Att. 1 - VESI Pre-Solicitation Notice.docx

Pre-Solicitation Notice

This is a pre-solicitation notice for an upcoming opportunity with the Social Security Administration (“SSA” or the “agency”). Per Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.207, the agency presents the following information:

(1) Action Code: Presolicitation

(2) Date: November 15

(3) Year: 2019

(4) Contracting Office ZIP Code: 21235

(5) Product or Service Code: J070 – Maintenance, Repair and Rebuilding of Equipment: Automatic Data Processing Equipment (Including Firmware), Software, Suppliers and Support Equipment

(6) Contracting Office Address: Social Security Administration, Office of Acquisition and Grants, 1540 Robert M. Ball Building, Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235

(7) Subject: Video Enterprise Services Integration (VESI)

(8) Proposed Solicitation Number: 28321320R00000009

(9) Closing Response Date: N/A

(10) Contact Point or Contracting Officer: Larry Sneeringer, Contract Specialist

(11) Contract Award and Solicitation Number: N/A

(12) Contract Award Dollar Amount: N/A

(13) Line Item Number: N/A

(14) Contract Award Date: N/A

(15) Contractor: N/A

(16) Description: The Social Security Administration intends to establish a single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, using the procedures at FAR part 15, Contracting by Negotiation, in conjunction with FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items, for Video Teleconferencing (VTC) technology, Unified Communications (UC) services, Video Service Delivery (VSD), and more. The proposed award will permit the use of firm-fixed-price delivery/task orders for fulfilling component-specific VTC requirements throughout the agency. The total performance period under the contract will consist of a base period of five (5) years, two (2) one-year option periods, and an Option to Extend Support for a not-to-exceed period of six (6) months of performance (if exercised). The agency anticipates issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) on or around December 5, 2019.

In continuing to meet the challenge of delivering services to a growing population but with a smaller physical footprint, SSA has gradually placed greater emphasis on the use of video. At the same time, this technology has played an increasingly larger role in helping the agency to achieve its backlog reduction goals as well as the objectives set forth in SSA’s Vision 2025 and Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 – FY 2022 strategic plans. These objectives include delivering excellent customer service, improving public access to social security services, promoting employee engagement, and optimizing productivity.

For the past number of years, SSA has met the service needs of its customers, in part, through video, which has rapidly emerged as a core technology used by virtually every component throughout the agency. For these reasons, video has become a highly regarded method for providing more flexible and convenient services to the public. By adopting an enterprise strategy for video use, deployment, and support, the agency will enable increased business efficiencies while facilitating broader access across a variety of services.

In contrast to the previous requirement, Video Teleconferencing Support Services (VTSS), SSA seeks to transition towards a single enterprise solution that will encompass multiple VTC technologies, thereby prompting the need for an integrator. Where the agency had previously required an installer, the ability to merge video, voice, desktop services, and more into a single UC platform will necessitate that a successor to the current contract possesses strategic partnerships with the manufacturers of the various video platforms currently employed by the agency (e.g., Polycom, Cisco, and Microsoft).

Improving the usability and interoperability of these platforms is similarly a priority that has driven the need for an integrator, specifically. While the extent of services under the existing contract includes program management, managed network services, help desk support, equipment repair, and hardware maintenance, the services under the new requirement will also include VSD, VSD enhancements, and other engineering support services.

The number of video endpoints requiring maintenance is another key discriminator between the previous and current requirements. At the onset of the former, SSA originally had 1,800 pieces of video hardware, excluding video firewall, bridging, gatekeeping, and networking equipment; however, in the time that has passed, the number of endpoints has grown to approximately 3,200. This is due to a greater reliance on video in fulfilling SSA’s strategic goals. The agency anticipates that this number will continue to grow throughout the life of the new contract as well. For instance, the use of VTC technology in the Office of Hearings and Operations (OHO) currently supports approximately 28% of the workload under the national disability adjudication program. Based on current forecasts, we expect this number to increase between upwards of 40 to 50% over the next several years.

Aside from OHO, other major stakeholders that rely upon video include the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Operations (DCO) and Disability and Determination Services (DDS). These groups provide video services to a wide range of customers, including claimants for disability and non-disability cases, claimants desiring more convenient locations for participating in hearings (e.g., libraries and senior centers), and members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) community.

Additional use case scenarios for video under SSA’s current requirement include various administrative functions, such as interviewing potential employees and facilitating collaboration among existing personnel. With an increasing reliance on video, SSA will require support from a qualified source who is not only capable of maintaining the number of endpoints that comprise the agency’s VTC network but also integrating unique video technologies into a unified solution.

As with VTSS, help desk services, such as network monitoring and troubleshooting assistance, will continue to represent a significant aspect of VESI. These services will rely upon a central hub for receiving, scheduling, monitoring, tracking, recording and resolving all VESI related issues, nationwide. The inclusion of technical support will similarly assist SSA in testing all new equipment before moving items into production following installation.

(17) Place of Contract Performance: Nationwide

(18) Set-Aside Status: Total small business set-aside under the NAICS code identified in this notice

Note: This is not a RFP but rather a pre-solicitation notice for a requirement that the agency intends to solicit on or around December 5, 2019. Prospective offerors with questions regarding either this opportunity or the draft Statement of Work (SOW)[footnoteRef:1] included as a separate attachment will be able to submit questions once the agency has posted the RFP to https://beta.sam.gov./[footnoteRef:2] As a result, the agency will not respond to any questions it receives regarding this opportunity prior to the RFP publication date. The agency will neither accept phone, email, or fax requests for a copy of the solicitation. This notice is meant to advise prospective offerors of an upcoming opportunity and to allow vendors to begin to generate potential inquiries should they desire to do so. The estimated due date for questions on the RFP is on or around December 11, 2019. [1: While the draft SOW references several other attachments, the agency is not providing these at this time, with the exception of the Minimum Specifications attachment.] [2: As noted at https://beta.sam.gov/alerts, effective November 12, https://www.fbo.gov/ is retired, and https://beta.sam.gov/ is now the authoritative source for contract opportunities. For more information, refer to the contractor resources located at https://beta.sam.gov/help/contract-opportunities. ]