CCaaS PWS Draft - 13Mar26 v.3.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Information & Technology Connectivity and Collaboration Services (CCS)

Contact Center as a Service Products and Services

Date: March 13, 2026

PWS Version Number: 1.0

Cloud Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) Products and Services

Contents

1.0 BACKGROUND

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

4.3 TRAVEL

4.4 KEY PERSONNEL

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.1 TECHNICAL KICK-OFF/TRANSITION MEETING

5.1.2 MONTHLY PROJECT MEETINGS

5.1.3 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

5.2 OEM SME TECHNICAL ACCOUNT MANAGER SERVICES

5.3 OEM SME PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

5.4 TRAINING

5.5 TECHNICAL SUPPORT

5.6 SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) CREDITS

5.7 OPTIONAL TASK: ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 ENTERPRISE AND IT FRAMEWORK .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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6.1.2 ZERO TRUST – VA CRITICAL SECURITY CONTROLS .. Error! Bookmark not defined.

6.1.3 FEDERAL IDENTITY, CREDENTIAL, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT

(FICAM)

6.1.4 INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPv6)

6.1.5 TRUSTED INTERNET CONNECTION (TIC)

6.1.6 STANDARD COMPUTER CONFIGURATION

6.1.7 VETERAN FOCUSED INTEGRATION PROCESS (VIP) AND PRODUCT

LINE MANAGEMENT (PLM)

6.1.8 PROCESS ASSET LIBRARY (PAL)

6.1.9 AUTHORITATIVE DATA SOURCES

6.1.10 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) REDUCTION

6.1.11 SOFTWARE AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

6.2 SECURITY AND PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS

6.2.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

6.2.2 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

6.3 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

6.4 PERFORMANCE METRICS

6.5 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS

6.6 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

6.7 SHIPMENT OF HARDWARE OR EQUIPMENT

ADDENDUM A – ADDITIONAL VA REQUIREMENTS, CONSOLIDATED

ADDENDUM B – VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/

PRIVACY LANGUAGE

1.0 BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Connectivity and Collaboration Services (CCS), Unified Communications (UC) strives to provide high quality, effective, and efficient Information Technology (IT) services to those responsible for providing care to the Veterans at the point-of-care as well as throughout all the points of the Veterans’ health care in an effective, timely and compassionate manner. VA depends on Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) systems to meet mission goals.

This is a mission critical OIT project intended to stabilize and improve upon the technical and service delivery of connecting VA Contact Center professionals to Veterans having a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide and improving the Veterans experience with all VA Enterprise Contact Centers. The effort includes supporting the VA in its efforts to expand the implementation and deployment of its current Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), inclusive of new telephony circuits, monitoring, call recording, workforce management tools, voice analytics.

OIT CCS, UC, is committed to creating interactive experiences between the Veteran and VA that is easy, pleasant, effective, and personalized. Veterans place more than 140 million phone calls to the VA each year. There are numerous agency phone numbers; there is no roadmap to seamlessly get Veterans the services that they need.

VA’s contact centers, defined as having two or more individuals answering the phone, have a decentralized, fragmented infrastructure supporting 68 dedicated contact centers. VA customer contact centers perform all functions associated with receiving and responding to inquiries, and providing information and services through the use of various communications media including, but not limited to, telephones, telecommunications devices for the deaf (TTY), Short Message Service (SMS)/text e-mail, the internet, fax and other media as from a variety of devices (e.g., voice, web, smartphones, mobile devices, etc.).

VA considers CCaaS to be a cloud-based platform that delivers all the technology and tools a contact center needs—without requiring on premises hardware or traditional Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and/or Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) systems.

The VA will staff the contact centers. The CCaaS includes the following capabilities:

• It’s delivered over the internet as a subscription service.

• The vendor hosts and maintains the infrastructure, updates, and reliability stack.

• Organizations get a scalable, flexible contact center that can grow or shrink without major capital investment.

• Omnichannel routing (voice, email, chat, SMS, social)

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and intelligent call routing

• Workforce management and quality monitoring

• AI driven features like bots, transcription, and sentiment analysis

• Integration with CRMs and UC platforms

• Real-time and historical analytics

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:

1. “Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014”

2. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-3, “Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules”, March 22, 2019

3. FIPS Pub 199. “Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems,” February 2004

4. FIPS Pub 200, “Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and

Information Systems,” March 2006

5. FIPS Pub 201-3, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and

Contractors,” January 2022

6. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program", as amended

7. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974”

8. Public Law 109-461 (P.L. 109-461), Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and

Information Technology Act of 2006, as amended, Title IX, Information Security Matters

9. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”, as amended

10. VA Directive 0710, “Personnel Vetting Program,” September 8, 2025, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

11. VA Handbook 0710, “Personnel Vetting Program,” September 8, 2025, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

12. VA Directive 6102, “Internet/Intranet Services,” August 5, 2019

13. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Information and Communication Technology Standards and Guidelines,” as amended

14. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “Managing Federal

Information as a Strategic Resource,” July 28, 2016

15. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed

Services (CHAMPUS)”, as amended

16. NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 2, “Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule: A Cybersecurity Resource Guide,” February 2024

17. 45 C.F.R Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and E, the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”); and 45 C.F.R.

Parts 160 and 164, Subparts A and C, the Security Standard (“Security Rule”); as amended

18. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended

19. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004 https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm http://www.va.gov/vapubs http://www.va.gov/vapubs

20. VA Directive 6500, “VA Cybersecurity Program,” February 24, 2021 (see VA NOTICE 24-18, dated September 27, 2024, “Update to VA Directive 6500 Cybersecurity Program”, and VA Notice 25-07, dated 3/18/25, “Amending VA Directive 6500 to incorporate M-24-15”)

21. VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program,” February 24, 2021 (see VA Notice 25-01, dated October 15, 2024, “Update to VA Handbook 6500 Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program”, and VA Notice 25-06, dated 3/18/25, “Amending VA Directive 6500 to incorporate M-24-15”, VA Notice 25-16, dated September 15, 2025, “Amending VA Handbook 6500 to Replace Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Services Tool With Office of Information Technology Governance Risk Compliance Tool, and VA Notice 25-17, dated September 22, 2025, “Rescission Of Office Of Information Security (OIS) Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Memorandum – Requirements of Proper Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) Completion)

22. VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI),” June 30, 2023

23. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010 (see VA Notice 24-12, dated April 22, 2024, “Update to VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, Appendix C VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy Language For Inclusion Into Contracts, As Appropriate”)

24. VA Handbook 6500.8, “Information System Contingency Planning,” March 25, 2025

25. VA Handbook 6500.10, “Mobile Device Security Policy,” February 15, 2018 (see VA NOTICE 25-10, dated June 9, 2025, “Use of Personally Owned Mobile Devices Policy Amendment of Department of Veterans Affairs Handbook 6500.10”, and VA Notice 25-15, dated August 22, 2025, “Update to VA Handbook 6500.10 Mobile Device Security Policy”)

26. VA Handbook 6500.11, “VA Firewall Configuration,” August 22, 2017

27. OIT Process Asset Library (PAL), OIT Process Asset Library.

28. One-VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx)

29. VA Directive 6508, “Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and

Privacy Impact Assessment,” October 15, 2014

30. VA Directive 6510, “VA Identity, Credential and Access Management,”

September 3, 2024

31. VA Handbook 6510, “VA Identity, Credential and Access Management,”

September 27, 2024

32. VA Directive and Handbook 6513, “Secure External Connections,” October

12, 2017

33. VA Directive 6300, “Records and Information Management,” September 21,

34. VA Handbook, 6300.1, “Records Management Procedures,“ March 24, 2010 https://digital.va.gov/process-asset-library/ https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx

35. NIST SP 800-37 Rev 2, “Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy,” December 2018

36. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, “Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations,” September 23, 2020 (includes updates as of 12/10/2020)

37. VA Directive 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program,” October 26, 2015

38. VA Handbook 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-

12) Program,” March 24, 2014

39. OMB Memorandum 05-24, “Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 – Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,” August 5, 2005

40. OMB Memorandum M-19-17, “Enabling Mission Delivery Through Improved Identity, Credential, and Access Management,” May 21, 2019

41. OMB Memorandum, “Guidance for Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 Implementation,” May 23, 2008

42. Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) Architecture, June 30, 2023 (FICAM Architecture (idmanagement.gov))

43. NIST SP 800-116 Rev 1, “Guidelines for the Use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials in Facility Access,“ June 2018

44. NIST SP 800-63 Rev 4, 800-63A-4, 800-63B-4, 800-63C-4, “Digital Identity Guidelines,” August 1, 2025

45. NIST SP 800-157, “Guidelines for Derived PIV Credentials,” December 2014

46. VA Memorandum, VAIQ #7100147, “Continued Implementation of Homeland

Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12),” April 29, 2011 (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514)

47. IAM Identity Management Business Requirements Guidance document, May 2013, (reference Enterprise Architecture Section, PIV/IAM (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514)

48. VA Memorandum “Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Logical Access Policy Clarification,” July 17, 2019, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896

49. Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 Core Guidance Documents, https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents

50. OMB Memorandum M-19-26, “Update to the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Initiative,” September 12, 2019

51. OMB Memorandum M-08-23, “Securing the Federal Government’s Domain Name System Infrastructure,” August 22, 2008

52. Sections 524 and 525 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, (P.L. 110–140), December 19, 2007

53. Section 104 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (P.L. 109–58), August 8, 2005

54. Executive Order 13221, “Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices,” August

2, 2001

55. Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and

Actions,” dated January 20, 2025 https://www.idmanagement.gov/arch/#:~:text=FICAM%20is%20the%20federal%20government%E2%80%99s%20enterprise%20approach%20to,identity%20processes%2C%20practices%2C%20policies%2C%20and%20information%20security%20disciplines.

https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514 https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896 https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents

56. VA Directive 0057, “VA Environmental Management Program,” October 25,

57. OIS VAIQ #7424808 Memorandum, “Remote Access,” January 15, 2014, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

58. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. §11101 and §11103

59. “Veteran Focused Integration Process (VIP) Guide 4.0,” March 2021, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371

60. VA Memorandum “Proper Use of Email and Other Messaging Services,”

January 2, 2018, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

61. “Product Line Management Transformation Playbook” version 3.1, August 2023, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946

62. NIST SP 500-267B Revision 1, “USGv6 Profile,” November 2020

63. OMB Memorandum M-21-07, “Completing the Transition to Internet Protocol

Version 6 (IPv6),” November 19, 2020

64. Social Security Number (SSN) Fraud Prevention Act of 2017

65. Section 240 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2018, March 23,

66. C.F.R Title 15 Part 7, “Securing the Information and Communications

Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain”, as amended

67. Executive Order 14028, “Executive Order on Improving the Nation's

Cybersecurity,” May 12, 2021, https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/

68. OMB Memorandum M-22-09, “Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles”, January 26, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/M-22-09.pdf.

69. NIST SP 800-52 Revision 2, “Guidelines for the Selection, Configuration, and Use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) Implementations

70. OMB M-26-05, “Adopting a Risk-based Approach to Software and Hardware Security,” January 23, 2026

71. OMB M-21-31, “Improving the Federal Government’s Investigative and Remediation Capabilities Related to Cybersecurity Incidents,” August 27,

72. NIST SP 800-88 Revision 1 “Guidelines for Media Sanitization,” December

73. CISA Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 19-02: “Vulnerability Remediation Requirements of Internet-Accessible Systems,” April 29, 2019, BOD 19-02:

Vulnerability Remediation Requirements for Internet-Accessible Systems |

CISA

74. CISA BOD 22-01: “Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities,” November 3, 2021, BOD 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities | CISA

75. CISA BOD 23-01: Improving Asset Visibility and Vulnerability Detection on Federal Networks.” Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28 https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946 https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2025/01/16/executive-order-on-strengthening-and-promoting-innovation-in-the-nations-cybersecurity/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/M-22-09.pdf https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-19-02-vulnerability-remediation-requirements-internet-accessible-systems https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-22-01-reducing-significant-risk-known-exploited-vulnerabilities

BOD 23-01: Improving Asset Visibility and Vulnerability Detection on Federal Networks | CISA

76. VA Directive 6550, Pre-Procurement Assessment and Implementation of Medical Devices/Systems, June 03, 2019

77. VA Memorandum, “VA Security Controls,” January 17, 2025, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010

78. E.O. 13960, “Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government,” December 3, 2020

79. E.O. 14319, “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government,” July 23, 2025

80. OMB Memorandum M-25-21, “Accelerating Federal Use of AI through

Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust,” April 3, 2025

81. OMB Memorandum M-25-22, “Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial

Intelligence in Government,” April 3, 2025

82. OMB Memorandum M-26-04, “Increasing Public Trust in Artificial Intelligence

(AI) Through Unbiased AI Principles,” December 11, 2025

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide CCaaS concurrent licenses, project management, related consumable items, customer experience journey mapping add-ons, technical account manager services, professional services, technical support, Service Level Agreement (SLA) credits, and training.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance (PoP) shall be 12 months from date of award with four 12-month option periods. The overall PoP shall not exceed 60 months.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO). If required, the CO may designate the Contractor to work during holidays and weekends.

There are 11 Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows:

Under current definitions, five are set by date:

New Year's Day January 1 Juneteenth June 19 Independence Day July 4 Veterans Day November 11 Christmas Day December 25

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday.

Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six are set by a day of the week and month:

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-23-01-improving-asset-visibility-and-vulnerability-detection-federal-networks https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-23-01-improving-asset-visibility-and-vulnerability-detection-federal-networks https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/M-25-21-Accelerating-Federal-Use-of-AI-through-Innovation-Governance-and-Public-Trust.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/M-25-22-Driving-Efficient-Acquisition-of-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Government.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/M-26-04-Increasing-Public-Trust-in-Artificial-Intelligence-Through-Unbiased-AI-Principles-1.pdf?_bhlid=c0113a16495d987bc33f63e3dccf35c28d6bfd15

Martin Luther King's Birthday Third Monday in January Washington's Birthday Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Thanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Tasks under this PWS shall be performed at Contractor Site, to include telework/remote. The Contractor shall identify the Contractor’s telework/remote place of performance in their submission. When emergencies, natural disasters, or special circumstances occur, the VA CCS Program Manager (PM), in coordination with VA PM will evaluate and approve changes for special circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

Work may be performed at remote locations with prior concurrence from the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

4.3 TRAVEL

The Government does not anticipate travel will be required.

4.4 KEY PERSONNEL

Key Personnel designated under this requirement are those personnel assigned to key positions or labor categories and are essential to the work performed herein. The CO will modify the contract to add or remove key personnel, as appropriate.

Key Personnel under this requirement are individuals assigned to the positions identified below:

• OEM SME Technical Account Manager

• OEM SME Professional Services (Specifically assigned to this requirement)

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide an CCaaS that meets the salient characteristics below.

The CCaaS shall be available for VA to configure for VA’s VCL Contact Center and VA Enterprise Contact Centers within 30 days after award.

The Contractor shall provide 11,000 CCaaS Concurrent licenses bundles with an option to expand to 20,000 licenses. The initial 11,000 licenses shall be available to VA within 30 days after award.

The Offeror shall demonstrate that the CCaaS meets the requirement for FedRAMP Moderate Authorization or provide documentation showing that the CCaaS is in the process of FedRAMP Moderate Authorization.

After it is fully operational and available for VA use, the CCaaS shall be available and operational 99.999% of the time each month of the PoP.

The Contractor shall provide in the Monthly Progress Report the number of licenses and consumables broken out by type.

The CCaaS shall meet the following salient characteristics:

1. Be FedRAMP authorized with a moderate impact level.

2. Integrate with VA's enterprise systems and networks.

3. Provide omnichannel communication capabilities — voice, video, email, chat, SMS/text, social media, and self-service/IVR — with seamless interaction continuity across channels (single customer context, unified history, consistent routing).

4. Have Veterans Experience Journey Tools, i.e., tools for journey mapping, intelligence, and optimization.

5. Have customer facing AI and automation capabilities like agentic chatbots, virtual agents, predictive routing, voicebots, and flexible AI stack, including Bring Your Own Large Language Model (BYO LLM), multi- Text-To-Speech/ Speech-To- Text options.

6. Be capable of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Integration to ensure integration with CRM systems such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, or Microsoft Dynamics. CRM Integration shall provide deep, native CRM integration, supporting advanced bi-directional data exchange to ensure a unified customer engagement experience across systems. Specific requirements include:

a. Bi-directional real-time data sync: Changes in the CCaaS (e.g., call events, transcripts) shall automatically update the CRM, and CRM updates (e.g., case status) shall immediately reflect in the CCaaS interface.

b. Native, embedded agent desktop: Agents shall work within Salesforce/ServiceNow/Microsoft Dynamics while CCaas components (call controls, omnichannel interactions, contact history) appear inside the CRM without the need for switching apps.

c. Deep event streaming and APIs: CCaaS shall publish events (call start, queue time, analytics) to the CRM in real time. CRM shall be able to trigger CCaaS actions (dialing, workflow changes) using REST/SDK integrations.

d. Unified workflows and Automation Workflows shall span both systems, for example:

i. Opening/closing cases automatically based on call events.

ii. Routing rules based on CRM data (VIP, SLA status, open tickets).

e. Context-rich screen-pop Customer records, case details, and interaction history shall appear instantly when an interaction begins.

f. Full omnichannel interaction capture within the CRM.

g. All CCaaS interactions including voice, SMS, chat, email, shall automatically log to the CRM with transcripts, analytics, and sentiment where supported.

7. Have an “Agent Assistant” and Supervisor Assistant (Coaching, Compliance and Performance) for Real-Time Guidance and Productivity to include:

a. Live Coaching Signals: Real-time alerts for compliance breaches, sentiment drop, long silences, hold times, escalation risk, and adherence issues.

b. Automated Scoring & Feedback: AI-assisted Quality Management (QM) scoring with customizable rubrics; coaching plan generation; track follow-up outcomes.

c. Burst Monitoring & Triage: Auto-detect spikes by queue/topic; recommend containment actions (knowledge updates, routing changes, staffing adjustments).

d. Just-in-Time Intervention: Whisper, barge-in, or message assist with templated guidance aligned to policy.

e. Minimum performance: guidance latency ≤ 1.5 sec; alert latency ≤ 5 sec;

8. Knowledge Management:

a. Unified Knowledge Graph: Ingest from CRM, CMS, SharePoint, Confluence, product docs; de-duplicate and version content with lifecycle governance.

b. Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG): AI answers must cite source documents and effective dates; allow human validation workflow.

c. Authoring & Governance: Role based authoring, approvals, review cycles;

A/B testing of articles; expiry and mandatory rereview.

d. Relevance & Feedback Loops: Article ranking by usage, solve rate, freshness; agent thumbs up/down feeds autotuning.

9. Have Conversational Transcripts AI Guides that enable capture and usability of conversations for automation design.

10. Have Open Cloud Protocols including WebSocket-protocol for real-time audio capture and processing.

11. Utilize Continuous Cloud Delivery including:

a. Cloud-native architecture with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, high availability, and disaster recovery.

b. Security and compliance adherence.

12. Bring Your Own (BYO) Carrier, integration with existing telecommunication carriers and flexible telephony options.

13. Have Unified Communications (UC) Platform Integration which provides dashboard views with real-time analytics and Customer Experience (CX) monitoring.

14. Have App Marketplace Integration with certified and easily deployable integrations.

15. Provide real-time encounter context and screen-pop for agents by querying Oracle Cerner EHRM via standards-based APIs (e.g., FHIR R4/SMART on FHIR and Cerner Ignite APIs).

16. The solution shall be built on microservices-based architecture. The solution shall demonstrate all of the following characteristics:

a. Individual components are deployed as independently scalable, loosely coupled services.

b. Services can be updated, replaced, or maintained without requiring downtime or redeployment of the entire platform.

c. The architecture supports fault isolation, ensuring that failure in one service does not interrupt overall system availability.

d. The platform provides API-driven integration between services and with external systems.

e. The design enables elastic scaling, allowing services to independently scale based on real-time demand.

17. Adhere to compliance and security protocols such as HIPAA, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and VA policies.

18. Be a browser-based agent desktop.

19. Have Quality Management to include:

a. The platform must provide comprehensive quality-management capabilities, including native call and screen recording, configurable quality-scoring frameworks, and the ability to track performance outcomes across agents, teams, and lines of business.

b. Solutions shall support automated evaluation, AI-assisted insights, and seamless integration with coaching and performance-management workflows.

20. Have Workforce Management to include:

a. The CCaaS solution must include workforce management and optimization features designed to forecast workload, schedule staffing, monitor adherence, and support proactive service level management.

b. Workforce engagement capabilities—such as gamification, performance dashboards, employee feedback loops, and self-service schedule management—shall be included or available as integrated modules.

21. Have Supportability and Continuous Improvement to include:

a. Robust analytics and reporting capabilities that enable monitoring of operational KPIs, trend analysis, and identification of improvement opportunities.

b. Real-time dashboards, historical reporting, and AI-driven insights to inform operational decisions and strategic planning. The dashboards shall display the following metrics:

i. Real-Time Dashboard Metrics:

• Call Volume: The number of incoming, outgoing, and abandoned calls.

• Average Wait Time: The average time customers spend waiting to be connected to an agent.

• Service Level: Percentage of calls answered within a predefined time frame.

• Agent Availability: Current status of agents (e.g., Available, On Call, In Break, etc.).

• First Call Resolution: Percentage of calls resolved during the first interaction without escalation.

• Call Handling Time: Average duration of calls handled by agents.

• Customer Satisfaction Score: Real-time feedback and satisfaction ratings.

• Call Queue Lengths: Current and historical lengths of call queues.

• Interactions Per Channel: Insights into various channels like chat, email, social media, and their respective volumes.

ii. Historical Reporting Metrics:

• Trends in Call Volumes: Daily, weekly, monthly analysis of call volumes.

• Agent Performance Metrics: Average handle times, wrap-up times, resolution rates.

• Customer Satisfaction Trends: Analysis over various periods.

• Cost Analysis: Operational costs associated with handling interactions.

• Peak Times Analysis: Identifying busiest times requiring more staffing.

iii. Operational Insights:

• Resource Allocation: Optimizing agent scheduling based on peak call times and forecasted demand.

• Performance Benchmarks: Identifying underperforming areas or agents for targeted training initiatives.

• Service Bottlenecks: Pinpointing choke points in service delivery causing delays or customer dissatisfaction.

• Customer Feedback Loop: Regular analysis of customer feedback for continual service improvement.

iv. Strategic Insights:

• Customer Behavior Patterns: Trends in how and when customers contact the VA, helping in planning resource allocation and channel strategies.

• Campaign Effectiveness: Gauging the success of outreach or informational campaigns through interaction metrics.

• Predictive Analytics: Using historical data to forecast future call volumes and staffing needs, helping pre-emptively manage resources.

• Improvement Opportunities: Identifying areas where enhancements can be made to technology, processes, and training programs to achieve strategic goals.

c. Advanced interaction analytics such as intent mining, enabling the identification of common drivers of contact, emerging issues, and opportunities for process improvements.

d. Caller sentiment analysis should be available across channels to gauge customer emotion, detect frustration or escalation risk, and support more effective quality monitoring and service-experience improvement strategies.

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5.1.1. TECHNICAL KICK-OFF/TRANSITION MEETING

The Contractor shall hold a transitional technical kickoff meeting within 10 days after the award. The Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the details of the intended approach, work plan, and project schedule for each effort. The Contractor shall specify dates, locations (can be virtual), agenda (shall be provided to all attendees at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting), and meeting minutes (shall be provided to all attendees within three (3) calendar days after the meeting). The Contractor shall invite the CO, Contract Specialist (CS), COR, and the VA PM(s).

5.1.2. MONTHLY PROJECT MEETINGS

The Contractor shall participate in monthly Project Meetings with VA technical staff, project managers, and/or executives either in person or via teleconference. These meetings shall cover technical and management topics including but are not limited to:

• Service ordering, acceptance, and ongoing performance.

• SLA compliance

• Chronic problems and plans to resolve.

• Service risks and mitigations.

• Invoices and billing details, adjustments, and disputes.

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deliverables and their current

Section 508 conformance status.

• Issues that arise to ensure they are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues.

• Other items as directed by VA.

The Contractor shall document meeting highlights, minutes, and progress tracking through completion of all assigned action items and deliver the meeting documentation to the CO, COR, or VA PM.

5.1.3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall deliver to the PM and COR a Monthly Report pertaining to the CCaaS Concurrent Agent License Bundle, Consumables, and Overage. This report shall detail the status of each required data element, ensuring the data is current as of the last day of the preceding month.

Additionally, the report shall include an itemized list of all Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deliverables, specifying the conformance status of each with Section 508 requirements.

Deliverable:

A. Monthly Progress Report

5.2 OEM SME TECHNICAL ACCOUNT MANAGER SERVICES

VA will identify and provide all Government‑Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Electronic Permission Access System (ePAS) permissions required for the dedicated OEM SME TAM performance.

The Contractor shall provide one Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Subject Matter Expert (SME) Technical Account Manager (TAM) dedicated to this requirement for 40 hours per week for the respective time zones (Eastern, Central and Pacific) throughout the PoP. After-hours emergency OEM SME TAM services shall be available if required when the dedicated OEM SME TAM is off hours or during federal holidays.

Off-hours is defined as 5:00pm to 7:00am local time.

Through the OEM SME TAM services, the Contractor shall, at a minimum and in coordination with the VA PM and VA COR,

(a) provide license, software, and maintenance;

(b) provide technical assistance involved in providing CCaaS, changes, program adoption, and team engagement;

(c) identify and anticipate the technical impact of VA-directed changes through risk mitigation;

(d) drive technical issues to resolution while providing project updates;

(e) provide strategy focused on the technical solutions and processes needed to meet business requirements; and

(f) provide scheduled operational reviews to discuss performance metrics, critical issues, and plans for new deployments.

5.3 OEM SME PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

VA will require professional services for taskings for VA CCS Engineers during the base year, any optional period(s), and for any optional task(s). Each VA tasking for professional services will have a clearly defined ceiling of hours and specific task objectives. For example, "VA requests 100 hours of CC's Professional Services for Contact Center configuration services related to authentication issues.

The Contractor shall provide OEM SME Professional Services (PS) for up to 5,000 hours during the PoP. Additionally, the Technical Account Manager (TAM) will be notified or copied on all service requests by VA, including details such as the requested level of effort and the nature of the work to be performed.

The Contractor shall ensure that the OEM SME PS is available eight hours a day five days a week for the respective time zones (Eastern, Central and Pacific). OEM SME PS should be considered an “on call” resource for the CCaaS standard 24x7x365 and prepared to address issues as needed. The Contractor shall have the CCaaS Solution certifications and provide the certificates to the COR.

5.4 TRAINING

The Contractor shall provide training for VA’s CCS Engineers and VA’s Enterprise Contact Centers Agents.

The training for VA’s CCS Engineers shall include:

1. A Comprehensive Training Program. The training program for engineers should encompass the following components:

• Foundational Knowledge: Basic understanding of the CCaaS platform architecture, components, and operation.

• Technical Expertise: In-depth technical training on system configuration, deployment, and maintenance.

• Hands-on Experience: Opportunities to engage in practical, scenario-based exercises to apply learned concepts in a controlled environment.

2. Modular Training Approach. To cater to varying levels of expertise and distinct functional roles, the training should be divided into modules:

• Advanced Module: For experienced engineers; emphasizes troubleshooting, optimization, and advanced features.

• Specialized Modules: For specific roles such as system administrators, network engineers, and application developers.

3. Certification and Continuing Education

• Certification: Engineers should have the option to obtain certification upon completion of training modules, verifying their proficiency.

• Continuing Education: Regularly updated courses and materials should be available to ensure engineers remain current with new technologies, system updates, and best practices.

• Online Training: Self-paced e-learning modules accessible remotely.

• Tailored Training Programs: Customizable training solutions to meet the specific needs of different engineering teams and projects.

The Contractor shall provide a training program for VA’s Contact Center Agents that shall equip them with the knowledge and skills required for efficient operation and customer satisfaction. The training for VA’s Contact Center Agents shall include:

• Structured Training Schedule

• Weekly Live Virtual Training Sessions: Agents will participate in live virtual training sessions held on a weekly basis.

4. Four Main Courses: The training will cover four critical areas:

• Agent Training: Focusing on day-to-day operational skills and customer interaction best practices.

• Supervisor Training: Empowering supervisors with the tools and strategies needed for effective team management.

• Quality Management Training: Ensuring agents understand quality standards and how to maintain high service levels.

• Reporting Training: Educating agents and supervisors on how to interpret and utilize operational reports.

• Each course should be delivered in one-hour blocks

• Ad hoc sessions for any of the four courses, as requested.

Approximately 3–4 weeks after migrating to the CCaaS, the Contractor shall:

• Collaboration with Unified Communications (UC) teams and business units to assess the need for follow-up training.

• Conduct a thorough needs assessment to identify any additional training requirements based on real-world operational experience and feedback.

• Dashboard Validation: Ensuring that appropriate dashboards are in place to meet customer operational needs. This includes verifying that the dashboards are configured correctly to provide the necessary insights and performance metrics.

5.5 TECHNICAL SUPPORT

VA requires high availability and high accessibility for its 20,000 contact center agents distributed among VA’s 68 contact centers, which receive a minimally estimated volume of 140 million contacts per year.

The Contractor shall provide 24x7x365 technical support for the CCaaS.

The Severity levels assigned to an issue are defined in Table 1 below. “Severity” is defined as the impact an issue has on the VA’s ability to the agency’s conduct contact center environment. Issue severity levels are defined below. The Contractor shall:

1. Respond by phone within 10 minutes of receipt of VA’s call with a Critical issue and resolve the issue within two hours.

2. Respond by phone within 10 minutes of receipt of VA’s call with a High Impact issue and resolve the issue within two hours.

3. Respond by phone within two hours of receipt of VA’s call with a Moderate Impact issue and resolve the issue within 24 hours.

4. Respond by phone within four hours of receipt of VA’s call with a Critical issue and resolve the issue within 48 hours.

Table 1 - Severity Level Definitions

Issue Severity Definition

1 - Critical impact (Code Red)

Customer is experiencing a severe problem resulting in an inability to perform a critical business function.

Severe impact or degradation to the customer's business operations caused by intermittent disruption of CCaaS. There is no workaround.

2 - High impact Customer is able to perform job functions, but performance is degraded or limited. CCaaS is available and operational. The customer is able to perform job functions, but performance is degraded or severely limited.

3 - Medium impact Customer’s ability to perform job functions is largely unaffected, but noncritical functions or procedures are unusable or hard to use. CCaaS is available and operational. The customer’s ability to perform job functions is largely unaffected, but noncritical functions or procedures are unusable or hard to use. A workaround is available.

4 - Low impact CCaaS is available and operational. Trivial impact to customer's business operations or customer requires information or assistance on the CCaaS capabilities or configuration.

5.6 SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) CREDITS

The Contractor shall provide a Monthly Uptime/Downtime Report as part of the Monthly Progress Report.

Uptime. “Uptime” is defined as the percentage of time during a month (not including Uptime Exclusions) in which all CCaaS functionality necessary to perform real-time interactions between Customer and its customers/clients (e.g. inbound voice, outbound voice, IVR routing) are accessible. Uptime percentage is calculated as follows: Uptime = (A B+C)/A; where A = total time in the month, B = time during the month in which critical business functions are not accessible, and C = time of Uptime Exclusions during the month.

Credits. If the CCaaS Service Uptime falls below the thresholds in the table below in any one-month billing cycle, the Contractor shall agree that VA will be entitled to the credits defined below. The credits shall be provided to VA within the next billing cycle.

The applicable credit is a percentage of VA’s monthly committed Subscription Fees as defined in the Service Order and is applicable only to Annual Prepay or Annual Month to

Month contracts. The percentage applies to either the monthly committed Subscription fees, or if paid annually the annual minimum committed Subscription Fees, pro-rated for a one-month period.

Uptime % Credit %

Below 99.99% 10%

Below 99.0% 30% Below 97% 100%

Credit Requests and Payment. OEM Technical Account Manager (TAM) must request a credit within thirty (30) days after the month in which the uptime fell below one of the foregoing thresholds. OEM TAM must contact its CCaaS customer success manager to request the credit. Upon OEM TAM’s valid request, CCaaS will apply the applicable credit to the following month’s invoice. If VA is on an annual pre-payment structure, Contractor shall provide the applicable credit as a credit to the prepaid balance or a credit refund, at VA’s discretion.

In the event the customer requests an SLA credit due to the VA directed OEM system falling below any of the Uptime thresholds identified above, any credit granted by the VA directed OEM shall be incorporated in the Contractor's next monthly invoice after the credit has been granted to the Contractor. The Contractor shall indicate the credit on its invoice for COR approval. The SLA Credit and payment applies only to that portion of the Contractor's invoice which is directly attributable to the VA directed OEM and not the overall awarded contract value.

5.7 OPTIONAL TASK: ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The Contractor shall furnish all tasks and services as optional tasks. Optional tasks may be exercised by VA at any time during the base period or during any exercised option periods, at the sole discretion of VA. Upon receipt of a written notice of exercise from

VA, the Contractor shall provide all required access and associated capabilities within five (5) calendar days. VA will retain full authority to configure and administer the applicable products within the Contractor’s cloud environment.

Deliverables:

A. CCaaS Concurrent User License Bundle B. Consumables and Overage C. Training for Agents and VA CCS Engineers

6.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

6.1 ENTERPRISE AND IT FRAMEWORK

6.1.1. VA TECHNICAL REFERENCE MODEL

The Contractor shall comply with the VA OIT Technical Reference Model (VA TRM).

Compliance with the VA TRM is achieved by using only technologies and standards that are listed as approved for use in the VA TRM. The Contractor shall provide all necessary information requested by VA to ensure TRM approval is obtained prior to use on VA’s network.

6.1.2. ZERO TRUST – VA CRITICAL SECURITY CONTROLS

VA has established minimum mandatory security requirements and requires that any network connected software system or service must meet the VA Critical Security Controls as outlined in the VA Memorandum, “VA Security Controls”, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010. VA Critical Security Controls identify the minimum mandatory requirements that must be implemented across all VA enterprise infrastructure, cloud computing environments, information systems, networks, and specialized devices (medical devices/systems, special-purpose systems, and research scientific computing devices) that process, store, and/or transmit VA data. Effective July 1, 2025, the Contractor shall implement these VA Critical Security Controls, within any network connected software system or service prior to being authorized for use in the VA. This functional requirement is not negotiable, and Plan of Action & Milestones (POAM) will not be accepted in the event these controls cannot be implemented for new systems. Critical Security Controls are intended to increase VA’s security posture and provide security and privacy risk visibility into the VA network and is not a new requirement. The Contractor’s failure to maintain these VA Critical Controls after implementation will result in VA discontinuing the use of the system.

6.1.3. FEDERAL IDENTITY, CREDENTIAL, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT (FICAM)

The Contractor shall ensure Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product(s), software configuration and customization, and/or new software are Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card-enabled by accepting HSPD-12 PIV credentials using VA Enterprise Architecture (EA), and VA Identity and Access Management (IAM) approved Enterprise Technology Guidelines (ETG). The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems comply with the VA Identity, Credential, and Access Management policies and guidelines set forth in Executive Order 14028, VA Handbook 6510 VA Identity and Access Management, VA Handbook 0735 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program, CISA Binding Operational Directive 23- 01, and align with the Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management Roadmap and Implementation Guidance v2.0.

https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=5010 https://www.ea.oit.va.gov/ https://www.ea.oit.va.gov/ https://digital.va.gov/office-of-information-and-technology/reference-library/enterprise-technology-guidelines/ https://digital.va.gov/office-of-information-and-technology/reference-library/enterprise-technology-guidelines/

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems provide user authentication services compliant with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-63-3, VA Handbook 6500, and VA IAM enterprise requirements for direct, assertion based authentication, and/or trust based authentication, as determined by the ETGs. Direct authentication at a minimum must include Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) based authentication supportive of PIV card and/or Common Access Card (CAC), as determined by the business need.

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems conform to the specific Identity and Access Management PIV requirements set forth in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memoranda M-05-24, M-19-17, M-22-09, and NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-3. Contractor delivered applications and systems shall be on the FIPS 201 Approved Product List (APL). If the Contractor delivered application and system is not on the APL, the Contractor shall be responsible for taking the application and system through the FIPS 201 Evaluation Program.

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems support:

1. Automated provisioning and are able to use enterprise provisioning service.

2. Interfacing with VA’s Master Person Index (MPI) to provision identity attributes, if the solution relies on VA user identities. MPI is the authoritative source for VA user identity data.

3. The VA defined unique identity (Secure Identifier [SEC ID] / Integrated Control Number

[ICN]).

4. Multiple authenticators for a given identity and authenticators at every Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL) appropriate for the solution.

5. Identity proofing for each Identity Assurance Level (IAL) appropriate for the solution.

6. Federation for each Federation Assurance Level (FAL) appropriate for the solution, if applicable.

7. Two-factor authentication (2FA) through an applicable Technology Guideline as outlined in VA ETG.

8. A Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) implementation if the solution relies on assertion-based authentication. Additional assertion implementations, besides the required SAML assertion, may be provided as long as they are compliant with…