RFP_NOSC_FBO_Amendment_0001.doc

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Release Notes

Section A

Indian Health Service

Request for Proposal for

Network Operations & Support Center

(NOSC)

Support Services

(RFP) 16-236-SOL-00011

Amendment 0001

You are invited to submit a proposal in accordance with the requirements of the following Solicitation.

Proposals must be received by the Government no later than the local time on the Due Date stated in the table below.

4:00 p.m., EST

(301) 443-4470 paul.premoe@ihs.gov

Section B – Products or Services and Prices/Costs

B.1.

CONSIDERATION

The Contractor shall provide the commercial services described in Section C, Description/ Specifications/Performance Work Statement (PWS). Except as otherwise specified in the contract, the Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, equipment, materials, services, and otherwise do all things necessary for the performance of the work set forth herein.

B.2. CONTRACT PRICING SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 The Indian Health Service (IHS) is planning to issue a firm-fixed-price contract vehicle as a result of this solicitation. The requirement is being solicited among Indian Owned businesses only under the authority of HHSAR Subpart 326.6 – Acquisitions Under the Buy Indian Act. You are invited to submit a written proposal utilizing the below Schedule of Prices for the services specified in Section C, under Request for Proposal (RFP) 16-236-SOL-00011.

Schedule of Prices Base Period: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0001 ~ 0002

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period I: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0003 ~ 0004

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period II: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0005 ~ 0006

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period III: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0007 ~ 0008

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period IV: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0009 ~ 0010

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period V: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0011 ~ 0012

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period VI: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0013 ~ 0014

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period VII: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0015 ~ 0016

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period VIII: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0017~ 0018

Unit

See B.3.

Option Period IX: 6 Months Period

CLIN 0019~ 0020

Unit

See B.3.

B.3.

TRAVEL LINE ITEMS

Travel Line items shall be treated as part of the effort for the purposes of this contract and shall be handled in the following manner. The Contractor will notify the COR of the requirement at least 30 business days prior to the scheduled travel. Upon COR’s approval, the Contractor shall prepare a proposal reflecting the actual cost of the items and submit it to the COR within 5 business days. The pricing for the proposal shall be based on the commercial catalog pricing and receipts of the all items over $300 shall be included with the invoice.

The Contractor shall be reimbursed for travel costs in accordance with FAR 31.205-46.

Local. The cost of local travel, meal, and/or incidental expenses cost will not be reimbursed for Contractor performance when involving local travels.

Non-local. In the event that non-local travel is required, the Government will reimburse the cost via appropriate contract line item.

Section C – Description/Specifications/Performance Work Statement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

C.1.0 Introduction C.1.1 Background C.2.0 Objectives C.3.0 Scope C.3.1 Network Operations Center Service Desk C.3.2 Network Event and System Monitoring C.3.3 Network Infrastructure Configuration Management C.3.4 Design and Implement New Network Technology C.3.5 Telecommunication Service - Adds, Moves, Changes & Disconnections C.3.6 Network Equipment Inventory Management C.3.7 Voice Services Support C.163.8 Afterhours Support for User VPN Access

C.173.9 Firewall & Security Appliance Support

C.4.0 System Environment C.184.1 Network Infrastructure

C.4.2 Network Management Tools C.5.0 General Requirements C.C.5.1 Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) C.C.5.2 Trusted Internet Connection C.5.3 Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation C.5.4 Connectivity to Cloud Data Centers C.5.5 Telecommunication Contract Changes C.5.6 Scheduled Outages for Network Upgrades C.6.0 Place of Performance C.7.0 IHS Site Locations C.8.0 Government Furnished Property C.9.0 Suitability Clearances and Minimum Experience Requirements C.10.0 Key Personnel C.11.0 Post Award Conference C.2612.0 Phase-In/Phase-Out Period

C.2612.1 Phase-In and Phase-Out Provisions

C.2612.2 Phase-In

C.2612.3 Phase-In Observation

C.2612.4 Phase-Out Period

C.2712.5 Phase-Out Observation

C.2712.6 Contractor Coordination

C.2712.7 Costs

C.2713.0 Deliverables

C.2713.1 Project Management Plan

C.2713.2 Quality Control Plan

C.2713.3 Reports

C.2813.4 Periodic Meetings

C.2813.5 Service Level Agreements

C.2813.6 Standard Operation Procedures

C.2813.7 Network Documentation

C.2813.8 Contract Completion Deliverables

C.2914.0 Administration Data

C.2914.1 Government Personnel

C.14.2 Technical Monitoring C.15.0 Performance Standards C.16.0 Security and Privacy Issues C.16.1 Information Security C.3416.2 Information Type

C.3416.2.1 Administrative, Management and Support Information:

C.3516.2.2 Security Categories and Levels

C.3516.2.3 Position Sensitivity Designations

C.3616.2.4 Documentation

C.3616.2.5 Processing Cycle

C.3616.2.6 Information Security Training

C.3716.2.7 Rules of Behavior

C.3716.2.8 Personnel Security Responsibilities

C.3716.2.9 Commitment to Protect Non-Public IHS Information Systems and Data

C.3716.2.10 Contractor-Employee Non-Disclosure Agreements

C.3716.3 HHS Information Security Program Contract Oversight Guide

C.3716.4 Accessibility by Individuals with Disabilities

C.1.0 Introduction

C.1.1 Background

The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to members of federally-recognized tribes grew out of the special government-to-government relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. The IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 566 federally recognized tribes in 35 states.

The IHS delivery system is composed of 12 administrative Area Offices, which oversee local Service Units. Each Area Office has the responsibility for operating the IHS program within a designated geographical region. Their administrative duties include budget, operation, personnel and property management, program planning and implementation tribal affairs, community development, statistical monitoring, grants and contract management, and environment program direction. Health care is provided at the Service Unit level through the IHS itself, through tribally operated facilities, urban programs or through the contract health services program.

Office of Information Technology

To support the agency mission, the IHS Office of Information Technology (OIT), manages the Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS). It is a distributed electronic healthcare information system deployed at IHS sites and includes clinical, administrative, and financial information on patients and resources. It is also integrated with the Agency’s national data repository, the National Patient Information Reporting System (NPIRS) and with applications to securely exchange patient information with other healthcare providers.

In support of the RPMS and other applications, the Office of Information Technology manages the network infrastructure to provide network connectivity between IHS sites and to external networks such as the Internet, other Government departments and healthcare partners supporting IHS to deliver services.

C.2.0 Objectives

The objective of this solicitation is to select a contractor to manage and operate the IHS network infrastructure described in the System Environment. The IHS requires an off-site Network Operations and Support Center (NOSC), staffed with experienced network specialists to maintain the existing network functionality and to design, implement and support new network technology. The contractor shall furnish the necessary staff and staff facilities to meet the IHS program objectives. Services shall be provide 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

C.3.0 Scope

The Performance Work Statement (PWS) tasks and functional areas of service are described below.

C.3.1 Network Operations Center Service Desk

The contractor shall operate a service desk for customers to report network connectivity issues. The contractor shall not allow any service request to go unresolved due to lack of ownership or lack of coordination with other support teams within IHS or external service provider. The contractor shall:

· Staff the service desk with technically qualified network specialists 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

· Record all service requests for support in an incident tracking system.

· Respond and resolve all network connectivity issues reported to the service desk.

· Support requests to troubleshoot application, voice and video connectivity and performance issues which may be related to the network infrastructure.

· Proactively seek customer satisfaction feedback through follow-up calls after a service request has been completed and through periodic surveys.

Service calls shall be answered directly by qualified network specialists. Calls shall not be filtered through a call center or answered by non-technical staff for later call back.

The OIT maintains a service desk between the hours of 6:00am to 6:00pm MST Monday to Friday, (excluding federal holidays). For calls outside these times, OIT forwards calls to the Network Operations and Support Center service desk. The contractor shall provide tier 1 support to resolve non-network related issues reported by customers. If an issue cannot be resolved, the contractor shall log the call for next day response from the appropriate team; or escalate to an on-call tier 3 support team for immediate response as defined in the IHS After-Hours Notification Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

C.3.2 Network Event and System Monitoring

The contractor shall monitor the network infrastructure to detect conditions which impact network connectivity. The monitoring must be capable of detecting both hard down failure conditions and proactively detect degraded response times to the Internet and applications hosted in OIT data centers. The monitoring shall be implemented and maintained in each OIT data center and not depended upon a single location or device. The contractor shall:

· Configure, support and enhance all network management tools.

· Monitor the network infrastructure devices to detect failures such as power, software, memory or other issues which could impact functionality.

· Monitor the network circuits to detect circuit issues such as hard failures, intermittent failures or other errors leading to degraded service.

· Analyze log information and proactively monitor for issues which require correction.

· Initiate corrective actions with third party vendors such as circuit providers or hardware manufactures.

· Manage the progress of third party vendors in their efforts to implement corrective action and escalate based on vendor service level agreements.

· Proactively communicate status and expected resolution times to IHS staff impacted by network connectivity failures.

· Measure and report network availability statistics for each location connected to the IHS Wide Area Network.

· At the request of OIT or area IT staff, monitor the availability of systems (www.ihs.gov and telehealth systems for example) and notify System Owners on lose of connectivity.

C.3.3 Network Infrastructure Configuration Management

The contractor shall:

· Document a change control process for network devices which is aligned with the IHS Change Control SOP.

· Maintain a change control system which automatically records all configuration changes on the network infrastructure equipment. Historically information on configuration changes must be searchable by username, device name, date and time.

· Develop and implement configuration standards for network infrastructure equipment.

· Provide remote support to IHS employees and contractors installing network infrastructure equipment which could include security appliances, routers, switches, wireless access points and network access control solutions.

· Implement software upgrades on network infrastructure equipment.

· Proactively review network equipment configurations for consistency and conformance with security requirements recommended in Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) (http://iase.disa.mil/Pages/index.aspx) and by the IHS Division of Information Security.

C.3.4 Design and Implement New Network Technology

The contractor shall design and support the deployment of new technology and functionality on the IHS network infrastructure. Examples of new network technology and functionality could include:

· Network traffic encryption.

· Network Access Control (NAC)

· Network security features on Local Area and Wide Area Network equipment.

· Caching and application acceleration technology.

· Enhanced Quality of Service for VoIP and video deployments.

· Routing enhancements to improving routing convergence.

· Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6).

· Network support for global traffic load balancing.

· Network infrastructure for storage devices.

· Network infrastructure for secure wireless networks.

· Network connections to cloud services providers.

· Network management applications to provide dashboards on network state.

The contractor shall:

· Define standards to simplify and standardize the design and operation of the network infrastructure.

· Develop network reference designs for secure wired and wireless access to the IHS network to conform to federal security requirements.

· Create project documentation for the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process which governs all IT investments at IHS (https://www.ihs.gov/CPIC/).

· Provide estimated costs for new network infrastructure devices (hardware, software, licenses and maintenance).

· Perform proof-of-concept testing to validate design assumptions and/or vendor claims on functionality or interoperability.

· Develop implementation and test plans.

· Follow industry best practices for the deployment of new network technology and functionality.

· Incorporate into 7x24 support and monitoring processes.

C.3.5 Telecommunication Service - Adds, Moves, Changes & Disconnections

The contractor shall manage all circuit additions, moves, changes and disconnections which may be the result of a change in requirements or transfer between telecommunication vendors due to contract changes. At OIT data centers and sites providing 24 hour service, circuit’s changes shall be performed at midnight local time, to minimize the impact to services. The contractor shall:

· Provide historical information on circuit utilization which can be used for circuit selection/sizing purposes.

· Provide cost estimates for circuit upgrades. Estimates should include monthly reoccurring costs and any Custom Access costs charged by the telecommunication provider.

· When Custom Access is required, support IHS and HHS staff to identify technical requirements to include in telecommunication contract modifications.

· Enter draft orders through the vendor’s ordering system for circuit upgrades, changes and inside wiring requests.

· Coordinate all circuit installation activities with the vendor and IHS site staff. This include site surveys, inside wiring and equipment specifications.

· Staff all circuit activations and changes to implement the required configuration on IHS network devices and perform acceptance testing.

· Maintain a database of site and circuit information, to be used for service orders, problem reporting, circuit inventory management and data calls.

· Report circuit issues to telecommunication providers and escalate based on telecommunication provider Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

· Monitor the telecommunication vendor’s performance to meet service level agreements and assist IHS in obtaining credits when service level agreements are not met.

· Measure uptime for each circuit and for the network as a whole to provide overall network availability metrics.

· Collect network traffic statistics for capacity planning purposes, to forecast future bandwidth needs and to report networks readiness to support new services.

· Proactively notify IHS sites about scheduled circuit maintenance.

· Proactively identify circuits which are no longer in use.

· Register circuits with the government Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) program to receive priority service restoration.

· Support the IHS with the transition of all telecommunication services from the Networx contract to the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract.

· Incorporate information from EIS vendor portals to support the daily workflow.

C.3.6 Network Equipment Inventory Management

The contractor shall maintain a comprehensive inventory of network infrastructure devices and IP address spaces used on the IHS network. The inventory shall be suitable for asset management and for identifying equipment requiring maintenance coverage. The contractor shall:

· Maintain an up-to-date inventory of network devices used on the IHS network. Collection of this information should be automated to allow timely and accurate reporting when devices are added and removed from the network.

· Generate device inventory reports for contract maintenance renewals.

· Generate reports on equipment reaching end of support from the vendor.

· Maintain an accurate inventory of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses space used on the IHS network.

C.3.7 Voice Services Support

The contractor shall support the installation and management of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks for voice, video and data communication. The SIP trunks will be used to allow distributed VoIP systems across IHS to exchange call routing information and to have IP access to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) through SIP gateways hosted at OIT data centers. The contractor shall:

· Setup and support SIP trunk connections between telecommunication service providers and the IHS network.

· Configure and support Session Border Controllers to securely terminate SIP trunk connections.

· Perform acceptance testing for SIP trunk services from providers.

· Configure and support Cisco Session Management Edition (SME) for SIP-to-SIP connections.

· Troubleshoot and support voice and video connection and quality issues for calls over SIP trunks and Cisco SME.

In addition to SIP trunk support, the contractor shall:

· Support the IHS with the transition of voice services from the Networx and WITS contract to the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract.

· Place draft orders for voice circuits, calling cards, toll-free numbers, Instant Meeting subscriptions and long distance services.

· Maintain inventory information of voice circuits, calling cards, toll-free numbers, Instant Meeting subscriptions and long distance services.

· Support area sites to isolate call failure issues related to PSTN calls through PRI circuits procured through the Networx and EIS contracts.

· Support area sites to isolate call failure issues related to toll-free numbers procured through the Networx and EIS contracts.

· Support area sites to isolate call failure issues related to Long Distance services procured through the Networx and EIS contracts.

· Initiate and mange support calls with telecommunication providers as required.

C.3.8 Afterhours Support for User VPN Access

The contractor shall provide afterhours support for user VPN access to the IHS network. The contractor shall:

· Provide Tier 1 support for user VPN access and resolve issues reported by users. Examples of tier 1 support currently provided include:

· Resolve authentication issues related to Active Directory credentials and two factor authentication methods including Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards, Entrust tokens and PhoneFactor.

· Resolve connection failures related to Java or other operating system error.

· Change telephone numbers associated with callers PhoneFactor record.

· Provide users with a temporary PIN for Entrust tokens.

· Open an OIT service desk ticket for a replacement Entrust token.

· Verify Entrust authentication and unlock or synchronize token.

· Troubleshoot and resolve connection issues related to Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access to terminal servers.

· For unresolved issues, log the call for next day response. For issues requiring immediate assistance, follow the IHS afterhours support SOP and escalate to the tier 3 VPN support team.

C.3.9 Firewall & Security Appliance Support

The contractor shall manage all network firewalls and support the installation and support of inline network security appliances. Firewalls and security appliances are installed between the IHS network and non-federal networks, healthcare partners, Internet and other government agencies. The contractor shall:

· Follow all policies mandated by the IHS Division of Information Security on firewall configuration management.

· Support the IHS Division of Information Security on incident response investigations.

· Maintain firewall configuration rules, signature sets and patch levels to ensure a coherent defense-in-depth security posture is maintained.

· Implement firewall and router configuration changes to control access between the IHS network and external networks.

· Configure network firewalls and routers to access the IHS network using LAN-to-LAN tunnels. In some cases, the contractor shall configure both the IHS side and the remote side of the LAN-to-LAN tunnel connection.

· Configure and support inline security appliances required for traffic inspection by the Division of Information Security.

· Troubleshoot connectivity issues related to access and performance issues over the LAN-to-LAN tunnel connections.

· Perform log analysis to identify miss-configured devices consuming bandwidth and firewall CPU resources.

· Support the deployment of security devices required by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program.

· Support the deployment of web proxy solutions, performing fault isolation during connectivity failures and proactively identifying performance issues.

C.4.0 System Environment

C.4.1 Network Infrastructure

The table below provides information on all the network infrastructure which shall be supported by the contractor. While the existing network routers, firewalls, and switches are primarily Cisco products, IHS may select network infrastructure devices from other vendors in the future. It is expected that during the life of the contract, IHS shall selected Software Defined Network (SDN) solutions for some network infrastructure requirements.

· Sites are distributed between two MPLS networks provided by Verizon through the Networx contract.

· Access circuits to the MPLS network range in size from single T1s to 500Mbit Ethernet circuits.

· Data Centers connected to both MPLS networks through dual circuits operating in active-active mode.

· Some sites connect to the network via Point-to-Point circuits provided by local telecommunication providers.

· Cisco routers are used for circuit termination. Model numbers include Cisco ASR1000s, ISR-G1s, ISR-G2s and ISR-4000s.

· Backup connection options include 4G wireless services, satellite connections and LAN-to-LAN tunnel connections over the Internet.

· It is expected that during the life of the contract, IHS sites shall adopt hybrid Wide Area Network connections, combining Internet and private network circuits which can meet federal security and traffic engineering requirements.

Local Area Networks

OIT Data Centers

· The OIT data center in Rockville has approximately 40 Cisco Nexus switches.

· The OIT data center in Albuquerque has approximately 40 Ethernet switches. Switch vendors include Cisco (Catalyst and Nexus) and Dell.

· Storage network switches includes:

· IBM and EMC fiber channel switches.

· Cisco Nexus Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches.

Local Area Networks

IHS Headquarters in Rockville

· Wired and wireless network access for approximately 500 staff.

· Approximately 25 Cisco user access switches.

· Two Wireless LAN Controllers (WLC) and approximately 75 Cisco wireless Access Points (AP).

· Quality of Service (QoS) for VoIP phones.

· Network Access Control (NAC) using Cisco Identify Service Engine (ISE).

Note - For IHS headquarters, the contractor shall lead the support effort for all network equipment. Tier 1 support shall be provided by the onsite IT staff.

Local Area Networks

IHS Area Sites

· Approximately 500 Cisco switches distributed across 200 Area sites. The number of switches is expected to increase annually by 5% to 8% during the life of the contract.

· Approximately 20 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers. The number of WLCs is expected to increase by 15% per year during the life of the contract.

· Approximately 60% of the facilities have small LANs with 1 to 5 VLANs. The remainder have larger LANs (hospitals for example) with up to 30 VLANs.

· Area IT staff provide tier 1 support. When requested by Area IT staff, the contractor shall provide tier 2 and 3 support. Examples of support the contractor shall provide include:

· Configure network wired and wireless network infrastructure devices.

· Configure and support Network Access Control systems (Cisco ISE for example).

· Support site IT staff with network device installations.

· Implement software upgrades on network devices.

· Troubleshoot connectivity and performance issues related to data, voice and video communication.

· Maintain Access Control Lists (ACLs) to control traffic to medical devices VLANs.

· Implement routing protocol configuration changes.

· Configure security controls.

· Configure QoS.

· Authenticate access and record configuration changes using Cisco Access Control Server (ACS).

· Approximately 35 Cisco firewalls supported at Area sites which are used for LAN-to-LAN tunnel connectivity to the IHS network.

· Gigamon appliances for traffic distribution and SSL de-encryption.

· Palo Alto security appliances for Web Proxy / URL filtering.

· Security appliances installed to support Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM).

· The TIC connections are connected to IHS equipment at each OIT data center in Rockville and Albuquerque.

· Approximately 170 LAN-to-LAN tunnel connections to IHS tribal sites and to healthcare partners providing services to IHS. The number of LAN-to-LAN tunnels is expected to increase annually by approximately 10%.

· Cisco wireless anchor controllers in the data center DMZs for guest Internet access.

· Multicast Routing is used to support applications which requires multicast.

Voice Services

· SIP Trunks

· VoIP

· PRI Voice Circuits

· Toll-free Numbers

· Long Distance Service

· Instant Meeting Subscriptions

· Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks. There is currently one SIP trunk in use and this number is expected to increase to five over the life of the contract.

· Session boarder controllers for SIP trunk termination shall include Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE).

· There are approximately ten distributed Cisco based, VoIP clusters deployed across IHS sites and managed by site IT staff.

· Cisco Session Management Edition (SME) shall be installed at OIT data centers and supported by the contractor.

Note, for this PWS, the scope of work includes the installation and support of Cisco SME and SIP trunks at OIT data centers to allow area site VoIP systems to exchange information and to provide access to the PSTN via SIP gateways. The IT staff at IHS area sites are responsible for the day-to-day support of the VoIP systems deployed at their sites.

· Approximately 40 voice PRI circuits procured through the Networx contract for PSTN/ISDN access at area sites.

· Approximately 50 Toll free numbers procured through the Networx contract.

· Approximately 18,000 IHS numbers receiving Long Distance service through the Networx contract.

· Approximately 500 Instant Meeting subscriptions.

C.4.2 Network Management Tools

The table below provides information on the network management tools which are currently used and shall be supported and maintained by the contractor for network Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security (FCAPS) management. Data collected by the tools shall be used to generate reports and to provide online information related to circuit utilization and network statistics. The majority of the tools are hosted on Virtual Machines (VM) at OIT data centers.

· Cisco Embedded Event Manager (EEM).

· Kiwi Syslog Server.

· Solarwinds Engineer’s Toolset.

· Cisco Network Analysis Modules (NAM).

· Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

· Microsoft SQL Server.

· Visual Studio.

· REST API.

· Computer Associate’s Netflow Performance Analyzer.

· Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

· Cisco router features including Netflow, Response Time Reporter (RTR), NBAR (Network Based Application Recognition) and Application Visibility and Control (AVC).

· Terminal Access Controller Access Control System (TACACS).

· Cisco FireSIGHT Management Center.

· Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM).

· Cisco Identify Service Engine (ISE).

C.5.0 General Requirements

C.5.1 Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6)

As a federal entity, the IHS network infrastructure must support both IPv4 and IPv6 concurrently. The network currently supports IPv4 and the contractor shall support IHS with the implementation of IPv6 on all network infrastructure devices and circuits.

C.5.2 Trusted Internet Connection

As a federal entity, connections between the IHS network and external networks shall comply with the Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) program (http://www.dhs.gov/trusted-internet-connections). The contractor shall implement and manage all IHS external network connections to comply with the TIC program.

C.5.3 Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation

As a federal entity, network design, device configuration and management must comply with the Department of Homeland Security’ Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program. The contractor shall implement and manage all IHS network infrastructure to comply with the program and support IHS with reporting requirements.

C.5.4 Connectivity to Cloud Data Centers

It is expected that IHS shall migrate some applications and services to cloud based data centers during the life of this contract. The contractor shall implement and support the network infrastructure required for connectivity between the IHS network and applications and services hosted at cloud data centers.

C.5.5 Telecommunication Contract Changes

IHS procures approximately 85% of the telecommunication services used to operate the IHS network from the GSA Networx contract. During the life of the IHS NOSC contract, GSA is expected to replace the Networx contract with a new telecommunication contract called Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS).

· http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/106303

The NOSC contractor shall support IHS with the transition of all telecommunication services to the new EIS contract. This shall involve inventory validation of all existing voice and data telecommunication services and potentially the implementation of new data circuits at all IHS sites. When the transition to the new telecommunication contract is complete, the contractor shall integrate into day-to-day support processes.

C.5.6 Scheduled Outages for Network Upgrades

Network upgrades and changes shall be performed at times to minimize the service impact to IHS. For OIT data centers, area offices and hospitals providing 24-hour service, upgrades and changes shall be performed at 12 midnight local time during weekends. The contractor shall support all upgrades with qualified staff at the times required by IHS to minimize service disruption.

C.6.0 Place of Performance

As IHS shall not provide office space for the contractor’s staff, the contractor shall furnish the necessary facilities for the contractor’s staff to perform the work specified in the PWS.

C.7.0 IHS Site Locations

The location of the OIT managed data centers are shown below.

· 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

· This is also the address for IHS headquarters with approximately 500 staff.

· 1011 Indian School Road, Albuquerque, NM 87104.

The URL below provides information on the location of IHS area sites.

· https://www.ihs.gov/locations/ As many of the IHS sites are located in rural areas, circuit outages and vendor repair times are above industry averages. The contractor shall support all aspects of the repair effort, escalating issues with vendors and keeping customers informed on the status of repair efforts

C.8.0 Government Furnished Property

To meet security requirements, IHS shall provide laptop computers for the contractor’s staff to use when performing the tasked required in the PWS. The laptop computers shall include a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card reader.

The government shall also provide one router and one telecommunication circuit for connectivity between the IHS network and the contractor’s site.

Access to the HEAT IT Service Management ticketing system is available for the contractor to record and report service requests.

C.9.0 Suitability Clearances and Minimum Experience Requirements

The contractor shall provide qualified staff, possessing the necessary skills to manage the technology in the System Environment and have the expertise to perform the functions described in the PWS.

Successful completion of the tasks specified in the PWS requires a wide range of Information Technology knowledge, skills and abilities. Proposed Key Personnel’s relevant work experiences, when combined as a contractor team, shall possess all of the experiences listed below with staff level that meets or exceeds the stated minimum number of personnel for each experience:

· A minimum of 10 years’ experience designing network infrastructure to deliver zero down time in large enterprise networks similar in size, type and complexity as the IHS network environment described in the System Environment (minimum of 2).

· A minimum of 10 years’ experience supporting the wired and wireless network infrastructure described in the System Environment and have Cisco routing and switching CCIE certification (minimum of 1).

· A minimum of 10 years’ experience designing and supporting the security infrastructure described in the System Environment to meet federal security requirements and have Cisco security CCIE certification (minimum of 1).

· A minimum of 10 years’ experience designing and supporting Cisco IOS, and NX-OS features including BGP, OSPF, Fiber Channel over Ethernet and virtual Port Channels (minimum of 3).

· A minimum of 5 years’ experience managing telecommunication providers to install and support changes to Wide Area Networks with more than 400 circuits (minimum of 1).

· A minimum of 5 years’ experience using government telecommunication portals to create service orders, maintain service inventory records and analyze service usage and costs (minimum of 1).

· A minimum of 3 years’ experience developing automation to support network operations for tasks such as configuration and data collection from programmable interfaces (REST API) embedded in the network equipment (minimum of 1).

· A minimum of 3 years’ experience working with VoIP and SIP trunks (minimum of 1).

Relative experience and capability of the project manager to function in an environment with the complexity, diversity and inter-dependent communication and collaboration and to successfully supervise and coordinate the workforce.

Individuals in the role of project manager must possess:

· Project management training and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification with practical experience producing project management documentation.

· A minimum of three years’ experience implementing IT service management processes.

· A minimum of five years’ experience managing a team supporting large enterprise networks similar to the IHS System Environment; implementing processes and controls to improve the consistency and efficiency of network operations and management.

· A minimum of seven years’ experience creating network designs for large scale enterprise networks; defining and documenting requirements, costs, technical tradeoffs and constrains.

The contractor shall have a plan on how the staff knowledge and skillsets shall be kept up-to-date during the life of the contract. The contractor’s staff must have the ability to advise IHS on the design of network infrastructure to meet new network requirements and to enhance the current System Environment. Training and associated costs shall be at the contractor’s expense.

All contractor personnel working on this contract shall have a minimum of a Level 5C Position of Public Trust suitability clearance.

C.10.0 Key Personnel

The contractor shall propose Key Personnel whose technical skills and experience are considered essential to the accomplishment of the task in the PWS. No substitutions shall be made of accepted key personnel except for sudden illness or death, or termination of employment. Contractor requests for substitution of key personnel shall be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer at least twenty-five (25) calendar days in advance of the effective date, whenever possible. Such requests shall include a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. An interview may also be requested. The Contract Officer’s Representative and the Contracting Officer will evaluate substitution requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing. The Government reserves the right to evaluate the technical skill and competence of any Contractor staff members, to require removal and replacement, upon written notice, of any individuals whose qualifications or performance are judged deficient at any time.

C.11.0 Post Award Conference

The Contractor shall meet with the Contract Officer’s Representative and other Government technical personnel to thoroughly review the requirements of the contract document, contract administration procedures and invoicing requirements. Contractor representatives attending the conference shall consist of a company representative, the Program Director responsible for overall contract administration and Key Personnel.

C.12.0 Phase-In/Phase-Out Period

C.12.1 Phase-In and Phase-Out Provisions

The Contractor shall provide a phase-in/phase-out plan describing actions, plans and procedures to ensure (1) a smooth transition from contract award to full operational status and (2) a smooth transition from contract performance in the current term to performance, perhaps by a different contractor, in another term. The initial plan shall be submitted as part of the proposal. The final plan shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer for review and approval 30 days prior to the operations start date. The final phase-out portion of the plan shall be updated 30 days prior to completion of the contract. The phase-out portion shall include provisions for completion of appropriate Contractor responsibilities should there be a contract termination proceeding. Phase in and phase out provisions shall be included in the firm fixed price portion of this contract.

C.12.2 Phase-In

The Contractor shall assume total responsibility for all operations required by the contract as of the Operations Start Date. Therefore, as of the Operations Start Date, the Contractor shall provide a work force that is fully qualified and capable of performing all work required under this contract. The Contractor shall submit in the plan identified in 14.1 above, the detailed procedures for assuming responsibility and accountability for all Government-furnished property.

C.12.3 Phase-In Observation

Beginning 30 calendar days through immediately prior to the operations start date, the Contractor will be required to observe daily operations of the Government and incumbent contractor to include office functions, procedures and operations; repair/maintenance operations; and any other operations deemed necessary by the Contractor that will enable his personnel to become both knowledgeable in, and familiar with, their assigned areas of responsibility. The Contractor shall ensure, during phase-in activities, that: he/she shall not interfere with productivity; he/she shall coordinate all visits in advance and arrange to be accompanied by a Government employee previously designated for that purpose; he/she shall confine his activities to those which can only take place prior to the contract period. The designated Government representative shall coordinate discussions with Government or Contractor’s employees while they are on duty. During this phase-in period, the Contractor has no responsibility for on-site operational services required in this contract. No payments will be made to the contractor prior to the operations start date.

C.12.4 Phase-Out Period

The Contractor shall present a detailed plan for any phase-out period, regardless of precipitating reasons. The plan shall include procedures for minimizing impact on performance in compliance with standards in the contract. The plan shall also describe in detail how responsibility and accountability will be relinquished for all Government-furnished items/property.

C.12.5 Phase-Out Observation

During the "phase-out" period the Contractor will remain totally responsible for the services required in this contract. The Contractor shall not defer any needed tasks for the purpose of avoiding responsibility to the successor contractor.

C.12.6 Contractor Coordination

The Contractor shall coordinate phase in/out activities with the incoming Contractor to effect a smooth and orderly transition at the end of the contract period. The Contractor shall remove all Contractor-owned equipment, tools, parts and belongings from the Government-furnished facilities by midnight on the last day of the contract. The Contractor shall provide on-the-job familiarization for the incoming Contractor, as required.

C.12.7 Costs

The phase-in/phase-out stipulations contained herein are considered as part and parcel to this contract and the performance period. All such costs are the Contractor's responsibility and shall be included in the firm-fixed-priced portion of this contract.

C.13.0 Deliverables

C.13.1 Project Management Plan

The contractor shall submit a project management plan for each of the tasks in the PWS. The project plan will be approved by IHS to ensure project expectations and requirements are clearly understood. The project management plan shall be prepared for IHS review and approval no more than 10 days after the contract award.

C.13.2 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall prepare and adhere to a Quality Control Plan (QCP). A draft QCP will initially be submitted with the offeror’s proposal and will be updated upon award. The QCP shall document how the Contractor will meet and comply with the quality standards specified in the PWS. The QCP must include a self-inspection plan and an outline of the procedures that the Contractor will use to maintain quality, timeliness, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction.

C.13.3 Reports

The contractor shall provide the following reports.

· The monthly activity report should summarize the work performed for each of the services areas listed in section 3 – PWS Scope.

C.13.4 Periodic Meetings

The contractor’s project manager shall coordinate periodic meetings and reviews as required to describe how all provisions of the contract are being met.

C.13.5 Service Level Agreements

Within the first three months after contract award, the contractor shall document Service Level Agreements (SLA) for the tasks described in the PWS. The SLAs shall require approval by IHS. The Contractor shall continuous monitor their performance to meet the SLAs and report conformance results on a monthly basis.

C.13.6 Standard Operation Procedures

Within the first three months after contract award, the contractor shall document Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) the contractors staff shall follow to notify IHS on services outages. The procedures shall require approval by IHS.

C.13.7 Network Documentation

The contractor shall maintain accurate, up-to-date network…