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Responses should include the following: A detailed explanation of RD must adopt an enterprise technology mindset and consider the efficiencies that could be gained from a “one stop shop.” Statement of... Responses should include the following: A detailed explanation of RD must adopt an enterprise technology mindset and consider the efficiencies that could be gained from a “one stop shop.” Statement of objectives Rural Development will implement a Common Enterprise Loan Origination and Servicing (CELOS) platform that uses industry standard forms, data sets, and data definitions utilizing low-code/no-code solutions. The preferred solution will include the use of Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) / Government-off-the-Shelf (GOTS) products, Data as a Service (DaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). The solution should have the capability to integrate all customer data so that RD has an enterprise view for customer relationships. The solution may use operational data stores and must store all data in a central data repository. The solution must provide an enterprise data dictionary. The primary objectives for this RD-wide integrated solution initiative include the following: Improved support for citizen beneficiaries – Capability to apply electronically for loans and grants and view application status on-line Reduced program delivery risks – Ensure fair and consistent treatment of all applicants Improved support for RD staff – Intuitive, powerful systems for field staff Agility and flexibility – Rapid rollout of new and changed programs Enhanced program and portfolio visibility – Improved decision support Data Single Source – Reliable, accurate data and improved confidence Reduced maintenance complexity – Substantially streamline loan, guarantee, and grant application procedures Purpose RD will obtain contractor support for the modernization and consolidation of RD systems and applications supporting the agency’s mission of improving the economy and quality of life in rural America by helping residents buy or rent affordable housing, make health and safety repairs to their homes, and enhance community services including healthcare, first responder capabilities, and water, electric, and communications infrastructure. We do this by providing technical assistance, as well as offering grants, residential and commercial loans, and loan guarantees. At present, this portfolio consists of nearly 900,000 loans, loan guarantees, and grants worth approximately $254 billion. This effort will perform Systems Engineering and Technical Architecture (SETA) to plan a large-scale transformational initiative for developing a modern, intuitive, integrated Common Enterprise Loan Origination and Servicing (CELOS) platform. This will enable RD to increase economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for rural Americans. Successful recommendations resulting from this effort will require multidisciplinary expertise, primarily including information technology and mortgage banking / lending. Period Of Performance TBD Place of Performance TBD Background The unique loan and grant processes that RD agencies use to support mission priorities were developed over a long period, leading to a large number of disparate systems and processes. Because these systems and processes are program-specific, they duplicate functions rather than integrate them and often contain redundant and conflicting data. As a result, RD spends a large portion of its annual IT budget to maintain the current portfolio of loan processing, accounting, project tracking, and supporting systems. It is becoming increasingly difficult for RD and USDA to achieve mission goals with the existing disparate loan systems, aging infrastructure, and IT architecture. Faced with increased customer demand for its loan and grant programs, the agency seeks to develop an IT environment that will automate tasks that are now manual, better use online tools to communicate with customers and partners, and equip its Information Technology (IT) organization with the information and agility to effectively respond to the requirements of its business stakeholders. In other words, RD requires streamlining and integration of systems and data built upon a framework of standards and aimed at reducing duplication, enhancing functionality and performance, and most of all, improving the customer experience. Modernization Strategy Many of RD's systems and applications are antiquated, some as old as 35 years, making them expensive and difficult to maintain. In some cases, modernization is not a luxury enabling the use of new technologies; it is a necessity. As we strive to improve the customer experience, it will not suffice to update systems individually. Rather, the modernization strategy must be transformational, wherein there is holistic consideration of what employees, lenders and customers need as opposed to what is needed program by program. To that end, RD has developed and continues to refine a single strategy with four interrelated streams, as described below. The goal of this strategy is to accomplish these goals: Innovative Engagement – Potential loan customers can use their computers or mobile devices to easily see loan products georeferenced to specific areas, with instant access to eligibility requirements. Fully Digital Process – Design a process that doesn’t require personal meetings between RD and the consumer to provide required documentation or to sign the contract. Simulators – A simulator may be able to propose the best loan type for the client based on the internal Credit Policies and customer household affordability. Online Approval – Allows prospective customers to apply and be approved for a direct loan online using automated underwriting services. Qualifying parties may receive their acceptance letter faster, without requiring a 3rd party. Real-Time Notifications – Instant approval notifications are sent. Prompts to provide missing verification documents are automatic based on analysis of what a customer provides. Statement Of Problem The existing, aging systems environment is overly complex creating challenges and constraints for the entirety of RD stakeholders (Customers, Lenders, Employees, Congress, and the Executive Branch). The following table provides an overview of the key challenges, constraints, and opportunities that must be addressed through a modern, RD-wide integrated solution. RD supports systems with redundant functionality, leading to inconsistent data capture and higher O&M costs. Often, when the business requests new functionality, a new system is created to satisfy requirements. Duplicative Systems RD loan and grant systems are built on antiquated technologies, which require higher support fees and are susceptible to performance and security issues. Aging Infrastructure Information is separated by a variety of applications that don’t communicate. Adding new components to these systems creates a complex and difficult to manage IT ecosystem. Technology “Sprawl” Programs lack ownership of their data—relying on tabular and geospatial data warehouses—& struggle to run efficient reports as part of its portfolio management. Data RD supports a number of legacy systems which are more susceptible to cybersecurity threats. The lack of a comprehensive application inventory makes security management difficult. Security Vulnerabilities Costs of operations & maintenance for legacy architecture & applications will continue to rise, escalating to unsustainable levels. Unsustainable O&M System failures could increase due to single points of failure in the underlying architecture & complex interdependencies between systems. Because of the interdependencies, disruptive events can have a cascading impact across the IT ecosystem. Availability & Maintainability Performance Objectives This initiative is intended to investigate modernization and streamlining options that will ultimately provide recommendations regarding architecture, platforms, integration, business rules, and other technological factors aimed at maximizing efficiency and customer satisfaction. Business Objectives The sections below provide the specific performance business objectives. Improve customer and employee satisfaction RD’s main focus is a commitment to customer and employee satisfaction. This requires leveraging innovative approaches to better serve the RD portfolio. Reduce or eliminate duplication of effort across the loan and grant lifecycle RD must identify inefficiencies and duplication of effort across the loan and grant lifecycle. RD, USDA, and external users must be enabled to submit and manage information electronically, reducing the potential for errors and eliminating redundant data entry. Applying for loans and grants must be made more efficient by reducing or eliminating paperwork and through implementation of an online borrower application and by leveraging the data captured throughout the lending lifecycle. Enhance data accessibility to improve analytics and business intelligence capabilities To meet RD’s need for business analytics, we must ensure the data we collect is reasonable, complete, and accurate – maintaining one version of the truth – that will provide greater visibility into portfolio and program performance, enabling the agency to effectively predict and manage risk. Implement an IT solution that reduces costs and increases sustainability, scalability, and flexibility To increase RD’s agility to meet diverse and changing business needs, we must optimize its loan and grant architecture to automate manual tasks in the loan and grant process. We will create further flexibilities by enabling mobile technology solutions. Ensure new loan programs are available sooner for customers by standardizing technology to accommodate business processes and data collection across RD To meet customer expectations, RD must shorten the turnaround time to support new loan programs. This will be facilitated by reducing or eliminating manual processes through automation, ensuring the technology accommodates multiple processes and data collection activities. Modernize and streamline the systems that deliver and manage RD’s programs RD’s complex and limited systems integration across lines of business is constraining the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural Americans. The agency desires to develop a more agile IT platform that provides robust automation support for stakeholders. This updated platform will optimize the loan and grant architecture, enabling a more rapid rollout of new or modified programs, improved data accessibility and reporting to support agency operations and program management, and elimination of duplicative IT systems. Provide stakeholders with smart and continuous communications Consistent communications charting progress and milestone achievement related to the loan and grant application process will keep agency leadership, partners, and end users engaged and informed. RD must ensure transparency is achieved by implementing communication tools and processes, and appropriately retaining all critical communications and notifications. Constraints Environment Solution Matrix [THIS NEEDS WORK AND THOUGHT] The preferred government solution is cloud based and fedRAMP compliant or is be fedRAMP ready and could achieve compliance within 6 months of award with sponsorship. Vendors will need to provide overview of fedRAMP readiness level. 3rd party service providers, such as credit reporting, may be supported through an Integrated Services Agreement (ISA). Solution Type FedRAMP on Premises (USDA environment) Not Required Cloud Required Technical Landscape The Contractor team(s) shall be proficient in the following languages and tools. As technology evolves, so must the technical expertise and the tools use by the team. The table below provides the primary tools (not all inclusive) that are provided by the USDA RD and are used to support the portfolio of applications. The description of each application further identifies the tools available for use by the Contractor. NAME MANUFACTURER FUNCTION MuleSoft Anypoint MuleSoft Integration Layer Salesforce DX Salesforce Continuous integration continuous delivery Salesforce GovCloud Salesforce User Experience and User Interface layer BitBucket Data Center Atlassian Source code version control repository Jenkins Atlassian / Open Source Automate build, test and deploy used for continuous delivery Jira Data Center Atlassian Project and issue tracking Confluence Data Center Atlassian Document and collaboration Checkmarx Checkmarx Application static and dynamic application security scanning Visual Studio Code Microsoft Integrated Development Environment JBoss Developer Studio IBM IDE for JAVA development Java EE 1.8 Oracle GLS applications DB2 IBM V12 and V10.5 FICO Rules Engine FICO Blaze Advisor Decision Rules Management System V 7.3 LoanServ Sagent Single Family Housing Direct Loan Servicing System EngageOne Enrichment Precisely, formerly known as Pitney Bowes Automated Mail Processing Q-Content Kofax FACSys Qflow Electronic Customer File