Strategic MR RFI 3 May.pdf

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is performing strategic market research within the realm of the expected scope of the Integrated Research and Development Enterprise Solutions (IRES) follow‐on contract. The current IRES contract number is HQ0796‐17‐D001.

Purpose

Driven by a potential need to shift how the MDA procures solutions and services, early engagement with industry provides an opportunity to learn about market capabilities and ways that industry fulfills requirements. The purpose is to gather industry perspectives, input, and feedback into the latest industry practices, trends, solutions, and processes in context of topics identified in this announcement. Each interested party will be given an opportunity to prepare a written response to the strategic market research topics and then virtually present responses through one‐on‐one presentations.

The goal is to discover how technology and business practices have evolved in recent years within industry and provide the MDA an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of changes; recognizing the constant evolution of technology and processes in the private sector.

The information gained through this strategic market research may also be used to shape acquisition strategies and how the objectives and outcomes of the requirements are documented.

Characteristics of industry presentations

Not a marketing pitch of vendor specific solutions.

An opportunity to inform MDA about issues, practices, perspectives, and emerging trends related to the topics identified in this announcement.

An opportunity to inform MDA of emerging technologies, best practices, processes, and how industry defines and fulfills requirements.

An opportunity to present the industry perspective on providing services, products, and solutions.

Presentation topics

Industry is invited to address the following topic areas. Vendors are not required to address every topic area but may choose which topic area(s) they wish to address. These topics are not meant to be comprehensive of the entire scope of the IRES follow‐on contract.

Topic Area 1 (Limitations: 45 minutes, 20 slides)

1.1 Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC) is considered an operations facility and test range that provides the capability for a rapidly reconfigurable shared communications, computing, and mission platform that can be leveraged for concurrent event execution and real‐world 24x7 Missile Defense System

(MDS) and non‐MDS operations. The MDIOC is also leveraged as the hub and interface for much of the MDA network infrastructure, concurrently supporting MDS Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) networks and data operations and continuous, secure, global IT common core networks and event support. These IT and cybersecurity enterprise capabilities extend from the MDIOC to global MDA locations to enable the MDS mission. The MDIOC is a facility occupied by a variety of military and government staff, not all from the same organization, and not all affiliated with the MDA. These diverse teams are supported by a number of different contracts. Describe current and emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to organize, develop, educate, implement, and enforce Systems Engineering standards across a facility like the MDIOC.

1.2 Describe current and emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to develop and implement a Configuration Management program across a facility like the MDIOC. This question is not exclusively targeting IT, but the electrical, mechanical, and physical infrastructure of the facility. Keep in mind the facility hosts a number of different government teams and support contractors. Please include information on developing and maintaining a MDIOC technical baseline, authoritative data sources, and thoughts on technologies supporting the establishment and maintenance of a configuration/change management board.

1.3 Quality Assurance is necessary, but often overlooked and underfunded on facility projects.

Describe industry best practices for implementing a comprehensive quality assurance program within a facility occupied by different government organizations, supported by different contracts, to ensure verification of project completion and accurate configuration management.

1.4 The MDIOC supports MDS concurrent test, training, and operations activities on a 24/7/365 basis. Describe industry best practices for implementing a Mission Assurance program that would ensure the non‐disruption of MDS operations and flight/ground test activities, while maximizing the opportunity for conducting facility projects and preventive maintenance.

Topic Area 2 (Limitations: 45 minutes, 20 slides)

2.1 Office space within MDA is limited and telework practices have seen the advent of smaller workspaces that may be occupied by a different person each day. Describe trends, methods, or materials being utilized throughout industry to maximize comfort and utility in small workspaces, reduce noise pollution, and increase a sense of privacy.

2.2 Describe industry best practices, state of the art developments and technologies in Energy Saving Controls (Automatic lights, environmental controls, hot water on demand).

2.3 Describe industry best practices, state of the art developments and technologies, in Physical Security (cameras, doors, locks, entry control systems), for both internal and external spaces.

2.4 Describe industry best practices, processes, and methods used to monitor and maintain a high degree of professional facility appearance standards in both office and IT laboratory spaces (floor or wall scuffs, stained carpets or ceiling tiles, damaged fixtures, etc.).

2.5 Describe industry best practices, state of the art developments and technologies in Emergency Power Generation across a spectrum of applications ranging from individual desktops to large facility data operations requiring 1000's of KVA in capacity and redundant systems (Uninterruptable Power Supplies, Emergency Generators, etc.).

2.6 As space utilization changes over time, building modifications are often required, to include reinforcing walls to mount equipment, dropping IT or power cabling and outlets, or relocating workstations or walls. Describe available materials, methods, best practices to make these modifications less costly and less time consuming.

Topic Area 3 (Limitations: 30 minutes, 20 slides)

The Missile Defense Space Center (MDSC) of the MDIOC provides the capability for a rapidly reconfigurable, shared communications, computing, and mission platform that can be leveraged for concurrent event execution and real‐world 24x7 Missile Defense Systems (MDS) and non‐MDS operations. Like some “crowd sourced” multi‐media applications in the world today, the MDSC systems receive data from many sources and sensors, which is then fused and processed to present consolidated information that users (decision makers and operators) can use to determine how to respond to what the many sources and sensors are providing.

3.1 For data collection and analysis systems (similar to missile defense on orbit space systems with corresponding ground assets), describe current and/or emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to organize, develop, educate, and/or implement the following: technology maturation, studies, analysis, detailed requirements definition, systems engineering, preliminary and detailed system architecture designs, prototype development, and system development of Enterprise Services operations centers.

To include supporting IT infrastructure, IT networks, development, integration, logistics planning, cybersecurity and physical security protection planning, and supporting cost and schedule estimates for the development, fielding, testing, operations, and maintenance of planned capabilities.

3.2 Describe current and/or emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies used to organize, develop, educate, and/or implement support of defense systems, to include the spectrum of RDT&E activities, including development, operations, monitoring and reporting of sensor assets, break‐fix, enhancement, and technical refresh of enterprise architectures.

3.3 Describe current and/or emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to organize, develop, educate, and/or implement management of operations center capability, test and integration laboratories, and data sensor asset participation in test and evaluation activities.

3.4 Describe current and/or emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to organize, develop, educate, and/or implement development, integration, and sustainment of a “data collection and analysis system” enterprise architecture for an operations center used for future operational research and development (R&D) of experimental or developmental defense systems.

Topic Area 4 (Limitations: 30 minutes, 20 slides)

4.1 Describe emerging technologies, industry best practices, and processes that should be adopted in an IT Asset Management program (hardware and software). The purpose of an IT Asset Management program is to manage the finances, contracts, and usage of IT assets throughout their lifecycles to balance service requirements, total costs, budgeting, and compliance. The lifecycle ranges from procurement through deployment to use (and upgrades) to decommissioning (or reuse) to disposal. The IT Asset Management program would be capable of managing over 140K assets at 155 worldwide locations deployed to end users and stateside warehouses. Include in the discussion a reasonable threshold that is often considered when balancing the cost of the actual asset in comparison to the cost to track and manage the asset. What is a reasonable dollar amount one is willing to accept for loss versus the money spent on tracking it?

Expected outcomes/benefits of an IT Asset Management program:

Greater availability of asset information on which to base business decisions

More accurate risk assessments due to better asset tracking

Improved understanding of the real cost of assets

Improved adherence to vendor licensed software products

Increased insight into the Total Cost of Ownership of IT services through detailed asset information

Increased efficiency of utilizing existing investments in hardware, software, and licenses

Ensure compliance with statutes, regulations, directives, and enterprise architecture

Assurance of audit and governance compliance

Full control of all assets

Reduction in unnecessary or duplicate expenditures

Assets are available at the right time for deployment

Expected activities that might be associated with an IT Asset Management program

Establish Asset Management Framework

Record and Control Assets

Maintain Asset Record Information

Monitor, Audit, and Reconcile Asset Records

Conduct Asset Remediation

Retire and Dispose of Assets

Monitor, Manage, and Report Asset Management

Evaluate Asset Management Performance

4.2 Describe emerging technologies and industry best practices for bulk destruction of approximately 10K ‐ 30K electronic assets such as cell phones, hard drives and discrete integrated circuit components and materials annually.

4.3 Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) is a means for understanding and managing supplier risks, and for identifying practices that reduce the risk of malicious or subversive exploitation of mission‐critical components intended to affect component performance, as well as the risks posed by inherent vulnerabilities in the supply chain. To effectively manage supply chain risks, programs should develop a set of SCRM practices and protection measures to minimize intentional malicious activities as well as to detect and respond to supply chain attacks.

Describe current and emerging industry trends, best practices, processes, and technologies being used to develop and implement a SCRM program.

Topic Area 5 (Limitations: 1 Hour, 30 slides)

5.1 Describe the major components and associated emerging technologies, best practices, and processes to develop a Federated Engineering Ecosystem (FEE).

Federated Engineering Ecosystem (FEE): Architectural design, development, and integration of an Enterprise‐wide Federated Engineering Ecosystem. The FEE is an ecosystem backbone in which all required capabilities and accesses are supported, removing the need for individual networks, supporting all stakeholders in a shared infrastructure in a federated multi‐tenancy system. This ecosystem requires the capability for both common‐use enterprise level systems and operational, 24x7x365 mission related systems to operate in parallel. Expected components:

Past Performance of Digital Engineering Implementation and Roadmaps

Agile/SAFe/Scrum Practices

Model Based Systems Engineering

Rapid release software factory pipelines process (DevSecOps)

Configuration control and management processes

Cyber Modernization o Continuous Monitoring o Multi‐Level Security (Unclassified, Secret, Top Secret) and Access Control o Zero‐Trust o Continuous Authorization of Systems o Risk Management Framework o Software Authorization

Modular Open System Approach

Innovative Decision Support Processes

Integrated/Federated Tech Stack

Cloud based technologies for Digital Engineering o Cloud Storage o Cloud Computing o Cloud‐to‐non‐Cloud Integration

Data Architectures o Data Lake o Data Catalog o Data Analytics o Data Protection o Big Data

5.2 In the IT world, self‐healing systems can be described as “any device or system that has the ability to perceive that it is not operating correctly and, without external assistance, make the necessary adjustments to restore itself to normal operation.” With regard to the sustainment of operational mission unique IT support equipment and infrastructure, describe current state of the art technologies and capabilities associated with “self‐healing” ability for system degradation and/or failure to be automatically detected, identified, corrected, and reported to the human‐in‐the‐loop for correction.

5.3 Describe emerging technologies, industry best practices, and processes to perform IT maintenance and sustainment operations tasks that include maintenance planning, reporting, break fix, emergency stock, sparing and technical refresh in both government ownership and leasing environments.

5.4 Describe emerging technologies, industry best practices, and processes that should be adopted in executing an organization’s IT service strategy. An IT service strategy ensures an organization is in a position to understand and handle costs and risks associated with the IT service portfolio, and has the foundation for operational effectiveness and quality performance.

It is expected that an IT service strategy would include the following components:

Business Relationship Management. Identify, monitor, and manage customer and stakeholder needs and expectations.

Demand Management. Understanding of the mission partner demand for a particular service and to plan early for provisioning of capacity and other aspects of support.

Financial Management. Control budgeting, accounting, and chargeback for service provision, providing transparency into the spending and cost recovery for services provided in the IT environment.

Service Portfolio Management. Evaluate and prioritize service investments proposals to ensure value to mission. Involved with the entire lifecycle of the service, from the time service is requested until it is decided that the service will be discontinued and decommissioned. Ensures that the right set of services is offered to meet the mission at the appropriate cost level. The focus is on service offerings.

Service Catalog Management. Provide an authoritative source of consistent information on all available services, and ensure that the information is accessible to those who are authorized to view it. Defines, collates, and publishes approved descriptions, under change control, of all services using terms aligned to the customer’s view of services and understandable by those without a detailed technical understanding.

Administrative details

All interested parties must identify what topic area they will present. The associated time and slide limit is identified with the topic.

All interested parties shall email Jay Carroll, jay.carroll@mda.mil and Matthew Steven, matthew.steven.ctr@mda.mil, no later than 0600 MST on 30 May 2022 of your interest in presenting and identify the topic areas being presented and the individual attendees (name, phone number, email) with the request. The one‐on‐one presentations are currently scheduled for the 13‐29 June 2022 timeframe. Each interested party will be notified of their presentation time no later than 3 June 2022. Each interested party shall submit a read ahead briefing by 0600 MST on 9 June 2021. All responses must be submitted in a .ppt and .pdf electronic format.

It is anticipated the Government Zoom platform will be used for these presentations. Details will be provided with the notification email. The government will push the slides during the one‐on‐one presentations.

Address questions to Jay Carroll, jay.carroll@mda.mil, with a courtesy copy to Troy Mitchell, troy.mitchell@mda.mil.

This Special Notice and subsequent one‐on‐one presentations are for informational purposes only. This is not a request for proposal. This notice does not constitute a solicitation and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this notice is strictly voluntary. The Government is neither committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided. No basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this special notice. Information and materials submitted in response to this request will not be returned. Proprietary, company sensitive, or classified material shall not be submitted.

There may be MDA Advisory & Assistance Services (A&AS) contractors in the listening audience of the presentations.