Request for Information, USDA National Finance Center, Back-Office Operations Technology

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Number: NFC-OSB1-15-BOOT

Timeframe
Responses to this RFI are due by 2:00pm CST on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.

RFI Guidelines:

Please note that this is for INFORMATIONAL and PLANNING purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). Responses to this RFI will not be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government will not pay for the information solicited nor recognize any costs associated with the submission of the RFI. The purpose of this RFI is to provide an opportunity for industry to enhance the success of any future procurement to meet this requirement. Any information obtained as a result of this RFI is intended to be used by the Government on a non-attribution basis for program planning and acquisition strategy development. A determination by the Government not to issue a solicitation based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Place of Performance:
NFC's primary Business Operations Center (BOC) is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Additional facilities are maintained at the Primary Computing Facility (PCF) in Denver, Colorado, the Backup Computing Facility (BCF) in Saint Louis, Missouri, and an Alternate Work Site (AWS) in Bossier City, Louisiana. The NFC also has a Customer Support Office (CSO) and training facility in Washington D.C. The Government expects that by the time of award additional staff and locations will be part of the NFC infrastructure

Introduction and Purpose of the RFI
The Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) Office Services Branch (OSB) of the Office of Chief Financial Officer at the National Finance Center (NFC) supports the agency and staff of the NFC in all aspects of information technology. OSB has overall management responsibility for the NFC's IT program including primarily all back office support applications, desktop/laptop/thin client equipment and overall compliancy per regulations.

OSB manages a contiguous end-to-end service delivery with a single point of contact (cradle-to-grave) for Back Office Operations and Technology (BOOT) support services from deployment through problem resolution and technology replacement/refresh. Also, support a mobile workforce and deploy tools to remote sites to increase the use of real-time collaboration tools.

In addition, OSB develops a balance between delivering tactical support (operations and maintenance) and strategic support (development, modernization, and enhancement) that achieves operational and cost efficiencies while positioning stakeholders and their respective business lines to fulfill their missions. OSB maintains a secure environment that includes necessary authorization and authentication, which adequately protects privacy information.
NFC's infrastructure strategy is focused on providing "Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device" (A3) support. Key elements of this focus are:
• Desktop/Server Virtualization
o Any Device: Browser Based, Decreased Network Load, Easier Support Model, Reduced Cost

• Service Availability
o Anytime: Resilient Systems, COOP

• Collaboration
o Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device: Leverage Corporate Knowledge and Capabilities

• On-boarding/Usability:
o How to Make Best Use of Technology Offered

Key NFC user, equipment, and support data is provided in the table below:

Type Count
Users ~2000
Desktops/thin clients 800
Laptops 1700
Headquarters New Orleans, LA
NFC Data Center & Offices 5
Network Printers 400
Local Printers 150
Hour of Service Desk Support 24x7x365

From a Service Desk and Infrastructure standpoint, the NFC is fully committed to supporting a mobile workforce, and is seeking to support anytime, anywhere, any-device environment.

1. Enterprise Operations
• Service Desk to include Tier 1, Tier 2 and remote access support
o Provide a Service Desk as the single point of contact for NFC employees and contractors, with incidents received via telephone call, by a web-based self-service portal, chat, by walk-up at the NFC headquarters, and by email from IT Specialists representing end users at all office locations. Services include:

 Service Desk Support
 Incident Management Support
 Request Fulfillment Management
 Application Support (Back Office Apps)
 Executive User Support
 Access Control
 Customer Satisfaction Surveys
 Printer Support
 Copier/Scanner Support
 Deploying hardware, including desktops, laptops, printers, and scanners

• End User Computing

o Services include developing desktop images (PC,MAC and Thin Clients), software implementation and testing, enterprise solutions, adaptive technologies training and supporting desktops devices, Tier 3 support, and deployment of technology and solutions:

 Technology Refresh Planning and oversight over large scale deployments of end user technology
 General Technology Refresh Support
 Patching/Vulnerability Management of Workstation Environment
 Management of Enterprise solutions for workstations (Encryption, Firewall. IPS, Antivirus, etc.)
 Management of Enterprise wide scanning solutions

• Technical Services

 Continuity of Operations (COOP), backup, and Disaster Recovery Support
 Provide Federal disaster recovery and business Continuity of Operations(COOP) plans and support, including:
• Recovering and reconstituting (Federal) enterprise information systems
• Working knowledge of Federal laws and regulations governing disaster recovery along with business continuity
• Support for NFC business functions
• Planning, developing, executing Disaster Recovery as well as business continuity plans, policies, and procedures
• Testing of Disaster Recovery plans
 Customized training
 Customized Documentation
 Inventory Control
 Interface with high ranking officers on a routine basis
 Project Management

• Operations and Customer Site offices - Office Support
o Provide Service Desk and End User Computing support to the all NFC managed sites and customers, to include:
 Installs
 Moves
 Adds
 Changes
 Relocations
 Separations
 Break/fix support

2. Enterprise Infrastructure

• Software Management
 Security Patching
 Application Support (COTS)
 Image creation, deployment, and updates
 Customer Support
 Virtual environment
 Operating Systems

• Hardware Management
 Patching
 Technology Refresh of equipment
 Peripherals
 Customer support
 Infrastructure support services
 Security Patching

• Platform Support
o Provide engineering and infrastructure operation support for NFC platforms such as:
 Office Products
 SharePoint

3. Common Services

• Asset Management
o Services include thoroughly and accurately accounting for all NFC IT hardware and software during the entire life cycle of asset management. The services provide Asset Management support for the following areas:
 Delivery and staging of equipment
 Asset inventory and management of desktop equipment, servers, software, and mobile computing devices
 License management and compliance
 Redeployment and disposal of equipment
 Spare parts management

• Reporting Services
 Custom reports
 Statistical analysis reports
 Customer satisfaction
 Ongoing/outstanding issues
 Reporting and statistic analysis

• Other Project and Operations Support
o Support services for other projects and efforts, examples of which include:

 Audit remediation
 Discovery
 Process and QA
 Change and Configuration Management
 Security

• Program and Task Management for oversight of all support resources

 Provide program and task management support that maximizes the successful accomplishment of all program and task requirements in scope

• Task order management support objectives are to:
 Ensure effective project control disciplines using the ITIL framework are applied to ensure timely performance, cost controls, delivery, and integration of all BOO services and tasks.
 Performance monitoring to ensure tracking and reporting against specified SLA standards and TO performance requirements.
 Continuous process improvement to achieve and maintain effective service delivery.
 Effective planning, deployment, and management of contractor resources, including subcontractors, necessary to support the timely performance of all BOOT services and tasks.
 Effective and timely communications to the Government regarding all aspects of project control.
 High levels of customer satisfaction throughout NFC regarding task performance.
 Effective planning enterprise-wide communications.
 Engage with Systems coordinators, business owners, super-users, users, and the OCFO to coordinate the delivery of new products and services.
 Monitor and display both Service Desk Ticket and enterprise information critical to the customer (for example system outages, applications issues, network performance, etc.)
 Explain NFC information technology system functionality and capabilities.
Please address these questions in your RFI response:
1. Provide your company details including:
a. Company size (revenues and staff)
b. Geographical presence
c. Services offered
d. Size and type of business (e.g., small,8(a) etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code
2. Describe your organization's overall capabilities for the above services, and any unique differentiators? Please provide details regarding the portion of your revenues and staff that are derived from the services similar to the scope described in this RFI Describe your relevant experience for similar services provided to include:
a. IT infrastructure services supporting the scope described in this RFI
b. Program and Resource Management of such IT services
c. Names of federal agencies of similar size and category to which you have successfully provided such services
3. Given the scope currently under consideration and as described in this RFI, what service delivery models are ideally suited for these services?
4. Under similar service contracts, how have you supported and managed ongoing technology changes throughout the duration of a contract? What are some key guiding principles to consider when defining requirements for support of changing technology during a contract of this type?
5. How do you manage staffing and resource turnover during the contract duration, especially while adhering to federal guidelines and processes for onboarding? What resource staffing risks do you foresee and how would you plan for mitigating such risks?
6. What are typical service level metrics that are used to track performance?
7. Typical procedure for transitioning to support services for each of the four (4) categories, including estimated timeline
8. Do you have a GSA or other GWAC vehicle that could be utilized for these services? If yes, please provide the contract number and point of contact information
Request For Information (RFI) Procedure
Please e-mail all responses this Request for Information (RFI) to christopher.nuccio@nfc.usda.gov by the deadline listed below. Please include the following information along with your response:

1. Company Name
2. Company Address
3. CAGE Code and DUNS Number
4. Company Website
5. Point of Contact information for this RFI (name, job title, phone number, e-mail address).
6. Please limit your response to no more than twenty (25) pages total single-sided, single spaced, 12-point type with at least a one-inch margin on an 8-1/2" X 11" inch paper. Please do not submit hard copies, Facsimile (FAX) or extraneous materials such as brochures.

Your comments and response will be considered in the preparation of any future solicitation.

Contacts
For questions regarding this RFI, you are welcome to contact:

Chris Nuccio, Acquisition Management Office
504-426-0372
christopher.nuccio@nfc.usda.gov

DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.