Consolidated Industry Comments Final.pdf

Question Number Document Section Page # Question Reference Government Response:

1 ITSM SaaS PWS 2.d 2

Please clarify what is meant by “legacy ticket” and relative retention period for transference, including specific requirements for data transfer. All or some, would the Contractor be required to transfer closed ticket data , and if so what is Age (6 month-1 Year, 2YR) of ticket data that would be required to be transferred?

What is the proposed ticket data retention period

Would be difficult to merge legacy/old/closed ticket data into a new system with it still being useful

IAW FAR 4.703, contractors must maintain information related to billing for a minimum of 3 years. As ticket volume is the basis for billing, data must be available for 3 years. For transfer from the legacy system it is a requirement that all summary data will be brought across along with open tickets. It is a requirement that the offeror will manage online data IAW government retention requirements and advise on Best Practices for retention.

2 ITSM SaaS PWS 2.e 2

Does the Government envision that AESMP Service Management (ITSM) SaaS subscription will be procured through specific pricing models, such as tiered pricing based upon total number of users or based on functionality, such as the optional capabilities as described within Section 8.19?

An effective pricing model will preclude the provider from constantly addition of users options that various sites might request ( for example - maintaining uniformity of operations across all NECs with common software capabilities)

The provided price matrix indicates the tiered pricing for users or devices as indicated. Please see tabs on Price Matrix.

3 ITSM SaaS PWS 4.b 4 Maintenance period is less than that used in current operations, Shortening this period could result in complications to NIPR operations.

Requirement can be revisited following year 3 of operational stability.

The government confirms the 2 hours maintenance window is appropriate for the cloud based AESMP environment, which is different than the current infrastructure

4 ITSM SaaS

PWS 8.15 22

Please clarify the Government's objective for the system to perform availability management functions, or simply provide the data to users and/or the MSP, in support of availability management activities

Since award for the ITSM SAAS and the AESD MSP will be to the same offeror, both availability management and providing the data to users and the MSP in support of availability management activities, are required

5 ITSM SaaS PWS 8.3 7 Please clarify if the system has the ability to auto-generate standard reports without additional licensing requirements to obtain such reports.

The offeror shall propose the system and determine how the requirements will be met.

6 ITSM SaaS PWS 8.4 8 Please clarify specifics of knowledge categories and attachments that are available “out of the box”, or if the MSP has to define and configure such The offerors solution shall define and configure each of the knowledge categories to meet the Army's requirements.

7 ITSM SaaS

PWS 8.17 25

Please clarify if the intent is for system to provide this information based on the available connections/B2b/integrations with Army systems to truly manage this information real time, as opposed to giving availability management data on the actual ITSM system

Relies on other Army managed systems for data

The intent is to give availability management data on AESMP on an outbound basis. AESMP dashboards will be used to view Inbound interface information such as device status

8 ITSM SaaS

PWS 8.19 28

Requirements matrix appears to contradict options, specifically in the Asset discovery and mapping, one section says provided the other says functionality.

Provider needs to understand if the functionality is required vs. provided.

The requirement for provision of asset discovery is more complex than the AESMP having that function.

Section 8.19 is a list of optional capabilities that MAY be awarded.

At that time the offeror will be required to provide those services.

9 ITSM MSP

PWS 1.0 3 Please clarify if all Army enterprise end users are on DoDIN A?

Supporting users on other networks will limit customer support tools and asset discovery tools.

Yes all are on the DODIN-A

10 ITSM MSP

PWS 2 3

The summary scope says,” The Contractor shall provide a scalable and configurable cloud-based SaaS environment that support the processes and functions defined in the AESMF.” Is the expectation that the SaaS contractor provide this solution or Operating and Maintaining the environment in which the SaaS will operate?

There is a separate PWS for the SaaS.

This language should be adjusted in order to avoid confusion.

The award will be made to a single contractor, the contractor will be responsible for all the tasks in each task order. How the division of labor is determined is the prime contractors responsibility. The government expectation is that the contractor will provide the solution and operate and maintain the solution; to include the environment.

11 ITSM MSP

PWS

3.0

Can the Government specify what is the minimum number (or percentage) of support personnel required at those sites? Is it understood from the Ft Belvoir statement that the Contractor can provide NIPR/SIPR alternate support centers?

Conflicting statements in the section as to the NIPR/SIPR required and alternate support sites as well as the number of personnel needed at those designated Government sites

The governments requirement is to have a presence at PAC, Huachuca, and Korea and the requirement is the MSP will manage the staffing to meet service levels. The MSP will advise the government if additional seats are needed in the course of operations at the government sites. Ft. Belvoir is an optional site and may be used if determined necessary. The PWS will be updated to ensure this is clear. If alternative NIPR/SIPR support centers are proposed an implementation plan is required to discuss how/when it will be implemented.

12 ITSM MSP

PWS 3.9 4

States contractor shall provide personnel on a temporary basis at other designated Government locations as required in order to support on-boarding or other AESD planning activities as required by the Government.

Will the Government include a separate CLIN to address such staffing requirements, given this would not be included within help desk support services.

Such staffing requirement cannot be addressed through standard help desk ticketing support services.

The government considers on-boarding to be part of the Tier 0/1 help desk services and therefore will not include a separate CLIN to support on-boarding. The increase in ticket volume from the completed on-boarding will increase the contractor's price due to increased ticket volume for the on-boarded activity. The Government anticipates up to 10 on boarding activities a year.

The PWS will be updated to include the "up to 10 onboarding's" to ensure clarity.

13 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 5

Please provide details of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 AESMF business management process, including the training delivery method/methods that is preferred and should be adopted.

Is it expected the contractor shall define the SLA/KPI associated with such service?

The government does not intend to award options in any particular order or phase. The training delivery method shall be identified and proposed by the offeror. The government shall add to the proposal submission requirements for the offeror to provide PKIs/SLA recommendations. The word "Phase" will be removed from the MSP PWS.

14 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 5 Can the Government explain the relationship between the table content and the Contractor deliverables for those Option areas?

The table is intended to depict the AESMF processes and how they will be grouped within the options to be awarded under the contract.

15 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 5 Please clarify the expected timeframe for exercising of the options as described within table shown on Page 5

Timing impacts staffing availability and risk to the government if too many things are changing simultaneously. Risk assessment for each of the options would need to be developed.

The optional capabilities may be exercised at any time during the 10 year contract and the timeline is currently unknown.

16 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 6

Is it the Government’s intent that the contractor integrate their telephony system for help desk support services with the Government’s NETPLUS/TMS, or for the contractor’s system to be able to receive a call from the NETPLUS/TMS?

The government does not require the contractor telephony system to be integrated with the NETPLUS/TMS. The government does require the contractor's ITSM to integrated to NETPLUS/TMS as specified in the MSP PWS.

17 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 6 The PWS reflects a 1 year to transition NETCOM ESMS, does this include a phased approach, as well as every Theater/Spoke

Shortened timelines will result in increased probability of risk and potential schedule impacts

The contractor has been given one year and the proposal should reflect the contractor's approach to completing transition for NIPR/SIPR and all Theaters/Spokes as indicated in Attachment 0030 System Technical Data and Usage Profile

18 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 6

Regarding ATO for the SaaS, also addresses the multiple systems and applications that must be addressed. Please delineate what is meant by “and through transition to additional and replacement common services provided by cArmy.”

Need to have an understanding of the scope addressed by “transition to ADDITIONAL and replacement common services.” This has a direct impact on scope cArmy will provide additional and replacement common services.

This was added so the contractor is aware that continual coordination with cArmy will be necessary throughout the life of the contract.

19 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 6

Requirement states that the Service Provider shall “incrementally train and on-board the remaining ARCYBER/NETOCM/signal COMMANDS/Brigades/NECs worldwide to the asset discovery and service mapping capabilities in a 1 year period or less”. The current scope of the contract does not include world-wide locations (Europe, etc.).

Is it the Government’s intent that the AESMP provider’s scope be increased to include these locations in addition to those identified within the scope identified within section 3.0 of this PWS?

Potential for scope creep, lack of domain knowledge of world-wide NECS, and operational environments increases operational and schedule risk.

Once the Asset Discovery option is exercised the contractor is required to migrate the existing work at the three NECs noted.

Once this is complete, location is irrelevant to asset discovery setup for other locations as there will not be legacy asset discovery data to migrate.

20 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

Please clarify what is meant by “Integrates with existing discovery capabilities.” Is this meant to imply auto-discovery and any additional equipment or software to do so?

See Question/Answer number 20. Yes auto Discovery is part of this requirement. See answer to Question 25 for additional information on hardware and software.

21 ITSM MSP

PWS

4.0 Field

Service Manageme nt

7 Please provide expected user counts and specific locations for required training

Unable to properly scope this option without user counts.

As indicated in Attachment 0030 System Technical Data and Usage Profile up to 14,000 licensed users shall require training.

The offeror's proposal shall detail an approach to initial an ongoing training as licensed users are added and removed.

22 ITSM MSP

PWS

4.0 Software Manageme nt

7 Please delineate the specific software elements that are to be included within software asset management requirement

Potential impacts to scope since requirements are unclear. Table only shows Asset Management/Software Management and IT Operations Management function

The contractor shall provide within their proposed approach the specific software elements they recommend the government use to support the AESMF based processes

23 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

What are the SLA/KPI for the Optional Services Asset, Business Management Process etc.? Can the Government provide details of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 AESMF business management process

See Question/Answer 14

24 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

Can the Government provide details as to the following

• Question A: Who will be responsible for the deployment of the discovery servers at the IPN / data centers? And their connection to the SaaS offering?

• Question B:Who will be responsible for the data model for the CI for all the discovered assets

• Question C: Who will be responsible for the HW/SW required to support the discovery servers at the IPN/data centers How does the Government envision the governance and accountability of the Question D: Change Management process to maintain the CI/CMDB as changes are applied to the system and assets removed/added to the system?

Answer A: Contractor recommends the virtual servers and the Government will deploy them.

Answer B: The contractor will recommend best practices for loading CMDB with discovery data and once awarded the government will collaborate to finalize the data model for CIs and assets.

Answer C: The Government is responsible for the HW/SW. The contractor will monitor the operation of the discovery servers and advise the government of any servers needing maintenance.

Answer D: The Government will be responsible for the management of the CI and assets at the installation level. The contractor change management process will be integrated into the governments existing change management process for data model, process and other higher level schema changes.

25 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

Can the Government provide details as to the current Software used, service modules, CI items, CMDB model / architecture, asset discovery system used, hosting locations?

Inclusion of a system design document for review enables contractors to accurately develop final solution suites for AESMP.

The Army is looking for a managed service provider who recommends within its proposal an approach that covers all of the Army's requirements. The Army will not dictate or preselect the items listed in the question.

26 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

Will the Government provide the ITSM SaaS in SIPR and the Contractor will be responsible to provide the transfer the necessary data under this MSP contract?

No, the contractor will provide a SIPR based system within one year. The Government will sponsor the contractor to obtain an ATO for that system. The contractor will be responsible for migrating data from the two legacy SIPR systems identified in Attachment 0030. The Army will provide an interim SIPR ITSM for one year to allow the Managed Service Provider the time to obtain proper approvals to operate their recommended SIPR system.

27 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 7

Can you provide an estimate of the Government Licensed users for each of the (C4IM command and installations listed in section?

Can you provide the number of expected users to be trained?

Can you provide the training delivery method/methods that are preferred /should be adopted and the expected SLA/KPI associated with such service?

Potential cost impact

See Attachment 30 for licensed user counts. See Question/Answer 22 for training. The Army is looking for a Managed Service Provider that will propose methods and approach for training and systems.

28 ITSM MSP

PWS 4 8 Will the government provide a repository to store deliverables?

It is the contractor's responsibility to provide a repository and the Government POCs will require access. See MSP PWS: Page 8, Working paper repository

29 ITSM MSP

PWS 4.13.2 12 Does micro services architecture and automation = cArmy services? See attachment 00XX cARMY Common Shared Services for explanation of these services.

30 ITSM MSP

PWS 5.3 14 Should the training certificates be maintained by the contractor in a government repository?

Even if certificates are maintained in a government training system, the contractor is required to maintain training certifications for each employee to ensure compliance with contract requirements.

31 ITSM MSP

PWS 8.0 20

In reference to dashboards, what standard (canned) dashboard are required and will customization be required since it will add to the level of effort required for development of multiple dashboards.

The Army requires the MSP to propose all software and systems and dependent on the system proposed it is possible that customization will be necessary to meet the requirements.

32 ITSM MSP

PWS 8 25

Would the Government provide SLA/KPI on the Tier 0 services and the incentives for the Contractor to develop these services to improve user experience and to deflect tickets generated thru other channels

The government will measure Tier 0 performance via SLA 7 AESD MSP Responsiveness to ensure identified opportunities for tier 0 are incorporated in the system in a timely manner. SLA 6 Customer Satisfaction will measure user satisfaction to include the Tier 0 portal. During contract execution the government may consider incentives for exceptional processes that reduce ticket volume and increase customer satisfaction that may create a shared savings.

33 ITSM MSP

PWS 8 24

Would the Government consider adding additional Channels of Communication for Ticket Creation? The only inbound / outbound call /Web chat and Web Form do not reflect all channels of communication available.

Can the Contractor propose additional Channels for Ticket Creation?

The contractor shall support the listed channels and may propose additional channels along with an implementation plan.

34 Attachment

Governme nt Property Listing

Please clarify if the Government’s intent that the items listed within Attachment 31, Government Property will remain in place for the first year of the contract’s performance period.

The government provided the list of property as a list of available property. The offeror shall identify what they want to use and how they want to utilize.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

3.0 Place

of Performan ce and Hours of Operation

4 Given that this is a firm fixed price contract, how will the Government evaluate an offeror’s proposed commercial SIPR facility?

The Ft. Belvoir facility may be substituted by commercial SIPR facilities if the contractor has a facility that meets all current security and technological requirements.

The government is buying a service and has allowed flexibility on where it is performed, beyond PAC, Korea and Huachuca. The evaluation of a contractors approach and corresponding price will remain the same whether commercial site or government site.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

4.0 Services to be provided by the Contractor

4 to 13

The Government provides third-level numbering under Section 4.0 starting at 4.13.1; however, there is no second-level numbering for the previous paragraphs. In order to facilitate the Government’s evaluation process, would the Government please provide consistent second and third level numbering under Section 4.0? These outline numbers will allow offerors to clearly delineate which proposal section(s) respond to the second and third level numbering, reducing confusion and cross-checking on the Government’s end.

When performing software or integration development such as configuration and integration of the AESMP ITSM SaaS with Government systems or addition of Government required functionality, the Contractor shall:

4.13.1 Build to the highest abstraction of

cloud services in order to meet functional technical performance and

The government will re number this section.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

4.0 Services to be provided by the Contractor

6 Could the Government please provide the historical daily, monthly, and annual contact volume for AESD?

1) the ITSM provided by the incumbent AESD contractor supporting NIPR enterprise services ticketing within six months of contract award;

(2) the ITSM known as the ESMS provided by the Government supporting

Ticket volume is the only data available, the government is relying on the contractor's expertise to determine if multiple contacts are included within each ticket count.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

4.0 Services to be provided by the Contractor

6 Could the Government please provide the projected daily, monthly, and/or annual contact volume for the AESD under this AESMP program?

1) the ITSM provided by the incumbent AESD contractor supporting NIPR enterprise services ticketing within six months of contract award;

(2) the ITSM known as the ESMS provided by the Government supporting both NIPR and SIPR C4IM services ticketing within one year of contract award; and

The total monthly legacy ITSM ticket volume is included in Attachment 0030 along with a subset of the actual monthly tickets handled by AESD. The contractor shall use this information for planning purposes. During the transition period, the government, the incumbent, and the awardee will collaborate on handling of daily demand to effect transfer from the incumbent to the awardee for AESD Operations. Note* Historically ticket volume has not be much difference between contact vs ticket volume. Only recently with the use of TEAMs has this changed.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13 It is unclear the role the Contractor will have in the fingerprinting process.

Could the Government please clarify the specific duties or tasks that the Contractor will need to complete to facilitate the fingerprinting requirements?

A Government representative will do the fingerprinting process; however, the Contractor shall facilitate the FBI fingerprinting requirements for each contracted employee.

The word facilitate only infers that the PRIME contractor ensures their employees and subcontractors are aware this fingerprinting is necessary as a requirement of their security clearance and the employee/subs continued work under the contract may be jeopardized should they not comply.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13 Will contracted employees be required to travel to a Government site to be fingerprinted?

A Government representative will do the fingerprinting process; however, the Contractor shall facilitate the FBI fingerprinting requirements for each contracted employee.

Yes

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13

To obtain a Secret clearance, an individual must have U.S. citizenship. As stated in the DD-254, “[a]ll personnel require Secret Clearance or greater,” however, Section 5.1 of the MSP PWS states that “local nationals are acceptable at the Korea help desk.” This statement in Section 5.1 of the MSP PWS conflicts with the requirement for all personnel to have Secret clearances in the DD-254. Does the Government intend for all Korean local nationals to also be U.S. Citizens? Could the Government please deconflict these statements?

The Contractor shall require its employees supporting AESD to be citizens or legal residents of the United States. However, local nationals are acceptable at the Korea help desk.

Currently, the Local Korean Nationals (LKN) are utilized under the

1.1 and 1.2 level agents. Army policy is evolving and LKNs may be limited to 1.1 level under AESMP. The LKNs are intended to be an exception under the contract. The DD254 will be revised to indicate this exception once final policy is determined. Please review the final solicitation for this guidance once released.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13 Could the Government please elaborate on how the Korean local nationals are screened for the Korea help desk?

The Contractor shall require its employees supporting AESD to be citizens or legal residents of the United States. However, local nationals are acceptable at the Korea help desk.

They go thru the same process as the KGS and Katusa local nationals go thru. the Korean government does the background check. If Army policy changes this process may be affected and this answer will be updated.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13 Could the Government please describe the approval process for Korean local nationals to support the Korea help desk?

The Contractor shall require its employees supporting AESD to be citizens or legal residents of the United States. However, local nationals are acceptable at the Korea help desk.

We use the background check and certifications to establish if the individuals are qualified. If Army policy changes this process may be affected and this answer will be updated.

Attachment

0003 AESD

MSP PWS

5.1 13 Could the Government please describe the type(s) of access Korean local nationals would receive when supporting the Korea help desk?

The Contractor shall require its employees supporting AESD to be citizens or legal residents of the United States. However, local nationals are acceptable at the Korea help desk.

We provide Tier 0 and Tier 1 access to the local nationals, to include account creations, training verification and other tasks that are cleared thru the RNEC divisions. If Army policy changes this process may be affected and this answer will be updated.

Attachment 0007 Past Performance Questionnaire .pdf

Past Performan ce Questions

1 to 4 Could the Government please provide a Word template for the Past Performance Questionnaire to allow offerors and Points of Contact to fill out the form more easily?

Entire document/form. A word version will be provided at time of final RFP release.

Attachment 0007 Past Performance Questionnaire .pdf

Past Performan ce Questions

1 to 4 Could the Government confirm that there is no page limit for each completed Past Performance Questionnaire? Entire document/form. Please see Attachment 0032 Instructions to Offerors. The questionnaire (PPQ)is not considered part of the page count.

Attachment 0007 Past Performance Questionnaire .pdf

4. Project Description 1 Could the Government confirm that there is no page limit for project description to provide relevancy details?

How is this project relevant to project of submission? (Please provide details such as similar equipment, requirements, conditions, quality measurements, etc.)

The page limit is set a two pages to cover relevance for 3 contract submissions.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

INSTRUCT

IONS TO

OFFEROR

S

1 to 2 Could the Government please confirm that the page limit for Subfactor 1 and Subfactor 2 for Volume 1 is 100 pages? Proposal Organization and Page Count Yes Subfactor 1 and 2 may use up to 100 pages. An additional 50 pages is allowed for Subfactor 3 submission.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

INSTRUCT

IONS TO

OFFEROR

S

1 to 2 Could the Government please confirm that Subfactor 3 is limited to 50 pages, and excluded from the 100 pages? Proposal Organization and Page Count Yes this is correct.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

INSTRUCT

IONS TO

OFFEROR

S

1 to 2 Could the Government please confirm that Subfactor 3 is excluded from the 100-page limit for Volume 1, Subfactor 1 and Subfactor 2? Proposal Organization and Page Count Yes this is correct.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor One— Transition Plan

May the offeror provide the IMS Gantt Chart as a PDF that has been exported from the project management software used to develop the schedule?

Proposal shall include an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) that addresses all transition activities as well as anticipated operation and program management activities for the first two years.

Section L states: All proposal information shall be in Microsoft (MS) office compatible format or in Adobe PDF format.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor One— Transition Plan

4 Could the Government please confirm that the IMS is excluded from the 100-page limit for Volume 1?

Proposal shall include an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) that addresses all transition activities as well as anticipated operation and program management activities for the first two years.

Yes the IMS is excluded. The RFP will be updated to specifically state IMS exclusion

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

The Government states that, “[o]nly offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.” From this language, we infer that this is a multi-phased solicitation with at least two phases. Can the Government please define how many phases this solicitation will have?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response. Therefore, there will only be one phase of the evaluation.

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

What factors and subfactors will be evaluated by the Government to determine if an offeror is in the competitive range to provide a subfactor 3 proposal?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

5 If this is a phased solicitation, how many phases and/or down selects does the Government plan to have for this solicitation?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

5 If this is a phased solicitation, what factors and subfactors will be submitted with each phase?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

If this is a phased solicitation, how many days after the initial proposal submission/phase does the Government expect to provide a down select notice to offerors?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

Subfactor 3:

Technical Challenge Response:

5 If this is a phased solicitation, how many days after receiving the down select will offerors have to submit?

Only offeror’s included in the competitive range will be requested to provide a subfactor 3 proposal.

The government is removing the provisions concerning submission of a subfactor 3 response in relation to a competitive range. All initial offers must include a subfactor 3 response

Attachment Instructions to Offerors.pdf

FACTOR 2

— PAST

PERFORM

ANCE-

Volume 2

Would the Government allow Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports as an alternative to the Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)?

Offerors shall submit contract information for no more than three (3) contracts using the Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (Attachment 0007).

Offeror's may submit CPARs as an attachment to a requested PPQ, however CPARs shall not be in lieu of submitted a PPQ.

Attachment 0033 Basis for Award.pdf

Factor Order of Importance

Subfactor One — Transition Plan is listed as the most important subfactor, weighted the highest in the Technical/Management evaluation. This basis of award highly favors the incumbent and is limiting to competition. In the SOO and PWS, the Government is requesting a new SaaS and an MSP configuration for IT Service Desk services; recommend the offerors solution to meet the Army’s technical requirements be the highest weight factor.

Technical /Management Subfactor Order of Importance: Subfactor one is more important than Subfactor two, Subfactor two is more important than Subfactor three

The basis of award does not favor the incumbent as the incumbent must also transition from the legacy environment to the AESMP.

There are some inherent incumbent advantages that cannot be mitigated, systems transition in this case is not one of those since the AESMP scope is different and larger than the current AESD requirement. Setting up and moving into a cloud environment is very challenging, transition performance is very important to ensuring smooth operations.

Attachment 0033 Basis for Award.pdf

FACTOR 2

— PAST

PERFORM

ANCE

Implementing a SaaS solution in a secure environment requires an expertise that is not common in contractors. Recommendation: Since SaaS is an integral element to both task orders, add SaaS implementation and operation as a relevancy for at least one reference?

RELEVANT DEFINITION: Relevant performance means at least one of the submitted references includes obtaining an authority to operate (ATO) using the Risk Management Framework (RMF) for a cloud-based solution. The remaining two references must be of relevant size to the AESMP procurement and utilize more than 80 agents on shift providing I.T. service desk support.

Attachment 0032 Instruction to Offerors states: "Relevant performance means at least one of the submitted references includes obtaining an authority to operate (ATO) using the Risk Management Framework (RMF) for a cloud-based solution" The government believe this language currently reflects the government's priorities.

Attachment DD254.pdf

13.

Security Guidance

3 Can the Government please confirm that all Tier 1 service desk personnel will require a Secret clearance?

11-M. All personnel require Secret Clearance or greater; interim Secret Clearance is acceptable IAW AR 25-2.

At Fort Shafter, HI and Camp Humphreys, Korea, IAW 311th Signal Command (Theater) Operation Order (OPORD) 311-1609-039, Contractor Accountability and Tracking Program (CTAP), personnel with elevated privileges are required to have a secret clearance with a T5/T5R to work on the SIPR network. These personnel include, but are not limited to the following labor categories: SIPR Agents with elevated privileges; Team Managers; Service/Site Manager; Level 2 agents

Please see Attachment 0001 Statement of Objectives and Attachment 003 MSP PWS. Entitlement managers do not require secret clearances to perform specific tasks supporting enterprise email (or successor services). The DD254 will be updated to allow these positions to only have the Trustworthiness/Public Trust investigation.

Attachment DD254.pdf

13.

Security Guidance

According to the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), Contractors are unable to initiate the T5/T5R process; only the Government is able to initiate the T5/T5R process. Will the Government initiate the T5/T5R process for Contractor employees who do possess a Secret clearance, but do not currently possess the T5/T5R requirement?

11-M. All personnel require Secret Clearance or greater; interim Secret Clearance is acceptable IAW AR 25-2.

At Fort Shafter, HI and Camp Humphreys, Korea, IAW 311th Signal Command (Theater) Operation Order (OPORD) 311-1609-039, Contractor Accountability and Tracking Program (CTAP), personnel with elevated privileges are required to have a secret clearance with a T5/T5R to work on the SIPR network. These personnel include, but are not limited to the following labor categories: SIPR Agents with elevated privileges; Team Managers; Service/Site Manager; Level 2 agents

The contractor's Facility security officer will initiate the request for the T5/T5R process.

We recommend that the Government align all requirements, instructions, and evaluation criteria to the four outcomes detailed in the SOO (Government Attachment 0001 AESMP IDIQ SOO 19 APR 21):

1. Reliable service support meeting or exceeding agreed-to service levels and capture of detailed activity information as a sensor that supports ARCYBER analysis.

2. Reduced overall ticket volumes through improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, process optimization, and technology insertion.

3. High level and detailed data analysis to the Army using AESMP metrics and dashboards.

4. Minimal impact on ongoing service support operations due to contract transition from the incumbent to any future service providers.

These desired outcomes, if achieved, will drive a transformed solider experience and improved operational outcomes. In addition, and based on our discussions with PEO-EIS, ARCYBER and NETCOM, our understanding that services transformation is desired. The current solicitation does not evaluate the offers transformation approach or incentivize offerors to drive down the total cost to serve.

The Technical/Management Subfactor 2 Criteria will be amended to consider the SOO outcomes.

Subfactor 2 - Technical Managem ent

Question: There is no reference to "innovation" or "optimization" in this instructions. Does the Government intend to evaluate innovation or optimization as key factors for award?

The government will revise section L to reference technology insertion vice "innovation" to be consistent with the SOO.

How many technicians/fulfillers would be working a ticket for all the tiers above Tier 0 in the NIPR and SIPR environments and locations. See Attachment 0030 System Technical Data and Usage profile for user licenses

Can the offeror propose specific processes or extension of functionality, eg artificial intelligence, Automation, machine learning or others, that the government has not detailed or included?

Yes offerors may include additional functionality with their implementation details, assumptions, and benefits of using those proposed processes and capabilities.

Could the government Remove the ICE survey from the customer satisfaction calculation as an AESMP survey could result in a higher survey completion rate.

Yes, based upon demonstrated service support, the government and awardee will review the metrics on a quarterly basis and determine or include improvements in metric calculations

Will the Government update Attachment 003 to allow for contractor to provide the primary and secondary COOP facilities by the end of the transition period?

A DoD-PA provider will already have a primary and secondary site established for their cloud service offering. The Government believes Primary and secondary NIPR contact centers can be met within the 6 month timeline. The Government is providing multiple sites for SIPR at time of award.

The cloud service provider having already obtained a DoD-PA, will already have high availability (which will fulfill the COOP for the SaaS) established for their cloud service offering. The Government believes Primary and secondary NIPR contact centers can be met within the 6 month timeline. The Government is providing multiple sites for SIPR at time of award.

Is this a “managed services” type opportunity (meaning, a software – AESMP – will be deployed in the cloud, and the service provider will maintain/sustain the software using ITIL services, such as incident management, problem management, configuration mgmt., change mgmt., etc., etc.)? Yes, however AESMP will be the Army's service management solution. The specific software should be selected and provided by the vendor to support AESMF.

From my research, AESMP is a platform (enterprise level software) that has been developed for the Army and used by the Army as its ITSM platform. Is this a correct high-level description? No see question 70

Has the AHESMP platform been deployed already in the cloud, or Is part of the RFP ask to deploy the platform in the cloud, make it available to users CONUS/OCONUS, and maintain/sustain using a managed services approach as described above (using ITIL standards.)

No it has not been deployed and yes the RFP requests the offeror select, set up, deploy, maintain and sustain the platform and the contact center.

Questions