Estimated Release: 05/12
Solicitation #: W52P1J11R0171
ESTIMATED VALUE:$5 Billion
Update 04.04.12: The solicitation is now expected sometime in May 2012.
The Government seeks to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and related services, including integration, under the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions -3 Hardware (ITES-3H) contract procurement for worldwide use in support of the Army. The U.S. Army Small Computer Program (ASCP), in coordination with the Army Contracting Agency (ACA), Information Technology, E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4), requires contracts to support the Army’s requirements covering a full range of Information Technology (IT) equipment for server, storage, and network environments; for related integration services; and for maintenance/warranty of legacy IT equipment.
The Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) in coordination with the Army Contracting Command - National Capital Region (ACC-NCR), intends to release a Draft Request For Proposal (DRFP) for ITES-3H. The draft acquisition schedule is provided as follows (NOTE: ALL TIMEFRAMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE): Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) will be released during the first quarter of FY12; Industry Day will be held during the first quarter of FY12; Final RFP will be released during the second quarter of FY12.
ITES-3H SYNOPSIS
Program Name: Information Technology Enterprise Solutions–3Hardware (ITES-3H)
History: The U.S. Army Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS), in coordination with the National Capital Region Contracting Center (NCRCC), manages contracts to support the Army’s requirements for information technology, including hardware, software, and related integration services for providing end-to-end solutions for server, storage, and network environments.
Solicitation Number: # W91QUZ-11-R-0010
Agency: U.S. Army, Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
Office: PEO Enterprise Information Systems, Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS).
Estimated Value: $5B (Estimate from INPUT)
Description: Based on previous draft documents, the Government seeks to acquire state-of-the-art equipment and related services, including integration, under the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions -3 Hardware (ITES-3H) contract procurement for worldwide use in support of the Army. The ITES-3H contract vehicle is to provide “Commercial Items” as defined in FAR 2.101 that are compliant with DoD and Army policies and regulations.
As of August 29, 2011, the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) in coordination with the Army Contracting Command - National Capital Region (ACC-NCR), intends to release a Draft Request For Proposal (DRFP) for ITES-3H to support the Army's requirement for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, consisting of, but not limited to purchase or lease of COTS servers, workstations, desktops, notebooks, thin clients, networking equipment, storage systems, network cabling, video teleconferencing products (VTC), as well as associated factory orderable upgrades and related peripherals such as printers, scanners, equipment cabinets, transit cases, and other related accessories. Desktop computers and notebooks provided under the ITES-3H planned contracts are for the fielding of a complete system or as part of a total design solution, as opposed to a desktop computer or notebook replacement vehicle.
In addition, as part of the planned ITES-3H, the contractor will provide related firm-fixed-price incidental services that enable the capability to provide end-to-end equipment solutions. Incidental services include integration, installation, site surveys, system configuration determinations, system migrations, image loading, data migration, warranty and legacy equipment warranty maintenance.
The contracts will be open to other Agencies (i.e. Navy, Air Force, DoD components, and other Federal agencies) to satisfy their Information Technology requirements (IT). IT products procured through this acquisition are required to comply with DoD and Army standards and policies. The Army intends to award multiple Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts. The contract will have a five-year period of performance, with a three year base period, plus two one-year options. The Government will conduct the acquisition under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12. The government intends to conduct a full and open competition with at least eight awards made, three of which will be reserved for small business. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334111 (Electronic Computer Manufacturing) with small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Contractors will be required to support up to a Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), however most orders will require only a Secret security clearance.
The draft acquisition schedule is provided as follows (NOTE: ALL TIMEFRAMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE): Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) will be released during the first quarter of FY12; Industry Day will be held during the first quarter of FY12; Final RFP will be released during the second quarter of FY12.
Proposals will be due 30 days after Final RFP release. Documentation regarding the ITES-3H acquisition and messages to Industry will be provided through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website, http://www.fedbizopps.gov/.
Contract Type and Other Characteristics: The Army intends to award multiple Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts. The contract will have a five-year period of performance, with a three year base period, plus two one-year options. Government estimates an RFP release date in 2nd Quarter FY12 and an award target estimated for late 2012.
Goals and Objectives: The ITES-3H contract will consist of multiple commercial Catalogs. “Commercial Catalogs” are defined as catalogs that include commercial items as defined in FAR 2.101 that are regularly maintained by the manufacturer or vendor, is either published or otherwise available for inspection by customers, and states prices at which sales are currently, or were last, made to a significant number of buyers constituting the general public.
Areas of Technology: A full range of Information Technology (IT) equipment for server, storage, and network environments; for related integration services; and for maintenance/warranty of legacy IT equipment.
Based on previous draft documentation, the scope of each Catalog is defined as follows:
- Catalog A – UNIX Based Servers: UNIX platforms with multiple core Intel/AMD or equivalent processors.
- Catalog B – Windows Based Servers: MS Windows Server platforms with Intel/AMD or equivalent processors.
- Catalog C – Workstations, Thin Clients, Desktops and Notebooks: Workstations consist of platforms with Error Check & Correcting (ECC) memory and SCSI Drives. Assorted platforms with Intel/AMD (or equivalent) processors.
- Catalog D – Storage Systems: Various storage arrays, storage area networks, various JBODs (Just Bunch of Disks) configurations, and various sizes of hard disk drives.
- Catalog E – Networking Equipment: To include items such as managed and unmanaged switches, hubs, gateways, routers, wireless networking devices, and Everything over Internet Protocol (EoIP).
- Catalog F – Network Printers: Network printers, scanners, supporting devices.
- Catalog H – Video Equipment Products: Includes Video Teleconferencing Equipment (VTC), standalone displays (Plasma, LCD, HDTVs) larger than 21 inches.
- Catalog J – Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS): Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), power strips, line conditioners and warranty variations.
Structure of the RFP: In pre-RFP stage with a DRFP to be issued in 1QFY2012.
Proposal Preparation Challenges: Based on the requirements for ITES-2, the Army will be looking for the contractor to: (1) Establish and maintain contract methodologies and operations that are flexible, facilitate change, and follow-on for continuity of user support over the life of the contract; and (2) Provide a team to bring expert talent and ingenuity to the varied work and constantly seek ways to increase customer satisfaction through delivery of quality IT products and related services.
Resources of OCI can be beneficial:
A competitive and compliant ITES-3H proposal will require forward and detailed planning. OCI has the expertise and resources of professional proposal consultants to assist you with:
1. Capture Planning
2. A Black Hat Review
3. Teaming Strategies
4. Competitive Analysis
5. Proposal Management
6. Proposal Writing
7. Pricing Analysis
8. Proposal Production
9. Red Team Review
10. Whole Proposal Team