Gov't Responses to Industry Questions.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 42 KB Posted
- Solicitation number
- FA8201-20-R-0005
About this file
This is a request for proposal for sustainment, modernization, and consolidation services at the Hill Enterprise Data Center. The services include onboarding and sustaining over 400 customer applications, as well as continuous refinement of the current cloud infrastructure. Proposals are due by February 24, 2020 and the government will respond to submitted questions by February 6, 2020. The estimated contract value is $485 million. The solicitation includes a performance work statement outlining the required services and labor categories. A bidder's library with additional documentation is available upon request.
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Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Gov't Responses Posted 7 Feb 2020.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| HEDC SMaC Question-Comment Matrix.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 4 - Section L - Instructions to Offerors.pdf | ||
| Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement.pdf | ||
| Attachment 2 - Total Evaluated Price Matrix.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Exhibit ABCD - CDRLs.pdf | ||
| Exhibit E - Safety Plan.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3 - DD Form 254.pdf | ||
| Attachment 5 - Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award.pdf | ||
| Solicitation - FA820120R0005.pdf |
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Responses
| Solicitation #: FA8201-20-R-0005 Hill Enterprise Data Center (HEDC) Sustainment, Modernization, and Consolidation - Question/Comment Resolution Matrix | ||||
| Question # | Reference | Discussion | Question/Comment | Government Response |
| 1 | Section L: 4.1.5 | "Offer shall ensure certification as a small business under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541511." | Please confirm the government will accept solicitation responses from SBA approved Small Business Mentor-Protégé Joint Ventures | Yes |
| 2 | Section M: 2.6.3 | "The Government’s evaluation of this subfactor will focus on the degree to which the offeror’s examples of corporate experience within the last 5 years demonstrates depth and breadth of experience in the areas below:…" | Will the government specify a) the total number of past performances required; and b) the number of past performances required by the prime and each of its team members | There is no specification as to the number of past performances. The Government is looking at the overall experience of the last 5 years. |
Corporate experience must be experience of the prime contractor. For joint ventures, corporate experience of both companies may be submitted but the experience must specify the company.
| 3 | Section M: 2.6.3 | "The Government’s evaluation of this subfactor will focus on the degree to which the offeror’s examples of corporate experience within the last 5 years demonstrates depth and breadth of experience in the areas below:…" | With the complexity of this opp, would the Government consider adding Past Performances as an evaluation criteria including the submission of PP Questionnaires from the customers | No |
| 4 | 1.1 Purpose / 2.5 Requirements Management System | Section 2.5 states: "The approved Automated Information System (AIS) the Contractor shall use is the 75 ABW/SC system of choice (currently BMC Remedy) for customer requirements or “system enhancements” in the form of work orders and “bugs” in the form of incidents to clearly document, manage, obtain approval, and track them throughout the requirement life cycle." | Of the "250+ applications" referenced in Section 1.1, are all existing requirements tracked in BMC Remedy, and if not, how are the other requirements being tracked? | Yes |
| 5 | 2.6 Configuration Management | Section 2.6 states: "The contractor shall develop and maintain a configuration baseline consistent with established 75 ABW/SC configuration management plan for hardware, software, and infrastructure incorporating all development, testing, and change processes." | What Configuration Management tools are currently used to support HEDC, and how are those tools currently used? | BMC Remedy |
| 6 | 3 Contractor Tasking Requirements | Section 3.4 Hill Enterprise Data Center Hosting Sustainment states: "The Contractor shall use Agile processes and activities," and Section 3.5 Hill Enterprise Data Center Advanced Services states: "1. Agile/Rapid Release Upgrade Model." | Does Hill AFB currently use Agile methodology for development work, and if yes, what SOPs and tools are used (e.g., VersionOne, Git, etc.)? | No. |
| 7 | 3.4 Hill Enterprise Data Center Hosting Sustainment | Section 3.4 item 1 states: "Continuously refine … current cloud infrastructure." | Will the Government provide system, software, and hardware architecture design documentation and related information for the existing cloud infrastructure, applications, systems, etc.? | If the information is releasable and if it is required to propose, it is provided in the bidders library. |
| 8 | 3.4 Hill Enterprise Data Center Hosting Sustainment | Section 3.4 item 1 states: "Continuously refine … current cloud infrastructure." | Will the Government provide approved lists of vendors, hardware, software, and operating systems? | If the information is releasable and if it is required to propose, it is provided in the bidders library. |
| 9 | 3.26 Data Analytics as a Service (DAaaS) | Section 3.26 states: "The Contractor shall install, maintain, configure, monitor and ensure adherence of the technical infrastructure and application hosting environment of both on-premise and in the Cloud. This service offering includes, but is not limited to: ingest tools, durable data storage (data lake), analytics tools and other core technologies. The Contractor shall also support selected open-source tools and requested versions to meet federal government requirement." | What is the current state of the DAaaS infrastructure and application hosting environment? | Not known what exactly is being asked; however, the DAaaS infrastructure is operable |
| 10 | 3.26 Data Analytics as a Service (DAaaS) | Section 3.26 states: "The Contractor shall install, maintain, configure, monitor and ensure adherence of the technical infrastructure and application hosting environment of both on-premise and in the Cloud. This service offering includes, but is not limited to: ingest tools, durable data storage (data lake), analytics tools and other core technologies. The Contractor shall also support selected open-source tools and requested versions to meet federal government requirement." | What DAaaS tools need to be supported, and what DoD and Air Force requirements must be met? | Reference PWS technologies section. |
| 11 | 3.27 Modernization, Standardization, Consolidation and Optimization | Section 3.27 item 1 states: "Architect/modernize current cloud infrastructure to implement both a virtual and physical environment for large, complex application workloads supporting ERP, PLM, EAM, cMRO, EPM, Enterprise Portfolio Management, BSM/ITSM, and other COTS and GOTS applications and their supporting technology stacks." | Will the Government provide workload information for ERP, PLM, EAM, cMRO, EPM, and related systems? | Workload expectations will be addressed at the task order level. However, the expectation for this workload is for technology standup. |
| 12 | 3.29 System Onboarding | Section 3.29 states: "The contractor shall consolidate and onboard applications/systems to the HEDC utilizing Agile methodologies. The Contractor shall be responsible for planning and executing the onboarding of programs that desire to consolidate into the HEDC. Prior to onboarding programs must be been approved by HEDC management, Requirements Review Board (RRB), Technical Review Board (TRB), Software Review Board (SRB) and Change Advisory Board (CAB). System onboarding may also be required for the modernization of currently hosted application/systems for functional enhancement and cost efficiency improvements including systems that are not included in infrastructure upgrades or improvements." | Will the Government provide standard operating procedures and related information of how system onboarding is currently performed at HEDC? | There is a standard approach as outlined in the PWS; however, each situation of onboarding may require varying procedures. |
| 13 | 3.29 System Onboarding | Section 3.29 states: "The contractor shall consolidate and onboard applications/systems to the HEDC utilizing Agile methodologies. The Contractor shall be responsible for planning and executing the onboarding of programs that desire to consolidate into the HEDC. Prior to onboarding programs must be been approved by HEDC management, Requirements Review Board (RRB), Technical Review Board (TRB), Software Review Board (SRB) and Change Advisory Board (CAB). System onboarding may also be required for the modernization of currently hosted application/systems for functional enhancement and cost efficiency improvements including systems that are not included in infrastructure upgrades or improvements." | What are the primary challenges Hill has experienced with system onboarding? | Scope, time, and cost. |
| 14 | 4 Program Management / 9.1 Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs) | Section 4 presents what appear to be Key Personnel requirements vs. Program Management requirements. | In addition to the deliverables listed within Table 9-1, will the Government provide more detailed Program Management requirements in Section 4 Program Management? | No additional details will be provided at this time. PM requirements are identified within the PWS. |
| 15 | 4 Program Management | Positions do not list clearance requirements (e.g., Secret or Top Secret), but some certifications are listed. | Will this contract be DoD 8570 compliant with all personnel needing Security+ certification? | Comply with 8570.01-M and updated 8140.01 for IAT, IAM, IASAE |
| 16 | 4.3 Contractor Program Management / 4.4 Contractor Program Management | Sections 4.3 and 4.4 are both titled Contractor Program Management. | Will the Government combine these sections into a single Section 4.3? | Corrected |
| 17 | 4.6 Sustainment Project Manager | Section 4.6 states: "The Sustainment Project Manager (SPM) will be required to coordinate support tasks for the sustainment team. ... Reference section 3.4. Hill enterprise Data Center, for description of sustainment activity requirements." | With the Sustainment Project Manager role pointing back to the Data Center, will the Government clarify the contract scope that appears to focus on deployment and not development? | The sustainment PM will primarily focus on sustainment activities. |
| 18 | 5.1 Hours of Operation | Section 5.1 states: "The Contractor may be required to observe energy days and/or other down days as directed by OO-ALC Complex Commander and/or Air Force Material Command (AFMC) at no cost to the Government." | What is the average number of energy days and/or other down days observed over the past 5 years? | Outside of federal holidays, there may be approximately 0-2 energy days. |
| 19 | 5.7 Ordering Procedures | Section 5.7 states: "Labor rates for the fiscal year in which the TO is issued, will be utilized for the entire period of performance of the TO. No adjustments will be made if TO PoP crosses fiscal years." | As written, it appears that labor category rates for the base year cannot be escalated throughout the period of performance. Is this interpretation accurate, and if not, will the Government clarify this requirement? | All rates proposed at the basic contract will not be escalated throughout the period. The rates established will be Not to exceed. (See the TEP Matrix attached to the posting). |
At the task order level, if an order is issued in FY21, then FY21 rates will apply to the entire term of that TO.
| 20 | 5.11 Contractor Employees | Section 5.11 states: "The Contractor shall not employ any person who is an employee of the United States Government if the employment of that person would create a conflict of interest, nor shall the Contractor employ any person who is an employee of the Department of the Air Force, either military or civilian, unless such person seeks and receives approval according to the DoD 5500.7-R Joint Ethics Regulations (JER). In addition, the Contractor shall not employ any person who is an employee of the Department of the Air Force if such employment would be contrary to the policies contained in AFI 64-106, Air Force Industrial Labor Relations Activities. The Contractor is cautioned that off-duty active military personnel hired under this contract may be subject to permanent change of station, change in duty hours or deployment. Military Reservists and National Guard members may be subject to recall to active duty. The abrupt absence of these personnel could adversely affect the Contractor's ability to perform. Their absence at any time shall not constitute an excuse for nonperformance under this contract. The Contractor shall not perform this contract in a manner that creates a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest vis-à-vis Government employees, e.g., by requesting Government COR to survey Government contracts, subcontracts during their off-duty hours." | Will the Government provide specific information on related contracts and work that may be considered a conflict of interest? | No specific information is available at this time, but the contractor must comply with DoD 5500.7-R Joint Ethics Regulations (JER). |
| 21 | 5.11 Contractor Employees | Section 5.11 states: "The Contractor shall be required to fulfill the necessary facility clearances for all areas within the contract that will include SECRET clearances. AF policy directs that all individuals having elevated rights on the Hill AFB network maintain a security clearance of at least SECRET." | Will the Government clarify which tasks and positions require elevated access rights, such as System / Network Administrators, Database Administrators, etc.? | At the task order level, these positions will be identified. Comply with 8570.01-M and updated 8140.01 for IAT, IAM, IASAE |
| 22 | 6.6 Access to the Base Network | Section 6.6 states: "IS access will be granted only after all criteria have been met as defined in AFMAN33-152_AFMCSUP_I, User Responsibilities and Guidance for IS." | Will the Government provide access to the AFMAN33-152_AFMCSUP_I, and if so how? | IAW AF epubs, the AFMAN33-152_AFMCSUP_I has been recinded as of 19 Sept 2018 |
| 23 | 8.1 Services Summary | Table 8-1 Services Summary, row 2, column 2 states: "90% of all High* priority tickets resolved within 1 day." | What consideration will be given for factors outside Contractor control when evaluating performance? | Outside factors are considered by the government when necessary. |
| 24 | 9.1 Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs) | Table 9-1 Contract Data Requirements List CDRLs, row 2 on page 51, Description column states: "The contractor shall develop and maintain a configuration baseline consistent with established 75 ABW/SC configuration management processes for hardware and software incorporating all development, testing, and change processes. Monthly baseline update shall include change control and configuration references." | Will the Government provide the 75 ABW/SC configuration management processes? | Documentation will be provided to awardee. |
| 25 | 9.1 Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs) | Table 9-1 Contract Data Requirements List CDRLs, last row with content on page 52, Description column states: "ONBOARDING ?? Technical Report documenting hardware/ software requirements for infrastructure, equipment deployment/ implementation status, configuration (meta data) for application /project hosting." | Will the Government remove the "??" within the description? | Removed |
| 26 | Appendix B | Reference Documents | Will the Government provide a complete list and access to the reference documents mentioned in Appendix B and the general reference documents listed in Appendix B? | Publically accessible. A review should be conducted to ensure all references are incorporated and that all references are current. |
| 27 | General | PWS tasks include a blend of sustainment and development work. | Will the Government update the PWS to align all sustainment tasking together and development tasking together? | Not at this time. |
| 28 | General | The PWS lists a blend of sustainment and deployment support. | What exactly is the role of the HEDC contractor with regard to application deployment and sustainment? | System, network and database administration and other tasks required for operational support. |
| 29 | General | The PWS lists a blend of sustainment and deployment support. | Are there other contracts and contractors with scope that includes software development (i.e., DevOps) and sustainment, and if yes, how do these contracts interface with this HEDC work? | No |
| 30 | General | Contract type | Will the Government consider defining a hybrid contract type, such as Firm Fixed Price (FFP) for Program Management and Sustainment task areas, and Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) for the Development task area? | No |
| 31 | General | Availability of draft solicitation documentation | When does the Government anticipate releasing draft instructions (Section L) and evaluation criteria (Section M) for comments and/or questions? | OBE |
| 32 | General | Key Personnel | Will the Government provide a complete list of Key Personnel requirements? | Personnel requirements are outline in the PWS. |
| 33 | 4.3 | "All contractor project management personnel shall have and maintain a Program Management Plan (PMP) and SCRUM Master certification." |
| Will the Government consider revising the PM requirement in 4.3 to requiring PMP certification and Agile experience unless they are also actively performing as a Scrum Master in which case having appropriate SM certification would be required? | Reference updated PWS for government requirement | |
| 34 | 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 | "All contractor project management personnel shall have and maintain a Program Management Plan (PMP) and SCRUM Master certification." |
| It would be unlikely that the Cybersecurity, Sustainment, Infrastructure and Onboarding Project Managers would use both a PMP and Scrum Master certifications and most individuals in these positions will not have both certifications. | Please clarify that not "all contract project management personnel" will require having PMP and SM certs for these other areas of expertise as these certs are non-standard and unnecessary for these experts. | Reference updated PWS for government requirement | |||
| 35 | 3.1 | FFP MTC requirement makes sense IF the Government defined MTC is stated with Task Order Award, but not prior. If MTC is stated prior to TO award, that FTE count becomes a defined staffing solution that all vendors will bid at that level and then the award becomes a lowest bid (heavily Cost weighted) and less about technical solutioning and innovation. Identifying MTC prior to award will drive vendors to source less-than qualified members to force their costs down. | Please clarify that the MTC will be determined post proposal evaluation and identified with task order award. | Yes, MTC will be identified for each individual task order. | |
| 36 | 1.1 | Reference to "Technology Counsels" | Technology Counsels. Request additional explanation about this requirement. | See updated PWS for clarification | |
| 37 | 3.3 | HEDC Capacity Planning Strategy | Request Government provide a copy of all existing HEDC Capacity Planning Strategies that have been developed for Sustainment and also for future modernization and consolidation initiatives that support this effort. | Unable to provide at this time | |
| 38 | 3.4 (5) | Reference to Continuous Testing and Automatic Enforcement of Security | With respect to HEDC Hosting sustainment, request additional details and requirements be added to describe the current Continuous Test and Automatic Enforcement of Security processes | Reference bidder's library; DoDI 8510.01, Risk Management Framework for DoD Information Technology, 12 March 2014 identifies the criteria necessary to support continuous test and enforcement, whether automatic or manual, of security policies/processes | |
| 39 | 3.4 (6) | Demonstrate quantifiable improvements . . . | With respect to HEDC Hosting sustainment, request demonstratable and measureable pass/fail criteria be provided for the metrics listed in PWS Para 3.4 (6) | See clarification in PWS section 3.26 (7). | |
| 40 | 3.4 (7) | Document and diagram architecture plans and system configurations. | Request Government provide a copy of all existing HEDC diagram architecture plans and system configurations for Sustainment and also for future modernization and consolidation initiatives that support this effort. | The DISA IASE website offers significant information regarding system configurations for sustainment which can be mapped to the HW List provided. Architecture planning is achieved in the Configuration Management Policy and processes to be provided upon award. | |
| 41 | 3.21 | Use of word "hydrate" | Not clear what the Government is trying to describe . . . "Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 3 encryption will be employed of IL 4 and IL 5 data prior to cloud destage and will not hydrate outside of the DoD network." What is meant by 'hydrate"? | movement or storage of encrypted data on DoD networks that cannot be unencrypted outside of DoD networks | |
| 42 | 3.22 | No text | Should this section be marked "Reserve"? | Removed | |
| 43 | 3.27 (7) | Demonstrate quantifiable improvements . . . | With respect to HEDC Modernization, Consolidation, Sustainment, and Optimization, request demonstratable and measureable pass/fail criteria be provided for the metrics listed in PWS Para 3.27 (7) | See clarification in PWS section 3.26 (7). | |
| 44 | 3.31 | Incident Reporting System | Request the Government identify the incident reporting system that will be provided. | BMC REMEDY | |
| 45 | 3.32 | Monitoring and reporting tools. | Request the Government identify the monitoring and reporting tools that are currently being used for HEDC Sustainment. | BMC REMEDY should be added to the PWS as a tool, remaining tools - minus Elastic are the primary tools used. This should not be considered a complete or holistic listing as several typical monitoring tools across several levels of the Data Center are in use. It is not necessarily the intent of the government to define tools unless mandated at higher DoD or Federal levels, reference para 2 of this section. | |
| 46 | 4.4 | SCRUM Certifications | Please verify Contractor "Program" Managers require SCRUM certifications? Are Program Manager and Project Manager titles interchangeable? Generally, Project Manager(s) report to the Program Manager. The Program Manager is required to have a PMP Certification. SCRUM Project Managers are very focused on the SCRUMs and require a SCRUM Certificate, but they do not have the bandwidth to be saddled with satisfying Program Management requirements of the contract. | Reference updated PWS | |
| 47 | 4.4 | SCRUM Efforts | Does the Government expect multiple SCRUM efforts to be running in parallel? | Yes | |
| 48 | 4.4 | SCRUM Efforts | Does the Government expect a TO to include more than one SCRUM effort or will each SCRUM effort have its own TO? | Every task order shall have multiple scrums | |
| 49 | 5.7, 5.8 | The contractor shall provide transition plans as required | Request the Government expand on the Transition-IN requirements for non-incumbent award. The PWS, as written, is essentially silent on Transition-IN requirements; as if they have no intention to award to a new contractor. | The Government allows for 30-45 days of transition time for the new contractor. | |
| 50 | 8.1 | Resolving Incidents | Request the Government expand on what is meant by resolving reported incidents. Resolved does not always mean corrected/fixed. | The Government will address each situation independently. | |
| 51 | 2.6 | Requirement states "The contractor shall develop and maintain a configuration baseline consistent with…" The requirement is worded as if there is currently not configuration baseline. | Is there a current documented configuration baseline? | A baseline exists, the contractor is expected to validate the baseline inventories, associated documentation and media libraries upon award and to update discrepancies as identified IAW established Configuration Management Processes. | |
| 52 | 2.11, para 5 | CMMC Guide is currently at v.07 with an estimated release of the non-draft Guide v1.0 in January 2020. | Recommend updating requirement to reflect the anticipated non-draft v1.0 | Current CCMC guidance will be utilized | |
| 53 | 3.2.2 | Requirement states "The Government reserves the right to, but does not intend the number of surged personnel to exceed 125% of the original TO MTC." As written, the number of personnel in surge mode at a given time is not likely to exceed the sum of all base MTC FTEs plus another 25% (e.g.. 50 MTC FTE + 12.5 FTEs = 62.5 personnel in surge mode) | Please confirm the Government's possible surge requirement is 125%. | Reference updated PWS for Surge definition. | |
| 54 | 3.3 | Requirement states "The contractor shall develop a baseline and maintain a capacity planning strategy, to support.." The requirement is worded as if there is currently no baseline or capacity planning strategy. | Is there a current documented capacity baseline and/or Government approved capacity planning strategy? | A baseline exists, the contractor is expected to validate the baseline inventories, associated documentation and media libraries upon award and to update discrepancies as identified IAW established Configuration Management Processes. | |
| 55 | 3.22 | This section "DATACENTER IT OPERATIONS AND SUSTAINMENT SUPPORT" is blank. | Please clarify purpose of this section and/or whether requirements will be made available prior to the Final PWS. | Corrected in updated PWS | |
| 56 | 4.3 | Requirement states that all project management personnel, program management, Cybersecurity, Sustainment, Infrastructure, and Onboarding Managers must possess both a PMP and SCRUM Master certification | What is the SCRUM Master level requirement (e.g. I, II, or III)? | Reference updated PWS for Project Manager and Program Manager requirements (SCRUM Level I) | |
| 57 | 5.8 | Requirement states "The Government will provide the Contractor POC and each Contractor Project Manager a generalized projected service plan that shall be reviewed or revised by the GPM as necessary. The purpose of the plan is to prioritize Government service requirements and provide the contractor with information required to effectively manage its personnel." | How soon after award of contract will the Government provide the Service Plans? | Task order requirements will identify the required services for that specific task order. Delivery of service plans may vary for each task order. | |
| 58 | 5.8 | Requirement states "The Government will provide the Contractor POC and each Contractor Project Manager a generalized projected service plan that shall be reviewed or revised by the GPM as necessary. The purpose of the plan is to prioritize Government service requirements and provide the contractor with information required to effectively manage its personnel." | Will each contractor project manager (e.g. cybersecurity, infrastructure, etc.) receive a Service Plan specific to their area of responsibility ? | No - Government will provide the Contractor POC and each Contractor Project Manager a generalized projected service plan | |
| 59 | 1.3.6, 1.3.9 | In paragraph 1.3.9 it states, "Use separate files to permit rapid location of all portions, including subfactors…" | Please clarify if the Government would like each subfactor submitted as a separate file. With each subfactor as a separate file, it will cause issues with the volume table of contents hyperlinks and any cross reference hyperlinks within the Technical Volume. Please consider allowing the entire Technical Volume to be submitted as one electronic file versus making the subfactors separate files. | Technical volume should consist of all technical subfactors. | |
| 60 | 2.3 and Appendix A & B | Does the Govt anticipate awarding either of the 2 scenarios as actual tasks under the IDIQ? | At this time the government does not anticipate awarding the 2 scenarios. However, the technologies and approaches demonstrated in the solutions will be required during performance of the contract. | ||
| 61 | 2.3 | Does the Govt anticipate either of our responses to the scenarios be included as part(s) of executable task order(s)? Or will each task order be scoped and negotiated individually after award of the base IDIQ? | No. |
Yes.
| 62 | 2.3.1 | In Section 2c (Stakeholders), it states "stakeholders". | Please define who the stakeholders are. | All involved or impacted parties in the scenario. |
| 63 | 2.3.1 | In Section 2d (Manpower Summary), it states "see labor categories in PWS paragraph 3.1". PWS 3.1 states "the Government will solely determine the FFP MTC required for each TO." | Please clarify how offerors should respond since we have not received this information from the Government for this Scenario. | For the purposes of the scenario, the government will not determine the FFP MTC. The contractor shall determine the FFP MTC for the scenario. |
| 64 | 2.3.1 | In Section 3c (Resources), it states "labor categories (PWS 3.1)…" | Please clarify how offerors should respond since we have not received this information from the Government for this Scenario. | See government response above and updated version of the PWS. The contractor shall determine the labor categories necessary for the scenario. |
| 65 | 2.3.3 | Under Section 1b, it states "Multi-tenancy characteristics of applications and infrastructure". | Please define what "multi-tenancy characteristics" means. | Supporting more than one tenant in a consolidated infrastructure. |
| 66 | 2.3.4 | Since this IDIQ will be a new requirement, what tasks are being transitioned? Only the incumbent contractor would have this knowledge. | Sustainment is the most critical aspect of the current requirement that needs to be transitioned to the new contract. | |
| 67 | 2.3.4 | To develop a comprehensive transition plan, could the Government clarify how much work and the type of work that will be transitioned to the IDIQ? Currently, only the incumbent contractor would be privy to this information. | If the information is releasable and if it is required to propose, it is provided in the bidders library. Also, see technologies section of the PWS. | |
| 68 | 2.3.4 | Is there a transition out plan that will be available for review from the incumbent contract? | No. | |
| 69 | 3.0 | Although we see you anticipate a Transition CLIN, the manner in which offeror RFP pricing response is structured in draft section L (3.0), only a zero dollar contract can be awarded for the IDIQ, hence staff cannot start work under this IDIQ on Day 1. Recommend the Govt ask offerors to scope/price work for a first task order under the IDIQ so transition can begin upon award? If so, we require workload information for the Transition Task. | No. |
The post award conference will be the first task order awarded at the same time as the basic contract.
| 70 | Appendix B, 1st paragraph | It states, "The contractor must accomplish this workload without adverse impacts…" | Please clarify what "workload" is referring to. | "Workload" refers to the unexpected 90-day corporate-level, high-priority effort in the modernization area in the first sentence. | |
| 71 | Appendix B | Please clarify that the plans required in this scenario should address how to handle the unexpected 90-day corporate level, high priority effort. | The plans should address how to handle the unexpected 90-day corporate level, high priority effort. See Section L paragraph 2.3.2 | ||
| 72 | Appendix B | In the Onboarding Plan paragraph, it says "addresses SystemX, along with 5 more candidates in the pipeline…" | Do we need to ask about more details on the 5 more candidates? | No. | |
| 73 | 2.4 | It states, "Technical Subfactors One, Two, and Three will receive a Technical Risk Rating…" | How will the Govt assess Technical Risk on examples of corporate experience? | The Government will address this utilizing the risk table included in Sections L&M. | |
| 74 | 2 CORE DUTIES | PWS states: "The Contractor shall provide full time equivalency (FTE) personnel so that Engineering services are provided concurrently with other services, including but not limited to: onboarding, sustainment, and project management." | In specifying "full time equivalency" personnel, does the government intend to limit the flexibility of offerors to propose staff that would be assigned to this contract on less than a full time basis? | No, the intent is to ensure that work in one area does not suffer as additional work arises in another area. | |
| 75 | 3.1 FIRM FIXED PRICE MINIMUM TEAM COMPLEMENT (FFP MTC) | PWS states: "This pertains to training, qualifications, proficiency, security clearance, background investigation and all other requirements in the TO and all associated requirements documents." | For TO's that include significant new staffing requirements, how will the MTC accommodate the time required for the government to process security clearances? | The intent is for the government and contractor to negotiate the MTC at the task order level. | |
| 76 | 3.2.1 OVER AND ABOVE REQUIREMENTS | PWS references: DFARS Clause 252.217.7028 | Will overtime be limited to "work discovered during the course of performing overhaul, maintenance, and repair efforts" as is defined in the referenced DFARS Clause? | Yes, overtime and surge rates will only be utilized when additional work is discovered during performance of a task order. Use of these rates will be negotiated with the government at the task order level. | |
| 77 | 9.1 Contract Data Requirements List (CDRLs) | The PWS states: "The contractor shall provide the following data deliverables as outlined in the CDRL Table below and detailed in DD Form 1423-1 for each deliverable item:" | Given that this is the draft PWS for the IDIQ contract, does the government intend to issue an initial Task Order simultaneously with the IDIQ to cover the work required to produce all of the deliverables in the PWS? | At the time of basic contact award, the initial task order will be placed with the requirement to prepare and delivery a safety plan IAW CDRLs. | |
| 78 | 5.7 ORDERING PROCEDURES | The PWS does not describe the process or procedures the government will use to place orders against the IDIQ. | Please describe the process by which the government will issue Task Orders. | The government will provide a task order PWS to which the contractor will propose. | |
| 79 | 5.8 GOVERNMENT PROVIDED SERVICE PLAN | The PWS states: "The Government will prioritize service requirements based on operating requirements." | Will the Government provide a projected service plan for the overall contract, or will one be provided for each Task Order? | One will be provided for each task order. | |
| 80 | General | Many questions arise from review of solicitation sections L & M in conjunction with the PWS. Providing a draft of the entire solicitation reduces the number of questions when the final solicitation is released. Only the draft PWS was provided, and not a draft RFP | Will the Government provide a Draft RFP to include sections L&M? | Draft versions of Section L&M have been provided. | |
| 81 | 3.24 PRODUCTION OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AND 3.25 PORTABLE OPERATING DATA CENTERS (POD) | Is there specialized expertise required to support the PODs outside the skills defined within the PWS? If so what are those skills the government is looking for? | No. | ||
| 82 | 3.24 PRODUCTION OPERATIONAL SUPPORT AND 3.25 PORTABLE OPERATING DATA CENTERS (POD) | Will the government provide POD specifications so the offerors can assure personnel have the needed skills? | See response above. | ||
| 83 | The existing HEDC support contract value is significantly less than the stated contract ceiling for this sonication. | What types of services are anticipated to be required to fulfill the difference between the existing contract value and the sonication celling of $400M? | New estimated contract maximum is $485M. The amount is used as a ceiling and the Government is only required to use the minimum guarantee. The services are outlined in the PWS. | ||
| 84 | 3.1 FIRM FIXED PRICE MINIMUM TEAM COMPLEMENT (FFP MTC) | This section says: "The Government will solely determine the FFP MTC required for each TO. The contractor shall ensure the FFP MTC specified in any applicable TO is maintained throughout each TO POP. The objectives of each TO FFP MTC is a fully manned workforce on day one, and through the duration of the TO POP." | Our question is, if the first task order is just continuation of the "current work" then whoever is doing that work will have an advantage to meet this "fully manned workforce on day one". To mitigate this there should be reasonable "transition" period that will include re-badging of incumbent employees and/or hiring new employees to meet the "fully manned workforce day one" requirement | There will be a 30-45 day period between award of the basic contract and the task order for continued sustainment. | |
| 85 | 2.3 AIR FORCE COMMON COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT (AF CCE) | This section says: "All services provided under this Basic PWS shall function and be in compliance with the Air Force Common Computing Environment (AF CCE) or its successors." | Do you mean by this the AF contract won by SAIC, called "AF CCE"? | Yes. HEDC is held to this standard no matter who the contractor is. | |
| 86 | 2.11 CYBERSECURITY | 5. Certification - Appropriate Level 3 certification requirements for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Guide v.06 within 12 month of mandate. | Is this required for those who already have CMMI Level 3 certification in Development and Services? | Reference DFARS 252.204-7012 Safeguarding covered defense information and cyber incident reporting | |
| 87 | 3.6 EVOLVE APPLICATIONS AND ARCHITECTURE ON HEDC HOSTING PLATFORMS | This section says: "The Contractor shall provide service for current hosted applications services available in the HEDC’s continuously evolving service catalog. The Contractor shall provide a comprehensive project team to support the architecture and entire customer service lifecycle. This is referred to as application services and architecture sustainment." | This seems like a "enterprise level service catalog"? How are the service requests submitted? Do you have a COTS/ web based system or is it all done via email? | Services are requested through BMC Remedy (web-based system). | |
| 88 | 3.32 IMPLEMENT ENTERPRISE MONITORING, SERVICE LEVEL AND SHOWBACK REPORTING | This section sayas: "The Contractor shall provide automated showback reporting for cost. This will include, but is not limited to, variable expense cost for each tenant and associated applications for on-premise and cloud assets." | What are the "cloud assets" your are referring to here? | This refers to off-prem cloud services/assets. | |
| 89 | 3.33 IMPLEMENT AND SUPPORT PRODUCTION DIELECTRICALLY COOLED CONTAINERIZED DATA CENTERS (CDC) HARDWARE | This Section says: "The Contractor shall provide support of infrastructure that is submerged in Government approved dielectric fluid technologies" | Can you be specific of what are these "Government approved dielectric fluid technologies" ? | Clarifying statement: The use of dielectric fluid technologies have been approved by the Government, i.e. submerged server technology. | |
| 90 | Absent | Draft solicitation documents. | Can the Government please release draft documents for 1) Solicitation; 2) Instructions to Offerors; 3) Basic Contract; 4) Anticipated Workload; 5) Existing Architecture documents for HEDC's current application hosting Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), traditional and cloud native application hosting environments; 6) Price Template | Documents have been released. | |
| 91 | 2.5 REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM | The approved Automated Information System (AIS) the Contractor shall use is the 75 ABW/SC system of choice (currently BMC Remedy) for customer requirements or “system enhancements” in the form of work orders and “bugs” in the form of incidents to clearly document, manage, obtain approval, and track them throughout the requirement life cycle. | INCIDENT MANAGEMENT | ||
| • | How many Incidents created per year? | ||||
| • | What additional functionality is implemented (Templates, Call scripts, Decision Tree, etc.)? | Not available at this time. | |||
| 92 | 2.5 REQUIREMENTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM | The approved Automated Information System (AIS) the Contractor shall use is the 75 ABW/SC system of choice (currently BMC Remedy) for customer requirements or “system enhancements” in the form of work orders and “bugs” in the form of incidents to clearly document, manage, obtain approval, and track them throughout the requirement life cycle. | CHANGE MANAGEMENT | ||
| • | How many changes created per year? | ||||
| • | How many Approvals exist? | ||||
| • | How complex are the Approvals? | ||||
| • | Is the Change Calendar used? | Not available at this time. | |||
| 93 | 3.1 | Minimum staffing for Task Orders. | Does the Government have a Rough Order of Magnitude estimate for the size of the average Task Order in terms of FTEs? | Approximately 25-30 FTEs are being utilized; however this number may change based on task order requirements. | |
| 94 | 3.1/4.4 | FFP MTC/Task Order Management | Seeing as how the Government will solely determine the RRFP MTC required for each TO, can the Government please explain how they envision the Task Order solicitation/proposal process working? What if the Offeror recommends FTE count above the MTC, if believed to be in the project's best interest? | The Government and the contractor may negotiate the proper manning solution for each task order. | |
| 95 | 3.2 | Task order volume of HEDC workload. | Does the Government have a Rough Order of Magnitude estimate as to how many total Task Orders are anticipated, and how many may be concurrent at any given time? | A sustainment task order will be issued annually, but all others will be dependent upon workload requirements. | |
| 96 | 3.2 | Basic contract skill sets/labor categories. | Can the Government please provide the draft list of Labor Categories and experience levels for which Offerors will be required to propose Fixed Price rates on the basic contract? | Provided within TEP Matrix attached to the posting. | |
| 97 | 3.2 | Workload/Team complement | Will Offerors be allowed to add teammates after award, or do all teaming arrangements need to be committed at time of proposal? | More information is needed in order to answer this question. | |
| 98 | 3.4 | Data Center hosting - current cloud infrastructure. | Can the Government please confirm the architecture of the current cloud infrastructure the contractor will be required to continuously refine, per PWS 3.4.1? | The Government is unable to share the infrastructure at this time. | |
| 99 | 3.4.3 | Strategizing for growth. | Can the Government please explain the role the Contractor will have in procuring hardware/equipment for planned architecture upgrades to enable growth, so that the project or progress is not unduly delayed once approvals on proposed architecture are secured? | The contractor identifies potential hardware solutions and works with the Government Program Manager. The Government procures hardware/equipment. | |
| 100 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of CUSTOMERS: | ||
| • | Number of customers (People) | ||||
| • | Locations (Sites) | ||||
| • | Methods of Contact | ||||
| • | Sensitivity | ||||
| • | Hours of Contact | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 101 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of CUSTOMIZATIONS: | ||
| • | What business processes must be supported by the tool? | ||||
| • | Will custom data elements and workflow be required to support these processes (i.e. do you track or do things that are not covered out of the box)? | ||||
| • | Which customizations are used and by which organizations individually? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 102 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of ASSET AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT: | ||
| • | Number and Types of Assets (Configuration Items) | ||||
| • | Inventory control requirements (barcodes, scanning, etc.) | ||||
| • | Reconciliation and normalization requirements | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 103 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of INTEGRATIONS: | ||
| • | Will integrations be required? | ||||
| • | Directory Services | ||||
| • | Authentication (CAC Authentication, Directory, SSO, etc.) | ||||
| • | Web Services, REST API, etc. | ||||
| • | Database Level | ||||
| • | Asset Discovery | ||||
| • | Configuration Management | ||||
| • | Telephony | ||||
| • | Mobile | ||||
| • | External Partners | ||||
| • | Distributed Server Option (DSO) | ||||
| • | Other integrations? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 104 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of SUPPORT USERS: | ||
| • | Number of users | ||||
| • | When do users access the system (shifts, hours, etc.)? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 105 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of RELEASE MANAGEMENT: | ||
| • | How many releases created per year? |
PROBLEM MANAGEMENT
• How many problems created per year?
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
| • | How many articles? | ||||
| • | Approvals used? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 106 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of SELF-SERVICE: | ||
| • | Agent-Customer Chat Used? | ||||
| • | Service catalogues used? | ||||
| • | How many Service items/requests? | ||||
| • | Are there Branding Requirements? | ||||
| • | Are Entitlements used? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 107 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of HOSTING ENVIRONMENT: | ||
| • | Operating System Requirements (Type, Version, etc.)? | ||||
| • | Database Requirements (Type, Version, etc.)? | ||||
| • | COOP/High Availability requirements? | ||||
| • | Geographic network bandwidth considerations | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 108 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of DOD SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS: | ||
| • | Cloud Access Point Fees? | ||||
| • | Data Center Rate Card for services offered? | ||||
| • | SLA’s for services rendered? | ||||
| • | FedRAMP Certification and Impact Level Requirements? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 109 | 3.12 BMC SOFTWARE | The Contractor shall monitor, administer, and ensure recoverability and adherence of BMC technical infrastructure and application environments. | Please provide, in terms of SECURITY: | ||
| • | Data encryption requirements (in transit, at rest, etc.)? | ||||
| • | Are there Account Management Requirements? | Unable to provide at this time. | |||
| 110 | 3.24 | IT Service Management place of performance. | Is the Contractor able to provide remote Tier 1 First Response Service Center support at a centralized call center at the contractor's facilities? | No. | |
| 111 | 3.24 | IT Service Management - hours of operation | Will HEDC require 24/7/365 Help Desk support? | Only required during business hours. HEDC works in conjunction with the 75 ABW Communication Focal Point. | |
| 112 | 3.26 | Data Analytics - tools and versions. | Can the Government please provide a list of tools and versions the contractor is expected to support? | Reference PWS technologies section. | |
| 113 | 4.8 | Program Management. | Please confirm which Project Manager role the Government envisions as PM for organizational change management coordination with end users impacted by HEDC task order technology implementation and procedural changes? | See updated version of the PWS. | |
| 114 | 9 | 9, DATA DELIVERABLES: "The Government reserves the right to review all data deliverables for a period of 10 working days prior to acceptance. No data deliverable will be assumed to be accepted by the Government until the 10-day period has passed, unless the Government explicitly states otherwise in the TO." |
What are the possible Government dispositions? Accepted, Approved with Comments, or Rejected?
If Approved with Comments, when will the Government provide comments to contractor? Day 10? Also, how do we seek clarification on a comment, if needed?
Is there recourse for a Rejected CDRL?
| Referencing PWS sections 5.26, 5.27 as examples, what is the schedule and criteria for incorporating Government comments and CDRL resubmittal? | Rejected CDRL deliverables can be appealed to the contracting officer. | ||||
| 115 | Appendix D | Priority classifications. | There appears to be a service gap if an incident impacts more than 9 users, but does not result in a work stoppage. In this scenario, what is the required completion time? | Dependent on mission criticality of application. | |
| 116 | Scope of work | How many applications are under the scope? | Updated PWS contains number of current applications | ||
| 117 | Timeline | What will the approx.. time given to fill a position | Positions must be filled at beginning of TO Period Of Performance | ||
| 118 | Incumbent | Do you have any incumbent for this contract? | Yes. | ||
| 119 | We are aware that the positions are based within CONUS. Some of the positions are required to be fulfilled within 10 business days. It will be helpful to start our recruiting process if you share us the exact location for the some of positions | Can we know the exact location for some of the positions? | All positions for this contract will work at Hill Air Force base Utah. | ||
| 120 | 3.3 | Capacity planning | Do you have any infrastureutre costs limits on application? What will be considered as efficient capacity planning? How will you measure? | Contractor | |
| 121 | Evaluation | We have limited experience in the public sector space. It could be the same for most of the small business. How are you going to evaluate the vendors? | What is the evaluation process? | IAW Sections L&M | |
| 122 | Total value of the contract | What could be the total value of the contract | The estimated contract maximum is $485M. Please keep in mind that this is a ceiling and the Government is only required to provide enough work to satisfy the minimum guarantee. | ||
| 123 | 2 | PWS 2 refers to full time equivalency. PWS 3.1 refers to an FFP Minimum Team Complement (FFP MTC). PWS 3.2 refers to Over and Above Requirements, Surge Requirements, and Emergency Services. The pre-solicitation does not explain the CLIN structure. If this is an FFP contract with cost plus CLINS, FTE may not be appropriate. | Could the Government explain its intent for staffing level requirements as opposed to performance based requirements? How are level of effort and scope changes to be addressed in execution? | The intent is to ensure that performance in one area is not impacted by workload increases in other areas. Expedited or Over and Above requirements discovered after task order award will be addressed using the overtime, surge, or a combination of both rates. There are no cost plus CLINs on this contract. Travel will be cost reimbursable - no fee. | |
| 124 | Not Available | SAM does not include references for pricing for FA8201-20-R-0005. | Has a pricing reference been prepared? Where can it be found? | The TEP Matrix has been posted to beta.sam.gov. |
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