Request for Information for Remote Administration and Support services

INTRODUCTION The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Information Technology (OIT) hereby issues the following Request for Information (RFI) pursuant to FAR 15.201(e) regarding remote administration and support for 856 CBP sites. BACKGROUND CBP's, OIT's Field Support Branch is responsible for maintaining remote administration for 856 remote locations along the Canadian and Mexican borders. These sites are currently manned by CBP employees but do not have a dedicated IT Specialist or one that is in close proximity in order to provide the necessary support. PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION CBP is conducting market research and analysis of industry capabilities for the contracts available for remote locations along the Canadian and Mexican borders. The vendor would provide Remote Administration and Support services for 856 sites. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked PROPRIETARY will be handled accordingly. The Government will not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. Small Businesses are encouraged to provide responses to this RFI in order to assist the CBP in determining potential levels of competition available in the industry. DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION REQUESTED OIT's Field Support Branch is in the process of analyzing and reviewing its approach, practices, and procedures for providing Remote Administration and Support. The Government is interested in finding out about new approaches, best practices or industry standards that could better meet its needs and budgetary constraints. This RFI is intended to provide the Government with Remote Administration and Support across 856 US Customs and Border Protection sites that span the American borders. Interested Vendors are requested to submit capability statements addressing their ability to perform the project requirements for CBP Remote Administration and Support described below: Although CBP is developing a remote access capability, potential vendors should provide information on their capability of using their own remote access software to monitor CBP sites. Vendor should possess capabilities to provide support for the following five (5) requirements: - 25000+ users - 856 Sites - 15000 Workstations - 3000 Laptops - Printers, end users devices, Telephone unique hardware such of RFID, License plate readers, and finger print scanners The Vendor would be responsible for ongoing IT services including: - Maintaining user accounts - Installation of Front and Back Office software patches and maintenance releases - File system management, managing software site licenses, and managing network client services. - Printer configuration and spooling - Monitoring - Quarterly reports and reviews on all system administration activities, problems and corrective actions taken - Assistance in the installation of third-party software - Deployment of new hardware and software - Identification and correction of problems in Windows operating system use and implementation of workarounds - Weekly project status reports - Troubleshooting and escalation of maintenance support for RFID and Finger printing hardware - End user devices to include PDAs and Blackberries The Vendor must provide the following security features: - Dedicated remote system administration team in the Call Center - All Personnel that work on CBP systems must pass and maintain a DHS security clearance Capability Statements shall also include a description of similar work performed in the past 5 years. Please include the name and number of the contract, contract scope, contract type, period of performance, contract deliverables, dollar thresholds and limitations, the issuing Government agency, and the name and telephone number of the Contracting Officer. Vendors shall also provide their point(s) of contact name, address, telephone number, and email address; the company's business size, including applicable NAICS code(s). Capability statements should address their sources capabilities with respect to the key features discussed above and the following areas of interest. SPECIFIC AREAS OF INTEREST The following are examples of, but not intended to be an exhaustive or all-inclusive list of the areas of interest that the Government would like to obtain information: - Availability in the commercial marketplace for remote locations along the Canadian and Mexican borders. - Cost feasibility - Flexible in meeting CBP's current and future requirements - Responsive to meet CBP's 24/7 mission INDUSTRY COMMENTS: The release of this RFI affords industry the opportunity to comment on any perceived issues with regard to the initiative and to allow the Government to receive the benefit of industry comments. The Government's purpose in providing an opportunity for industry comment is to identify potential problem areas, and provide alternative recommendations in order to enhance the success of the initiative. The Government believes industry feedback is important, and is receptive to any and all ideas from industry which would result in limiting unnecessarily constraining requirements, realizing cost savings, or highlighting potential technical or contractual problem areas associated with the initiative. What new capabilities within the past five years have provided the biggest ROI, are industry standards, and describe what you see as the industry trend over the next five years. What has been your experience in performance-based delivery methods and techniques? Describe your experience with performance-based and/or incentives-based contracts. SERVICE LEVEL/PERFORMANCE METRICS. The Government is extremely interested in Service Level Agreements and Performance Metrics used by industry to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of this Remote Administration and Support. The Government is interested in operational metrics (those used to monitor day-to-day activities) and management metrics(those used by management to gauge key indicators of success, executive dashboard, etc.). Additionally, the Government is interested in how industry balances using leading (forecasting) and lagging (static) metrics. Since the Government is exploring the use of a performance-based contracting approach, it would be helpful to understand the service levels/performance metrics used to manage the operations, and those metrics used as a basis for payment. HOW TO RESPOND Please submit your response to this RFI via email to Isabelle Nguyen at isabelle.nguyen@dhs.gov no later than Monday, June 22, 2009, at 4:00 P.M. EST (Washington D.C. local time). The capability statements are not to exceed 20 pages.