7D20--Abacus Visual Playbook Builder and Automation Orchestrator (VA-26-00041469)

The Department of Veterans Affairs, through its Technology Acquisition Center in Eatontown, NJ, has issued a sources-sought notice (solicitation number 36C10B26Q0286) for the procurement and implementation of a Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) solution to support the Abacus Visual Playbook Builder and Automation Orchestrator platform. This effort involves the delivery, installation, configuration, and validation of an HCI cluster designed to run OpenShift workloads, integrated with S3-compatible object storage and managed through a dedicated HCI Management Console. The scope requires the vendor to coordinate hardware installation in a government datacenter, execute network preparation and cluster formation including Active Directory authentication, and ensure complete operational readiness by Month 5, with final acceptance slated for Month 12. The government maintains responsibility for funding hardware procurement, providing infrastructure such as rack space, power, cooling, and network services, as well as issuing TLS certificates via its internal PKI for system security. Key deliverables include fully racked and cabled HCI nodes, operational cluster management with configured storage containers, S3 storage with specific naming conventions and secured credentials, and detailed documentation including rack diagrams, network port assignments, cluster health reports, and credential inventories. The contract emphasizes strict milestone adherence, with hardware delivery by Month 4 and cluster handoff by Month 5. Licensing activation is deferred until final acceptance, ensuring no early invoicing and requiring fully functional evaluation licenses during the performance period. Inspection and acceptance activities occur onsite at the government datacenter, with the vendor responsible for installation, configuration, and validation tasks, and the government retaining final acceptance authority. The procurement approach appears technically driven, focusing on compliance with detailed technical performance requirements and phased delivery schedules rather than price-based evaluation. Standard FAR clauses and socioeconomic certifications are not detailed; likewise, no pricing or contract value information is provided, indicating preliminary phases possibly targeting risk and capability analysis prior to firm contract award.