Inactive

This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is not a request for quotes and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. The Government will not provide any reimbursement for responses submitted... This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is not a request for quotes and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. The Government will not provide any reimbursement for responses submitted in response to this Source Sought notice. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. If a solicitation is issued it shall be announced at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately. Responses to this notice are not a request to be added to a prospective bidders list or to receive a copy of the solicitation. The purpose of this announcement is to perform market research to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 541519 (Exception), Information Technology Value Added Resellers with a size standard 150 Employees. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), is seeking to identify any vendor capable of providing Oracle Hardware/Software Support per the Product Description (PD) below and PD Attachment A. This Sources Sought notice provides an opportunity for respondents to submit their capability and availability to provide the requirement described below. Vendors are encouraged to submit information relative to their capabilities to fulfill this requirement, in the form of a statement that addresses the specific requirement identified in this Sources Sought. Information received from this Sources Sought shall be utilized to facilitate the Contracting Officer s review of the market base, for acquisition planning, size determination, and procurement strategy. Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified are to adhere to the PD and are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 4:00PM EST, April 15, 2024. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to Harold.Nice@va.gov and Kimberly.Geran@va.gov with Sources Sought # 36C10B25Q0209 in the subject line. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Interested parties should complete the attached Sources Sought Worksheet. Parties may submit additional information related to their capabilities, provided it contains all the requirements contained in the Sources Sought Worksheet. Responses to this Sources Sought shall not exceed 8 pages. In addition, all submissions should be provided electronically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. Attachment 1 Sources Sought Worksheet QUALIFICATION INFORMATION: Company / Institute Name: _______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________ Phone Number: ________________________________________________________________ Point of Contact: _______________________________________________________________ E-mail Address: ________________________________________________________________ Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) #: ___________________________________________________ CAGE Code: __________________________________________________________________ SAM Registered: (Y / N) ___________________________________________________ List the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code(s) are you considered a Small Business (as stated in the System for Award Management (SAM) Database) _________________ Other available contract vehicles applicable to this sources sought (GSA/FSS/NASA SEWP/ETC): __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS: VIP Verified SDVOSB: (Y / N) VIP Verified VOSB: (Y / N) 8(a): (Y / N) HUBZone: (Y / N) Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business: (Y / N) Women-Owned Small Business: (Y / N) Small Business: (Y / N) State the percentage of savings/discount to be offered for providing 1 quote for a consolidated contract listed in PD Attachment A, as opposed to 3 separate quotes for 3 separate renewals in reference to the following 3 current contracts: 36C10B23F0298 36C10B23F0032 36C10A21F0285 State your ability to provide the Certification IAW VAAR Clause 852.219-75. State your ability to provide the OEM authorization letter IAW VAAR 852.212-71 and the Additional Items section of the PD. NOTE: Respondent claiming SDVOSB and VOSB status shall be registered and Veteran Small Business Certification https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SDVOSB, VOSB, SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. CAPABILITY STATEMENT: Provide a brief capability and interest in providing the (requested Item) as listed in Attachment 1 with enough information to determine if your company can meet the requirement. The capabilities statement for this Sources Sought is not a Request for Quotation, Request for Proposal, or Invitation for Bid, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach, but rather the Government is requesting a short statement regarding the company s ability to provide the Items outlined in the PD. Any commercial brochures or currently existing marketing material may also be submitted with the capabilities statement. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. The Government will not pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION (PD) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Information & Technology Infrastructure Operations Oracle Hardware/Software Support Services Date: April 2, 2025 VA-25-00041873 PD Version Number: 1.1 Contents 1.0 PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS 7 1.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 8 2.0 SCHEDULE 8 3.0 NOTICE OF THE FEDERAL ACCESSIBILITY LAW AFFECTING ALL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) PROCUREMENTS (SECTION 508) 12 4.0 SECTION 508 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) STANDARDS 13 5.0 COMPATABILITY WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY 13 6.0 ACCEPTANCE AND ACCEPTANCE TESTING 13 7.0 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USING ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS 14 7.1 EPEAT 14 7.2 ENERGY STAR 14 7.3 FEMP 14 8.0 SHIPMENT OF HARDWARE OR EQUIPMENT 14 9.0 SPECIAL SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS 15 10.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 15 10.1 VA TECHNICAL REFERENCE MODEL 15 10.2 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) REDUCTION 15 10.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPV6) 16 10.4 SOFTWARE AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS 16 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S) N/A 16 1.0 PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Information Technology (IT) Operations and Services, Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for brand name Oracle hardware and Oracle Operating System (OS) Software maintenance and technical support via telephone, e-mail, or internet to troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment/components or provide replacement equipment/components that restore full operation and accessibility to the original redundant component configuration. Initial response to all requests for maintenance shall be initiated within one hour of the initial notification from VA. Additionally, software maintenance shall consist of firmware upgrades, updates to include major releases, point releases, service releases and security releases of applicable firmware on a quarterly basis, and/or within 48 hours in cases where a high-risk vulnerability fix becomes available. The maintenance is required to ensure the hardware/software remains operational. Support Coverage will be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year including federal holidays, with a 4 hour response time. Further, the Contractor shall repair or replace system s equipment components to restore full operation and accessibility to the original redundant component configuration as identified below in the Attachement A - IO Oracle Hardware and Software Asset List. The Contractor shall provide all parts and labor. Only brand name Oracle certified replacement parts/components shall be used to restore the VA Local Area Network (LAN) equipment to its highly redundant and fully operational state. In the event that Oracle certified replacement parts are no longer commercially available, the Contractor shall provide compatible substitute parts that meet or exceed original brand name specifications at no additional cost to the Government. All problem resolution shall be performed on a continuous effort. Continuous effort means that once notified the problem exists, the Contractor shall give the highest priority to resolution of the problem and work uninterrupted until the problem is resolved. Replacement components may be shipped via carrier to the VA site for local IT system administrator installation for such plug-and-play failed items such as hard drives no later than next business day, at the discretion of VA. Only VA System Administrators are allowed control to perform keyboarding tasks under the guidance of the Contractor, if necessary. Contractors shall not be granted administrative privileges, control or access to VA systems. All support performed under any resulting order shall provide VA with defective media retention of all hard disk drives and magnetic media. Therefore, VA shall retain all hard drives and recordable media. Under no circumstances shall the Contractor remove hard drives and magnetic tape media from a VA site. Other defective parts become property of the Contractor. The Contractor shall provide Oracle Advance Customer Support (ACS) Services. The Support shall include: Access to Oracle proprietary information that can troubleshoot interoperability between Oracle Hardware, Oracle Solaris OS, and other Oracle software products such as Oracle Database, WebLogic, etc. Access to Oracle Support to provide ticket status, escalation, and assignment of additional Oracle support resources when needed Priority handling and guided assistance on production critical service requests by an assigned Oracle ACS Technical Account Manager Preferred access to Oracle ACS technical resources Installation of replacement parts when necessary by an Oracle Field Engineer Quarterly reviews of support activity and review of Oracle best practices Block of 30 days of ACS Advanced Support Engineer (ASE)/Data Center Engineer (DCE) support hours (to be used as needed throughout the year) Fixed Scope Services Oracle Patch Review and Installation Oracle High Availability Review and Recommendations Oracle Production Diagnostics Review and Recommendations Oracle Performance Review and Recommendations 1.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The Period of Performance shall be a base period of 12-months from the date of award, plus 2, 12-month option periods. 1.2 SCHEDULE Specifically, the Contractor shall provide the following: Base Year Period of Performance shall be for 12 months after receipt of order. CLIN Description Qty Unit 0001 Control No: HW0874.HWM Description: Oracle Premier Support for Systems Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 0002 Control No: HW0876.HDR Description: Oracle Customer Data and Device Retention Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 0003 Control No: HW0342.SWMHW0912.SWM Description: Extended Support for Operating Systems (OS) - Software Update License & Support Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 0004 Control No: HW0733.SVC Description: Priority Support for Systems Service ACS Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 0005 Deliverable Support Information (Proof of Entitlement): The Contractor shall complete the Attachment 2, Deliverable Support Information Form for maintenance support. The Contractor shall fill in blocks 15-32. Note for Multiple CLINs: For asset specific information that applies to multiple CLINs, provide an attachment correlating any asset specific information to specific CLINS. (For example: Serial Numbers or License Keys). The Contractor shall provide OEM confirmation that all software support or licenses have been purchased. The Contractor shall provide service call instructions to include all information required to obtain maintenance, support or licenses. The form shall be submitted electronically to: VA PM, COR, CO and AACLicense@va.gov NSP 1 NSP Option Period One This option may be exercised in accordance with FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000). Work shall not commence until, and unless, a formal modification is issued by the Contracting Officer. If exercised, this option period shall commence immediately after expiration of the base year. CLIN Description Qty Unit 1001 Control No: HW0874.HWM Description: Oracle Premier Support for Systems Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 1002 Control No: HW0876.HDR Description: Oracle Customer Data and Device Retention Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 1003 Control No: HW0342.SWM, HW0912.SWM Description: Extended Support for Operating Systems (OS) - Software Update License & Support Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 1004 Control No: HW0733.SVC Description: Priority Support for Systems Service ACS Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 1005 Control No: HW0912.SWM Description: Software Update License & Support Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 1005 Deliverable Support Information (Proof of Entitlement): The Contractor shall complete the Attachment 2, Deliverable Support Information Form for maintenance support. The Contractor shall fill in blocks 15-32. Note for Multiple CLINs: For asset specific information that applies to multiple CLINs, provide an attachment correlating any asset specific information to specific CLINS. (For example: Serial Numbers or License Keys). The Contractor shall provide OEM confirmation that all software support or licenses have been purchased. The Contractor shall provide service call instructions to include all information required to obtain maintenance, support or licenses. The form shall be submitted electronically to: VA PM, COR, CO and AACLicense@va.gov NSP 1 NSP Option Period Two This option may be exercised in accordance with FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000). Work shall not commence until, and unless, a formal modification is issued by the Contracting Officer. If exercised, this option period shall commence immediately after expiration of Option Period 1. CLIN Description Qty Unit 2001 Control No: HW0874.HWM Description: Oracle Premier Support for Systems Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 2002 Control No: HW0876.HDR Description: Oracle Customer Data and Device Retention Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 2003 Control No: HW0342.SWM, HW0912.SWM Description: Extended Support for Operating Systems (OS) - Software Update License & Support Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 2004 Control No: HW0733.SVC Description: Priority Support for Systems Service ACS Support Identifier: See Attachment A for POP 1 LT 2005 Deliverable Support Information (Proof of Entitlement): The Contractor shall complete the Attachment 2, Deliverable Support Information Form for maintenance support. The Contractor shall fill in blocks 15-32. Note for Multiple CLINs: For asset specific information that applies to multiple CLINs, provide an attachment correlating any asset specific information to specific CLINS. (For example: Serial Numbers or License Keys). The Contractor shall provide OEM confirmation that all software support or licenses have been purchased. The Contractor shall provide service call instructions to include all information required to obtain maintenance, support or licenses. The form shall be submitted electronically to: VA PM, COR, CO and AACLicense@va.gov NSP 1 NSP 2.0 NOTICE OF THE FEDERAL ACCESSIBILITY LAW AFFECTING ALL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) PROCUREMENTS (SECTION 508) On January 18, 2017, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) revised and updated, in a single rulemaking, standards for electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as our guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934. The revisions and updates to the Section 508-based standards and Section 255-based guidelines are intended to ensure that information and communication technology (ICT) covered by the respective statutes is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. 2.1 SECTION 508 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) STANDARDS The Section 508 standards established by the Access Board are incorporated into, and made part of all VA orders, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure ICT. These standards are found in their entirety at: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule/text-of-the-standards-and-guidelines. A printed copy of the standards will be supplied upon request. Federal agencies must comply with the updated Section 508 Standards beginning on January 18, 2018. The Final Rule as published in the Federal Register is available from the Access Board: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule. The Contractor shall comply with 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements for all electronic ICT and content delivered under this contract. Specifically, as appropriate for the technology and its functionality, the Contractor shall comply with the technical standards marked here: E205 Electronic Content (Accessibility Standard -WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Guidelines) E204 Functional Performance Criteria E206 Hardware Requirements E207 Software Requirements E208 Support Documentation and Services Requirements 2.2 COMPATABILITY WITH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY The standards do not require installation of specific accessibility-related software or attachment of an assistive technology device. Section 508 requires that ICT be compatible with such software and devices so that ICT can be accessible to and usable by individuals using assistive technology, including but not limited to screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition software. 2.3 ACCEPTANCE AND ACCEPTANCE TESTING Deliverables resulting from this solicitation will be accepted based in part on satisfaction of the Section 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements standards identified above. The Government reserves the right to test for Section 508 Compliance before delivery. The Contractor shall be able to demonstrate Section 508 Compliance upon delivery. 3.0 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USING ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS The Contractor shall comply with Sections 524 and Sections 525 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; Section 104 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; Executive Order 13834, Efficient Federal Operations , dated May 17, 2018; Executive Order 13221, Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices, dated August 2, 2001; and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to provide ENERGY STAR®, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated, low standby power, and Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) registered products in providing information technology products and/or services. 3.1 EPEAT EPEAT product compliance is not required in this acquisition. 3.2 ENERGY STAR Energy Star compliance is not required in this acquisition. 3.3 FEMP FEMP or FEMP low standby power product compliance is not required in this acquisition. 4.0 SHIPMENT OF HARDWARE OR EQUIPMENT Inspection: Destination Acceptance: Destination Free on Board (FOB): Destination Ship To and Mark For: AITC HITC Name: Gregg Kestranek Name: Troy Wilson Address: 1615 Woodward St, Austin TX 78741 Address: 5000 5th Ave, Hines, IL 60141 Voice: 512-608-3759 Voice: 708-483-5072 Email: Gregg.kestranek@va.gov Email: Troy.Wilson1@va.gov 4.1 SPECIAL SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS Prior to shipping, Contractor shall notify Site POCs, by phone followed by email, of all incoming deliveries including line-by-line details for review of requirements. The Contractor shall not make any changes to the delivery schedule at the request of Site POC. Contractors shall coordinate deliveries with Site POCs before shipment of hardware to ensure sites have adequate storage space. All shipments, either single or multiple container deliveries, shall bear the VA Task Order number on external shipping labels and associated manifests or packing lists. In the case of multiple container deliveries, a statement readable near the VA Task Order number shall indicate total number of containers for the complete shipment (e.g. Package 1 of 2 ), clearly readable on manifests and external shipping labels. Packing Slips/Labels and Lists shall also include the following: VA Task Order Number : ____________ (e.g., 36C (the IFCAP PO number is located in block #20 of the SF 1449)) Project Description: (e.g. Oracle Hardware/Software Maintenance Consoldation) Total number of Containers: Package ___ of ___. (e.g., Package 1 of 3) 5.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 5.1 VA TECHNICAL REFERENCE MODEL The Contractor shall support the VA enterprise management framework. In association with the framework, the Contractor shall comply with OIT Technical Reference Model (VA TRM). The VA TRM is one component within the overall Enterprise Architecture (EA) that establishes a common vocabulary and structure for describing the information technology used to develop, operate, and maintain enterprise applications. Moreover, the VA TRM, which includes the Standards Profile and Product List, serves as a technology roadmap and tool for supporting OIT. Architecture & Engineering Services (AES) has overall responsibility for the VA TRM. 5.2 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) REDUCTION The Contractor solution shall support the Social Security Number (SSN) Fraud Prevention Act (FPA) of 2017 which prohibits the inclusion of SSNs on any document sent by mail. The Contractor support shall also be performed in accordance with Section 240 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2018, enacted March 23, 2018, which mandates VA to discontinue using SSNs to identify individuals in all VA information systems as the Primary Identifier. The Contractor shall ensure that any new IT solution discontinues the use of SSN as the Primary Identifier to replace the SSN with the Integrated Control Number (ICN) in all VA information systems for all individuals. The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor delivered applications and systems integrate with the VA Master Person Index (MPI) for identity traits to include the use of the ICN as the Primary Identifier. The Contractor solution may only use a Social Security Number to identify an individual in an information system if and only if the use of such number is required to obtain information VA requires from an information system that is not under the jurisdiction of VA. 5.3 INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPV6) The Contractor solution shall support Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) based upon the memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on November 19, 2020 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-07.pdf). IPv6 technology, in accordance with the USGv6 Program (https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/usgv6-program/usgv6-revision-1), NIST Special Publication (SP) 500-267B Revision 1 USGv6 Profile (https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.500-267Br1), and NIST SP 800-119 Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6 (https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-119), compliance shall be included in all IT infrastructures, application designs, application development, operational systems and sub-systems, and their integration. In addition to the above requirements, all devices shall support native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) connectivity without additional memory or other resources being provided by the Government, so that they can function in a mixed environment. All public/external facing servers and services (e.g. web, email, DNS, ISP services, etc.) shall support native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) users and all internal infrastructure and applications shall communicate using native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) operations. 5.4 SOFTWARE AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall be responsible for the provision of all software licenses and any associated licensing maintenance required for any development, delivery, integration, operation, and/or maintenance associated with its proposed application(s), software products, software solution, and/or system including, but not limited to, any and all application(s), software and/or software products that comprise, are a part of, or integrate with the Contractor s proposed application(s), software products, software solution, and/or system for the life of any resulting contract. 5.5 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S) N/A POINTS OF CONTACT: VA Program Manager: Name: Andrew Creamer Voice: 727-260-2724 Email: Andrew.Creamer@va.gov Contracting Officer s Representative: Name: Joel Arellano Voice: 512-326-6684 Email: Joel.Arellano@va.gov Contracting Officer: Name: Kim Geran Voice: 848-377-5228 Email: Kimberly.Geran@va.gov Contract Specialist: Name: Harold Nice Voice: 848-377-5265 Email: Harlod.Nice@va.gov ADDITIONAL ITEMS SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS/REMARKS Response Instructions: Offerors shall state their ability to provide an authorization letter or other means of verification from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) confirming it is an authorized dealer, authorized distributor, or authorized reseller for the proposed equipment/system in accordance with VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.212-72 and 852.212-73. Additionally, at the time of solicitation announced at a later date, the Offeror s shall explicitly self-certify that it will not provide Gray Market Goods and/or Counterfeit Items, as defined by VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 852.212-72 and 852.212-73, and that it has the level of certification/specialization, as required by the OEM(s). At the time quote submission to the solicitation announced at a later date, failure to include the requisite OEM letter(s)/documentation and Offeror self-certification may render the Offeror s quote Unacceptable and thus, ineligible for award.