Inactive

This is a Sources Sought Notice. (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Sources Sought or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. (b) Although "proposal," ... This is a Sources Sought Notice. (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Sources Sought or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. (b) Although "proposal," "offeror," contractor, and "offeror" may be used in this Sources Sought notice, any response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) Any information received from a contractor in response to this Sources Sought may be used in creating a solicitation. Any information received which is marked with a statement, such as "proprietary" or "confidential," intended to restrict distribution will not be distributed outside of the Government, except as required by law. (d) This Sources Sought is issued by VISN 2 Contracting Office in Syracuse, NY for the purpose of collecting information about VISN 2 Digital Signage Subscriptions. The VA is seeking to provide for this requirement within 30 days of the award of the contract. The NAICS code identified for this requirement is 541519 Other Computer Related Services. The requirement is detailed in the Statement of Work section of this document. (e) Cursory market research has not identified small businesses that may be able to provide for this requirement. Contractors that are able to meet the requirements in the attachment are encouraged to email a capability statement and full information to Lynn Krakowiak at Lynn.Krakowiak@va.gov. Please send all inquiries to: Lynn.Krakowiak@va.gov by 2:00 pm EST on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Phone calls will not be accepted. - Part of the purpose of this Sources Sought is to determine the viability of set aside to a specific socio-economic category. Contractors shall identify the NAICS code for the services being offered as well as their size status under said NAICS. This information will be used to determine the viability of a set aside for this requirement. - Contractors shall also identify any Federal Supply Schedules that may carry the desired services. - Contractors shall identify pertinent point of contact for company, contractor DUNS number for size standard and socioeconomic verification in SAM and VIP. - Contractors shall include any relevant comments about the Attachment(s) if applicable. STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) Requirement: VISN 2 Digital Signage Subscription service agreement for the following locations: Syracuse (800 Irving Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210), Albany (113 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208), Buffalo (3495 Bailey Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14215), Batavia (222 Richmond Avenue, Batavia, NY 14020), Bath (76 Veterans Avenue, Bath, NY 14810), Canandagua (400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY 14424), East Orange (385 Tremont Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018), Lyons (151 Knollcroft Road, Lyons, NJ 07939), and Bronx (130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468) VA Medical Centers. Performance period of 10/1/2021-9/30/2022 with the provision of four (4) option years. Background: This VISN 2 wide contract is for a cloud based digital signage service. Contractor shall provide live demos performed and a review of the entire system and service capabilities along with the platform creative offerings (templates, imagery, backgrounds, ease of content creation and management). A free demo shall be conducted during solicitation phase to see/use system remotely and will last approximately two (2) hours over two sessions; one (1) hour meeting with contractor representative and design team and one (1) question/answer period after free trial period of seven (7) days to vette platform. Technical aspects of content creation within any platform that must be reviewed and evaluated when considering end product goal/need of VA. Require system have routine custom created content available and that the creation process be easy in order for all pieces to meet VA Branding look/feel. A system is required where users can see LIVE playlist previews (64 G storage capacity) in real time to allow for a scan review and identification of screens not displaying properly. Facilities participating in the VISN 2 digital signage service contract, costs pro-rated based on number of screens they operate at their local sites: Location Number of screens* Syracuse 21 screens (18 onsite main station, 3 off site) Albany 30 screens (19 onsite main station and at 11 CBOCs**) Bath / Canandaigua 50 screens (onsite, and at CBOCs/offsite) Buffalo / Batavia 45 screens (onsite and at CBOCs) East Orange / Lyons 50 screens (onsite and at CBOCs) Bronx 21 screens (onsite and at CBOCs) *Current amount of screens; however, screens may be added or removed through the life of the contract. **Community Outpatient Clinic(s) Scope. A 100% cloud based digital sign platform is needed that allows for VA Branding and VA Tier 1 Graphics requirements to be applied with minimal degree of difficulty, including via custom services and support available from the vendor, ongoing through end of contract. The platform MUST have access to HIGH CALIBER VA appropriate (look, feel, style) of medical based imagery, FULLY editable backgrounds, FULLY editable templates and not have the majority of the creative assets be cartoon-like. VA marketing pieces REQUIRE high end, professional, polished, medical centric development that MATCH the VA BRANDING image. We also MUST be able to apply our VA Branding color scheme, logos and BRAND feel to create cohesive, brand based marketing pieces that can be shared for use among other VISN 2 users of the platform. The ability to use platform capabilities (medical centric stock images/stock video clips/templates/backgrounds/animation effects/social media content streams) to easily create HIGH CALIBER VA Brand-esque end products is CRITICAL and the foundation of marketing guidance from VA Digital Media/VHA COMMS policies. High quality content source files should be from high end online sources and easily assessable WITHIN the digital signage PLATFORM. (User should NOT have to import content from non-platform sources to get the piece developed to achieve the required VA Branding look/feel.) Contractor Requirements: Contractor shall provide: 100% Cloud based (unlimited file storage & access) Turn-key (connect media player to screen & ethernet cable- ready for use) Must provide (proprietary) media players Players must have solid state storage, 64GB, 4GB RAM, built in wifi and ethernet capabilities, meet temperature spec -10C to 45C, possess an internal caching system (non-streaming), and are compact in size, 4 x4 x1 or smaller. Contract must include 217 surge protectors, one for each screen. Contract must include video controllers for 2x2 video wall use for each location. Contract must include of custom content creation services yearly for life of contract. Continuous free training available (live upon initial launch of contract and also via web based modules and other web accessible modalities) Allows for unlimited users. Allow for tiered permissions assignment for all users. Allows for screen management over multiple locations. Media Players- must have no/minimal lagging caching system (it results in blank screens as content updates). Players must be Microsoft BI compatible. Templates & creative components (images, backgrounds, graphics elements) MUST meet CALIBER & QUALITY equal to VA Branding requirements/Tier 1 Graphic Standards: https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/graphicstandards/va_graphicstandardsguide_508_0113.pdf in look/feel/style/fonts & color schemes. Platform features (the creation components) must allow for high-end, polished & professional creation of content that matches VA image. Flexibility to fully edit creative components for creating the marketing piece is a MUST. Provides access to (VA Brand quality) medical-centric stock photography & allows access VHA digital assets via web/social media. Provides creative custom content services (for building of VA BRAND templates). Contractor will create minimally 20 templates yearly for the length of the contract using VA approved logos, color schemes, fonts and graphic elements provided as part of the subscription. Allows for within platform resource sharing via user created shared content folders or template folders for easy finding. Allows for intuitive content creation, scheduling, management, sharing, screen display variety & editing flexibility. The majority of uses are NOT graphics artists. An Intuitive management platform that emulates the same mechanisms being used within other web based patforms (not old outdates clunky platforms to add/manage content). Provides continuous & continual training, access to tutorials, blog information and industry updates/changes about the vendor platform. Performs real time updates to screens. Compatible with Chrome/EDGE Browsers. Has advanced user permissions capability. Allows for access to AP News Headlines, local weather, traffic reports for local area. Can be expanded for future use for wayfinding, touchscreen and interactive applications, QR codes as need arises. Contractor demonstration must consist of: A live demonstration showing the application capabilities for use in healthcare & medical environments. A 2 week free trial for full review and use of all features that show the high caliber of content creation allowed. Custom content creation service samples: The Contractor s Graphics Team will provide 3 specific custom file templates that demonstrate incorporation of VA Branding specifications. This allows for seeing platform custom services and capabilities. Base period subscription shall include: Media players Technical service throughout each year Custom creation services Option years 1 through 4 subscriptions shall include: Technical service throughout each year Custom creation services Technical Support: Provide FREE support services and FREE troubleshooting via: live chat, phone, email, or support ticket. Response times required to be provided within 24 hrs or less of initial request. Working Hours: Regular working hours for this requirement shall be minimally 9am to 8pm EST Monday through Friday except Federal Holidays as follows: New Year s Day Martin Luther King s Birthday President s Day Memorial Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Christmas *To include any other day the President declares a Federal Holiday