CoE Acquisitions > CoE and OPM > OPM Mainframe D/R Plan Implementation
This RFQ was posted to eBuy under RFQ1391739. Should you have any questions or feedback related to this Request for Quote, please fill out this Q&A form no later than September 3, 2019 at noon, eastern.
Note: The Government's responses to questions received during the Q&A period and an updated file for 7.2 Technical Requirements have been uploaded on September 6, 2019.
Anyone interested in responding to this RFQ is encouraged to complete this Technical Response form and this Pricing Response form. Please remember to review any artifacts in the repository as well.
Responses for the RFQ are due no later than September 9, 2019 at noon, eastern.
We cannot commit to considering anything sent to us after the deadline above or sent via any other medium.
The mission of the General Services Administration (GSA), Technology Transformation Services](https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services) (TTS), Centers of Excellence (CoE) is to accelerate Information Technology (IT) modernization across government to improve the public experience, improve outcomes, and reduce legacy IT spending across the Government. The CoEs accomplish this by centralizing top Government tech talent, leveraging private-sector best practices, and operating with a teaming mindset to collaborate across Government departments and agencies. To better align with the dynamic effects of such a transformation, CoE provides agency partners with a shared service solution for professional services.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) uses mainframe hardware to run two mission-critical workloads (Background Investigation and Retirement Service applications), and that mainframe hardware requires modernization. This hardware presents multiple challenges from maintenance, information security, and availability perspectives. While modernization is the final goal, OPM recognizes that stabilizing the current mainframe infrastructure is an initial step to implementing those modernization plans and OPM cannot neglect legacy infrastructure needs in the process. The CoE has been tasked to assist with the acquisition of modern mainframe hardware, and to support local OPM resources as they plan, migrate, and utilize this new hardware to setup a more secure and redundant solution.
The existing hardware (IBM Z12 mainframes) are nearing their end of life. They do not support several modern information security standards and are expensive to maintain. OPM has decided to proceed by upgrading their existing hardware to allow for a proper modernization process to take place while maintaining quality of service for the multiple workloads they support. The technical requirements provided in the Appendix outline that upgrade plan, and they are based on a recent performance capacity study. There is no need for a new study.
The two primary workloads that are currently being supported by the existing hardware and must be supported by the upgraded hardware that is the subject of this solicitation are:
- Background investigation. The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB)'s Federal Investigations Processing Center (FIPC) receives requests for investigation, processes the requests through an automated system, and serves as an entrance point for case-related and operational questions. Agencies may contact FIPC for assistance ordering investigations, obtaining access to NBIB's automated systems, or for information about NBIB investigative policies and procedures.
- Retirement Service applications. The retirement services (RS) mainframe systems includes multiple systems that support the retirement and human resources efforts of OPM and its partners. This mainframe serves as the system of record for many retirement services systems across the federal government. It also serves as the interface to industry actors, such as insurance companies, financial institutions, payroll vendors, etc., and all federal agencies.
Please see the main repository for information on all procurement related information to the OPM and CoE engagement.