REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS AS A SERVICE SOLUTION

Active

Contract Opportunity

This section is attached as an PDF.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC TECHNOLOGY (DT)

OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITIONS (ITA)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FOR

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS AS A SERVICE SOLUTION

___________________________________________________________________

PART 1: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

1.0 PURPOSE

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued as market research to determine industry’s capabilities to provide a proven Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform, inclusive of cloud-based video conferencing capabilities, that will allow for virtual and hybrid events such as Department of State (State) external meetings, public facing events, intergovernmental collaboration, employee onboarding and training, and large-scale internal events, which affect the day-to-day missions and productivity of State personnel and global external stakeholders. The solution must provide a commercially proven base platform with an integrated suite of various add-ons that allow State the flexibility to access and host various webinar sizes, despite degraded and/or low bandwidth situations due to external partner geographic locations.

State requires a reliable and stable UCaaS solution that provides State customers and their partners the opportunity to work with a broad range of global users within and outside of government organizations, which is vital for effective execution of State’s diplomatic mission objectives.

Additional specific capability requirements are enumerated below.

The Government does not commit to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or reimburse any costs associated with the preparation of responses. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this RFI will assist State in determining the potential level of interest, competition adequacy, and technical capabilities of commercial vendors to provide the required products and/or services. The Government does not guarantee any action beyond this RFI.

The result of this market research will contribute to determining the acquisition plan and the method of procurement. The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned is 541519, with the below noted associated small business size standards, and the anticipated product service code is 7A21.

NAICS Codes

NAICS Industry Description

Size standards in millions of dollars

Size standards in number of employees

541519

Other Computer Related Services

$34.0

541519

(Exception)

Information Technology Value Added Resellers

150

2.0 BACKGROUND

State’s mission is to advance the interests of the American people, their safety, and economic prosperity by leading America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance. The mission of the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology (DT) is to rapidly and securely deliver, anytime and anywhere, the knowledge resources and Information Technology (IT) services needed to support the over 300 sites and 275 missions it services worldwide.

DT is seeking input from industry regarding their capability to provide market-leading solutions capable of meeting the full breadth of functional requirements outlined in this RFI. State requires access to a platform that is compliant with current Federal security requirements, is easy to use, flexible, scalable, customizable, and configurable to meet specific State requirements as further detailed below.

3.0 RFI OVERVIEW

As further detailed in Section 4, State is seeking to identify capable and interested partners able to provide the products and/or services required to meet the full range of functional capabilities outlined in this RFI. Viable partners shall have demonstrated experience deploying the solutions and delivering the ongoing support required to maintain, expand, and upgrade the solution over time for an organization of similar size, global scope, and mission complexity as State.

Information requested in this RFI includes the following categories:

• Company Information (Section 1) – Identification of interested vendors, socio-economic status, and potential acquisition vehicles to inform State’s potential acquisition strategy options.


• Capability Assessment Against Functional Requirements (Section 2) – Description of vendor’s proposed technical solution and ability to fully meet all stated functional requirements.

• Past Experience (Section 3) – Past project example(s) demonstrating vendor’s experience implementing their proposed solution to address the needs of an organization of similar size, global scope, and mission complexity to State.

4.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

All written responses should be submitted in Microsoft compatible formats (e.g., Word) or PDF.

Responses must use 12-point font and 1-inch margins, including all text, tables, and graphics. Additional attachments, brochures, or other marketing materials are not requested and will not be considered as part of the response. Response page limit(s) by section are noted below.

• Section 1 – 1 page


• Section 2 – 15 pages


• Section 3 – 5 pages

Please submit all materials to Paul Virostek at virostekp@state.gov by:

October 21, 2024 at 9:00pm/ET.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ANY RESPONDENT CONTACT ANY STATE PERSONNEL REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

PART 2: RFI REQUESTED INFORMATION

Respondents are asked to provide the information requested below the instructions outlined in Part 1, Section 4.0 above. Submissions not adhering to the submission instructions may be deemed non-responsive and may receive no further consideration.

Section 1 – Company Information

Please provide the following details regarding your organization:

1. 
   
   
   
   1. Company name.
   
   
   2. Company point of contact (POC) name.
   
   
   3. Company POC phone number.
   
   
   4. Company POC email address.
   
   
   5. Company URL/web address.
   
   
   6. Company Cage Code.
   
   
   7. Company UEI Number.
   
   
   8. Company business size in terms of revenue and number of employees.
   
   
   9. Company Federal socioeconomic classification(s), if any, based on North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code that applies to the solution.
   
   
   10. List GSA schedule(s), Government wide acquisition contracts (GWACs), or other Federal IDIQs or contracts the Respondent holds that are relevant to this requirement and accessible by State, including corresponding schedule number or contract number.
   
   
   
   

Section 2 – Functional Requirements Assessment

State’s functional requirements for the solution are outlined below. Respondents are asked to provide a structured and annotated response that clearly maps the description of the proposed solution’s capabilities to the numbered requirements below. The Respondent’s narrative should provide sufficient details regarding the solution’s technical capabilities to demonstrate that the solution is capable of fully satisfying each stated requirement. Responses that do not clearly map to the information stated in the listed requirements below, or are otherwise unclear, may be deemed non-responsive and may not receive further consideration.

2.1 Mandatory Qualifications

The following qualifications and capabilities are mandatory requirements for any potential solution addressing the needs outlined in this notice. Respondents should assess these “Go/No-Go” requirements carefully, as solutions unable to meet these requirements will not be considered as viable options by State and will not receive further consideration:

1. 
   
   
   
   1. The solution must offer a proven COTS software platform – State is not seeking custom-developed solutions that have not yet been successfully deployed at other federal agencies of similar size and scope to State.
   
   
   2. The solution must possess significant out-of-the-box functionality, enabling it to be deployed on day one of the project, while also supporting custom configuration within expedited timelines.
   
   
   3. The solution must incorporate comprehensive in-house professional and configuration services supported by a cohesive and specialized team of experts.
   
   
   4. The solution must allow for various videotelephony options including, but not limited to breakout rooms, whiteboards, screen sharing, webinars, multiple hosts, secure login, certified hardware, etc.
   
   
   
   

2.2 Cloud-Based Codec – ability to operate in low bandwidth environments

State seeks a UCaaS platform that includes a cloud-based video conferencing platform that possesses the following capabilities and characteristics:

1. The solution utilizes a cloud-based Codec that enables the platform to shrink and be able to decompress large amounts of data to create and play video and audio files.


2. The solution has the ability to seamlessly operate and ensure network-stable communications in low-bandwidth environments measured by high connection rates.


3. The solution has the ability to consume less bandwidth in a myriad of IT environments, by utilizing advanced compression technology to maintain clear communication.

2.3 Additional flexible add-on applications

In addition to demonstrating proven video-conferencing capabilities, as requested above in Section 2.2, State requires a UCaaS platform that allows State customers to access unique add-ons to the platform to better serve their unique needs.

Please describe your solution’s ability to meet the following requirements and provide information on any additional core capabilities provided by your solution that State should be aware of relative to other market alternatives for cloud-based UCaaS/video conferencing solutions. Examples of additional add-ons should include:

1. Inclusion of American Sign Language on video screen>


2. Live language interpreter audio.


3. Real-time closed captioning.


4. Automatic AI language translation.


5. Ability to live-stream to social media.


6. Ability to produce transcripts of meetings.


7. Capable of allowing separate, multiple virtual breakout rooms to allow for group work and ability to reunite breakout rooms into a large group.


8. Utilization of virtual “whiteboarding” to foster team building and collaboration.

2.4 Room Size Flexibility

State has multiple offices and posts of all various sizes that rely on video-conferencing capabilities due to the physical availability and need for hybrid collaboration with in-person and remote staff. Given the unique needs and budgets of the various offices, State requires a UCaaS/video conferencing solution that allows for virtual meetings of various sizes, including but not limited to:

1. One-on-one meetings.


2. Webinars of 100 people or more.


3. Webinars of 500 people or more.


4. Webinars of 1000 people.

2.5 Accessibility and User Experience

State requires a solution that is versatile and user-centric, ensuring accessibility from various devices and browsers, while maintaining a consistent and intuitive user experience. The solution should cater to both technical and non-technical users, providing tools for easy application development, and automation without the need for extensive coding.

1. The solution must comply with all Section 508 requirements.


2. The solution must enable access from various device types (mobile, tablet, desktop) and browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari).


3. The solution must operate seamlessly across various devices and operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.


4. The solution must produce a consistent layout and an accessible user experience across specified device types and browsers.


5. The solution must provide a user-friendly interface for both technical and non-technical users that supports seamless interaction with the solution’s video-conferencing tools and applications.


6. The solution must provide clear error messages and offer effective feedback during system timeouts or other operational failures.


7. The solution must provide good audio quality and excellent video quality at 40% network packet loss.


8. The solution must be scalable, while delivering high quality audio and video, even with varying internet speeds.


9. The solution must integrate with various popular tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Calendar, and other applications to streamline workflows.


10. The solution must offer and utilize virtual backgrounds and appearance touch up filters to enhance user experience and offer personalization for participants.

2.6 Training and Support

The solution shall constitute a significant change to State’s business processes, tactics, techniques, and procedures. Users will need training and exposure to the capabilities of the system in order to ensure proper adoption. Further training will be required for State’s “power users” and system administrators. This training shall be provided as requested and when required by State as part of the integrated solution.

1. The solution must include comprehensive training and enablement for users to develop video conferencing skills.


2. The solution must provide and deploy “solution support” teams that can scope, prototype, and troubleshoot in real-time in accordance with government security standards.


3. The solution must provide multiple support channels including 24/7 chat support, detailed online resources, and community forums. This ensures that users can quickly resolve any issues they encounter.


4. The solution must provide extensive online resources such as tutorials, webinars, and best practice guides.


5. The solution must provide competitive pricing in the form of various pricing plans or tiers to cater to different requirements of the organization.

2.7 Other Considerations

1. Given the nascent and continuously evolving nature of UCaaS/cloud-based video conferencing solutions, please provide information on any additional unique capabilities or practical experience your solution can bring to support State’s cloud-based video conferencing requirements.


2. Does your solution currently have an active or provisional State Authority to Operate (ATO)? If your solution has an active or provisional, please provide an overview of the ATO, including the scope and what it covers.

1. PAST PERFORMANCE

State is seeking a solution that has a proven track record in the U.S. federal space with demonstrated experience supporting U.S. agencies of similar size, global scope, and mission complexity as State. Such experience is critical to ensuring the solution has been proven to be secure and reliable under the required IT security, data management, privacy, and other federal regulations that govern information technology implementations within the federal environment.

Please provide the following information regarding your experience deploying your solution for federal customers.

1. Please list all federal agencies where you have successfully deployed your solution in the last three (3) years. For each experience noted, in no more than one paragraph, please provide:
   
   
   
   1. Agency and Organization name.
   
   
   2. Period of performance.
   
   
   3. Solution provided to the agency/organization.
   
   
   
   


2. For at least one, but not more than three, of the federal implementations provided in #1 above, please provide the additional detailed information requested below to further demonstrate your relevant past experience.
   
   
   
   • Contract and task order number.
   
   
   • Contract type.
   
   
   • Dollar value of contract (across full period of performance).
   
   
   • Period of performance dates.
   
   
   • State whether your company was a prime or subcontractor.
   
   
   • Customer point of contact (Name, Title, Email, Phone) that State may reach out to for more information.
   
   
   • Description of the scope of the work your company performed and its relevance and applicability to demonstrating your solution’s ability to deliver the full set of capabilities outlined in Section 2.
   
   
   • Additional information where contingent operations were supported by the solution and what objectives needed to be met for contingency operations.
   
   
   
   

Disclaimer: This RFI is for information gathering purposes only as a means to identify interested and capable sources that can provide a solution that fully meets all requirements outlined in Part 2 of this notice. The information provided in this Notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. State has not made a commitment to procure any of the items/services discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought.

State will not publicly disclose proprietary information obtained as a result of this RFI. To the full extent that it is protected by law and regulations, information identified by a respondent as Proprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Attachments/Links