NATO International Competitive Bidding (ICB): Provision of Core Information Systems Infrastructure Services for Afghan Mission Network (Final Operational Capability) 2011 Requirements

The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) intends to issue an Invitation for Bid (IFB) in relation to the Provision of Core Information Systems (CIS) Infrastructure Services for Afghan Mission Network (AMN) Final Operational Capability 2011 Requirements. NC3A has been authorized to use the Alliance Operations and Mission (AOM) International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedure. The successful bid pursuant to this IFB will be the lowest price technically compliant bid in accordance with the evaluation criteria. The estimated value of this project is unavailable at this time. The reference of the IFB is IFB-CO-13191-AMN. The Department of Commerce will be using the same reference. NC3A plans to place a single contract for the entire scope of work. No partial bidding will be allowed. The IFB package will be NATO UNCLASSIFIED. Prospective bidders should be aware, however, that contractor personnel will be called on to work at a NATO site in conjunction with the contract and that such contractor personnel will be required to have security clearances to the level of NATO SECRET. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) forwards to NC3A the NATO clearance certifications for all personnel assigned to the contract. BACKGROUND Success of NATO operations in Afghanistan requires a common understanding of a complex environment. For effective coordination, this understanding depends on a seamless information exchange between allied and coalition participants at all levels of command and control within the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Theatre of Operations, from Headquarters down to Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT). To accomplish these objectives, a common information sharing network is required. The AMN is anchored on the existing NATO-provided ISAF SECRET network, also referred to as the AMN Core, with fully trusted National Network Extensions to establish a single ISAF federated network domain. The current AMN Core provides the central anchor point for all in-theatre mission secret CIS and acts as a hub for the collation and distribution of common authorized operational information. SCOPE The scope of this IFB is to implement and support the improvements to the AMN Network 2011 project relating specifically to the CIS Infrastructure services, henceforth referred to as AMN 2011-CIS. The resulting contract will be a Requirements Contract for services and supplies to design, integrate, test, implement, and provide life-cycle support for AMN 2011-CIS. KEY OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS The operational requirements relating to this IFB are broken down into six specific Work Packages (WPs). The numbering of the WP reflects the numbering within the high-level project plan. WP-IS-1 & 2: Implement remote access capability to key applications both in SHAPE and in ISAF, for use by staff from other locations preparing to deploy to theatre, through the provision of additional storage as well as software for Application/Presentation/Delivery. Provide associated training, documentation, and transition support. WP-IS-3: Provide Core-Infrastructure (hardware, engineering services, software, implementation and transition support services), implementation of Purchaser provided Microsoft Operating Systems, Firewall SW, VMWare virtualization software, to support Coalition Interoperability Assurance & Validation (CIAV) at NATO Communications Services Agency (NCSA) in Mons, Belgium (SHAPE). WP-IS-5: Provide SAN data protection/replication software. WP-IS-6: Provide and implement application presentation/delivery hardware and software in ISAF. WP-IS-7: Provide Core-Infrastructure (hardware, engineering services, software, implementation and transition support services), implementation of Purchaser provided Microsoft Operating Systems and VMWare visualization software, to support Information Assurance (IA) Services to NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) Technical Centre (TC) & System Management Division (SMD) in Mons. BIDDING PROCEDURE Before a firm can be nominated to the bidders list for this ICB procurement, it must be approved for participation in NATO ICB. Firms are approved for NATO ICB on a facility-by-facility basis. Only facilities located in NATO member nations may participate in NATO ICB. The U.S. Department of Commerce approves facilities that are located within the United States. U.S. firms will find a copy of the U.S. NATO ICB application at the following website: http://www.bis.doc.gov/defenseindustrialbaseprograms/OSIES/NATOprograms/index.htm The NATO ICB application is a one-time application. The application requires supporting documentation in the form of 1) a company resume and 2) an annual report or set of financial documents indicating compilation, review, or audit by an independent CPA. The application and supporting documentation may be submitted as e-mail attachments. If, when submitting the application, your firm is interested in a specific NATO ICB project, please include the following in the text of your email: - the title and/or solicitation number of the project - the name/phone/FAX/email of the point of contact for the bid documents After approval of your one-time NATO ICB application, the Department of Commerce will then know to follow up by issuing a Declaration of Eligibility (DOE) for that project. A DOE is used to nominate an approved firm to the bidders list for a particular NATO ICB project. Using the contact information indicated on the DOE, the NATO contracting agency will contact the firm directly when the IFB has been issued. IMPORTANT DATES: 1) Request DOE (and, for firms new to NATO ICB, submit completed NATO ICB application) no later than May 03, 2011 2) Release of IFB planned for June 2011 3) Bid Closing by end of July 2011 4) Contract Award in September 2011