SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- DoD Mobility Project Office - Mobile Applications Support
- Notice Date
- 6/20/2014
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Defense Information Systems Agency, Procurement Directorate, DITCO-Scott, 2300 East Dr., Building 3600, Scott AFB, Illinois, 62225-5406, United States
- ZIP Code
- 62225-5406
- Solicitation Number
- MOBILITY-RFI-APPS
- Archive Date
- 7/26/2014
- Point of Contact
- Arthur L Kruse, Phone: 618-229-9773, Tamie L. Keene, Phone: 618-229-9549
- E-Mail Address
-
arthur.l.kruse.civ@mail.mil, tamie.l.keene.civ@mail.mil
(arthur.l.kruse.civ@mail.mil, tamie.l.keene.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Request for Information (RFI) Request for Information (RFI) for Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) DoD Mobility Project Office DISCLAIMER: THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. DoD Mobility Project Office Mobile Applications Support Mobile wireless capabilities are an integral enabler of mission accomplishment across the Department of Defense (DoD) enterprise and will continue to be in the foreseeable future. Today, many of our mobile classified and unclassified voice and data capabilities operate over standard commercial cellular networks. This allows us to leverage the huge investments industry continues to make in both the mobile devices and the cellular networks. Until the recent past nearly all government telecommunication needs were met with unique industry-provided solutions. However, advances in the cellular industry and the speed at which they occur, have bypassed the government's former driving role, and the DoD is challenged in its ability to deliver mission-focused, secure, mobile solutions to its users. While DISA is updating its acquisition processes to better accommodate the civilian use-driven market, it needs assistance in the Application Support areas. This RFI is issued for the purposes of DISA's market analysis before a planned Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued, though plans may be altered based on responses to this RFI or other information. ORGANIZATIONAL MISSION /PROGRAM BACKGROUND : DoD Mobile Device Enterprise Service Initiative delivers enterprise unclassified and classified mobile communications services, ensuring interoperability, secure access to information, and reliable service for the DoD worker. It is comprised of a mobile networking infrastructure that delivers third generation (3G)/fourth generation (4G), and in the future fifth generation (5G) other advanced mobile protocol cellular services to extend enterprise e-mail services, Unified Capabilities (UC), DoD Internet Access Points (IAP), and access to approved mobile applications/databases to mobile devices via Defense Information System Network (DISN) mobility gateways and the Global Information Grid (GIG) transport where possible. It will also include enterprise-enabled Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems that provide application layer confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and mobile device configuration management, and an enterprise Mobile Application Store (MAS) that will host government approved applications for multiple mobile operating systems. CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS: DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO), Procurement Directorate, Telecommunications Contracting Division; Transport, Satellite and Support Branch; Systems Section (PL8223), Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) - Scott, 2300 East Drive, AFB, IL, 62225-5406 RFI PURPOSE : The DISA, DoD Mobility Project Office, utilizes RFIs as a segment of market research to determine the availability of vendor capabilities and competencies to address specific Mobility Project requirements. The RFI process allows DISA to determine relevant market place maturity of products, systems and services to meet our requirements. All information received in response to this RFI shall be marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Responses to the RFI will not be returned nor will the Government confirm receipt of the RFI response. Whatever information is provided in response to this RFI will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed in the acquisition process. 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. All interested contractors are requested to provide written response to the "Requested Information" below. A response to this RFI is necessary in order to assist DISA in determining contractor potential levels of interest, adequate competition determination, market maturity and technical capabilities within the business community to provide the required capabilities. This RFI is requesting responses to the following criteria from businesses under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes 541511. In addition to Small Businesses, this effort encourages responses from qualified and capable 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Service Disabled-Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Women-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Alaskan Native Corporation (ANC) and Small Business Teaming Partners. In your response please identify your company's category and list the contract vehicle(s) through which your services/solutions may be acquired. T his information will also be used to assist DISA in establishing a basis for developing any subsequent potential subcontracting plan small business goal percentages. All interested contractors are requested to provide a written response to the "Requested Information" below. To assist DISA in making a determination regarding the level of participation by small business in any subsequent procurement that may result from this RFI, you are also encouraged to provide information regarding your plans to use joint venturing (JV), partnering to meet each of the requirement areas contained herein. Include information on how you would envision your company's areas of expertise and those of any proposed JV/partnering would be combined to meet the specific requirements contained in this RFI. REQUESTED INFORMATION: Mobile Applications (apps) are one of the most vital capabilities for DoD Mobility's success. It will be apps that assist mission partners in their daily duties by increasing productivity and allowing increase ease of use completing daily tasks. The Mobile Applications project is responsible for Mobile Application Management (MAM) operations, supporting multiple operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows 8, and BlackBerry), multiple applications (native, hybrid, and cross platform) and multiple device form factors (smartphones, tablets). The following information is required to determine follow-on strategies in support of the Mobile Applications project. •1. What are industry best practice for purchasing enterprise applications at reduced rates to support Android, Apple, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile Operating Systems? •2. What marketing strategies would industry follow to generate and maintain interest across a broad range of developers like commercial developers, traditional industry partners, academia, and novice developers? •3. What are the requirements necessary to establish a virtual, dynamicm and elastic computational environment where applications are developed, tested and evaluated against screening criteria, Mobile Security Requirements Guide and deployed in the DISA enterprise? •4. If DISA were to provide data to developers, both for development and operations, what does DISA need to consider with regard to access (via a service or otherwise), data formats, uses of the data, availability, and storage alternatives? •5. DISA anticipates that its customers will require integration of their mobile applications with "back-end" DoD, civilian, and commercial systems and databases. What are the key considerations and challenges in integrating mobile applications with back-end systems? How would you propose that these challenges be overcome? How can integration be streamlined? •6. DISA intends to host all provider-developed mobile applications in-house. What are the considerations and challenges associated with moving applications from the provider's development and testing environment to a secure DISA Mobile Application Store (MAS)? How would you propose that these challenges be overcome? •7. Describe how you will port applications from one platform to another (e.g., Windows Mobile to iPhone; Android to Blackberry, etc)? What commercial tools, standards, and practices do you use? •8. What are the unique challenges that organizations such as DISA face when developing mobile applications? What are the mitigating strategies? What does industry feel their challenges are in developing mobile applications for DoD? •9. What commercial best practices and trends are typically considered for Requirements Development/Validation? How should the DoD go about mobilizing their legacy capabilities? How would they prioritize? What would be needed technically? •10. What commercial best practices and trends are typically considered for Mobile Application Product Lifecycle Management? This should include App Design, Development, Maintenance, Patches and End of Life. •11. What does industry considered best of breed for Application Product Integration Middleware (Infrastructure) Management? •12. What are the performance standards/metrics that you typically test and how do you test? What role should application developers play in helping maximize the performance of a DoD Enterprise Helpdesk that services all Commands, Services and Agencies? How can the interaction between the helpdesk and the provider be optimized? How should the provider-supplied support be integrated with the Enterprise Helpdesk support to ensure the most effective and efficient provisioning of application support? What are commercial best practices, tools, help desk and troubleshooting to support unique DoD Global requirement? What are industry recommendations for applying commercial best practice and tools? As a follow-up to this RFI, the DoD, DISA, Project Management Office Mobility, Fort Meade, Maryland, in coordination with DISA's DITCO, intends to host an Industry Day. The notional date is late July 2014. Additional details will be provided in the future via an announcement in Federal Business Opportunities website. RESPONSES: The total RFI response should be in a white paper format, no longer than fifteen (15) pages in length. The font size for the text shall be no smaller than 10 point Times New Roman or Arial Narrow. Use at least 1 inch margins on the top and bottom and ¾ inch side margins. Responses should include the: (1) business name and address; (2) name of company representative and their business title; (3) Business Size (for small businesses include small business category); (4) CAGE Code and DUNS number; (5) applicable NAICS code(s); and (6) contract vehicles that would be available to the Government for procurement of your services and/or products, to include General Service Administration (GSA), Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP), Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), or any other Government-wide Acquisition contract vehicle. All Questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted in writing by email to disa.meade.cae.mbx.mobility-pmo-program-controls@mail.mil and courtesy copy (cc) the Contracting Officer at Arthur.L.Kruse.civ@mail.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 25 June 2014 will be answered. Firms who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email NLT 11 July 2014 at 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDST). The response should not exceed a 5 MB e-mail limit for all items associated with the RFI response. Interested vendors should forward their responses, capabilities and other information to Arthur.L.Kruse.civ@mail.mil. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government and contractor personnel reviewing RFI responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DISA/D4AD/DITCO/MOBILITY-RFI-APPS/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03402087-W 20140622/140620235609-8e4822c3ca7fed77d2bcbc8375db0d4d (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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