Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 700, ATTN: M:P, Oxon Hill, MD 20745

D -- SOURCES SOUGHT FOR BENEFITS LINE SOFTWARE AND EQUIPMENT DUE 041098 POC Catia Ellsworth, Contract Specialist, 202-283-1344, Fax 202-283-1532 The IRS is seeking information and potential sources for an Interactive Voice Response System (IVR), which enables voice information services to be provided to approximately 120,000 employees, including hearing impaired. The system would use the properties of a touch-tone phone and/or voice recognition to allow employees to receive pre-recorded info on several subjects (retirement, disability and survivor benefits, severance pay, etc.). It would serve as a gateway to other automated systems, and as a router to a network of offices where the caller may be assisted by an individual who is a specialist in a specific area. Minimum system specifications: Must be year 2000 compliant and be able to manipulate employee data and customize information. Equipment must connect to and be compatible with other systems and the system which houses the IRS employees data base and have a backup system to permit operation in case of failure of the base system. Must provide a method for adding new features which allows expansions/upgrades, have call transfer capability, remote system connectivity, delivery of recorded information, form fax back, caller data/profile on screen, etc. Must provide access to hearing impaired employees, may use TDD, TTY or successor equipment used for the hearing impaired. Must include the capacity to bypass menu, introduction scripts, or other gated text once the caller has satisfied any system access requirement. Should also include the ability to return to main menu without having to exit and re-access the system (including calls forwarded to other personnel or automated systems). Must have the capacity to terminate directly into GSA phone network and 800/888 service, provide retirement conversion calculations (CSRS/FERS), FEGLI, severance pay calculations and generate ad hoc reports. Must be able to support: fax support, call transfer, operator attendant, usage reports, call history, enhancement capability where additional programming may be required, voice mail and message storage. Training and orientation on how the system operates must be provided to the persons designated by the IRS for acquiring a working understanding of the system and its operation. Must meet all security requirements that prevent unauthorized access and provide appropriately for audit trails as necessary government regulations for system certification and accreditation. Must provide on site system maintenance and repairs. Maintenance is to preserve the system purposed in a condition which meets the terms and specifications of the manufacturer (may be on a schedule and/or on call). Programmers must be able to access the system from offsite and make necessary software changes/upgrades. The system's location may be outside the Washington DC area. Companies that believe they can meet or exceed the above capabilities are invited to send information about their product to the above-stated address. For planning and budgetary purposes an estimated cost of the proposed system should also be provided. Interested firms are requested to respond by no later than 10 Apr 98 and include a point of contact. They should also submit a statement of interest and capabilities, business size and status, and include brochures, descriptive literature and a discussion of the system/software capabilities. POCs for technical questions: catia.ellsworth@ccmail.irs.gov or larry.chewning@ccmail.irs.gov. This is not a solicitation for proposal or an invitation for bids. This is only a market survey. (0070)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0040 19980313\D-0010.SOL)