Upgrade Instrument Manager Middleware (IM) from version 8. 14

The Department of Veterans Affairs Baltimore Medical Center issued a Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source contract on October 17, 2025, for upgrading the Instrument Manager (IM) Middleware from version 8.14 to version 9.0. This special notice falls under the IT and Telecom category for platform products, specifically database, mainframe, and middleware solutions. The contracting officer intends to award the work to Data Innovation, a current vendor supporting the VA's Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service. The upgrade will ensure continued operational support for over 25 laboratory analyzers that require continuous middleware communication and maintenance capability. This sole source contract action is classified as a special notice to allow potential alternative vendors an opportunity to compete for the work.

The primary objective of this contract is to upgrade critical middleware infrastructure supporting the VA's laboratory operations while maintaining uninterrupted 24/7/365 service availability. Interested contractors must submit a competitive response demonstrating an authorized distributor relationship with the middleware vendor and submit their proposal by October 24, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. EST to jennifer.elkins2@va.gov. To be eligible, vendors must be authorized distributors capable of delivering comprehensive professional services including software installation on test, production, and failover servers, driver updates, technical support during validation, and database migration services. The contract period runs from November 1, 2025, through October 31, 2026, and includes dedicated personnel assignments of one Project Manager and one Technical Consultant, with up to eight hours of remote Go-Live support. The VA retains sole discretion to proceed with the original award to Data Innovation if no competitive responses meeting the requirements are received by the deadline.