Attachment 9 - Enterprise Network Services RFP Questions and Answers

H92222-10-R-0032

Attachment 9: Enterprise Network Services RFP Questions and Answers

**NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE RESULTANT CONTRACT**

August 30, 2010

Enterprise Network Services RFP Comments

Section /

Paragraph / Page

Questions / Comments Response

1. L/1.14/115 Are we allowed to use Arial Narrow in graphics and tables? No

2. I/ Contract Clause/102

The Lead Change Manager/ Coordinator for Service Area was not mentioned in Section I on page 102, but was mentioned as a requirement in Section L on page 122. Is there a reason it is missing on page 102?

Concur

3. L/1.15/124

On page 124, No. 3, Past Performance Information Sheets, it mentions Management of the major functional requirements as outlined under in contract Attachment entitled Performance Work Statement, USSOCOM Enterprise Network Services. Which major functional requirements are you referring to?

Actually on pg 123, list item #3, under Past Performance Information Sheets.

This past performance requirement pertains to all management and operations functions as described in Section 7.1 through 7.7 within Attachment 1.

4. L/1.15/124

Number 2 under IV-A specifically separates the role of the Offeror, subcontractor, teammate and joint venture partner.

However, number 1 under Past Performance Information Sheets states that the Offeror shall submit a maximum of five Past Performance Information Sheets. Is it the Government’s intent to only have the Prime (the Offeror) submit Past Performance citations?

The Government will evaluate Joint Venture past performance if the Government determines it is relevant in regards to overall organizational size, technical scope, geographic complexity, and extent of the services provided by the Offeror to the reference customer as stated in the RFP.

5. L/1.15/124

Listed in the requirements for the Past Performance Volume are the Table of Contents, Summary Page, Past Performance Information Sheets, and Completed SF 294/295. Is it correct to assume that we can submit the SF 294/295 at the corporate level?

No – The SF 294/295s needs to be at the contract level.

6. PWS/7.1.7/P

ara 3/25

“Additionally, the EN Contractor shall provide local onsite network integration support for USSOCOM’s CONUS and OCONUS locations when USSOCOM is deploying production-ready products and solutions into any of its garrison command facilities.”

This sentence seems to indicate onsite network integration support is required when USSOCOM is deploying production-ready products and solutions. Is that correct (i.e. contract personnel will travel to each site receiving a production-ready solution to assist with implementation)?

YES – as requested by USSOCOM

7. PWS/7.1.7/P

ara 3/25

“Additionally, the EN Contractor shall provide local onsite network integration support for USSOCOM’s CONUS and OCONUS locations when USSOCOM is deploying production-ready products and solutions into any of its garrison command facilities.”

The mix of CONUS, OCONUS, and Garrison language makes this sentence ambiguous. Is contract support required when deploying production-ready solutions to CONUS, OCONUS, or both types of sites?

Contract support for 7.1.7 is required at both CONUS and OCONUS locations

8. PWS/7.1.7/P

ara 3/25

“Additionally, the EN Contractor shall provide local onsite network integration support for USSOCOM’s CONUS and OCONUS locations when USSOCOM is deploying production-ready products and solutions into any of its garrison command facilities.”

Approximately how many instances of “onsite network integration support” are expected per month / year?

All available information is included in the Bidder’s Library.

9. Section L Part II K & Part II L/Pg119

In Section L, it calls out the VPN Services requirement twice, both in Part II K and in Part II L on page 119. Do you want the VPN requirement grouped with the WAN / MAN / CAN / LAN in Part II K or as a separate section as called out in Part II L?

Concur

10. PWS/7.1.7

&7.4.9/Pg25 & 69

SOF Integration Facility Support Services: is in PWS 7.1.7 and PWS 7.4.9. Should this be addressed in both sections?

Yes – 7.1.7 identifies / describes the types of work to be performed under the CLIN – 7.4.9 identifies the primary high-level the roles & responsibilities related to supporting the SIF

11. PWS/7.1.8,

7.4.1

&7.5.1/PG

26, 55 &73

New Facility/Deployment Installs, Moves, Adds, and Changes (IMACs) is in PWS7.1.8 and PWS7.4.1 and PWS

7.5.1. Should this be addressed in both sections?

Not necessary since all of section 7.0 describes the network services support

12. PWS/5.3/PG

The EN Contractor shall identify an Enterprise Networks Service Manager for each of the primary Enterprise Networks technical domains it is responsible for managing (i.e., data, voice, and video networks). The EN Contractor’s service delivery manager(s) shall be considered key personnel responsible for coordinating and managing the day-to-day Enterprise Networks operational environments and relationships...

In Section L there is one Network Manager over all the Enterprise Network Technical Domains; however, the PWS defines each EN Contractor’s service delivery manager(s) shall be considered key personnel? Which one is correct?

13. PWS/7.2.8

Defined Roles & Responsibiliti es #8/Pg36

Define IT core competency requirements for each of the respective service delivery & support job categories and verify that key personnel assigned to fill respective positions have competencies, including qualification and certification Projects where appropriate.

When are the core competencies for each of the key personnel being released?

The core competency requirements for key positions are as prescribed by ITIL V3. The Government is not forcing a defined set of job categories on offerors so the final list of job categories will not be known until after award. The initial list of core competency requirements will be developed with the selected offeror and then maintained by the Government.

14. B/ CLINs X002,X003, X004,X005/

PG3-6,13-

16,23-26,33-

CLIN states " Each Per Month Unit Price = 1 month of service for one OCONUS Switch, Router, Wireless Access Point (WAP), or Firewall." Please clarify if the unit price equaling one month of service is bundled as a switch, router, wireless access point, and router or is each piece of equipment individually and separately priced for each month.

Each piece

15. B/X011 Will the Government allow contractors to proposal variable skill sets for each labor category in Attachment 8 T&M Labor Categories (i.e. Entry, Intermediate, Senior).

Offerors may not propose categories beyond those contained in the RFP.

16. L/V-A/Pg125 V-A - Overview and Explanatory Narrative/Notes. • Offerors must include represented costs for on-site and off-site work-related activities.

Yes, Offerors FFP CLINs must include represented costs for both on-site and off-site work-related activities.

17. Response to Questions

137/PG38

Question: The RFP specifies planning for a transition (in) period between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2011. No CLIN covers this period. Would the Government add a transition CLIN similar to the one in the ITSM RFP?

Response: No –It is expected that offerors will amortize transition cost over the fixed price CLINs

No –It is expected that offerors will amortize transition cost over the fixed price CLINs

18. Response to Questions

138/PG38

Question: The RFP specifies planning for a transition (in) period between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2011. No CLIN covers this period. Would the Government add a transition CLIN similar to the one in the ITSM RFP?

No –It is expected that offerors will amortize transition cost over the fixed price CLINs.

19. L/ III-B-8th bullet/Pg 120

Personnel certifications - requested to provide company level (total staff) certifications over a period of years.

Understood, but when a comprehensive listing for all teammates, over several years of data, it requires multiple tables that greatly effect page count.

Offeror may only provide “Year Achieved” certification data for key personnel

20. Section H Key Personnel (pg 101 of 134);

Section L III- C Key Personnel (pg 121 of 134)

Section L identifies a Lead Change Manager as Key Personnel but H does not make the same reference. Is this position designated as a Key Person requiring a resume?

Reference is actually in Section I – not H

21. Section H Key Personnel (pg 101 of 134) Section L III- C Key Personnel (pg 121 of 134)

Can you clarify whether “IT Service Management Support and Coordination for Enterprise Networks” is an actual single position or the title for a group of service management positions aligned with change, release, configuration, incident, and problem management?

If associated with the group, please verify that only the change manager is considered Key personnel requiring a resume under the title.

Clarified

22. PWS 5.3 (pg 14 of 101)

The second sentence of the first paragraph identifies the service delivery managers (voice, video, data, etc.) as “…key personnel responsible for…”. We assume the term “key personnel” is not the same as Key Personnel identified in Section L III-C and Section H which require resumes.

Clarified

23. Attach 1, PWS, Para 7.1.1, Page

Management and maintenance of Google Earth: Please confirm that the EN contractor’s responsibilities are limited to the EN user configuration, and that the Government does not intend for the EN contractor to provide software application management for the Google Earth software package.

This is a correct assumption

24. Attach 1, PWS, Para 7.1.1, Page

Global SOF COMSEC Coordination: Please provide the following scope information necessary for us to plan, estimate and perform this work:

(1) definition of “coordination” and method of communication (email, phone, face to face requiring travel);

(2) number and location of devices and points of contact with whom the contractor must coordinate;

(3) what is the frequency of coordination required per device;

(4) whether the contractor is responsible for configuration and physical distribution of keys for NIPR, SIPR and

JWICS network devices;

(5) whether the contractor is responsible for installation of actual crypto device keys;

(6) whether the contractor is responsible for performing COMSEC security officer duties.

All available SOP information has been included in the Bidder’s Library.

25. Section L, II- J through II- P, Part II-K & II-L, Page

VPN Services was added to Section II-K (WAN/MAN/CAN/LAN) in the Final RFP and is also included in PWS 7.1.2 as part of WAN/MAN/CAN/LAN.

However, in Section L, VPN Services is still listed as a separate section (Section II-L). Please confirm that

Section II-L is an oversight and will be deleted, since VPN services will be addressed in Section II-K.

Deleted item listed in Sect L

26. Attach 1, PWS, Para

7.1.4 , page

Please confirm that the “day to day management” to be performed by Distributed Computing includes VTC scheduling and de-confliction responsibilities, and that the EN contractor has no VTC scheduling responsibilities. We recognize the need for coordination with Distributed Computing to ensure adequate bandwidth based on

VTC requirements.

Correct assumption

27. Section B The government provided the evaluated CLIN quantities in the Bidders Library. Does the government intend to update the B Tables (CLINs) with these quantities to allow the contractors to extrapolate totals?

No – these quantities are for evaluation purposes only and will not be included in Section B

28. L.1.15/ Proposal Submission Requirements , III-C – Key Personnel Resumes/121 of 134

May resumes be placed in an appendix to provide for uninterrupted pagination in Volume III?

Yes.

29. L.1.15 Proposal Submission Requirements

, III-F-

Transition Planning, Transition In, 2nd bullet Pg123 of 134

A WBS is referenced in the instruction, but there is no required location. Is a WBS required, and if so, where should it be placed? If it is required in the Technical or Management Volume, we respectfully request that it not be included in the page count, since it will be lengthy.

A WBS (Gantt Chart) is required as part of the Management Plan, but as stated in Section L, is excluded from the page count.

30. L.1.14 Table, row 1 Pg 115 of 134

May we use Arial Narrow font for text Spreadsheets, tables, and graphics?

No

31. PWS

5.3Pg14 of

Are these 3 additional Key Personnel above and beyond the Key Personnel Requirements outlined in the RFP page 101 of 134?

Addressed in previous question.

32. L.1.15 pg

Part II-K includes VPN services which is consistent with how requirements are spelled out in the PWS, section 7.1.2.

However Part II-L also asks for how we would manage service delivery for VPNs as well. Should we write to Part II-K or Part II-L or both

Addressed in previous question.

33. L.1.15 pg

Several of the requirements (bulleted list) for the Transition In Project Plan do not lend themselves to Gantt Chart format. (e.g Roles and Responsibilities Matrix, USSOCOM and Incumbent Contractor required resources)

Is the unlimited page count for the entire Transition In Project Plan or just the Gantt Chart?

As stated in Section L, only the Gantt chart is excluded from the page limitations.

34. Section B/E/L1.5 Pages 2,55 and 113

Will the Government amend Section B to include a CLIN for the 3 month transition period as defined in section L.1.5?

Will the Government amend Section E Inspection and Acceptance Terms to include a CLIN for the 3 month transition period as defined in section L.1.5?

No, Transition In services should be included in the fixed prices of the services.

No, Transition In services should be included in the fixed prices of the services.

35. L.1.15 Pg

Does the government wish to have a Glossary and list of Acronyms included? If so, will the government allow it outside of the page limited material? 87 of 101

The offeror may include this data but it will count against the page limit.

36. PWS

T.7.5.9.35 &36, Pg

Roles and responsibilities appear to be incorrectly assigned.

Will the Government assign responsibility to the EN Contractor for #35, and to the Government for #36?

Yes

37. Section B and Section L, 52.216-19, Pages 2 and

The contract minimum as defined on page 2 of 134 does not appear to be consistent with the contract minimum on page 80 of 134. Please clarify.

The contract minimum on page 2 refers to the minimum guarantee under the contract; whereas the minimum on page 80 (i.e. FAR 52.216-19) refers to task orders (TOs) under the contract.

38. Section B, Section H.7, and Section L, 52.216-19 Pages 2, 64, and 80 of 134.

The contract maximum as defined on Page 2 of 134 does not appear to be consistent with the maximum identified on page 64 of 134 or page 80 of 134. Please clarify.

The contract maximum on page 2 refers to the contract ceiling at the time of contract award (no incentive terms are earned at award). The contract maximums on page 64 (i.e. H.7 Contract Incentives) address increasing the contract maximum if incentive terms are earned. The maximum on page 80 (i.e. FAR 52.216-19) refers to task orders (TOs) under the contract.

39. Section I, Clauses Incorporated by Reference Pages 76, 77, and 78 of 134

Given USSOCOM confirmation in response to the draft questions that material purchases are not contemplated under the ENS tower, recommend deleting Clause 252.242- 7004, reference a requirement to maintain a Material Management and Accounting System (MMAS). Other clauses related to material management recommended for deletion include 252.225-7009 and 52.222-20.

The Government will remove all three clauses.

40. Section I, Clauses Incorporated by Reference Page 76 of

Given that ENS will be competitively awarded, recommend deleting non-applicable clauses 52.230-2 (Cost Accounting Standards) and 52.230-6 (Administration of Cost Accounting Records).

Regardless that this is a competitively awarded contract, the clauses are required since the contract will contain cost type CLINs.

41. Section I, Clauses Incorporated by Reference Page 76 of

Recommend incorporating Alt 1 to Clause 52.233-1 to permit the contract, in the event of a dispute, to proceed without interruption.

Government agrees with the incorporation of Alternate 1.

42. Section L, Volume II, Page 119 of

Please provide correct references for Volume II, Section J through P. The instructions for this section contain references to parts J through R, as well as the text "the following sections I through O."

Also please define the proper placement for a response on VPN (Section K or Section L).

Changed section references to align properly

43. Attachment 7, Performance Work Statement, Contract Data Requirements , Multiple pages

Given that the DD-250 requirement in block 7 of the DD- 1423 form contains "N/A" for the majority of CDRLs, please provide detail on the process for the acceptance of contract deliverables.

A solicitation amendment will be issued to update the CDRLs so they appropriately address the contract deliverable acceptance process.

44. Attachment 1, Performance Work Statement, Section 7.5.1, Page 73 of

Please confirm that the table heading in Section 7.5.1 should read "EN Contractor" and not "Distributed Computing Contractor."

EN Contractor

45. Attachment 1, Performance Work Statement, Section 7.1.2 and Section

7.5.1 Pages

23 and 73 of

Please confirm that the following excerpt from Section

7.1.2 "Provision of this services extends up to and ends at the wall jack within USSOCOM facilities and includes provision, installation, maintenance, and management of the intra-facility LAN/VLAN wiring, equipment, and software itself within and between the facilities" describes the work to be accomplished using the Installs, Adds, Moves, and Changes (IMACs) services as defined in Section 7.5.1.

Yes – this is a correct assumption

46. Attachment 8, Performance Work Statement, Sections 1 through 11

Please confirm that USSOCOM will allow contractors to bill other direct cost adders, such as cost of living allowances, hardship allowances, and hazard allowances, etc., for the time and material CLINS.

Contractors will not be allowed to separately bill other direct cost adders, such as cost of living allowances, hardship allowances, and hazard allowances, etc., for the time and material CLINs. Those costs should be included in the T&M rates.

47. PWS 7.4.5

pages 61 and 62 Change Management, Defined Roles and Responsibiliti es

Item 4. Maintain, update, and manage USSOCOM’s enterprise-wide Request for Change (RFC) status register that is used to record, track, and report on the status all RFCs that have been submitted for consideration” and

Item 6. Receive and document all RFC and classify proposed changes to the Services, which shall include change cost, risk impact assessment and system(s) security considerations”

Shouldn’t this be restricted to only the Enterprise Network related RFCs vice ALL RFCs for all Towers?

Yes

48. L.14, Format Requirements , RFP page

Please confirm that tabular data with limited text, as may be required in all volumes, may be single spaced (similar to graphics and charts with limited text).

No

49. L.14, Format Requirements , RFP page

For ease of evaluation, recommend allowing bidders to include a list of acronyms and abbreviations and a compliance matrix outside the page limits.

The offeror may include this data but it will count against the page limit.

50. L.15, III.C,

RFP page

To ensure the Government receives sufficient information to evaluate qualifications of proposed Key Personnel, recommend that resumes be allowed to be single-spaced.

The requirement will not change. Resumes are subject to one and one half spacing.

51. L.15, II-K

and II-L, RFP

The Government requests VPN Services be discussed under both II-K and II-L. To avoid repetition in a page-constrained proposal, please confirm that VPN Services is required to be discussed only in II-L.

Addressed previously.

52. Reference RFP Section B and clause H.6 page 63:

Section B indicates that the contract minimum is one month of service under CLINs 1001 and 1010. H.6 indicates that, at contract award, the Government will issue an order for 12 months of GNCC service under CLINs 1001 and 1010, which will constitute the contract minimum.

What is the correct contract minimum value? Is it one unit (one month) of CLINs 1001 and 1010, or is it 12 units (12 months) of CLINs 1001 and 1010?

A solicitation amendment will be issued to update H.6. so it agrees with Section B.

53. Reference 5652.215- Estimated Prices for Data RFP

This clause requires contractors to provide estimated data prices for each CDRL.

Will these items be billed separately? If so, will the RFP be modified to include separate CLINs for the CDRLs? If not, then we assume that the cost associated with CDRL preparation should be included in the fixed unit prices. If that assumption is correct, what is the purpose of providing estimated data prices?

Estimated data prices shall be included in block 18 of the CDRL. Estimated data prices not requested for pricing purposes. They are only requested for purposes of analysis as required by DoD regulations. The cost of the data is built in to the existing CLIN structure.

54. Reference government response to question 94:

In the Government’s response, it indicated that only direct cost is included in the $40K/year plug for travel, and that only direct cost would be an allowable charge to the travel CLIN. Most companies apply some kind of indirect mark-up (G&A or handling) to travel costs as a legitimate means, consistent with their Cost Accounting Disclosure Statements, of recouping incurred costs associated with travel expenses. By not allowing contractors to charge legitimate, accepted indirect rates on travel costs, the Government is essentially forcing contractors to operate in a loss position every time they incur travel costs.

We recommend the Government reconsider this limitation and allow offerors to apply indirect mark-up to travel consistent with their disclosed accounting practices.

All travel costs charged to the Travel CLIN shall be in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation.

55. Reference RFP Section L.1.7.2 Evaluated Price:

This section indicates that the evaluated price for the T&M CLINs (X011) will be calculated based on the highest proposed rate for each category times the Government estimated hours.

For proposal preparation purposes, please provide the Government’s estimate of hours by labor category that will be used in the calculation of evaluated price.

The Government’s estimated hours will be used for evaluation purposes only.

The estimated hours will not be provided.

56. Reference government response to question 76, RFP page 11

CLIN X011,

PWS 7.1.8

Response to question 76 states that CLINS X003, X007, X009 were the OCONUS CLINS. PWS 7.1.8, last sentence…. The EN Contractor shall provide network support services for situations where USSOCOM deploys network end-node equipment into operational theaters in support of SOF personnel.

Should the labor category rates for CLIN X011 include OCONUS or will the government request separate labor rates for both CONUS and OCONUS?

Additionally, will the government provide anticipated hours per labor category?

Yes, CONUS and OCONUS rates should be included. A solicitation amendment will be issued to update Attached 8.

57. General Will the Contractor be required to provide technical data or defense services controlled information for export to foreign nationals or coalition partners who are foreign nationals?

If so, will the Government provide the contractor a written directive authorizing contractor and their subcontractor’s use of ITAR exemptions for the export of defense services and technical data under ITAR 125.4(b)(1) and 126.4(a) to foreign persons during this effort?

N/A

58. RFP page 85 52.244-2 – Subcontracts

(JUN 2009).

In paragraph (d) it states that if the Contractor has an approved purchasing system, the Contractor nevertheless shall obtain the Contracting Officer’s written consent before placing the following subcontracts:

Nothing is listed. Please provide the missing data.

The Government will update the clause to reflect “N/A”.

59. General Will the Government assign a DPAS rating to this contract? No. DPAS will not apply to this contract.

60. RFP

Attachment 2: Enterprise Services Management Performance Measurement s

If SLA slippage is caused due to unforeseen accidents or dependency on the other towers for input, what mechanisms will be put in place through the Government to allow the contractor to recover from such an interruption?

The SLA incentive structure is designed to incentivize SIE performance, which requires all contractors to work together. In rare instances where the Government determines

61. RFP page 63, H.6 ; RFP page 113, L.1 paragraph 1.5

What is the authority to start the transition-in period;

will the government issue a Delivery Order?

Transition In services should be included in the fixed prices of the services, and will start when a task order has been issued for CLINs 1001 and 1010.

62. PWS page

11, CLIN

X0011;

government response to question 86

The government response for question 86 states in part that….CLIN X0011 will be for labor only in accordance with the contract. Will the government provide all tools?

The Gov’t will provide all hardware and software required to complete the effort

63. Government response to questions 76 and 103.

Please confirm there will be no work in war zones. The work under this contract is for world-wide support, which may include war zones.

64. Section E references FAR Clause 52.246-5 – Inspection of Services

What CLIN would this clause be applicable to? Not applicable. The Government will delete clause via a solicitation amendment.