P02 RFI Amend 01 QandA 3.3.26.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

36C10B26Q0218 Amend 01 Enterprise Data Center and Telecommunications Modernization (EDCTM) March 3, 2026

QUESTION #1: Facility Inventory and Geographic Distribution Can the VA provide a list of sites that are in scope for this effort, including their geographic locations and relative facility size classifications (e.g., enterprise data center, mid-tier computer room, telecommunications closet)?

Understanding the specific facilities, their distribution across VA administrations (VHA, VBA, NCA), and relative complexity tiers would enable [vendor] to provide more targeted recommendations regarding deliverable structuring, standardization approaches, and realistic pricing methodologies. This information is particularly relevant to addressing the site-unseen pricing challenge outlined in Question 4 of the RFI, as facility scope significantly influences our ability to propose effective tiering and pricing mechanisms.

ANSWER #1: A complete list is not available, due to the breadth of facilities that are intended to be covered and continuous change in the VA’s operating environment (e.g., new outpatient clinics coming online and replacing older ones).

In general, there are:

•Approximately 170 VA medical centers each with a Campus Support Center (CSC) computer room, an average of 50 Telecommunications Rooms (TRs), and Entrance Rooms/legacy Telephone Equipment Rooms.

•Three VA Enterprise Data Centers (Core Data Centers, or Corporate Data Centers (CDCs)) located in Austin, Philadelphia, and Martinsburg WV.

•Four Gateway collocation facilities located in San Jose, Dallas, Chicago, and Sterling VA.

•Approximately 50 Veterans Benefits Administration locations with small Network Support Centers (NSCs) and a handful of TRs.

•Approximately 1,200 outpatient clinics generally with small NSCs and a handful of TRs.

•Other small VA facilities (Vet Centers, etc.) and administrative buildings with NSCs and TRs.

•The estimated total of individual telecommunications spaces in the scope of the effort is 10,000.

Definitions of the types of data centers and telecommunications spaces may be found in the VA’s Infrastructure Standard for Telecommunications Spaces, located on the VA Technical Information Library at https://www.cfm.va.gov/til/telecom.asp.

QUESTION #2: Cloud Migration Consideration Would the government consider recommendations that include migration of appropriate IT services into government-approved commercial cloud environments (such as AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, or other FedRAMP High authorized platforms), or is this modernization effort strictly limited to on-premises data center infrastructure standardization and refresh?

This clarification will help us tailor our response to align with VA's strategic IT direction. Our experience demonstrates that hybrid approaches—combining on-premises modernization with strategic cloud adoption—often deliver superior long-term value, reduced operational complexity, and enhanced mission resilience. However, we want to ensure our recommendations align with VA's architectural vision and any policy constraints specific to this initiative.

We understand these questions may touch on information still being defined, and we are prepared to submit a comprehensive RFI response regardless. However, any clarification you can provide by the question deadline will enhance the quality and specificity of industry feedback you receive.

ANSWER #2: Cloud migration is not intended to be supported by this requirement.