Office of Acquisition and Grants, 1710 GWYNN OAK AVENUE, BALTIMORE, MD, 21207-5279

70 -- NEWS SERVER SOFTWARE AND SUPPORT DUE 101498 POC JERRY BURTON, 410-965-9487 WEB: Download Solicitation when/if available, http://www.ssa.gov/oag. E-MAIL: Contracting Officer, SSA/OAG, JERRY.BURTON@ssa.gov. NEWS SERVER SOFTWARE Sources Sought Synopsis The Social Security Administration (SSA) is interested in obtaining information from vendors who can provide and support NEWS Server Software that is a high-performance, open discussion server with integrated encryption features that make collaboration and knowledge sharing among users inside and outside the Intranet Enterprise user friendly. The NEWS Server Software will be installed on equipment located at SSA Headquarters in Baltimore, MD. At a minimum, the Software must: ? Use graphical user interface for installation, setup, and administration; ? Run on UNIX and/or Windows NT platforms; ? Have the ability to restrict access to specific news groups as determined by SSA; ? Support Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP); ? Provide encryption for all discussion messages; ? Allow the administrators to regulate the degree of privacy and control over the users of the groups globally and individually; ? Automatically download information seamlessly from SSA's News service provider via the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP); ? Allow searching for information based on specific topics/key words; ? Be user friendly and easy to administer and manage; ? Require no modifications to desktop beyond normal browser setup; ? Transparently negotiate user authentication and data encryption; ? Provide usage authorization for 80,000 users; ? Be Year 2000 compliant; and ? Include full documentation and technical support. References Provide contact names and telephone numbers for customers currently utilizing the suggested software product. Vendor Response This is not a request for proposal and the Government does not intend to pay for information submitted. While receipt of responses will not be acknowledged, all information received will be used in SSA's assessment of capable sources when establishing a procurement plan. Capable vendors should forward the requested information along with any related GSA Schedule contract terms to the above SSA address within 15 days after this publication date and refer to synopsis "News Server" Posted 09/09/98 (D-SN247566). (0252)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0344 19980911\70-0016.SOL)