Potential U.S. prime contractors must 1) be pre-approved for participation in NATO International Competitive Bidding (ICB) 2) be nominated to the bidders list by the U.S. Government.

The reference for the IFB is IFB-NCIA-CES-15-01 and all correspondence concerning the IFB should reference this number.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement is for the establishment of a support contract to maintain operable all the hardware and software components in the Vblock^TM systems installed in the data center delivering classified and unclassified IT services to JFCNP users. The contractor will supply support to rectify and repair faults and malfunctions (also known as incidents) occurring in the Vblock^TM systems and their components, and to restore performance according to original specifications within defined time limits. The contract will also include all recurring costs of software licenses, their support, and periodic upgrades of the software/firmware used in the devices to be serviced.

A potential contractor must be a VCE partner certified as a Solution Provider at the time of bidding. All products must be delivered to NCIA CSU Naples as packed in original and intact manufacturer packaging. All products must be new and original.

BECOMING ELIGIBLE TO BID

NATO ICB requires that the U.S. Government nominate U.S. prime contractors to the bidders list. Before the U.S. Government can nominate a U.S. prime contractor to the bidders list for this procurement, the firm must be approved for participation in NATO ICB. Firms are approved for NATO ICB on a facility-by-facility basis.

The NATO ICB application is a one-time application. The application requires supporting documentation in the form of 1) a company resume indicating contracts completed as a prime contractor and 2) an annual report or set of financial documents indicating compilation, review, or audit by an independent CPA.

U.S. firms can download a copy of the U.S. NATO ICB application from the following website:

http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/other-areas/strategic-industries-and-economic-security-sies/nato-related-business-opportunities

The application and supporting documentation may be submitted as e-mail attachments. If, when submitting the application, your firm is interested in a specific NATO ICB project, please include the following in the text of your email:

- the title and/or solicitation number of the project
- the name/phone/FAX/email of the point of contact for the bid documents

After approval of your one-time NATO ICB application, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will then know to follow up by issuing a Declaration of Eligibility (DOE) for that project. NATO member governments use a DOE to nominate an approved firm to the bidders list for a particular NATO ICB project.

IMPORTANT DATES:

- Request from DOC that a DOE be issued (and, for firms new to NATO ICB, submit completed one-time NATO ICB application): 18 June 2015

- IFB planned to be issued: June 2015

- Bid closing date: July 2015

- Contract Award anticipated: July 2015

- Maintenance start date: 01 August 2015

- Maintenance end date: 31 July 2016