Tape Media Services

1.0   PURPOSE AND INTRODUCTION:

This announcement is a Request for Information (RFI).  This announcement is NOT A SCREENING INFORMATION REQUEST (SIR) or REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP).  Further, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals.  The FAA will not pay for any information received or costs incurred in preparing the response to the RFI.  Any costs associated with the RFI submittal is solely at the interested vendor’s expense. Please read the entire RFI carefully.   

The FAA is seeking industry’s Capability Statement to provide nation-wide offsite tape storage at messaging and data centers for non-disaster recovery, storage and e-Discovery. Tape storage services will provide tape vaulting services to include cataloging and indexing of approximately 28,000 + L2 media backup tapes in a secure, flood proof, earthquake proof, fire proof,  and climate controlled environment.   The vendor must have facilities near all FAA designated facilities identified below:

Atlantic City, NJ

Jamica, NY

Des Plaines, IL

Oklahoma City, OK

Burlington, MA

Renton, VA

College Park, GA

Ft. Worth, TX

El Segundo, CA

Washington DC

The vendor must have the capability to pick up and transport stored tapes from the current vendor’s facilities to new vendor’s facilities. The facilities must have electronic verification for all individuals with access to the tape storage areas.  The vendor shall provide a secure web-based system that provides clear online location of all FAA tapes in their possession.  In addition, this system must allow for online tape retrieval requests to be submitted by FAA designated representatives. The website must allow for all FAA data to be exported to Excel or CSV formats. The website must be mobile friendly.

The vendor may be called upon to retrieve a large number of tapes at any time.  The vendor must be available for customer service during normal business hours 8AM – 6PM EST. 

Tape media service to return and/or pick-up tape media will be on an as needed basis. Under the as needed basis, the FAA will put in a request for tape media to be returned within two (2) or three (3) business days. There could be instances in which some location(s) have weeks or longer in which no tape media is required to be transferred.

The FAA does not require same day pick-up and/or delivery service needed for disaster recovery, but would like the option if there ever was an urgent litigation case where the FAA may request a next day delivery. Therefore, an option for next day delivery is needed.

The FAA may require the use of containers. FAA may request the use of containers for FAA shipping of tapes from one location to another.  The container will be returned to the originator of the shipment.

The Contractor must provide the following requirements when handling and transporting tapes from the FAA facility to the approved tape storage facility:

•           Closed container for transport and storage

•           Standard Containers

•           Manual Container Handling

•           Container Storage – Unclassified (<100,000 feet)

•           Use of secure transport containers between facilities

No notification about the outcome of this RFI will be released except as deemed appropriate in the FAA’s sole discretion.

The FAA is interested in the capabilities of both small and other than small businesses to provide the required tape storage and services.

This RFI does not guarantee that a solicitation or procurement of any kind will be issued and it should not be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract. If a solicitation is issued, it will be announced on the Beta.SAM.gov Contract Opportunities web page. It is the prospective offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any such solicitation.

Respondents to this RFI are referred to herein as “you”, “vendor”, or “vendors”.

2.0       SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RFI

1. Name and Address of Company, Point of Contact (name, title, telephone number, and email address) and whether the respondent is a Large or Small Business, a service disabled veteran owned small business, or a socially and economically disadvantaged small business.

2. Responses must identify the capability of the vendor to meet the requirements identified above.

The FAA may request that one, some, all, or none of the respondents to this RFI provide additional information. No evaluation of vendors will occur based on this additional information, and vendor participation in any informational session is not a promise for future business with the FAA.

All responses (one response per vendor) are to be provided on company letterhead. No type font less than 11 point may be used. Responses must be received no later than January 19, 2021, 5:00 PM EST.   All questions and submittals, including attachments shall be emailed to Frances.Marigliano@faa.gov. No evaluation letters or results will be issued to respondents in connection with this market survey.

A vendor's failure to respond to this market survey will not exclude a vendor from any competition.  Any information provided under this market survey is for informational purposes only. Any proprietary information submitted must be explicitly and conspicuously marked by the respondent as proprietary. If appropriately marked, such information will not be released to the public by the FAA, except as required under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or any other applicable law, regulation and/or policy. The Government may transfer documents provided by a respondent to any department or agency within the Executive Branch if the information relates to matters within the organization's jurisdiction.