DOL121RQ21641 End of Life Network Equipment Question-Answers.doc

Solicitation #: DOL121RQ21461 End of Life Network Equipment Vendor Questions/Government Responses 18 May 2012

Q1. I have a question regarding Solicitation Number: DOL121RQ21461 (End of Life Network Equipment Replacement). I understand Job Corps is replacing several pieces of hardware in their data centers as the manufacturer’s warranty has expired. My question is what will be done with the end of life hardware? My company specializes in remarketing idle equipment that can still be used. Although the manufacturer’s warranty has expired on your data center equipment that certainly doesn’t mean that the equipment is not useable. I would like to help you recoup the cost of some of this idle “end of life equipment!”

A1 – Job Corps is planning on transferring all end of life equipment to its labs for testing and to use as lab spare parts

Q2. I note on the FedBizOpps announcement that it is a HubZone set-aside. Will woman-owned small business firms be considered for award or is this solicitation limited to only HubZone companies?

A2 - Procurement is only considering HubZone vendors.

Q3. A colleague of mine just emailed me in regards to the above solicitation on

FBO. We specialize in purchasing decommissioned/EOL hardware including servers, storage and networking equipment. Our Asset Recovery program allows you the end user to maximize the ROI on your used IT assets, as well as, a way to efficiently and responsibly recycle any hardware that currently has no market value.

ALLY TechSystems is an independent distributor of refurbished, used and new IT equipment with access to over $100 million in inventory. Between 50 -70% of that inventory is used or refurbished, which means we understand the secondary market, making our team of experts the single best source to work with if you are looking to off-load excess or outdated technology.

If appropriate within your department, we would like an opportunity to evaluate your EOL networking hardware, to potentially offer you either a FMV buy-out of that gear, or to sell your gear for you on consignment, or to discuss our IT recycling options. Please advise if this is a service you could consider, and if so, please email us a list of your EOL hardware for our team to begin the valuation process.

A3 – Job Corps is planning on transferring all end of life equipment to its labs for testing and to use as lab spare parts.

Q4. I am not bidding on this opportunity but going through the requirements I did not notice any type of software that monitors all of the devices, switches, etc.;. Do you know if JCDC already has a product or is this something that they will need.

Presently, our www.WhatsUpGold.com product is being used in some areas of the Department of Labor and also someone in the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management is currently evaluating the product.

We are not a CA, IBM, BMC, HP, type of company that provides all the bells and whistle and takes weeks to install, needs a contractor to manage, and is difficult to use. WhatsUp Gold will provide 80 to 90 percent what you need without the bells and whistles and can be installed in less than a half of day, and will cost a fraction what the big guys charge and can be managed by a government employee.

Keep us in mind for any network monitoring opportunities. We provide demos if needed or you can download the products for 30 days for free. If anyone wants to beta test our product for 120 days we can do that also for like a project like JCDC. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a call.

A4 – Thank you for the solicitation, but Job Corps is currently in the procurement process for software\services that exceeds the capabilities of “Whats up Gold”

Q5. In the right-hand column of the FBO listing, it says that this solicitation is set-aside for HUB-Zone businesses. However, there is no language in the SOW or solicitation summary stating this. Is this procurement Set-aside for HUB Zone business?

A5 - Procurement is only considering HubZone vendors.

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