Q and A CECS RFP D12PS0004 - Feb19.pdf

CECS RFP D12PS00041

Industry Questions with Government Responses

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

CLOUD-BASED EMAIL AND COLLABORATION SERVICES

(CECS)

INDUSTRY QUESTIONS

WITH GOVERNMENT RESPONSES

FOR

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

D12PS00041

02/19/2012

1. Question: Can the due date be extended past the current date of February 29, 2012?

Answer: At this time, we do expect to receive adequate competition with the original RFP due date, so the DOI does not plan to extend the subject date.

2. Question: 2.1 Current Environment, p.6, "Of Interior's remaining Domino/Notes installations, half are not under current maintenance contracts and may be several revisions behind."Could you clarify the Lotus versions? Are they the same as the client versions listed on page 8?

Answer: Lotus Domino (Server) versions range from 6.5 to 8.5

3. Question: 2.1 Current Environment, p.7 DOI discusses automated "critical life and limb email notifications" that could be very high volume, they site exceeding 10,000 messages each minute inbound and outbound. Could you clarify, are you looking for the ability of one user to be able to send 10,000 messages, or is this just presenting an increase in volume of traffic. (e.g.

would one user being able to send several thousand messages in one day be sufficient?

Answer: The total volume of email may suddenly spike and “well exceed 10,000 additional messages each minute inbound and out” during certain emergency situations. This mail traffic is not typically generated by a single individual or an individual system but by many automated monitors (systems) and email notification triggers. No, “one user being able to send several thousand messages in one day” would not be sufficient.

4. Question: 2.1 Current Environment, p.7, Is the term for email journaling interchangeable with archiving? If a solution can archive content and provide e-discovery capabilities is this acceptable? If the requirement is truly journaling and the solution provides SMTP/IMAP access to mailboxes which could be used with a journaling system, is this technically feasible? We have some confusion on this requirement as we see archiving is a separate CLIN in pricing, however in 4.1.3 on page 10 it states that “such services are not in the scope of this procurement.”

Answer: No. They are distinct. A Wikipedia article on Email Journaling provides an explanation of the difference between the two, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_message_journaling : To summarize, “journaling refers to capturing information about an electronic message while it is in transit... The journaled message should be encrypted and users should not have access to their own journaled message store. Archiving, on the other hand, is primarily dedicated for [end user initiated and managed] backing up communications or removing them from their original location to an off-site location.

Archiving generally does not occur while the electronic message is in transit and users may have access to their own archived messages.” Emphasis added.

As indicated in section 4.1.3, page 10, the CECS RFP does not seek these journaling services themselves from Offerors. Instead Interior’s objectives with respect to the Cloud-based Email and Collaboration Services solicitation include obtaining services that support journaling to a separate, third party Records Management and eDiscovery service solution using industry standards. Those industry standards do not typically include IMAP access to individual mailboxes because true journaling occurs as the message is in transit and before it arrives in the mailbox.

Interior’s objectives do include obtaining services that provide users with the ability to archive their mail and other items in the cloud and/or using personal archive on the desktop.

5. Question: Can DOI please provide expected number of users of the desktop video conferencing service? C.1.b, Page 5

Answer: Full adoption is difficult to anticipate at this stage and will depend largely on the functionality of the service offering. If there are known limitations or assumptions to be made regarding the use of desktop video conferencing services included in Offeror’s service offerings, please identify these in your response.

6. Question: Please provide the average size of current mailboxes, average size of email messages, and average number of messages per day for each mailbox. C.2.1, Page 6

Answer: The question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. If there are known limitations in the offering’s available mailbox size, maximum email message size (including attachment size), and/or maximum number of email messages sent in aggregate or from a single mailbox each day, please identify these in your response. See also Interior’s request for a description of offerings’ service level agreements as it may be appropriate to indicate these limitations here. If the question asked is intended to provide information allowing the provider to estimate migration timelines, please provide these with assumptions such as “we can migrate 5,000 mailboxes per night provided that mailboxes are not larger than X GB and network speed is T1 or higher.”

7. Question: What is the volume of email internal and external to DOI? Please specify average sizes as well as any peak times. C.2.1 Page 6

Answer: The question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. If there are known limitations in the offering’s maximum capability or capacity with respect to the volume of internal or external email, please identify these in your response. See also Interior’s request for a description of offerings’ service level agreements, as it may be appropriate to indicate these limitations here.

8. Question: What is the expected percentage of encrypted mail compared to total outbound mail? C.2.1 Page 6

Answer: Interior is unable to gather this information from across its email systems in a manner timely enough to respond to this question. However, it is safe to assume that the majority outbound mail sent by DOI is not encrypted. If there are known limitations in the provider’s ability to process encrypted mail, please identify these.

9. Question: What is the required retention period for quarantined email? C.2.1 Page 6

Answer: Interior has not defined a retention period specific to quarantined mail. Please identify the offering’s standard retention period for quarantined mail.

10. Question: Support for Journaling to the Agency third party provider is listed as an objective. Please provide the information for the third party provider and level of Journaling support required from email service providers. Also please specify when this support will be required during implementation. C.4.1, Page 9

Answer: Interior has not yet selected an Electronic Document and Records Management System to which information from CECS services will be journaled. However, Interior’s intent is to obtain an electronic records management system that can consume industry standard journaled email.

11. Question: Please identify the single sign on and smartcard process currently being used or in production. C.4.1, Page 9

Answer: Interior employs HSPD-12 PIV Smartcards, Entrust PKI, and Active Directory integration.

12. Question: What are DOI’s requirements in the area of application-generated and device-generated email? This includes emails generated by multi-function devices, monitoring alerts and email notifications produced by various applications (financial, payroll, various workflow apps, etc). C4.1.4, Page 10-11

Answer: See section C.2.1, “Interior’s myriad automated systems and email capable devices employ POP3, IMAP, and SMTP internally to manage and distribute mail.” Interior does not presume to dictate any requirement specific to these services except to indicate that they constitute the current state and must be considered in responses. Related to this question, please note also in C.2.1., “some of these systems generate automated, critical life and limb email notifications during emergencies such as earthquake and tsunami events. In addition to the critically time-sensitive nature of these communications, the volume of mail generated during such events can well exceed 10,000 additional messages each minute inbound and out.”

13. Question: Does DOI have a preferred Trusted Internet Connection 2.0 provider currently being used? C.4.3.Page 12

Answer: DOI provides TIC service for its Internet facing services. As indicated in the RFP, Offerors must propose an architecture and interconnection solution that meets TIC 2.0 requirements related to the services they provide.

14. Question: What is the make/model of the HSPD-12 smartcard used at DOI? C.6.1, p. 14

Answer: Interior uses standard FIPS-201 PIV smartcards. A list of approved cards can be found at http://fips201ep.cio.gov/apl.php

15. Question: Will DOI provide access to its Learning Management System for training in areas such as Government Regulations, DOI-specific security awareness program, and any specialized security trainings? C.6.7, Page 16, C.4.2, Page 11

Answer: If required and upon completion of successful background investigation, yes. Not all such training material may be made available via the Learning Management System and may be provided using other means.

16. Question: Please provide a definition for DOI’s understanding of Personal Mailbox Archiving and Journal Archiving. C.7.0, Page 16

Answer: Please see Question 4, above.

17. Question: Period of Performance notes the Base Period from contract award through 4/30/2013; however, the RFP cover letter states the base period of performance to be one year from contract award. Realizing the anticipated award date is April 30, 2012, in the event an award is not made by April 30, 2012; will DOI extend the base period to reflect a full year? F.1, Answer: Yes.

18. Question: The RFP states if the quantity of a unit-priced item in this contract is an estimated quantity and the actual quantity of the unit-priced item varies more than five percent above the estimated quantity, an equitable adjustment in the contract price shall be made upon demand of either party. Will that same adjustment be applied if the actual quantity is less than the estimated amount? G.7, Page 26

Answer: No. The Government expects to pay only for actual quantities utilized each month up to the NTE ceiling. If the ceiling is (expected to be) exceeded, we are asking for flexibility to waive overage costs up to the 5%. As we approach the 5% limit both parties work towards a modification for the subject equitable adjustment. It is implied that any quantity exceeding 5% will be priced at or below the awarded unit price.

19. Question: The RFP states services must adhere to standards of practice set forth by relevant DOI policies, federal, state, and local laws. Can the bidders be provided a copy of DOI’s referenced policy? H.11, Page 29

Answer: All necessary documents and or references have been included with the RFP.

20. Question: Subparagraph b refers to “disturbing” work guaranteed under a separate contract. Please clarify what is being referenced as the requirement is currently vague and open-ended. H.22b, Page 34

Answer: When (if) an overlap occurs, cooperation may be required between contractor parties.

21. Question: Please confirm whether requirements L.2.2 (i – v) which addresses FAR 52.215-1 #2 are deleted and replaced by requirements L.6.2.3a which addresses the items to include on the Cover and Title Pages? L.2.2, page 67

Answer: Use 52.212-1 for the 1st page of your proposal but use L.6 for the cover page.

22. Question: Section H.15, L.2 and L.6 offer conflicting instructions on the disclaimers to be used in the event bidders provide trade secret or confidential material. Please confirm which statement(s) should be used. L.2. 52.215-1 #3e, Page 68-69 H.15 #2 b and c, Page 30 L.6.2.2, Page 67

Answer: Use H.15 and comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements.

23. Question: Where in our response shall we include the SF 33? L.6.2.0 Page 73

SF 33

Answer: As a separate document.

24. Question: Where in our response shall Attachment 2, Technical Acceptability Checklist and Attachment 3, Traceability Matrix for all Factors & Subfactors be included? L.6.2.0 Page 73 Attachment 2 and Attachment 3

Answer: Attachment 2 – should be a separate document from technical and price proposal.

Attachment 3 – should be included as part of the technical proposal.

25. Question: May bidders include a Transmittal Letter with the response? If so, where in the response should the letter be included? L.6.2.0, Page 73

Answer: Yes. It may be a separate document.

26. Question: The RFP requires Bidders to respond using 12-point font. May Bidders use a smaller, still readable font for the following: headers, footers, and RFP requirement text? L.6.2.1, Answer: Yes headers and footers may be 10 point.

27. Question: Several requested documents/samples do not comply with font restrictions and they are not available in a native MS Office format for font adjustments. Please confirm that it is permissible to submit those documents as is. L.6.2.1, Page 73

Answer: Yes.

28. Question: Is it permissible for bidders to submit documents not available in Microsoft Office format in Adobe PDF format only (e.g., audited financial statements, insurance documentation, etc.)? L.6.2.1, Page 73

Answer: No. We are not asking for the information used in your example.

29. Question: Offerors are restricted in the way they are allowed to obtain and use licensing from the manufacturer of the software that will be the foundation of the proposed solution. The most cost-effective option is for the CECS provider to acquire the software licensing on DOI’s behalf using an existing Government purchasing agreement DOI has directly with the OEM software manufacturer. Will DOI be willing to allow their CECS provider to purchase software licensing on DOI’s behalf using an established DOI purchasing agreement it has with the OEM software maker?

Answer: No.

30. Question: Ref: Schedule of Deliverables, Page 1. DOI indicates it requires test user accounts be established within 7 days after award to validate CECS functionality and perform user acceptance testing. How many test accounts will be required? And can these test accounts be on a generic domain? Or does DOI intend to migrate an actual DOI mail domain (e.g.

ios.doi.gov) to conduct the test?

Answer: Interior requests pricing for 200 test accounts. These may be generic in nature and are not intended for migration from DOI mailboxes. Nonetheless, test accounts should be fully configured to reflect the full suite of services provided with the complete service offering.

31. Question: Ref: RFP Sections 4.1 and 4.1.3, Page 9. Issue/Context: Support for journaling to the Agency’s chosen third party provider. Is the implementation of message journaling a requirement within this RFP? Or is the “ability” to implement journaling within the end state design the requirement?

Answer: Please see Question 4, above.

32. Question: Ref: RFP Section 4.1, Pages 9 and 10 - Issue/Context: Robust and rapid search (full text) capability to enable forensics and e-discovery across all data, including active and archived files. In following NARA approved records schedules, please define legal hold retention times including non-records that would impact storage requirements.

Answer: Interior is not interested in pursuing solutions that automatically delete content older than “X” number of days. Instead it anticipates users will manage their online and near-line email through mailbox size quotas and personal archives, whether those are located in the cloud or on personal workstations.

33. Question: Ref: RFP Section 4.1, Page 10. Issue/Context: Collaboration Services, including web-based tools and services that enable employees to share documents and other information using collaborative team sites. Will existing collaboration workspaces be subject to migration to the new shared workspace?

Answer: Potentially, yes. Offerors are free to quote optional Collaboration Services migration services in their proposals.

34. Question: Ref: RFP Section 4.1, Page 10. Issue/Context: Collaboration Services, including web-based tools and services that enable employees to share documents and other information using collaborative team sites. Has DOI defined specific requirements for the shared workspace infrastructure, in regards to the number of team sites and storage that would impact storage requirements?

Answer: It is difficult to anticipate future needs based on continuous growth of collaboration services. And the question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. If there are known limitations in the offering’s available storage or total number of team sites, please identify these in your response. See also Interior’s request for a description of offerings’ service level agreements, as it may be appropriate to indicate these limitations here.

35. Question: Ref: RFP Section 4.1, Page 10. Issue/Context: Collaboration Services, including web-based tools and services that enable employees to share documents and other information using collaborative team sites. Will DOI require advanced scenarios for business intelligence, application integration and InfoPath forms?

Answer: The question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. If there are limitations in the offering’s collaborative services suite, please identify these in your response. See also Interior’s request for a description of offerings’ service level agreements, as it may be appropriate to indicate these limitations here. Please also note that Interior also does not presume the use of InfoPath as a solution for forms management.

36. Question: Ref: Section 11.6.2 of Attachment 4. Issue/Context: Ability to require Authentication of users and devices over Transport Layer Security (TLS), Version 1.0, using FIPS 140-2 compliant and NIST validated encryption modules and algorithms, using a user name and password in conformance with DOI policies regarding enforcement of password lengths, complexity, re-use/history constraints, and change frequency requirements. Does DOI require that the data residing on the mobile devices be encrypted?

Answer: As a matter of general policy used to determine which mobile devices are supported when connecting to what data, yes. Please review RFP Section 4.1.1 for more information on objectives related to mobile device connectivity as distinct from mobile device management.

37. Question: Can Offeror assume CISO/CSA sponsorship and involvement in achieving ATO at the FISMA Moderate level for the proposed solution(s)?

Answer: The question of sponsorship appears to suggest achieving ATO through the FedRAMP process. With the estimated contract award date being April 30, 2012, and the Government’s Operational Readiness and Acceptance Testing (GORAT) expected to be completed within 45 days of award (which would be by June 14, 2012) it is highly unlikely that FedRAMP will have achieved its Initial Operating Capability (IOC - currently targeted for June 2012) in time for the

Cloud Service Provider (CSP) to obtain provisional ATO from the Joint Authorization Board (JAB). Should FedRAMP be prepared sooner and the CSP believes they can navigate the FedRAMP process and obtain provisional ATO by the JAB without adverse impact to DOI’s acquisition and implementation timelines and objectives, then the CSP will be responsible for submitting the FedRAMP Request Form and Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199 worksheet to the FedRAMP PMO to initiate the FedRAMP process and DOI will serve as the sponsoring agency. DOI anticipates FedRAMP releasing an initial list of Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs) in the April 2012 timeframe. The CSP can select from among those 3PAOs approved by FedRAMP to utilize as the independent assessor without further consultation or approval by DOI.

38. Question: Please provide details for enhanced DOI - specific security requirements, 4.1 Business Objectives page 10, and C page 81.

Answer: The enhanced DOI-specific security requirements refer to the IT Security and Privacy Requirements Document (Attachment 4 to the solicitation), the eighteen DOI Security Control Family Standards and the Privacy Loss Mitigation Strategy (PLMS) document that were included in the available downloads posted with the solicitation.

39. Question: Please explain inverse escalation in the project's option years as referred in B.10 on page 3.

Answer: The Government expects competitive pricing for the cloud-hosting portion of this project to be priced using a strategy that captures cost saving envisioned through the decreasing price of cloud hosting (storage costs & economies of scale) in the future. As the pricing for outsourcing server space decreases, we expect that savings to be passed along to the Government. De-escalation of prices in the project’s option years is expected.

40. Question: Is it Government’s preference to award to a single awardee or multiple awardees (including a small business)?

Answer: A Single Award will be made as a result of this solicitation.

41. Question: Under Project Phases, it would appear that Phases II and III are central to the results sought by this solicitation. Would the Government define what it means by the term “optional” in the context of these two tasks?

Answer: The GORAT will constitute the base award. Successful completion of the GORAT (Phase I) will result in award of subsequent phases.

42. Question: In what section of Volume I should the Technical Acceptability Checklist be placed?

Answer: Attachment 2 – should be a separate document from technical and price proposal.

43. Question: In what section of Volume I should the Traceability Matrix for all Factors & SubFactors be placed?

Answer: Attachment 3 – should be included as part of the technical proposal.

44. Question: Can the Offeror include relevant past performance citations for subcontractors who are members of the Offeror’s team? L.7, Section 4 p .76

Answer: Yes.

45. Question: Can the Offeror include relevant nongovernmental past performance citations?

L.7, Section 4 p. 76

Answer: Yes.

46. Question: In the Transition Objectives, it would appear that only the migration of email would be required. Will the Government require migration of Calendars or Contact data?

Answer: Yes. Interior considers email to be inclusive of calendars, contacts, and tasks and in-scope for migration.

47. Question: Does the DOI currently leverage the BlackBerry Enterprise server and will DOI continue to leverage this in the future? If DOI plans on leveraging the Blackberry Enterprise Servers, will DOI provide the on-premise hardware or Virtual Machines for these servers?

Answer: Today, Interior leverages internally managed BlackBerry Enterprise Servers. Per section C.4.1.1, “as is the case for email services generally, Interior’s objective is to obtain mobile device connectivity solutions from the Offeror, replacing on-premise systems.” Interior does not presume to dictate to Offerors how this objective is achieved.

48. Question: In order to meet the objective of migration of email data, the contractor will require Lotus Domino servers that are incorporated and/or have read access with the DOI’s Domino environment to access and to migrate the mail data. Will DOI be responsible for supplying the necessary virtual machines to complete this migration process? If the contractor is supplying the migration servers, will DOI provide connection and access from the contractor’s datacenter to the DOI’s Lotus Notes environment?

Answer: Offerors are free to propose their recommended migration tactics and associated assumptions. Please reference L.7, Section 2, Technical Assumptions and Section 3, Technical Proposal for detail.

49. Question: Format- To conserve space and provide readability, is it acceptable to use the standard 8 point Arial font for all tables and graphics? SOO 2.1 p.73 of 84

Answer: Yes.

50. Question: Directory Services and Authentication - Will the DOI permit the option of deploying the new solution into the current DOI.net forest by extending that forest into the providers FISMA-moderate datacenter?

Answer: Interior does not presuppose solutions to accomplish directory services and authentication integration and/or interoperability - Offerors are encouraged to propose recommended and alternative solutions. Without additional information, this particular example appears to exceed Interior’s Cloud based Email and Collaboration Services objective in that it presumes the extension of Interior’s on-premise Active Directory authentication systems into the provider’s cloud. Depending on the architecture proposed to support such a solution, additional information security and regulatory compliance requirements may be relevant that are not included with the RFP.

51. Question: Directory Services and Authentication - Please define the required an Active Directory resource forest model for this program?

Answer: This question is unclear. Interior does not presume that an Active Directory resource forest is required. Nor does it intend to dictate Software as a Service cloud-service infrastructure component requirement. If an Active Directory resource forest is proposed and/or required then it must meet the same security and regulatory compliance requirements identified in the RFP and attachments.

52. Question: Messaging - Within your table on page 8 (Fig1) there are a few departments that are not part of the DOI.net forest – specifically DOEMRE and BIE. When will those agencies be consolidated into the larger forest? SOO 2.1 p. 8 of 84

Answer: “DOEMRE” is not an Interior bureau or acronym. If the question relates to BOEMRE, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, do note that on October 1, 2011, the Department of the Interior (DOI) formally establish two new, independent bureaus – the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – to carry out the offshore energy management and safety and environmental oversight missions currently under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).

On May 19, 2010, Secretary Salazar signed a Secretarial Order that directed the division of MMS into three separate organizations, BSEE, BOEM and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), each with separate and clearly defined missions. MMS was renamed BOEMRE in mid-June 2010. ONRR became a separate office under the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget on Oct. 1, 2010. For the purposes of this RFP, ONRR, BOEM, and BSEE are referenced collectively as “BOEMRE” in the attached “DOI Bureau and Office As-Is State” table.

Support for the BIE is not within the scope of this project at this time.

53. Question: Messaging - How many GB of email data will the DOI be looking to migrate into the new solution?

Answer: The amount of mail Interior migrates from its on premise legacy systems and personal archives to the cloud service provider is dependent on two factors:

1. Mailbox size

2. The impact of migration on Interior’s timeline Offerors are free to propose their recommended migration tactics and associated assumptions.

Please reference L.7, Section 2, Technical Assumptions and Section 3, Technical Proposal for detail.

54. Question: Messaging - Will the DOI want to migrate all archival solutions into the new platform? If so – please specify how many GB of data in each solution.

Answer: The amount of mail Interior migrates from its on premise legacy systems and personal archives to the cloud service provider is dependent on several factors including:

1. Migration service offerings and pricing

2. Standard mailbox size / price

3. Incremental size increase (block size) / price

4. The impact of migration on Interior’s timeline Offerors are free to propose their recommended migration tactics and associated assumptions.

Please reference L.7, Section 2, Technical Assumptions and Section 3, Technical Proposal for detail.

55. Question: Messaging - What growth percentages per year is the DOI expecting with regards to mailbox size or amount of data in the overall system?

Answer: The question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. If there are known limitations in the offering’s maximum available mailbox size, please identify these in your response. See also Interior’s request for a description of offerings’ service level agreements, as it may be appropriate to indicate these limitations here.

56. Question: Messaging - Are there Disaster Recovery “hot site” requirements? What are your Recovery Point Objective (RPO) / Recovery Time Objective (RTO) requirements?

Answer: Interior’s primary objectives include obtaining a suite of highly available cloud-based email and collaboration service offerings. Note sections C.4.3, L.7 and M.3 for reference.

Interior does not presume to dictate to Offerors how this is achieved. Interior fully expects that RPO and RTO measures are included in Offeror’s description of Service Level Agreements and discussion of how these metrics are measured. See Sections L.7.A.2 and M.6.A.2 in particular

57. Question: Messaging - What are your back-up requirements as it relates to message storage? Please specify and retention requirements such as location, size, etc…

Answer: The question is not relevant to Interior’s intention to obtain a commodity service as outlined in the SOO. Interior understands that Cloud Email service providers use a variety of methods to ensure adequate backup and recovery capability. Interior’s primary objectives include obtaining a suite of highly available cloud-based email and collaboration service offerings. Please review Section C.4.3 of the RFP.

58. Question: Messaging - Will DOI continue to grow the BES environment or will the DOI be shifting towards a smartphone (iOS/Android/Windows) model? SOO 4.1.1 p. 10 of 84

Answer: The question is not relevant. If Offeror intends to sunset support for certain kinds of mobile devices identified in Section C.4.1.1, please indicate this in your RFP response.

Messaging: Are public folders required? If so how much GB of data will be in Public Folders?

Answer: “Public Folders” is a reference to a product specific solution to address a need to share email (and other) data among groups of interested stakeholders. Interior’s objectives include obtaining such group sharing capabilities integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services suite but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

The amount of data Interior may store using any such solution will depend substantially on the Offeror’s standard service offerings with respect to:

1. Standard offering size / price

2. Incremental size increase / price

59. Question: Messaging - What other 3rd party applications (such as Unified Messaging solutions) are in use or will be in use in the future that need to be integrated into the email solution?

Answer: In addition to a host of custom SharePoint and Domino applications, there are additional systems deployed throughout Interior that use the email system for document routing, address lookups, and similar functions. Phased migration of these services to either the provider’s cloud-based alternatives or internal systems is anticipated. Detailed migration planning depends largely on provider’s capability. If there are limitations (or additional capabilities) inherent in Offeror’s suite of services, please identify these.

60. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Are there Disaster Recovery “hot site” requirements? What are your RPO/RTO requirements?

Answer: Interior’s primary objectives include obtaining a suite of highly available cloud-based email and collaboration service offerings. Note sections C.4.3, L.7 and M.3 for reference.

Interior does not presume to dictate to Offerors how this is achieved. Interior fully expects that RPO and RTO measures are included in Offeror’s description of Service Level Agreements and discussion of how these metrics are measured. See Sections L.7.A.2 and M.6.A.2 in particular.

61. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - What requirements does DOI have regarding SameTime migration, if any? SOO 2.1 p. 8 of 84

Answer: The objective of the solicitation is to replace existing, on-premise technology with integrated, fully managed, SaaS service offerings for the DOI Enterprise. Phased migration of these services to either the provider’s cloud-based solution or alternative internal systems is anticipated. Detailed migration planning depends largely on provider’s capability.

62. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Will the DOI require external access to instant messaging and presence for its authenticated users?

Answer: Interior’s market research indicates this functionality is inherent in cloud-based email and collaboration service suites and that enabling it is primarily an architectural and configuration concern. Interior’s objective is to obtain services with such standard capabilities but determine for itself whether or not to enable the feature.

63. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Will the DOI require any integration with current phone systems? If so, what model/make and which bureaus?

Answer: Not at the present time.

64. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Will the DOI require Federation (IM/P with other organizations that also use Lync outside of the DOI)?

Answer: “Lync” is a specific communications and Instant Messaging product. Interior’s objectives include obtaining Instant Messaging capabilities integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

Interior’s market research indicates that “federation,” or the ability to communicate with other third party IM solutions, is not a term specific to any particular IM solution and is inherent in cloud-based email and collaboration service suites and that enabling it is a configuration change.

Interior’s objective is to obtain services with such standard capabilities but to determine for itself whether or not to federate with other providers or organizations of its choosing.

65. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Will the DOI require Public IM Connectivity (PIC)? (The ability to chat with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Jabber, Google etc.)

Answer: Interior’s market research indicates that “federation,” or the ability to communicate with other third party IM solutions, is not a term specific to any particular IM solution and is inherent in cloud-based email and collaboration service suites and that enabling it is a configuration change. Interior’s objective is to obtain services with such standard capabilities but to determine for itself whether or not to federate with other providers or organizations of its choosing. Limitations in the service’s ability to interface with any of the providers listed in the posted question (or others) should be clearly identified.

66. Question: Instant Messaging/Presence (IM/P) - Will the DOI be hosting large Web conferences? (200 plus attendees)

Answer: This question is not relevant. The RFP does not discuss “Web Conferencing.”

However, yes, Interior hosts large web conferences.

67. Question: SharePoint - How much content data is required within the new collaboration solution? 5TB, 10TB, etc.

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

It is difficult to anticipate future needs based on continuous growth of collaboration services.

Interior leverages capacity in excess of 10 terabytes of storage in support of collaborative workspaces today. The amount of data Interior may store using any such solution will depend substantially on the Offeror’s standard service offerings with respect to:

1. Standard offering size / price

2. Incremental size increase / price

68. Question: SharePoint - Will the DOI be looking to migrate data from its current iterations of SharePoint into the proposed solution? If so, how much content data will that be?

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

It is difficult to anticipate future needs based on continuous growth of collaboration services.

Interior leverages capacity in excess of 10 terabytes of storage in support of collaborative workspaces today. The amount of data Interior may migrate to any such solution will depend substantially on the Offeror’s standard service offerings with respect to:

1. Migration service offerings and pricing

2. Standard offering size / price

3. Incremental size increase (block size) / price

69. Question: SharePoint - Are there Disaster Recovery “hot site” requirements? What are your RPO/RTO requirements?

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

Interior’s primary objectives include obtaining a suite of highly available cloud-based email and collaboration service offerings. Note sections C.4.3, L.7 and M.3 for reference. Interior does not presume to dictate to Offerors how this is achieved. Interior fully expects that RPO and RTO measures are included in Offeror’s description of Service Level Agreements and discussion of how these metrics are measured. See Sections L.7.A.2 and M.6.A.2 in particular.

70. Question: SharePoint - Is FAST Search a requirement?

Answer: “FAST” and “SharePoint” are specific product solutions. Interior’s objectives include obtaining a “robust and rapid search (full text) capability” (RFP Section C.4.1) that is fully integrated in the cloud-based email and collaborative services suite. Interior does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

71. Question: SharePoint - Will there be any external non-authenticated sites hosted by the solution?

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

The RFP does not specify as a primary objective an intention to leverage cloud-based collaboration services components as publicly accessible by non-authenticated users. However, Interior’s objectives do include allowing for non-DOI authenticated collaborators and partners to access and use the collaborative services.

72. Question: SharePoint - Please define all 3rd party add-ons required for the solution?

Bamboo, KnowledgeLake Solutions etc. (Make, Model, Quantity)

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

Interior cannot define third party add-ons for an unknown end-state suite of services. If the Offeror’s proposed collaboration services suite allows for the addition of third party plug-ins, this should be noted in Offeror’s RFP response.

73. Question: SharePoint - Please define any and all Business Data Service (BDC) requirements required under this solicitation?

Answer: “SharePoint” is a specific collaboration services solution. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

The question is unclear. If the BDC reference is to Microsoft Business Data Connectivity Services, which is specific to SharePoint, Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

74. Question: SharePoint - If a vendor is bidding Microsoft SharePoint, please define DOI's requirements for fully supported Office Web applications?

Answer: “SharePoint” and Office Web applications are specific collaboration and online office automation services. Interior’s objectives include obtaining collaborative services integrated within the complete cloud-based email and collaboration services but does not presuppose a specific technology, product, or product suite to deliver that functionality.

75. Question: Migration - What version of Lotus Domino is currently deployed? SOO 2.1 p.

6 of 84.

Answer: Versions 6.5 through 8.5.

76. Question: Migration - Are there any local archives (archive.nsf or PST files) that need to be migrated? If so, how many GB of data needs to be migrated?

Answer: Yes. The amount of mail Interior migrates from its on premise legacy systems and personal archives to the cloud service provider is dependent on several factors including:

1. Migration service offerings and pricing

2. Standard mailbox size / price

3. Incremental size increase (block size) / price

4. The impact of migration on Interior’s timeline Offerors are free to propose their recommended migration tactics and associated assumptions.

Please reference L.7, Section 2, Technical Assumptions and Section 3, Technical Proposal for detail.

77. Question: Migration - How many Domino domains need to be accounted for in Vendor solutions?

Answer: Five.

78. Question: Migration - Are custom Domino databases or Domino applications in scope for this project? If so, can the DOI provide a listing of applications, their complexity level (Simple, Medium, Very Complex), etc for migration estimation purposes?

Answer: Custom application migration services are not explicitly defined as in-scope for this procurement. However, Offerors may provide pricing for this as an optional service.

79. Question: Migration - If there are Domino applications and they are not in scope of this project OR if DOI is expecting to run the Domino environment in parallel for an extended period of time – will long-term coexistence be a requirement between the new and old solutions?

Answer: Interior’s expectation is that coexistence will be required through the duration of mailbox migration and may indeed be required. Offerors should include their migration assumptions and strategies in their Technical Assumptions and Proposals responses.

80. Question: Migration - In terms of GB, how much data resides within the Domino servers?

Answer: Interior is unable to gather this information from its Domino environment in a manner timely enough to respond to this question. If the question asked is intended to provide information allowing the Offeror to estimate migration timelines, please provide these with assumptions such as “we can migrate 5,000 mailboxes per night provided that mailboxes are not larger than ‘X’ GB and network speed is T1 or higher.”

81. Question: Migration - Are there any Lotus Traveler users? If so, how many?

Answer: Yes, USGS uses Lotus Traveler. Please reference RFP Section C.3.1, Table 1, for a total count of users.

82. Question: Licensing - Does the DOI have a current MSFT licensing agreement that includes licenses for Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync? If so, please list the licenses that will migrate over to this program?

Answer: Interior does not expect to migrate or transfer any existing licenses for the proposed back-end services referenced above to the Awardee.

83. Question: Price Worksheet - Can Excel spreadsheet be embedded in the Word doc or should it be sent as a separate file?

Answer: It must be a separate file.

84. Question: Page 73 of the RFP, Item 2.3, a. Cover Page: States "This cover page shall only include the information listed below in letters a-m." However, the RFP does not include an item "m." Is there a missing item or should the RFP state "This cover page shall only include the information listed below in letters a -l?"

Answer: There is not a missing item. That is an error and will be corrected with this amendment. It should read "This cover page should include the information listed below."

85. Question: Where should the completed "Technical Acceptability Checklist" be placed in the proposal? Should it be emailed as a separate file?

Answer: Attachment 2 – should be a separate document from technical and price proposal.

86. Question: Where should the completed "Traceability Matrix" be placed in the proposal?

Should it be emailed as a separate file?

Answer: Attachment 3 – should be included as part of the technical proposal.

87. Question: Should Section K Representation and Certifications be include in the proposal? If so, in what volume?

Answer: It is preferred to utilize the Online Representations and Certifications from https://orca.bpn.gov/ .

“Using ORCA, a contractor can enter their Reps and Certs information once for use on all Federal contracts. This site not only benefits the contractor by allowing them to maintain an accurate and complete record but also the Contracting Officer as they can view every record, including archives, with the click of a mouse.” https://orca.bpn.gov/miscl/faq.aspx

88. Question: As stated above it appears as though there can be no price assumption unless there is a corresponding technical assumption. Can we assume that there can be independent pricing assumptions (not related to the technical proposal: I.E. quantity discounts, inflation, management strategies, etc.) in the pricing volume without it being in the technical volume, and there shall be no technical assumption in the pricing volume without it also being reflected in the technical volume? Reference RFP part L Section 2 - Technical Assumptions: This section states – “The Offeror shall indicate, in this section only, if any technical related assumptions have been made, conditions have been stipulated or exceptions have been taken with the statement of objectives as written. If technical assumptions are not noted in this volume and this section of the proposal, it will be assumed that the Offerors proposal reflects no technical or price assumptions for award and agrees to comply with all of the terms and conditions set forth herein.”

Answer: Yes.

89. Question: We did not find any requirement for a Help Desk. Given the statement above, please confirm that no Help Desk is to be provided as a part of this solicitation. If a Help Desk is required, please provide specific information for that Help Desk. Reference RFP Statement of Objectives paragraph 2.1 Current Environment: This section contains the statement “End user support for email is inconsistent as well. For example, weekend and after hours support may be provided on a "best effort" basis in some cases and 24/7/365 in others.”

Answer: First Tier (end-user) helpdesk services will be maintained by DOI. However, please refer to RFP Section C.4.3 and note that escalations from DOI helpdesks to Offeror’s service desk are expected “24 hours per day, seven days a week, 365 days per year…for inquiries, outages, and issue resolutions.” Emphasis added. Service Level standards and a description of measures used by the Offeror must be included in the Technical Proposal section (see RFP Section L.7).

90. Question: Would you please provide your rationale for this discount in order to assist us in understanding how a discount is anticipated? This is not the norm for a commercially based pricing model. Reference (VOLUME 2) - PRICE, Section 2 - Price Proposal. This section contains the statement “The government requests a discount for the base period and all options.”

Answer: Please propose your best best available pricing.

91. Question: Does DOI anticipate availability to be inclusive of planned downtime for maintenance and system upgrades? Reference Statement of Objectives Section 4.3, Technical and Service Integrity Objectives: DOI seeks to obtain cloud services which provide 99.9% availability, or higher, to all DOI users with an acceptable applied penalty schedule

Answer: Yes. Section L of the RFP requests that Offerors clearly define their service level metrics and provide examples of how those metrics are measured. Interior’s primary objectives include obtaining a suite of highly available cloud-based email and collaboration service offerings. Note sections C.4.3, L.7 and M.3 for reference. Total system uptime will be an important evaluation criterion.

92. Question: Does this depict that these technologies are licensed for use or represent that the technology is actually in use by all of the employees in the respective bureaus?

REFERENCE: Statement of Objectives, Figure 1 - DOI Bureau and Office As-Is State: this figure associates certain technology licenses at each bureau.

Answer: The latter interpretation is closer to the Table’s purpose. The Table is not intended to be used as a license table. Instead it indicates which relevant technologies are in use in which bureaus and offices and should be considered by Offerors in making their proposal.