PAO Storage and Compute Solution

The Indian Health Service (IHS) under the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a Sources Sought Notice for a PAO Storage and Compute Solution to modernize IT infrastructure across eleven regional service units in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The procurement encompasses comprehensive hardware requirements including 11 storage systems with minimum 1.2 PB of NVMe-oF storage capacity, 33 server compute systems, 22 top-of-rack switches, and optional rack and power equipment to support hospitals and clinics ranging from small ambulatory care facilities to full-service hospitals. Vendors must be authorized OEM dealers, distributors, or resellers to prevent gray market items and must provide solutions scaled for different facility sizes with storage capacities of 100 TB for smaller clinics, 200 TB for medium hospitals, and 300 TB for larger hospitals. The procurement emphasizes compliance with Section 508 accessibility standards and requires a 10-year software licensing and support commitment. Market research responses were due June 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM PST/PSD, with the solicitation targeting NAICS code 334112 for Computer Storage Device Manufacturing.

This procurement operates under the Buy Indian Act with specific preference given to Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) and Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEE), requiring such enterprises to maintain at least 51% Indian ownership, receive at least 51% of contract earnings, and have management controlled by Indian individuals or tribes. No traditional set-aside designation is applied, but the Buy Indian Act provisions create a preferential procurement structure for qualifying Indian enterprises. The contract will be structured as a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to facilitate standardized hardware deployment across multiple IHS facilities in the Phoenix Area. Technical requirements include multi-protocol support for NFS, SMB, and S3, robust security features, and specific performance standards differentiated between small and large/medium compute servers. The procurement timeline extends through August 13, 2025, with performance expected across multiple IHS facilities requiring comprehensive storage and compute infrastructure modernization.