Request for Information (RFI) Skype for Business Maintenance and On-Going Platform Support

This Request for Information/Sources Sought (RFI) synopsis is being issued by the Department of Interior, Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD), Interior Business Center (IBC) on behalf of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) as a tool to perform market research for OSC's requirement for Maintenance and On-Going Platform Support of a Microsoft Skype for Business (SFB) platform encompassing presence, instant messaging, video conference and telephony services, including system support and maintenance, warranties, implementation and verification of system operation. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain knowledge and information for project planning purposes and exploring alternative solutions while determining industry standards for a Maintenance and On-Going Platform Support of a SFB platform as described herein. OSC is in the process of implementing an on-premise SFB platform to improve communications, streamline workflows, and reduce costs by deploying Microsoft Unified Communication (UC) solutions. OSC's deployment of Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 and Exchange Unified Messaging (UM) is expected "go-live" date in Q3 2017. OSC also uses Office 365 with Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online, Dynamics CRM, and has an Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) in Microsoft Azure. The SFB platform is built to fully integrate with existing products and services to deliver a full suite of business productivity tools. There are approximately; two-hundred (200) users spread across four (4) different geographically dispersed offices as follows: one-hundred and fifty (150) users in Headquarters, up to twenty (20) users per Field Office, and permanent teleworkers. SFB is connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via a SFB Certified cloud-based Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) trunk. This connection will allow SFB to host dial-in conferences as well as allow users to use the SFB soft client or SFB Certified Endpoint as their primary phone. The SIP trunks are terminated to Audiocodes Mediant 1000E-SBC Session Border Controllers are used to provide public switched telephone network (PSTN) connectivity to the entire OSC organization including OSC field offices in Detroit, MI and Oakland, CA. The servers and SIP trunks are located at: Headquarters - Washington, D.C Dallas, TX OSC requires Maintenance and On-going Platform Support of the SFB platform. Following are the estimated requirements for this solution. 1. Break/fix/bug support within two hours of a ticket during standard Eastern Time business hours (8am-5pm) 2. Escalate and troubleshoot system and performance issues with OSC's IT staff and hardware and software manufacturers (e.g. Microsoft, AudioCodes, Polycom, Palo Alto) 3. Voice-over-IP (VoIP) / Video Quality Performance troubleshooting 4. Access to online ticketing system portal 5. VoIP gateway hardware replacement within two business days 6. Comprehensive SFB system health check (i.e. preventive maintenance) twice a year 7. Tier II and Tier III technical support on an as needed basis 8. Vendor is expected to provide one primary point of contact (POC) and a secondary POC for this support contract that will interface and become the main contact with the vendor for the duration of the maintenance contract 9. Support and expertise to scale SFB to meet OSC's on-going needs, including but not limited to system optimization, configuration, end-user adoption, IT security advisory, Direct-inward-Dial (DID) number assignment, and other SFB features It is estimated that the work will be performed by the vendor remotely from their location, except for such instances deemed necessary for the vendor to come on-site to OSC's Washington D.C. office to complete the work. The government is considering the capabilities and provided information to make a determination on the acquisition strategy. The selected North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541519 (size standard - $27.5 million); however, respondents may propose a different NAICS with a succinct description of why that NAICS is more applicable. Responses to this synopsis are requested to determine commercial practices, estimated prices in the commercial market, and interest and capability to provide maintenance and on-going platform support for SFB. Synopsis responses will be evaluated on the basis of demonstrated technical capability and past experience. Contractors are asked to submit capabilities packages indicating the capabilities of their products/solution, sample pricing, rough order of magnitude and past performance. The capability package must be clear, concise, complete and submitted to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer listed below no later than 10:00AM Eastern Time, April 21, 2017. Your statement of capabilities must include, as a minimum, the following items: name and address of the firm; size standard ownership; year firm established; names of two principals to contact, including title and phone number; company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history; office locations; DUNS number; and CAGE code. Responses should reference the following number: D17PS00373. Disclaimer DISCLAIMER: THIS RFI IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE A SOLICITATION OR ULTIMATELY AWARD A CONTRACT. RESPONSES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS PROPOSALS NOR WILL ANY AWARD BE MADE AS A RESULT OF THIS SYNOPSIS. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced as required under the FAR section used for this procurement. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. In accordance with FAR Clause 52.215-3 - Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, (b) although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. Paragraph (c) of 52.215-3 is filled in as "obtaining information only about services and capabilities from vendors." The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on services available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to the RFI will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Questions may be submitted up to the date and time for responses. All questions and responses shall be submitted via email to both the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer.