P02 MR RFI.docx

Request for Information: 36C10B27Q0024 Brand Name NetApp Storage Hardware and Software Maintenance and Support for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Information and Technology

1. Introduction

This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered a Request for Quote, Request for Proposal, or Task Execution Plan. Additionally, there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in the RFI. Your response to this RFI will be treated only as information for the Government to consider. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this RFI. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. Responses will be treated as market research information only; not as a proposal. No funds have been authorized, appropriated or received for this effort. The Government does not intend to pay for any information submitted in response to this RFI. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.101(c), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 541519 with a size standard of 150 employees.

The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified vendors, who can meet Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requirements for Brand Name NetApp Storage Hardware and Software Maintenance and Support. Responses to this RFI will be treated only as information for the Government to consider. The Government is not responsible for any cost incurred by industry in furnishing this information. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding vendor's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation should one be issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. All submissions will become Government property and will not be returned. Interested vendors are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. VA is under no obligation to provide feedback to the company, or to contact the company for clarification of any information submitted in response to this RFI.

Be advised that set-aside decisions may be made based on the information provided in response to this RFI. Responses should be as complete and informative as possible.

2. Background:

VA owns and uses brand name NetApp storage devices to support server virtualization operations, site File Shares, and critical medical and administrative data. This requirement is for Brand Name NetApp Storage Hardware and Software Maintenance and Support will ensure these items remain operational. These storage solutions are vital in providing high-availability, virtualized servers for their respective facilities, including fault-tolerance and in-use migrations to support clinical and administrative use cases, resulting in zero loss of data.

3. RFI Response Instructions:

All responsible sources may submit a response in accordance with the below information:

NO MARKETING MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED AS PART OF THIS RFI.

CAPABILITY STATEMENTS that are not tailored to the requirements of this RFI will not be accepted or reviewed.

a. Interested Vendors shall at a minimum provide the following information in the initial paragraph of the submission (note acronyms used in the table are defined below the table):

Name of Company:

Address:

Point of Contact:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

For VOSB and SDVOSBs, proof of certification with SBA:

For SDVOSB / VOSB concerns, indicate whether at least 50 percent of the cost of performance incurred is planned to be expended for employees of your concern or employees of other eligible SDVOSB/VOSB concerns.

NAICS code(s):

Company Business Size & Status:

If a small business, please identify socio-economic category(ies).

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):

Existing Contractual Vehicles (GWAC, FSS or MAC):

*If you believe there is a more appropriate NAICS code, please provide that to the Government with your rationale.

Acronyms:

· FSS - Federal Supply Schedule,

· GWAC - Government-wide Acquisition Contract

· NAICS – North American Industry Classification

· NASA SEWP - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement

· SBA – Small Business Administration

· SDVPSB – Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

· VOSB – Veteran-Owned Small Business

For SDVOSB/VOSB vendors: Your company’s intent and ability to meet the set aside requirement in accordance with VAAR 852.219-73 (JAN 2023) (DEVIATION) VA Notice of Total Set-Aside For Certified SDVOSBs and 13 CFR §125.6, which states the contractor will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to the prime for contract performance to firms that are not certified SDVOSBs listed in the SBA certification database (excluding direct costs to the extent they are not the principal purpose of the acquisition and the SDVOSB/VOSB does not provide the service, such as airline travel, cloud computing services, or mass media purchases). When a contract includes both services and supplies, the 50 percent limitation shall apply only to the service portion of the contract

Be advised that set-aside decisions may be made based on the information provided in response to this RFI. Responses should be as complete and informative as possible.

b. Brief summary (not to exceed 10 pages and the email file size shall not exceed 5 MB), describing your company’s capability and technical approach to meeting the requirements identified in the attached Draft Product Description (PD) and Annex A.

c. With this RFI, VA seeks to determine:

· If there are other authorized brands that can meet the requirements identified in the Draft Product Description (PD) and Annex A;

· The availability of sources that are able to meet the requirements identified in the Draft PD and Annex A and authorized as a reseller/provider of brand name NetApp;

· Budgetary, informal quotes that also identify the appropriate NetApp nomenclatures and part numbers for the requirements defined in the draft PD and Annex A;

· If set-aside opportunities exist; and

· The appropriate Government point of entry to use.

**See the attached draft PD and draft Annex A for requirement details.

d. Responses to this RFI shall be submitted electronically no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time, October 9, 2026, via email to the Technology Acquisition Center (TAC) points of contact:

Contract Specialist, Richard.Melton2@va.gov; and Contracting Officer, Diana.Armesto@va.gov

Please note Brand Name NetApp Storage Hardware and Software Maintenance and Support Renewal in the subject line of your response. Mark your response as “Proprietary Information” if the information is considered business sensitive. All proprietary/company confidential material shall be clearly marked on every page that contains such.

RESPONDENTS ARE ADVISED THAT THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE DELAYED, CANCELED, OR REVISED AT ANY TIME.