Sources Sought: Captiva Intelligent Capture software licenses, operation and maintenance (O&M) support

BACKGOUND

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relies on data from tax returns and other forms to differentiate compliant and non-compliant returns. This is accomplished through scoring models that require data in electronic form. Modernized e-File (MeF) captures 100% of data from electronically filed tax returns. However, the schedule for implementation of MeF makes it necessary to consider supplemental Captiva Intelligent Capture software licenses (now known as OpenText Intelligent Capture digitalization software) and approaches for acquiring the key data from paper filed returns, eFaxed returns and MeF PDF Attachments. Even after full implementation of MeF, there will be residual paper documents containing data of interest to IRS.

SCOPE

The purchase of Captiva Intelligent Capture software licenses, now known as OpenText Intelligent Capture; as well as the associated operation and maintenance (O&M) support to provide tax form digitalization across all business operational divisions (BODS).

During the base period, the primary support will be to purchase the 16 licenses associated with the Data Capture System (DCS) Scanning Operation and 10 million additional pages for scanning are required for Clean Energy Legislation.  After the base year, there is a need for operation and maintenance (O&M) support associated with the application. The requested license is as follows:

• License: Intelligent Capture Attended Client (16) (one-time buy)

SKU/Part #: 1000005710

• Pages: Intelligent Capture Server Volume (100k PPY) (10) (per year)

SKU/Part #: 1000005718

During the option years, the primary support shall be for the Contractor to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) which includes:

• Technical support 
• Providing patches, hotfixes and software updates for the Captiva product
• Supporting any issues with deploying patches, hotfixes, software updates or use of the Captiva products 

IRS requires O&M support on the Captiva product to maintain these processes that extract data from tax returns and related documents.  The Captiva product currently handles the following:

• Optical Character Recognition (OCRs) 300 x 300 Dots per Inch (dpi) Tagged Image File (TIF) images. 
  • The created image files are utilized by Captiva for complex structured and unstructured documents to extract data from up to 7,000 Forms 1120 with an average of 200 pages per return (including all attachments),
• Approximately 25,000 Forms 1120S with an average of 60 pages per return (including all attachments)
• 100,000 Forms 8886 with an average of 4 pages (including cover documents),
• Approximately 600,000 Forms 1040NR/NR-EZ with an average of 8 pages per return (including all attachments) and several miscellaneous workflows.
   

The total volume for data extraction is licensed currently at 20 million pages annually. 

Employing this software, the IRS extracts data from approximately 14,850 unique fields. The software uses scripts to enhance images thereby allowing extraction and validation of identified unique fields. Extracted data is exported to a database developed, maintained and controlled by the IRS. Initial validation of the data is done through data field comparison, analysis and manipulation which is defined and programmed by rules developed by the IRS. The extraction software identifies instances when data cannot be confidently exported.  In these instances, human verification is required so data is sent to IRS employees to validate, approve, or correct entries prior to export.

Captiva O&M includes all software, hot fixes, patches and support necessary to enable to the system to provide intelligent data extraction and data capture, from identified IRS documents and returns. 

REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION, & O&M Technical Support

The Contractor shall provide O&M support for the following tasks as required:

1. Assist with installation and maintenance issues for the software that extracts data from the OCR files including processes in the software that verify accuracy of extracted data, export data, and manage workflows within the system.

2. Assisting in any software issues for the conversion of extracting and validating the data elements for which routines have already been developed.

3. It is intended that Captiva software remain fully functional on the IRS Production servers with the assistance of the vendor on technical issues that may occur and with keeping the software current with hot fixes, patches and software updates.

4. Support for the Captiva Server Vol+AdvRecg+100K PPY Perp 10 million pages – per year.

5. Operations and maintenance support for software that OCRs images to capture data from 300 DPI TIF images or PDF files which also provides ability to re-process OCR files and extract additional data without repeating the OCR process or having to reevaluate previously extracted fields. Reprocessing a form for additional data shall not count against the annual page count total.

6. Operations and maintenance support for software capable of extracting specified data elements from each form type and exporting them in a standard database format (e.g., SQL, XML) that adheres to IRS standards and manages the flow of work between various stages (OCR, identification, extraction, validation, export).

7. Licensing Captiva Server Vol+AdvRecg+100K PPY Perpetual for 10 million pages which will include associated Enhanced Software Support.

Performance shall be done from Contractor’s site.

The Period of Performance will be Base plus an additional four (4) Option Years (priced individually) executed at the convenience of the Government.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORRMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or pdf format, in the response: Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).
• State if your company is the manufacturer of the identified equipment or is a retailer or wholesaler that normally sells the identified equipment. If the latter, indicate whether the manufacturer authorized in writing for your company to sell the identified equipment on behalf of the manufacturer.
• Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.
• Describe how soon after award you can begin shipment of the specified equipment.
• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

• • Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.

• • If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.

• Describe warranty services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned equipment from your company.

                                                           
Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the aforementioned equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms: manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available.

• State published price, discount or rebate arrangements for aforementioned equipment and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for equipment and services.
• State whether the aforementioned equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.
• If the aforementioned equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which the IRS may be able place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.
• Identify any customers in the public or private sectors in which you provided the aforementioned or similar equipment. Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address.
• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the IRS to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
• State if you require the IRS to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on May 31, 2024. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the IRS may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future.
• This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the IRS to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.
• Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.
• No award will be made as a result of this notice.
• The IRS is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.
• The IRS reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!