A11_RFI_Cisco FY25_SAM.gov.pdf

Request for Information Notice of Sources Sought

FY25 CISCO Threat Defense IPS Subscription Renewal

Issued by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service:

January 28th, 2025

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL RESPONDENTS

Introduction:

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is conducting this Request for Information (RFI) as market research to purchase the renewal of software for the current Cisco Firepower Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) FY25.

The current intent is to contract for the purchase of:

Cisco Firepower Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) to assure that:

• Software updates, patches, and bug-fixes can be applied.

• This maintenance agreement will also give DFAS access to the vendor’s technical support program for the installation, use, and troubleshooting of this software.

All information contained in this RFI is preliminary, as well as subject to modification, and is not binding to the Government. The Government will not reimburse vendors for any information submitted in response to this request. The determination of a procurement strategy, based in part upon submissions by interested parties, is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Please follow the instructions below for submittal.

Instructions for Vendors:

Please review and provide responses to the questions outlined below.

Responses:

Instructions on how to respond are contained in Section E. The responses to this RFI shall address the requirements and related questions in Section B. Section A provides the background on DFAS. DFAS requests a response by 5:00 PM EST on 4 February 2025.

A. BACKGROUND

DFAS I&T Infrastructure Services requires the renewal of software maintenance Threat Defense Malware for the current Cisco Firepower Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). Cisco Firepower IPS protects DFAS systems from network attacks by selectively enforcing a policy at the network perimeter. DFAS network security uses HTTPS inspection to protect critical Internet-facing applications. Therefore, there is a requirement to decrypt and inspect HTTPS traffic and to send event data to the existing central forensics database and have active fail-over capability and power-off pass-through, which limits the risk of software failure.

B. STRATEGIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARKETPLACE

DFAS is conducting a market survey regarding the purchase of maintenance support for Threat Defense Malware for the current Cisco Firepower Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS).

This RFI requests the sharing of the following information:

1) Corporate Profile

• The Profile of your company/institution.

DFAS 3

• Include the number of years your company has been in the application software business.

2) Cisco Software Maintenance

• Provide a detailed explanation of what updates, maintenance support, technical support and access covers as it applies to Cisco Threat Defense.

3) Pricing model and licensing agreements

• Provide details on the estimated costs for maintenance support of Cisco Threat Defense (IPS) FY25 listed below:

• Provide a detailed explanation concerning the available software maintenance support.

4) Quoted products

• Are you willing to provide an official quote if requested?

5) Miscellaneous/Additional Points

• Any additional information that you consider relevant to your offering in the market and that you think we should know regarding your products.

C. SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

1) Small Business

• The purpose of this RFI is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential qualified Small Businesses are interested and capable of performing the work. Responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name b) address (c) point of contact (d) phone, fax, and email (e) UEI number

(f) Cage Code (g) NAICS (h) Type of small business.

• Small Businesses are encouraged to provide responses to this RFI in order to assist DFAS in determining potential levels of competition available in the industry, as well as helping to establish a basis for developing any subsequent potential subcontract plan goal percentages.

D. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

DFAS Indianapolis 8899 E. 56th St.

Product Number Subscription/ Service Level

Product Description Item Type Product Family

Architecture End Date QTY Subscription/ Service SKU

Subscription/ Service

Description

Contract Number/

Subscription ID

Instance Number

L-FPR2110T-TM= FTDMI

Cisco FPR2110 Threat

Defense Threat and Malware License

SOFTWARE TAM Security 30-Jun-2024 18 CON-NCCT-1 FPR TD Mid-Range 200436156 5920325675

L-FPR9K-40T-T= FTDUH

Cisco FPR9K SM-40

Threat Defense Threat Protection License

SOFTWARE FPRUHI Security 30-Jun-2024 4 CON-NCCT-1 FPR TD Ultra-High 201473585 5920324379

DFAS 4

Indianapolis, IN 46249

E. RESPONSES

Brevity is encouraged and will be interpreted as effective communication. Responses shall be e-mailed as either a pdf or MS Word attachment and must include a cover letter on institution letterhead including the institution name, point of contact, address, phone number, fax number, Unique Entity ID (UEI) number, and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code. DFAS requests a response by 5:00 PM EST on 4 February 2025. All initial correspondence shall be via email. If needed, DFAS may establish a dialog with vendors who respond to gain a better understanding of their potential solutions. Please e-mail responses by the date shown above to the following point of contact:

Charolyn Jackson Email: charolyn.l.jackson.civ@mail.mil

Chrissy Webb Email: chrissy.j.webb.civ@mail.mil

F. DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kind of offers will be considered in response to this RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers and will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Propriety information will be safeguarded in accordance with applicable Government Regulations.

Proprietary information or trade secrets should be clearly identified. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned.