SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Shared Service Provider and data host
- Notice Date
- 8/18/2006
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 518210
— Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Administration, Division of Contracts, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852-2738
- ZIP Code
- 20852-2738
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-CFO-FSS-system
- Response Due
- 9/18/2006
- Archive Date
- 10/3/2006
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION This is a sources sought synopsis. This is not a Request for Proposals. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting a market survey and analysis to determine the range of commercial and public entities available to provide the NRC with the services described below and to assess their capabilities. The purpose of this request for information is to provide potential sources the opportunity to submit information regarding their capabilities to perform work for the NRC free of conflict of interest (COI). For information on NRC COI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5 (www.nrc.gov/who-we-are/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html ). All interested parties, including small business/small disadvantaged businesses and other Federal entities, are invited to submit a response to the market research questions below. Submission of additional materials such as glossy brochures, CDs, or videos is discouraged. Responses are due no later than September nn, 2006. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the requested information. Telephone inquiries or responses are not acceptable. Facsimile (301-415-nnnn) or email (amr2@nrc.gov with copy to acr@nrc.gov) responses are acceptable or responses may be mailed to: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attn: Adelis Rodriquez, Division of Contracts, MS T-7 I-2, Washington, DC 20555. INTRODUCTION. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent regulatory agency tasked with the mission to regulate and license the Nation=s civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the environment. The NRC=s enacted budget authority for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 was $742 million and 3,294 FTEs. The NRC collects approximately 90% of its budget, less the portion funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund and other designated exceptions, in annual and service fees charged to NRC licensees. Total estimated fee collections in FY 2006 are anticipated to be approximately $625 million. The NRC budget and staffing levels are anticipated to grow in the next few years due to the expected growth in new reactor license applications. The NRC=s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) is responsible for the financial stewardship of the NRC including the management of financial systems used in the course of official financial business. BACKGROUND. The NRC currently uses a Federal shared service provider (SSP) as the information technology (IT) host and provider of the NRC=s core financial system, the Federal Financial System (FFS). This SSP has over 30 years experience successfully servicing administrative systems for over 150 Federal government agencies. FFS is the centerpiece of the NRC financial systems architecture. FFS is a mainframe-based legacy system that the NRC implemented in October 1992 to perform the core financial function for the NRC. Although implemented by the NRC in 1992, FFS was developed more than 20 years ago and is now nearing the end of its extended life cycle. In addition to FFS, the same Federal SSP currently hosts the NRC payroll and human resources system and the NRC e-Travel System. Moreover, the supporting infrastructure including communications links, interfaces, continuity planning, and security are well-established and shared by these applications. The Federal SSP notified all customer agencies in a March 30, 2006, letter, that the corporate owner of FFS, CGI-AMS, has advised the SSP that FFS is no longer compliant with Federal standards for financial management systems and that they have discontinued any upgrades or enhancements to this system. Therefore, the SSP further advised that they will no longer provide services on FFS effective with the beginning of FY 2011, starting on October 1, 2010. As a result, the NRC must replace its legacy core financial system, FFS, with a modern solution. The NRC is planning to target an implementation date of October 1, 2009. Thus, the NRC is conducting market research to survey the availability of capable hosts, from the commercial and public sectors, of financial systems applications and the specific core financial applications they offer. We are also researching the capability of these same hosts to host Federal payroll, time and labor (T&L), human resources, eTravel, and acquisition/ procurement systems. The chart in Exhibit A lists the current NRC inventory of financial systems. The systems are operational unless otherwise noted as under development. All of the systems listed in Exhibit A have a direct or indirect interface with the FFS and would be interfaced with a new core financial system or may be subsumed by the functionality of the new core. REQUIREMENTS. The NRC is seeking information from entities on their capability to provide the following products: (a) core financial system software; (b) payroll system software for Federal payroll and benefits; ( c ) human resources software for Federal human resources processing; (d) eTravel software for Federal travel; and, for possible future implementation, (e) the NRC is seeking information on the entity=s capability to provide acquisition/ procurement system software fully integrated with the core financial system. In addition, the NRC is seeking information from entities on their capability to provide the following services: (a) financial systems software implementation and integration services; (b) hosting services for all of the financial systems products listed above at the entity=s facility on appropriate hardware (the electronic hardware environment) that is operated, maintained and upgraded when necessary by the host entity (not NRC); and, ( c) hosting services for NRC-provided time and labor (T&L) software. The NRC is seeking information from a single entity and single NRC contact that can provide all of the software and services listed above with a seamless, transparent interface for the NRC and its user community. The NRC seeks a viable replacement of the FFS with a modern, web-based, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) core financial system. The system must be certified by the Federal Systems Integration Office (FSIO) as compliant with all current Federal core financial system requirements and security standards. The system must have proven years of full implementation in service at a Federal agency of at least the (budgetary/FTE) size of the NRC, or larger. The NRC has determined that two core products currently meet this criteria and limits the request for information to those entities that can provide either: (1) CGI-AMS= Momentum and/or, (2) Oracle Federal Financials. The NRC seeks information from providers of IT hosting services capable of hosting one or both of these core financial system products. Initially, the NRC also seeks to have the same hosting entity for Federal payroll, human resources, and eTravel. Subsequently, the NRC seeks to have the same hosting entity for acquisition/procurement system and, time and labor (T&L). The NRC seeks to establish a seamless architecture across financial systems by keeping financial systems hosted under a single provider to the extent possible. The NRC seeks to avoid duplicate infrastructure costs for multiple hosts and reduce cost by foregoing the need to build multiple, remote interfaces among separate providers. It will also eliminate the need for NRC to manage multiple hosting entities. The NRC seeks information on a host entity=s capabilities and experience to implement and integrate new financial systems, interface with other financial systems, and convert historical data. NRC also anticipates the functionality contained in a modern core financial system product may subsume the functionality of some currently separate existing financial systems, thereby allowing the retirement of some as separate system(s). The NRC seeks information on a host contractor=s capability to provide services to analyze agency business processes and provide recommendations where efficiencies can be achieved as they relate to implementation of a new core financial system. With financial systems, the NRC embraces the integrated architectural concept expressed by the Federal Financial Management System Requirements (FFMSR) Model in the Core Financial System Requirements publication. From an architectural standpoint, the NRC wants to achieve a seamless and uniformly managed integration across all agency financial systems. We also want seamless access and uninterrupted availability of financial data to our end users including managers. We want to take advantage of an efficient architecture to improve our management of NRC resources by improving the delivery and timeliness of financial information to end users including managers. Improvement of financial information to end users, along with expanding the types of financial system user (e.g., direct input by project managers, etc.) is a key goal. We anticipate an expanded internal user base across all systems to be more than 3,000 users at various levels. The NRC is seeking information on the security applicable to a host contractor=s facility and its compliance with all current Federal security standards and whether there is a well-designed, robust business continuity plan. Additionally, the NRC seeks information from providers of IT hosting services of whether they have achieved full certification and accreditation (C&A) by a Federal agency and have authority to operate (ATO) a core financial and/or other financial system(s) for a Federal agency. Finally, the NRC is seeking information concerning an independent auditor=s review of operating controls in place in your processing environment in accordance with Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 70 and the opinion expressed in the resultant report. QUESTIONS. The NRC is seeking information on the availability of commercial and Federal shared service providers (SSP) to support our IT requirements and provide assistance and support for transition from our legacy financial systems. In order to perform our analysis, please provide answers the following questions: 1. How long has your business/organization been in operation for services described? 2. What type of business is your company (i.e., 8a, large, etc.)? 3. What GSA FSS contracts, if any, do you possess? (a) When do they expire? 4. What core Federal financial systems products (provide software name(s) and description(s)) do you currently host? (a) How many years experience do you have hosting each product? (b) How many Federal government clients do you host on each system? (c) How many NON-Federal government clients do you host on each system? 5. Does your company have any experience converting a Federal agency from a legacy system to a modern core financial system (a) Describe your company=s experience(s). (b) How did your company handle historical data conversion? 6. Does your organization currently host a Federal payroll, time and labor (T&L), human resources, eTravel and/or acquisition/ procurement systems for a Federal agency? (a) If so, provide the name(s) and description(s) of the software used in each category. (b) If so, provide the list of agencies and the length of time they=ve been hosted by your organization. 7. Does your company host any Federal or commercial organizations that have extensive requirements to bill (and dun) user fees, licensing fees and/or fees for service? (a) Has your company helped any organization with extensive fee billing requirements implement a fee billing system or process? (b) Has your company helped develop an application that is used for calculating fees? 8. What is your flexibility to configure hosted systems to meet specific agency requirements or do you only support a single configuration? 9. List any contracts, agreements for IT application hosting services and/or integration services that were terminated prior to full implementation/completion. (a) Describe the reasons for cancellation/termination. 10. Does your organization have a Federal certification as a shared service provider (SSP) or an application service provider (ASP)? 11. Does your facility comply with all FISMA security requirements and all applicable NIST standards? 12. What is the structure and location of your hosting facilities and off-site recovery capabilities? (a) Do you have a tested business continuity plan in place? 13. Have you achieved certification and accreditation (C&A) and authority to operate for any of the systems you host from a Federal Senior Information Technology Security Officer (SITSO)? 14. Have you completed an annual reasonable assurance letter addressing the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) in accordance with established OMB requirements and timeframes? (a) Have any significant internal control weaknesses been identified? 15. Have you had an independent audit of the operating controls in place in your processing environment in accordance with Statement of Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70)? (a) What opinion did the auditor=s express? (b) What significant weaknesses were identified in the audit? 16. What has your company charged organizations (of a similar size to the NRC) in the past for (1) implementation/integration services, and (2) ongoing hosting operations and maintenance (O&M) services? (Please provide separately for core financial system; payroll system; T&L system; human resources system; acquisition/procurement system; e-Travel system.) (a) What have you charged for data conversion? 17. What have you charged organizations (of a similar size to the NRC) in the past for a similar implementation to construct, set up the necessary infrastructure such as communications links, security, interfaces, etc.? 18. References: please provide contact name(s) and phone number(s) in Federal agencies where you=ve provided any of these services. ***************************************************************** EXHIBIT A: CURRENT FINANCIAL SYSTEMS 1. SYSTEM: FFS FUNCTIONALITY: Core accounting, budget execution/funds control, transaction processing, payments and collections and agency financial internal/external reporting (manual input and electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: Federal SSP cross serviced/mainframe-based. 2. SYSTEM: Federal Personnel/Payroll System (FPPS) FUNCTIONALITY: Human resources and payroll (manual input and electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: Federal SSP cross serviced/mainframe-based. 3. SYSTEM: eTravel FUNCTIONALITY: Employee travel management system, awaiting completion and successful testing of the software (CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT). HOST/PLATFORM: Federal SSP cross serviced/PC-server- based. 4. SYSTEM: Time and Labor (T&L) FUNCTIONALITY: Single input vehicle for employee entry of T&L used for payroll, cost accounting and fee billing (manual input and electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-server-based. 5. SYSTEM: Capitalized Property System (CPS) FUNCTIONALITY: Used for keeping detailed financial information, depreciation for capitalized property; reconciling with core accounting system SGL property accounts (manual input, no electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-based. 6. SYSTEM: Cost Accounting System (CAS) FUNCTIONALITY: Use for cost allocations to programs and provides cost data and reports to prepare the Statement of Net Cost and management cost reports (electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-server-based. 7. SYSTEM: License Fee Billing Systems FUNCTIONALITY: Used to gather and process data necessary to calculate and accomplish fee billing, generate invoices and provide staff-level operational reports; FEES is a network of 9 systems and 14 interfaces (manual input and electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-server-based/NIH mainframe. 8. SYSTEM: Controller Resources Database System (CRDS) FUNCTIONALITY: Legacy system used for budget formulation (manual input, no electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-server-based. 9. SYSTEM: Budget Formulation System FUNCTIONALITY: Replacement system for budget formulation (AWAITING ATO). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-server-based/COTS. 10. SYSTEM: Allotment / Financial Plan System (AFPS) FUNCTIONALITY: Used for budget execution to issue official documents that authorize funds available to allowance holders and program managers below the allotment level and reports the status of funds by allowance holder (manual input, no electronic interfaces). HOST/PLATFORM: In-house NRC/PC-based. 11. OTHER: In addition to these systems, other non-financial data collection systems are in use that provide additional data for fee billing. Additionally, several non-financial systems provide licensee identifying information such as name and address, docket number, license type, and other licensee descriptive data used for fee billing.
- Place of Performance
- Address: 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
- Zip Code: 20852
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 20852
- Record
- SN01119998-W 20060820/060818222218 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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