SPECIAL NOTICE
D -- US Forest Service Information Technology (IT) Help Desk Services
- Notice Date
- 10/12/2012
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, WO-AQM IT Support, Albuquerque Service Center, Pan American Bldg, Suite 200, 101 B Sun Ave NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87109, United States
- ZIP Code
- 87109
- Solicitation Number
- WOAQMITRFI004
- Archive Date
- 11/16/2012
- Point of Contact
- Liza S Herrera, Phone: 5055637651
- E-Mail Address
-
lsherrera@fs.fed.us
(lsherrera@fs.fed.us)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning/information purposes only and shall not be construed as a commitment or a promise of a contract by the Government. This is not a solicitation. This notice does not constitute a Request for Bid, Request for Quote or Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. 1. PURPOSE. The US Forest Services, Washington Office (WO) Acquisition Management (AQM), Information Technology (IT) Support Branch is conducting a market analysis with this RFI to refine the requirement and determine the most suitable approach for acquiring and fulfilling the needs associated with providing the full range of information technology help desk support services listed in paragraph 3 below, entitled Overview of Capabilities. The information collected in this RFI will be used to further define the government's requirements and create the appropriate acquisition strategy. Consequently, do not submit proprietary information in response to this request. All submission information will be considered in finalizing the US Forest Service IT Help Desk Services requirements. 2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND. The United States Forest Service (FS) is issuing this RFI to obtain information on the latest offerings, best practices, and approaches for information technology help desk services. This RFI shall not be construed as a decision or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services cited in this notice. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice. The FS Chief Information Office (CIO) uses a centralized help desk to provide 24x7x365 Tier 0 (self-help) and Tier 1 (help desk) support services to over 30,000 IT users across FS working both in offices and remotely. Support covers the gamut of IT systems and products, including computers, servers, telecommunications, radios, and commercial and government developed applications and software. In addition to FS CIO requirements, as part of the share-first federal strategy, the centralized help desk will also provide support to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Information Technology Services (ITS) and USDA's eAuthentication program. ITS supports approximately 65,000 users and eAuthentiation supports approximately 575,000 users. Incident volume varies for the combined portfolio of support, but averages approximately 30,000 per month. Additionally, FS envisions an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract/Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to which other help desks from USDA, FS and other USDA agencies may transition. The contract vehicle will support multiple customers and may require use of multiple systems or transition of data from multiple systems. It is the FS's intent to benefit from total contract volume pricing, invoiced by Task Order. 3. OVERVIEW OF CAPABILITIES. FS is seeking a total solution operated at the contractor's facilities. Services to be provided include: • 90-day Contract Transition efforts facilitating full cutover of all Forest Service/USDA customers from the incumbent to the new contractor. • Transferring help desk data from the current database/system. • Providing a toll-free number for help desk calls, as well as an interactive web-based platform. • Answering and resolving customer calls through the contractor's toll-free phone number. • Responding to customer tickets received through a variety of channels (web, chat, email, fax, etc). • Providing warm hand-offs to Tier 2 FS/USDA staff. • Managing and contributing to a repository of Knowledge Management documents. • Logging tickets into the contractor's ticket management system. • Providing user-friendly tools to manage and provide meaningful reports on IT assistance requests. • Assisting customers in the completion of service request forms and templates. • Performing hardware and software configuration diagnostic procedures. • Coordinating more complex requests with FS employees who serve in Tier 2 and Tier 3 capacities. 4. SUMMARY OF REQUESTED INFORMATION. FS is not seeking elaborate replies, but rather concise, meaningful responses from vendors with help desk expertise. In 15 single-sided 8.5" x 11" pages or less (title page or table of contents do not count against the page count), vendors are requested to provide the following information: 1. Company Information a. Name, address and DUNS b. Current contract vehicles (such as GSA Schedules, GWACs, etc) with help desk services within scope c. Number of contracts for 1) government and 2) commercial help desk/call center services of similar scope, size and complexity in the last three years d. Indicate whether they are/are not a small business, a small disadvantaged business, 8(a), hub-zone certified, woman-owned, or Historically Black College or University Minority Institution. 2. Describe the capabilities, features and benefits of your help desk support solution, paying special attention to new capabilities/features that go beyond a "standard" help desk solution. 3. Describe your help desk platform and its capabilities in knowledge management, web interfaces, data collection, reporting (user-friendly real-time, canned, ad hoc, etc) and other features. 4. How much of the platform is already developed vs what will require customization? 5. Currently, "RightNow" and "Remedy" platforms are used. FS/USDA owns the data. How would you transition the data for reuse in your tool? 6. Because of the nature of FS work, please describe features of the help desk solution that address mobility issues. 7. What pricing approaches have been used in your help desk contracts? Please also comment on the advantages/disadvantages of those approaches. NOTE: It is the FS's intent to benefit from total contract volume pricing, invoiced by Task Order. 8. What performance standards are used in current help desk contracts held by your company? 9. What incentives, if any, are used in your current help desk contracts and comment on the successfulness of those incentives. 10. Provide three references for help desk contracts within the past three years. References should include: a. Customer b. Name, phone number and email address for the customer's program manager c. Contract Name d. Contract Number e. Contract Value f. Contract type (if a hybrid contract, identify specific tasks that were fixed price versus labor hour) g. Brief description of services, including information such as number of FTE and annual number of calls h. If a transition period existed, note the length of the transition period, the sufficiency of the transition period and any recommended transition best practices from previous experiences. 11. Any additional information that may be helpful to the FS for a help desk Performance Work Statement. 5. SUBMISSION INFORMATION. All responses shall be organized according to and address each item of paragraph 4 above, and shall be provided electronically in Word or PDF to Ms. Liza Herrera at lsherrera@fs.fed.us. All responses must be submitted via email by 5:00pm ET on November 1, 2012.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FS/WOAQMITS/WOAQMITRFI004/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: TBD, United States
- Record
- SN02912999-W 20121014/121012234039-e53c0cd87214bfe493f6579743098dd1 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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