ECMO Cloud Service RFI.pdf

Request for Information: 1

Army Cloud Common Shared Services Provider 2

1. Description 4 cARMY is the Army’s Enterprise Cloud Environment, managed by Headquarters 5

Department of the Army (HQDA)/Chief Information Office (CIO) Enterprise Cloud 6

Management Office (ECMO). cARMY currently offers authorized and operational 7 common shared services in Amazon Web Services (AWS) at Department of Defense 8

(DoD) Information Impact Level (IL) 2, 4 and 5. Enterprise Common Shared Services are 9 those services that support application operations in the cloud or in data centers, such as 10 domain name services (DNS), network time protocol (NTP), remote access, file transfer, 11 directory services, authentication and access, etc. The services can be provided by the 12

Government or by contractors but must be approved for operation by a Government 13

Authorizing Official (AO) using the DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF). ECMO 14 has contracts in place to develop common services in AWS at IL 6 and Microsoft Azure 15 at IL 2, 4 and 5 with expected delivery prior to this acquisition being awarded. The ECMO 16 requires an Enterprise Cloud Common Shared Services Provider to takeover, expand and 17 continuously improve upon cARMY Cloud Common Shared Services in order to reduce 18 complexity, increase security, eliminate duplication of effort, and increase Army-wide 19 adoption of cloud computing technologies. This work may include extending these 20 services into additional Cloud Service Provider (CSP) regions, additional CSPs, and 21 classifications as customer priority dictates. The Army desires that cloud access and 22 infrastructure be brokered by automated, on-demand, self-service, templated designs 23 and services to the maximum extent possible, as is done in the commercial world. As 24 efficiencies are gained and environments are optimized, cARMY will be the enduring 25 cloud footprint for all Army general-purpose needs. 26

THIS RFI IS ISSUED FOR INFORMATION AND PLANNING PURPOSES – IT DOES 27

NOT CONSTITUTE A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) OR A PROMISE TO ISSUE 28

AN RFP IN THE FUTURE. THIS RFI DOES NOT COMMIT THE ARMY TO CONTRACT 29

FOR ANY SUPPLY OR SERVICE WHATSOEVER. 30

2. Background 31

2.1. Army’s Need 32

To gain the competitive advantage needed to win on the battlefield in the Information Age, 33 the Army must operationalize its data and invest in resilient information ecosystems 34 designed to provide and protect critical information for the Joint Forces. The Army’s ability 35 to master the application of cloud computing is a critical enabler in the pursuit to 36 operationalizing data by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), to 37 use personnel, equipment, and logistics efficiently to accomplish the mission and in 38 cyberspace warfare to protect the force and mission resources. The Army’s vision for 39 leveraging the cloud is to maintain information superiority and to deliver digital overmatch. 40

Therefore, the Army must leverage commercial cloud efficiently and effectively in a 41 manner that enhances the mission effectiveness of its military personnel and its 42 supporting platforms and systems. To do this, Army requires a standardized, secure, 43 trusted, agile and resilient set of shared services for general-purpose Mission Owner 44 cloud use. 45

3. Capability Statement 46

3.1. Company Information (1 page maximum) 47

Please provide the following information: 48

1. Company Name: 49

2. CAGE Code: 51

3. Address (Including Telephone Number and Email Address) 53

4. Points of contact 55

5. Size of business pursuant to North American Industry Classification System 57

(NAICS) Codes: 541511 or 541512, size standard $30 million 58

6. Based on the above NAICS Codes, state whether your company is: 60

a. Small Business (YES/NO) 62

b. Woman Owned Small Business (YES/NO) 63

c. Small Disadvantaged Business (YES/NO) 64

d. 8(a) Certified (YES/NO) 65

e. HUBZone Certified (YES/NO) 66

f. Veteran Owned Small Business (YES/NO) 67

g. Service Disabled Veteran Small Business (YES/NO) 68

7. Describe your company’s primary business product / service line. 70

8. Detail any existing DoD or GWAC contract in which your company is currently a 72 prime vendor. 73

3.2. Common Shared Services Capability (5 Page Maximum) 74

Possible NAICS Code: 541512, Computer Systems Design Services 75

Potential Labor Categories: Cloud Architect, Platform Engineer, Cybersecurity Engineer 76

The government seeks industry feedback on several questions/topics related to a 77 potential solicitation for an Army Enterprise Cloud Common Shared Services Provider. 78

For context, a DRAFT Statement of Objectives (SOO) is also provided with this RFI. 79

Please note that the government is still determining the acquisition strategy and best path 80 forward, therefore, this RFI is solely for market research and market intelligence. Please 81 limit your response to no more than 5 pages, single spaced, using no smaller than Arial 82

12-point font, not including the title page. 83

1. Please describe available industry approaches to operate, configure, design, 84 develop, and enhance the existing cARMY Common Shared Services in AWS & 85

Microsoft Azure, and potentially future Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). Please 86 describe how you would maximize use of machine-based automation, 87

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and Configuration-as-Code (CaC) for the operation 88 of the common services. 89

2. Please describe available industry approaches to assist customers as they 91 onboard to the cARMY environment, while also maximizing the use of self-92 service onboarding and request fulfillment capabilities. 93

3. Please describe available industry approaches to ensure that the customer-95 facing portion of common shared services be the same (e.g., operate with 96 common Application Programming Interfaces) regardless of the CSP (CSP-97 specific backend interfaces are ok). 98

4. Please describe demonstrable examples to reducing Help Desk tickets using Tier 100

0 support (e.g., chat bots, self-service articles and content) and other means. 101

The government is interested in providing incentives to a contractor to reduce the 102 total help desk calls, while ensuring customers can obtain assistance as needed. 103

Please describe your preferred incentive approach for this. 104

5. Describe potential incentive approaches that optimize the efficiency and 106 effectiveness of the common services environment. 107

6. Please describe available industry approaches/options for Service Level 109

Agreements (SLAs) that cover all facets described in the DRAFT SOO. 110

7. Please describe your preferred contract approach for each Objective (e.g., Firm-112

Fixed Price, Time and Materials) and rationale for said approach. 113

8. Please describe available industry approaches to employ continuous outreach to 115 customers and continuous integration of feedback to ensure customer 116 satisfaction with services offered. 117

9. What information will industry need about the existing cARMY environment in order 119 to effectively bid on this requirement?" 120

10. Please identify any risks and potential mitigations with the DRAFT SOO attached 122 with this RFI. 123

11. Describe how your company can recruit, hire, and retain the necessary talent to 125 meet ECMO’s mission. Include any specific certifications, skillsets, and unique 126 roles. State the average time it takes your company to staff similar requirements 127 given your resource pool. 128

4. Follow on Discussions 131

Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government is under no obligation to provide 132 feedback with respect to any information submitted. Army representatives may or may 133 not choose to meet virtually with interested vendors. Such discussions would only be 134 intended to get further clarification of potential technical capability to meet the 135 requirements, especially any risks. 136

5. Response Guidelines 137

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a capability statement. 138

Submissions cannot exceed 6 pages, single-spaced, no smaller than Arial 12-point type 139 with at least one-inch margins on 8 1/2” X 11” page size. The capability statement and 140 any other items associated with the RFI response should not exceed a 5 MB e-mail limit. 141

Responses must specifically answer the questions set forth in Section 3 and describe the 142 contractor’s capability to meet the requirements outlined and problems set forth in this 143

RFI. No “sales pitch-like” white papers will be accepted or read. The Government highly 144 encourages any interested vendor to utilize the capability statements to capitalize on its 145 company’s capabilities and strengths. 146

Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later 147 than November 20, 2020 to Ms. Stephanie Wilson, email: 148 stephanie.wilson35.civ@mail.mil and Mr. Jason Caulkins, email: 149 jason.e.caulkins.civ@mail.mil. 150 mailto:stephanie.wilson35.civ@mail.mil mailto:jason.e.caulkins.civ@mail.mil