REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) - Professional Integration Services for Enterprise Network Monitoring System Upgrade

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

34300026M0006

423430 - Computer and Computer Peripheral Equipment and Software Merchant Wholesalers

Professional Integration Services for Enterprise Network Monitoring System Upgrade

This Request for Information is for planning purposes only and is being used solely as a market research tool in accordance with FAR Subpart 10.002(b).  This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP), nor is a Request for Quotation (RFQ) nor is an announcement of a solicitation.  Response is strictly voluntary and the Government will not provide any reimbursement for any response for the effort expended in the preparation of a response by any vendor.  Submission of a response to this RFI notice will not affect any potential offeror’s ability to submit a quotation/proposal in the future should funding become available and a solicitation is issued.  There is no solicitation document associated with this RFI.   There is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any product or service as a result of this RFI.  Submissions made to the Government will not be returned.  Information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding upon the Government.

INTRODUCTION and BACKGROUND

The U.S. International Trade Commission’s (USITC or Commission) is an independent, quasi-judicial Federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities on matters of trade.  The USITC’s mission is to: (1) administer U.S. trade remedy laws within its mandate in a fair and objective manner; (2) provide the President, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and Congress with independent, quality analysis, information, and support on matters relating to tariffs and international trade and competitiveness; and (3) maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is responsible for supporting the mission of the USITC by providing information technology leadership, comprehensive services and applications support portfolio, and a sound technology infrastructure to the USITC and its customers. Within the OCIO, the Network Services Division (NSD) provides Tier 0 through 3 support for the USITC’s network, server, storage, and virtualization infrastructure (altogether referred to as “ITCNET”).

Within the ITCNET, USITC maintains a large amount of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). The CUI maintained by the USITC includes, but is not limited to, Confidential Business Information (CBI), Business Proprietary Information (BPI), and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

USITC relies heavily on its IT infrastructure for daily operations, communication, and data management. Given the critical nature of our network, it is essential to monitor its performance proactively, identify potential issues, and ensure optimal functionality.

USITC currently uses WhatsUp Gold as its IT Network Monitoring System (NMS) solution. The capabilities of our current NMS are inadequate and require an upgrade to meet the growing demands and complexities of our network environment. Major deficiencies in our current NMS include:

• Unintuitive user interface
• Dashboard customization is inadequate
• No predictive monitoring capabilities
• Lack of effective API integration
• Inadequate automation capabilities
• Inadequate notification rules and customization options
• Rising costs

PURPOSE & GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to outline the requirements for procuring a comprehensive Network Monitoring System (NMS) along with the professional services necessary for its installation, configuration, and ongoing support. This initiative aims to enhance our network's reliability, security, and performance through a state-of-the-art monitoring solution:

Objectives

• Procurement of a Network Monitoring System: Acquire a robust and scalable NMS that can provide real-time monitoring, alerting, and reporting of network performance, traffic, and security incidents.
• Professional Services for Installation and Configuration: Engage qualified professionals to install and configure the NMS to seamlessly integrate with our existing IT infrastructure.
• Training and Knowledge Transfer: Ensure that our IT staff receive adequate training on the new system to effectively utilize its features and capabilities.
• Ongoing Support and Maintenance: Establish a support agreement for ongoing technical assistance, updates, and maintenance of the NMS.

Scope:

• Assessment of current network environment and requirements.
• Selection and procurement of a suitable NMS that meets the specified objectives.
• Installation and configuration of the NMS, ensuring compatibility with existing systems.
• Customization of monitoring parameters, alerts, and reporting features.
• Conducting training sessions for IT staff on the operation and management of the NMS.
• Providing configuration documentation and user manuals for reference.
• Establishing a support and maintenance plan for the NMS.

1.        Network Monitoring System:

The USITC requires monitoring coverage for a number of enterprise infrastructure technologies. These systems include, but are not limited to:

• Microsoft Windows Server
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Red Hat Ansible Automation
• GitLab
• Cisco networking devices
• Fortinet firewalls
• VMware virtualization platform
• Nutanix virtualization platform
• Cloud platforms (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) such as Azure and Amazon Web Services
• Identity platforms such as Active Directory Domain Services and Entra ID
• Backup platforms such as Commvault and Druva
• Container platforms, such as Kubernetes (Amazon Kubernetes Services, Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Services, Nutanix Kubernetes Platform), OpenShift, and other common services used to support container services
• Database services such as Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL
• Web servers such as Apache, Tomcat, and Microsoft IIS
• Storage platforms such as TrueNAS, vSAN

The vendor shall provide an enterprise-grade network monitoring system with the following capabilities:

• Real-time network-wide monitoring of usage, performance, and availability
• Alerting and notification for incidents. Alerting requirements include but are not limited to:
  • E-mail alerts
  • Microsoft Teams messages
  • Ticket system integration (ServiceNow)
  • Alerts to be sent within five minutes of incident detection
  • Reminder alerts to be sent within configurable escalation time frames if an incident is not acknowledged

• Detailed reporting, analytics, dashboards. Capabilities include but are not limited to:
  • Network bandwidth capacity and usage dashboards
  • Historical performance and usage trending reports
  • Filterable availability reports with trending
  • Predictive capacity and usage reporting
  • Role-based per-user and per-group private and shareable dashboards
  • Relational/interconnectivity system diagrams

• Integration with existing IT infrastructure. Types of systems the NMS must provide integration with include but are not limited to:
  • Ticketing systems (Service Now)
  • Entra ID integration for Single Sign-On
  • API-based monitoring integration capabilities
  • Enterprise SIEM services such as Splunk and Sentinel

• Types of monitoring capabilities for systems must include, but are not limited to:
  • ICMP monitoring for measuring uptime and network latency
  • Performance monitoring for common metrics, such as CPU performance, disk space utilization, memory capacity, bandwidth, etc.
  • Network service availability and health monitoring for services such as HTTP, SSH, SMTP, LDAP, and other common network services
  • Ability to monitor TLS services for proper configuration, including certificate expiration
  • Webpage Integrity Monitoring to detect possible defacement, code injection, or unauthorized page skimming attacks
  • API-based monitoring capabilities with common cloud platforms, such as Azure and Amazon Web Services
  • Ability to monitor cloud resource health and availability in common platforms such as Azure and Amazon Web Services, to include expiration of API tokens and certificates
  • Event log monitoring
  • Service and process monitoring
  • Folder availability and file integrity monitoring
  • Ability to put devices in maintenance mode on a schedule

• Scalability to support future growth
• Ability to perform automated tasks in response to incidents or events
• Automation capabilities using common scripting technology such as PowerShell, python, and other languages

The NMS can be hosted either on premises in our data center, in an existing IaaS cloud environment managed by the USITC, or as a SaaS/PaaS service hosted by an authorized service provider. Any systems hosted in a cloud environment must operate in alignment with FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, and agency cloud governance requirements. All activities shall function within the enterprise identity and federated access model, ensuring access requests are processed in accordance with least privilege principles and that provisioning and deprovisioning occur through established workflows. Cloud-related incidents, security events, and changes shall be recorded within the enterprise ticketing system and escalated in accordance with defined SLAs and incident response procedures. Support shall extend to continuous monitoring activities, vulnerability remediation tracking, audit evidence collection, and POA&M documentation as required. Operations shall adhere to the cloud shared responsibility model, maintain appropriate logging and record retention, safeguard sensitive data during troubleshooting, and prevent unauthorized changes or data transfers outside approved system boundaries. Performance metrics shall support enterprise risk reporting and system authorization requirements.

2.        Professional Services:

The vendor shall offer professional services to ensure the successful installation and configuration of the network monitoring system. This includes:

• Initial assessment and planning
• Installation and configuration of the software
• Integration with existing systems
• Testing and validation
• Ongoing support and maintenance

3.        System Documentation:

The vendor shall provide comprehensive documentation for the network monitoring system, including:

• User manuals
• Technical guides
• Installation and configuration instructions
• Troubleshooting tips

4.        Training Sessions:

The vendor shall conduct training sessions for USITC staff to ensure proper usage and management of the network monitoring system. The training should cover:

• System overview
• How to monitor network performance
• Responding to alerts and notifications
• Generating reports and analytics
• System maintenance and troubleshooting

Requested Information

Keeping the details of the project in mind, please provide information on the following topics.

General Information:

1.            Executive Summary: A brief overview of the vendor's solution and approach

2.            Technical Approach: Detailed description of the proposed network monitoring system and how it meets the specified requirements.

3.            Project Plan: Timeline and milestones for the installation and configuration process.

4.            Qualifications: Information on the vendor's experience and expertise in providing similar solutions.

5.            Cost Proposal: Detailed breakdown of all costs associated with the project, including software, professional services, documentation, and training

6.            References: Contact information for at least three references from previous clients who have implemented similar solutions

HOW TO RESPOND

Interested organizations responding to this RFI may provide a Capabilities Statement or other relevant information regarding the organization’s capabilities as they relate to the information contained herein.  All responses should include the following information:

• Company name, address and website, SAM UID
• Company business size, socio-economic status
• Any contracts the organization currently holds (GSA Schedule, NASA SEWP, NITAAC, etc.),  
• Point-of-Contact name, position, telephone number and e-mail address
• Organizational experience and technical capabilities of the organization which meets the stated objectives.
• An overview of the leading solution(s) options your firm would recommend that take into account the information provided herein. 
• Concerns that should be considered by the USITC as part of any potential solicitation.

Interested organizations may submit a response to this RFI, with the information requested above, and any other applicable information, on or before 4PM EST, Tuesday September 15, 2026.  Please submit all documentation VIA EMAIL to ian.quillman@usitc.gov 

Please include in the subject line of the email RFI # -34300026M0006– Professional Integration Services for Enterprise Network Monitoring System Upgrade

Organizations are discouraged from submitting any information deemed proprietary.  However, if elected to submit proprietary information, the organization bears sole responsibility for marking said information as proprietary to ensure appropriate safeguarding by the Government.  The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned.