to support a future proposal. The information provided to these RFI questions will assist the Government in shaping

96. Industry Question 96

Text or Terminology in Question “Current AWIPS functionality can be broadly divided into four categories, which also represent the general workflow of AWIPS operations.” Can NWS provide current AWIPS documentation, architecture, standards, and policies, including developer standards and any tools/processes used for agile/DevOps?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 96

97. Industry Question 97

Text or Terminology in Question “...work is in progress to migrate the functionality of the legacy

AWIPS to a cloud-based platform by creating microservices that can be orchestrated into a complete operational system.” How far along is NWS with its journey to migrate the functionality of the legacy AWIPS to a cloud-based platform via microservices? Can NWS share information on roadmaps, maturity, and percentage of completion?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 97

98. Industry Question 98

Text or Terminology in Question “...work is in progress to migrate the functionality of the legacy

AWIPS to a cloud-based platform by creating microservices that can be orchestrated into a complete operational system.” Which of the capabilities mentioned in RFI Section 3.6 are modernized and which ones are in progress?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 98

Please see the NOAA Response to Industry Question 75 above.

99. Industry Question 99

Text or Terminology in Question “The primary objective of this RFI is to gather feedback from industry on approaches to develop, deploy, and operate Cloud AWIPS. This will include moving operations and applications from legacy on-premise infrastructure into an NWS cloud environment.” Is NWS open to considering a multi-cloud solution for AWIPS?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 99

100. Industry Question 100

Text or Terminology in Question “3.6.1.4. Fire Weather Support for Wildland Firefighting –

Supporting wildland fire suppression operations through specialized fire weather forecasts and coordination with the National Interagency Fire Center.

3.6.1.6. Support to National Security and Emergency Management – Providing mission-critical weather intelligence to the (DoD), Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Emergency

Management Agency for national security, emergency response, and disaster recovery operations.”

Based on information in RFI Section 3, it seems that NWS facilitates 'data sharing' across agencies. Is there a data exchange setup for real-time data sharing, or is it API or file-based? Is there any ontology and governance model in place for this data sharing among agencies?

NOAA Response to Industry Question 100

This information sharing takes multiple forms. In some cases, NWS personnel are on-site with representatives from other agencies and sharing NWS information and data in order to support impact based decision making. In other cases, NWS data and information are exchanged using a variety of data exchange mechanisms.

10…