Cloud Backup Questions and Answers.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 35 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- AMBCFY26_CloudBackup
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About this file
This file is a Questions and Answers document for the ABMC FY26 Cloud Backup and Recovery Services solicitation. The document contains inquiries and responses from potential offerors regarding clarifications on the RFQ requirements, evaluation criteria, technical specifications, and contract terms for the cloud backup and recovery service for Microsoft 365, Azure, and identity systems. The Q&A document serves to clarify ambiguities in the original solicitation and ensure all interested vendors have consistent understanding of the government's requirements and expectations for proposal submission. Without access to the specific questions and answers contained in the spreadsheet, this document appears to address common areas of confusion vendors encounter when responding to the solicitation, such as technical requirements, pricing structure for CLIN 0001 (recurring licenses and software services) and CLIN 0002 (one-time implementation and deployment), contract period specifications, and evaluation methodology. This Q&A file is typically released to all registered bidders to level the playing field and allow for informed proposal development prior to the response deadline.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Questions and Answers_August 13.pdf | ||
| Cloud Backup Questions and Answers.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Cloud Backup Proposal and Evaluation Instructions_final.pdf | ||
| FedRAMP Cloud to Cloud Backup PWS_Final.pdf |
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Sheet1 RFP # 74330225R0048 Fiber Dedicated Internet Access Services
| RFP Reference Document | Question | ABMC Response | |
| 1 | Is it a hard requirement to have 2 DDoS cleaning stations per country/region | There is no hard requirement to have 2 DDoS scrubbing centers for each country or region. Please read the CLIN 0007 section on the DDoS. | |
| 2 | Would you be interested in a converged Azure On-Ramp | This is not part of the requirement. Is this referring to Azure ExpressRoute? Please detail why a cloud on-ramp/dedicated access is beneficial to the solution and how it would be more performant than the public cloud edge. | |
| 3 | A1+-+PWS | What is the hardware that ABMC is utilizing today. | ABMC is currently using Cisco Catalyst as CPE and all-Fortinet network equipment for its switching, access-point and firewalls. |
| 4 | A1+-+PWS | Vulnerability Scans - What is the required frequency of scans? Are these full network scans or hardware vulnerability scan | Please read page 27 of PWS. Vulnerability scans are conducted quarterly to all network components installed by the contractor. |
| 5 | A1+-+PWS | Is there a SECaaS for countires outside of the US or are you looking for the provider to provide this service | SECaaS is not part of the scope of the project. |
| 6 | A1+-+PWS | Site Survey from carriers will only take place one an order is signed. | Yes. |
| 7 | A1+-+PWS | Inventory of existing hardware. Are you requesting the provider to manage / test that infrastructure. | No. |
| 8 | A1+-+PWS | Network configuration on all hardware or just edge device routers. | The provider shall install all necessary fiber DIA circuit equipment and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). |
| 9 | Are you looking for a single DDoS security provider or can it be carrier specific. | It can be carrier specific. | |
| 10 | A1+-+PWS | Are the 'Liquidated Damages Amount' penalty charges hard figures, or can they be negotiated | Yes, the figures can be negotiated. |
| 11 | A4-+NDA | Would ABMC consider a mutual NDA agreement supplied by Pure IP/BCM One rather than the one supplied by ABMC | Yes. |
| 12 | A1-PWS | There is a requirement for response within (2) business hours to ABMC's requests for information or escalations made outside of scheduled review sessions. Will that be expected to be within (2) business hours of the contractor's headquarters time zone or within (2) business hours of the location that sent the request? | ABMC operates globally. Responses should be within 2 business hours of the request creation time. Locations who will be sending such requests would either be Paris, France, Arlington, VA, or Manila, Philippines. |
| 13 | A1-PWS | Under Quality Assurance and Compliance, there is the following statement: "Repeat noncompliance will trigger penalties or contract termination". Which penalities does this refer to? | |
| Appendix 6 discusses penalties for non-recurring CLINs. |
Recurring CLINs penalties shall be negotiated in advance based on proposed Service Level Agreements and service credits.
| 14 | A1-PWS | A requirement under contractor workforce requirements is to pay workers prevailing wages and provide applicable benefits. Can prevailing wage determination documentation be provided for each site? | Contractors are welcome to use prevailing wage determinations to establish reasonable labor rates as part of their proposals. | |
| 15 | A1-PWS | Page 4 of the PWS under CLIN 0008 includes "(10Gb/s for Events): FFP by site by event (s)states Event-based, however in Column R of the A2 Price Worksheet requests Azure Express Route Costs. Is this an error and should it be replaced by 10Gb Fiber Internet? | Yes. The column R header should read: "CLIN 0008 – Events-Based 10 Gb/s Fiber Internet". We will resend the Excel file. | |
| 16 | A1 - PWS.pdf (CLIN 0004 - IPv4 Addressing) | Will contractors be expected to takeover management of existing switches and routers? | No. This is NOT a Network as a Service solicitation. | |
| 17 | A1 - PWS.pdf (CLIN 0004 - IPv4 Addressing) | Are contractors required to use AutoCAD DWG, or will Visio diagrams be sufficient? | AutoCAD DWG is required for fiber path drawings to have an accurate, up-to-scale, representation of the network installation. | |
| 18 | A1 - PWS | Can contractors propose and attach their Master Service Agreement and Customer Schedules (SLAs)? | Yes. | |
| 19 | A1 - PWS | Can contractors take exception to the terms & conditions in the PWS or does ABMC anticipate contract negotiations to take place post award? | Which terms and conditions do you intend to take exception? Specifics of each term could determine whether ABMC can make an award to a contractor. Please make any exceptions to terms and conditions abundently clear as part of a cover letter submitted with your company's proposal for review and determination by ABMC. | |
| 20 | A1 - PWS | If there are no updates to the required Risk Management Plan on a weekly basis, would contractors submit the same plan each week? | Yes. The document would have an updated review date. | |
| 21 | A-1 PWS | Please provide the name of the current DDoS provider(s) for ABMC. | Corero with GTT. | |
| 22 | A-1 PWS | Is it allowable for bidding contractors to use multiple IP/DDoS providers in their proposed solution? | Yes. | |
| 23 | PWS Appendix 4 – Response Format | |||
| Contractor shall provide the following information, using the specified format, order, and numbering for all responses: | Is there a Font / Font size / and Page count for the Technical Response / Past Performance / Resumes? | There are no stylistic requirements for the technical response, past performance and resumes. | ||
| 24 | RFP Instructions - Section 1 PROPOSALS AND QUESTIONS DUE DATES & TIMES | Please clarify the times that both questions and the proposal are due, as they are both listed in Eastern Standard Time and we are in Daylight Savings Time. | Eastern Time/Eastern Daylight Time; UTC/GMT -4 | |
| 25 | RFP Instructions - Section 4 PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS (SECTION L) | Pursuant to the additional material relevant to this section that is CUI, can the Contractor's contracting officer submit a single signed NDA inclusive of all of the Contractor's bid team or is each individual member of the bid team required to submit a separately signed NDA? | NDA need to be read, reviewed and signed by each Contractor bid team member. | |
| 26 | Appendix 5 – AutoCAD Requirements for As-Built Drawings | Would ABMC consider Visio drawings? Does ABMC own the CAD software license? Will the Contractor be expected to provide their own AutoCAD license, or is the license supplied by ABMC? | The Contractor is expected to bring its own AutoCAD license. AutoCAD DWG is required for fiber path drawings to have an accurate, up-to-scale, representation of the network installation. Additionally, please refer to Appendix 5 in the PWS for details on AutoCAD requirements. | |
| 27 | PWS On-Site Assessment Tasks -Building Penetrations Before construction, Contractor shall investigate and document all utilities near the proposed fiber route. Use appropriate detection methods such as x-ray or ground-penetrating radar to identify buried utilities. | Does ABMC own the hardware and software for the x-ray and ground penetrating radar equipment? | No. | |
| 28 | PWS OCONUS Installations / A2 Pricing worksheet | Can ABMC provide the Local Tele Co. Companies for each of the countries where you require fiber / internet services? | Yes. The list appears on page 44-46 of the PWS under Appendix 1B | |
| 29 | PWS - CLIN003 - "ABMC will negotiate final FFP terms with Contractor based on CLIN 0001 site survey findings and | |||
| agreed scope of work prior to exercising CLIN 0003." | We cannot provide a firm fixed price for CLIN003 before having completed the site survey in CLIN001. What specific pricing does ABMC expect to see in the RFP response for both CLIN003 before having done site survey to help accurately inform the work that needs to be done? | Please review the PWS for this question. In brief, fiber exists today at 29 sites and the contractor is expected to reuse available local loop circuits as much as possible. In case new fiber circuits are needed based on approved site surveys, the contractor shall provide pricing based on standard costing elements such as distance of fiber cabling, labor and material involved. ABMC will provide Fiber Pre-Assessment documents showing available fiber infrastructure and routes. | ||
| 30 | PWS - CLIN002 - "ABMC will negotiate final FFP terms with Contractor based on CLIN 0001 site survey findings and | |||
| agreed scope of work prior to exercising CLIN 0002." | We cannot provide a firm fixed price for CLIN002 before having completed the site survey in CLIN001. What specific pricing does ABMC expect to see in the RFP response for both CLIN002 before having done site survey to help accurately inform the work that needs to be done? | Please review the PWS for this question. In brief, fiber exists today at 29 sites and the contractor is expected to reuse available local loop circuits as much as possible. In case new fiber circuits are needed based on approved site surveys, the contractor shall provide pricing based on standard costing elements such as distance of fiber cabling, labor and material involved. ABMC will provide Fiber Pre-Assessment documents showing available fiber infrastructure and routes. | ||
| 31 | PWS CLIN 0001 Site Survey | Is the Site Survey and construction work contingent upon circuits being awarded? | No. Please read the period of performance section of the PWS. Sites surveys are expected within 60 calendar days of contract award. | |
| 32 | PWS Verification and Payment: | Verification and Payment: Is the 20% withholding calculated based on the price of each CLIN that government deems unaccepted at each individual site? | Yes. That would be 20% withholding of affected location amounts for the given CLIN. | |
| 33 | CLIN 0001 Precision | This section is asking for millimeter accuracy. Is this correct? Typically during construction at least some level of adjustments need to be made. | We are looking for high-precision drawings to ensure cable runs are documented and can be easily identified for regular maintenance or permanent reference if modifications or trenching are being conducted close-by. | |
| 34 | CLIN 0002 ALL | The local telecom company will need to participate in the Exterior Infrastructure Construction and Restoration. For instance 1) depending on the results of the Site Survey they may be required to address some or all of the exterior construction. 2) Additional Fiber Strands Usage feedback and confirmation will depend on their models. We are under the assumption that delays and issues that occur, which are beyond Contractor control, will not be penalized, and that additional financial responsibility may be required by ABMC to complete circuit delivery; is that correct? | This is explained under CLIN 0002 and CLIN 0003. We can negotiate each site individually but do not anticipate an open ended "additional financial responsibility" agreement. |
Contractor is expected to complete their diligence and provide a reasonable proposal which minimizes unknowns, and be able to meet delivery for all sites by April 15, 2026.
| 35 | CLIN 0002 Site Prep | What information needs to be captured for "soil conditions"? | There are no available documents detailing soil conditions for each site. Contractor shall do soil carrots to assess conditions prior to trenching. |
| 36 | CLIN 0003 Warranty Support | Post-installation support and repairs may need to be separated into its own CLIN. Will ABMC consider a separate CLIN for post installation and warranty support? | One-time costs should be included in the respective construction CLINs (CLIN 0002 or 0003). Any recurring items should to be added to CLIN 0006. |
| 37 | INTRO | Could you please provide the 2D (two dimensinal) technical plans of the sites? | We would provide some under NDA. However, please note that not all sites has one, nor is one needed, such as Arlington, Paris, etc., which are commercial buildings. |
| 38 | INTRO | Could you send us the GPS (Global Positioning Syteme ) coordinates of each building on each site where the ISP (Internet Service Provider) router will be installed? | NDA needs to be requested, read, reviewed, and signed by all Contractor bid team members prior to receipt of this information. ABMC will send GPS coordinates once NDAs have been signed and sent to ABMC. Please contact Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist directly to request NDA. |
| 39 | INTRO | Could you provide an overall network diagram of the existing network architecture setup? | First, NDA need to be read, reviewed and signed by each Contractor bid team members. Sharing Local Area Network (LAN) diagrams is not necessary. Contractor is providing services up to the CPE. Please state your purpose for needing this information. |
| 40 | INTRO | Could you provide a network diagram of a typical site, please? | First, NDA need to be read, reviewed and signed by each Contractor bid team members. Sharing Local Area Network (LAN) diagrams is not necessary. Contractor is providing services up to the CPE. Contractor is providing services up to the CPE. Please email an official request to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist that inlcudes your purpose for needing this information. ABMC will review your request accordingly. |
| 41 | CLIN 0006 | At each site do you have a server rack with available space for 3 or 4 Us a well as available 2 power supply for each router? | Generally, Yes, we have server rack space for 3 or 4Us. |
Pre-Assessment Surveys are still on-going. One of the objective of the pre-assessment is to verify infrastructure availability including power and rack space.
There will be at least 4 available Us and 2 power supplies with Schuko (type-F) power sockets for Europe and Type-B for the United States.
| 42 | CLIN 0006 | How many sites do you have in Tunisia? One site mentioned in the RFP and two sites listed in the document "A2-Blank-Pricing-Worksheet." | There is only one site. A revised pricing worksheet will be sent. |
| 43 | CLIN 0008 | For the Events (CLIN 0008), can you confirm the provision of a dedicated temporary fiber link distinct from that deployed under CLIN 0006? | Correct, this CLIN 0008 is a separate requirement used for events only. It should not overlay the recurring fiber link used by office staff. |
| 44 | CLIN 0006 | Could you provide the number, type and make-model N° of firewalls used at each site? | First, NDA need to be read, reviewed and signed by each Contractor bid team members. Contractor is providing services up to the CPE. Please email request for this information to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist. Please include your purpose for needing this information. ABMC will review request to determine if information should be provided. |
| 45 | CLIN 0004/0005 | Can you confirm the desire to have a Public IP LAN interconnection between the ISP router and your firewall? | Yes. We need to have a public IP LAN interconnection between the ISP router (CPE) and our firewall. |
| 46 | CLIN 0004/0005 | Can you confirm the implementation of NAPT (Network Address Port Translation ) for outgoing traffic on your firewall for each site? | Yes. ABMC's firewalls implement NAPT. |
| 47 | CLIN 0006 | How many LAN interfaces would you like to use on each ISP router? | Four (4) LAN interfaces should be configured. Two (2) will be reserved for active and passive firewall interfaces. They will be taken from different router interface cards when possible. Two (2) additional ports will be configured for use by security equipment at specific sites. Example on a port router: port 1=uplink, port 2=FW1, port,3=spare, port 13 =FW2, port 19=spare. |
| 48 | CLIN 0006 | For each site, could you confirm the type of LAN interface used on your firewall (RJ45-1G or SFP-1G or SFP-10G)? | RJ45-1G on the existing interfaces. If proposals include multi-gig or 10G circuits, we would upgrade our hardware to accept such interfaces. |
| 49 | CLIN 0006 | If the previous answer is SFP-1G or SFP-10G, what SFP( Small Form-Factor Pluggable) modules do you have (e.g., SFP-10G-SR, SFP-10G-LR, etc.)? | N/A - RJ45-1G is utilized. |
| 50 | CLIN 0006 | Do you provide LAN cables or patch cords (Copper/Fiber) between your firewall and the ISP router? | Please reuse exsiting patch cords (Copper, Fiber). If reuse is not possible, then provide required patch costs. |
| 51 | CLIN 0006 | Do the stated speeds correspond to IP or Ethernet speeds? | Column F on the Excel spreadsheet is the port speed and column G is the target Committed Data Rate (CDR) or IP speed. |
| 52 | CLIN 0006 | Given the number of on-site employees, a base speed outside of Commemorative Event Periods should be a maximum of around 100 Mbps. Do you agree with this maximum? | No. ABMC anticipates that the new contract shall meet or exceed the current bandwidth to each site. Note our use SaaS use cases as described in the "Background and Objectives" section. |
ABMC Events are often large-scale, head-of-state level commemorations involving many parties and media. Having 10Gbps port speeds will allow us to provide better service and advanced cloud applications such as Camera-to-Cloud (C2C) and high-quality media streaming.
| 53 | A2-Blank-Pricing-Worksheet | Could you update the document "A2-Blank-Pricing-Worksheet" by doubling columns M to R to allow for quoting OTP 5One-time Price) and MRP (Monthly Reoccuring Price) prices? | One-time-costs (OTC) should be captured in the CLINs 0002 and 0003 depending on the nature of the cost. Please let us know if you have a specific concern or example. |
| 54 | CLIN 0006 | Considering your current bandwidth and interfaces (Appendix 1B) and the speeds requested in the RFP, please provide the future overall budget for CLIN 0006? | We are unable to discuss budgets or funding information. However, Contractor should consider public information about ABMC's budget posted at https://www.abmc.gov/about-us/reports-policy/annual-reports/ and offer reasonable proposals. |
| 55 | BUDGET | Do you have specific budget constraints for certain regions or sites? | We are unable to discuss budgets or funding information. However, Contractor should consider public information about ABMC's budget posted at https://www.abmc.gov/about-us/reports-policy/annual-reports/ and offer reasonable proposals. |
| 56 | PROJECT | Who will be the main points of contact for coordinating work and validations? | Yes. ABMC Contracting Officer's Representartives will be designated for work coordination and validation. |
| 57 | PROJECT | Would you prefer to schedule weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly follow-up meetings to discuss project progress? | Please read page 35 of PWS, Project Status Meetings are held on a weekly basis. |
| 58 | PROJECT | Do you have specific requirements for documentation formats (e.g., PDF, Excel)? | Documentation should be in Word format or Excel spreadsheets for tabular information. Additionally, please refer to the PWS for required formats of each deliverables. |
| 59 | RUN | Would you like a Dedicated Incident Manager included in the MRC mentioned on page 19, or should it be billed separately? | The Dedicated Incident Manager should be included in the MRC, under CLIN 0006. |
| 60 | RUN | For sites in Mexico, Panama, and the Philippines, should the help desk be bilingual in English/Spanish (what about other languages in Europe)? | No local language support is expected. English is the main work language. |
| 61 | CLIN 0007 | Could you describe the Multi-Vendor section in more detail? Would you like to have 2 DDoS solutions (a new one and then keep your current solution)? | We are not looking to keep the exisitng DDoS solution. We would like to know if it's possible to layer in multiple DDoS vendors for enhanced protection. |
| 62 | CLIN 0006 | What are the expectations for the transition from the current supplier? Is there a temporary migration or coexistence plan? | Both legacy and new fiber service should coexist for a short while. The full solution should be delivered by April 2026. |
| 63 | Page 21 | Will ABMC consider procuring the optional DDoS service CLIN outside of this procurement activity? | No. Please check page 39 of the PWS. DDoS is a critical piece of the solution. |
| 64 | Page 5 | Please clarify that the base period for all CLINs is 12 months from the date of contract award? | Please check page 39 of the PWS which has the information. |
| 65 | Page 24 | Please provide additional details regarding the requirement for temporary 10 Gb/s Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) at selected sites during commemorative events, will this be priced separately on a non-recurring cost? | Please read page 24 and 25 of the PWS under the "CLIN 0008 – Events-Based 10 Gb/s Fiber Internet (Reserve)" section. Services will be priced separately under CLIN 0008 |
&"Times New Roman,Regular"May 15, 2025 Initial Round of Questions
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .