This is a Request for Information (RFI). This RFI shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP), or any solicitation or obligation on the part of the Government. The Government does not intend to select or qualify proposals or offers on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for information obtained via this RFI or in response to this notice. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is conducting market research to identify potential sources with the intention to award a contract for the maintenance of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) hardware, specifically, peripherals which are associated with, or support, the IBM mainframe computers and mainframe operations, hardware replacement parts, hardware purchases, hardware relocation/installation/de-installation, OEM and third-party software maintenance and licensing support, software license upgrade support, software processing capacity limit increase support, software license conversion support, software purchase/installation/de-installation, support services, disaster recovery testing support, and disaster recovery support (in the event of an actual disaster). The contract shall include technology enhancement and technology renewal. The scope of this requirement will encompass the following: (a) Ensuring that all equipment covered under this contract maintains the highest level of operational support possible; (b) Ensuring uninterrupted maintenance support for all equipment covered under this contract; (c) Ensuring that all modifications, repairs, and testing of IRS equipment is completed with minimal possible operational disruptions or delays; (d) Support services; (e) Ensuring that any relocation/movement of equipment (including de-installation, packing, shipping, re-installation, and testing of equipment) specified in separately issued delivery orders (DOs), is completed with minimal operational disruptions and delays; (f) The IRS IT organization’s pre-approved hardware purchases, as specified in separately issued DOs; (g) Provision of software maintenance and license support for all software titles listed below, and any additional software titles acquired by the IRS and/or added to this contract for maintenance; (h) Optional software license upgrades for all software titles listed below and any additional software titles acquired by the IRS via additional DOs; (i) Optional software license conversions for all software titles listed below and any additional software titles acquired by the IRS via additional DOs; and (j) The IRS IT organization’s pre-approved software purchases, as specified in separately issued DOs. The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541511, “Custom Computer Programming Services.” An award will not be made as a result of responses to this RFI announcement. The capability packages for this RFI are not expected to be quotations, but rather statements regarding the company's existing experience in relation to the areas specified in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). Responses to this RFI shall include the following: General information : Include the company name, address, point of contact name, phone number, and email address, DUNS Number, business size standard for the indicated NAICS code, socioeconomic status (if applicable), and Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) or Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract number(s) (if applicable) along with the period of performance . Availability Under Existing GWAC/FSS: Please indicate if the services described in the draft SOW are available on the vendor’s Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) or Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract. Understanding of the Requirement: The Vendor must demonstrate a clear understanding of the project as identified in the attached SOW and cite examples to support this understanding. SOW Comments/Questions: Please describe any questions, comments, or feedback you may have on the draft SOW. The Government will not provide responses to questions or feedback received on the SOW. Rather, the information may be taken into consideration in the preparation of final solicitation documents. This notice is an RFI and, as such, is for informational and planning purposes only. This is not a solicitation announcement for quotes or proposals and the Government will not award a contract from this announcement. The agency will not reimburse contractors for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. The agency will not accept any telephone calls or requests for a bid package or solicitation at this time. At this time, no solicitation exists. In order to protect the integrity of any future procurement that may arise from this announcement, IRS will not provide information regarding technical points of contact. The agency will not make appointments for capability presentations. The Government will use responses to this notice to make appropriate acquisition decisions. IRS may not formally answer questions received in response to this request for information. We will review questions received against the existing requirement and use them to further clarify inconsistencies or unclear needs. The final solicitation will contain a formal question and answer period, and at that time we will post all questions anonymously with our answers. Submissions should be emailed to the following email address: Contact Information Contract Specialist: Nakul Vasudeva
[email protected] Contracting Officer : Nicole D. Jacobs
[email protected]