RECOVERY: SSA ITSSC DASD Data Replication Review and Analysis

RECOVERY - THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (SSA) FUNDED THIS PROPOSED ACTION BY THE RECOVERY ACT. THE AGENCY PROVIDES THIS NOTICE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. This opportunity is available only to SSA's existing Information Technology Support Services Contract (ITSSC) with Accenture Federal Systems, LLC, of Reston, VA, under Contract Number SS00-10-60113. SSA competed the ITSSC resulting in awards to four Contractors, including Accenture. Accenture's ITSSC represents Technical Area 7. Under Technical Area 7, the Contractor provides support in the area of emerging technology to assist the agency in the analysis and application of leading software/systems development techniques and their applicability to the agency's current and future systems environments. SSA intends to issue a firm-fixed price (FFP) Task Order under the Accenture ITSSC pursuant with the fair opportunity procedures of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 16.505. This Task Order will provide funding for the Contractor to review developing Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) data replication technologies and make recommendations on data replication approaches and technologies that may be beneficial to the agency or that are emerging in the market place. The agency uses DASD hardware-based data replication to move electronic data between its primary data center and its second data center for disaster recovery-purposes. The basic principal behind data replication as it applies to disaster recovery is that in case one data center is no longer operational, another data center can continue to support the agency with its electronic data storage needs. Within the next few years, the agency plans to establish a new data center, either by replacing a current data center or possibly by establishing three-way data replication (or data replication amongst three data centers). Thereby, it is pertinent for the agency to identify the technologies, demands, and risks associated with changing its current DASD data replication procedures and infrastructure. The agency's intent is for Accenture to perform an independent analysis by: • Comparing and contrasting existing and emerging DASD data replication technologies; • Identifying risks associated with differing DASD data replication technologies; • Estimating DASD hardware/software required to establish data replication at a new data center; • Estimating network bandwidth required to support three-way data replication; and • Determining how new DASD data replication solutions could affect existing hardware resources. The agency anticipates that the Contractor will deliver a report addressing these areas and brief agency management on industry best practices. This notice is for INFORMATION ONLY; Contractors should not respond.