This Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified contractors, who are able to meet VA's requirements for the Maintenance and Support of VistA (MSV) and VistA Imaging (VI). VA requires the full range of technical, managerial and administrative services to the VA in support of its VistA and VistA Imaging Systems engineering, maintenance, sustainment and logistic requirements. The required services include engineering support and engineering changes, updates, repairs, and other technical services involving the VistA and VistA Imaging Systems Alpha/Itanium processors, OpenVMS operating systems, and ancillary hardware and software as well as providing all support required for maintenance and continuity of operation services, without voiding warrantees and/or the operational integrity of the Vista and Vista Imaging systems across the VA enterprise. There are approximately 143 VistA facilities including numerous VA Medical Centers, VA Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) data centers, and Regional Data Processing Centers operating hundreds of Alpha/VMS-based systems in support of VistA Platforms throughout the United States, as well as San Juan, PI and Manila. The Contractor shall also provide sufficient program management services to manage and deliver service levels that minimize solution deliver times, costs and problems and consistently deliver quality products to meet business requirements. If interested, please submit a Capabilities Statement, limited to 10 pages for your company, your teammates and or subcontractors and also denote the business size for North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 811212. Also, please indicate if you, your teammates and/or subcontractors are a service-disabled Veteran- owned small business or a Veteran-owned small business. The Draft PWS is attached. Responses should also address the following questions: 1) Break/Fix Support (5 pages): a. Provide information about your current capabilities and means to provide break/fix maintenance services for HP computer hardware, emphasizing parts availability and means for obtaining spare parts for Alpha computers. Explain how this will be provided to all VA medical facilities so that if a component fails, a replacement component will be delivered and installed in the failed system within 4 clock hours of the components failure being reported. Be specific. b. A detailed description of your existing FDA approved Imaging Qualification Lab (IQL) and how it will meet the IQL Requirement in this PWS. Be sure to include existing operational procedures for maintaining and securing this IQL. c. Describe how you would implement and operate Recoverall in order to fulfill VA's requirements. 2) Alpha VMS Support (5 pages): Describe your ability and experience in meeting the following requirements for customers of similar size, scope, and complexity to VA as well as how you would meet these requirements for VA. a. Current capabilities and expertise for support of HP's proprietary VMS operating system running on Alpha Hardware. i. Cite specific contracts for customers with at least 500 Alpha servers running VMS in a mission critical environment. Identify how you support this effort including help desk and reach back capabilities to engage and effect required changes from HP engineering to ensure 99.99% operational stability. b. Standing up and operating a dedicated, mission critical, 24x7 support center for VA VistA Specific Alpha/VMS Support within 30 days of contract award i. Cite specific existing dedicated support centers within the United States that supports Alpha VMS implementations with a systems manager base of at least 1,500 individuals dispersed across hundreds of medical centers in at least 180 locations throughout the United States c. Describe your capabilities related to hardware and software troubleshooting related to Alpha and VMS. Specifically, explain how you would diagnose and correct a recurring, non-fatal problem which sporadically occurs within a VMS/Alpha cluster running Intersystems Cache which causes significant degradation in system performance for short periods. 3) Please provide positive or negative feedback regarding the PWS, such as recommended changes, noted exceptions, and ambiguities. 4) Based on your review of the PWS, what is your rough order of magnitude of the effort? Responses are requested no later than close of business on May 13, 2013, via e-mail to
[email protected].