Notice of Intent to Sole Source Minneapolis VAMC- Installation and Configureation of Fortinet Firewalls to repair AVTECH Dispatch Console

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 23 intends to award a sole source contract under the authority of FAR 6.302-1/13.106-1(b) Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, to ANCOM Communications, Inc, for installation and configuration of two Fortinet Firewalls to repair the AVTECH Dispatch Console. This notice of intent is not a request for quotations; interested parties may express their interest by providing a capabilities statement no later than November 4, 2024, by 17:00 CT. The capabilities statement must provide clear and unambiguous evidence to substantiate the capability of the party to provide the required services. A determination not to compete this proposed contract upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Verbal responses are not acceptable and will not be considered. When responding to this announcement, respondents should refer to Announcement, Notice of Intent. If after November 4, 2024, no viable responses have been received in response to this announcement, Department of Veterans Affairs shall negotiate solely with ANCOM Communications, Inc. This notice of intent to award a sole source contract is not a request for competitive quotes. There will be no solicitation available for competitive quotes. Phone calls will not be accepted. The point of contact for this action is Contract Specialist Theresa Thunder, who can be reached at theresa.thunder@va.gov. Statement of Work Project Title Special Repair of the VA Police 911 Dispatch System at Minneapolis VAMC FY 2025 Procurement Type Limited Source Brand Name Only Background Minneapolis VA Healthcare System (MVAHCS) has a need to procure labor to install and configure two Fortinet firewalls at Minneapolis VAMC. The equipment that is being installed will increase functionality of the currently used phone system. Improvements include: Shorter ring times: There have been multiple reports that the dispatcher does not answer the phone until the third or fourth ring. With the current transfer service, the dispatcher receives their first ring after the caller s third ring. There are some reports that the police dispatcher never answered, but the phone never rang in dispatch. This creates an unacceptable level of risk to patients and staff because 911 calls aren t being answered. Caller ID: Sometimes callers hang-up or lose connection on the call before officers can receive all the information or they hang up frustrated. Without caller ID, there is no way we can complete call backs or log the call on time sheet. Call transferring with other agencies: On some occasions our police work with other agencies such as Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis police, State Police, etc. With our current configuration we are unable to transfer calls or perform conference calls with these outside agencies. Scope MVAHCS is seeking a firm fixed price to procure installation and configuration services for two new Fortinet firewalls for the purpose of repairing the VA Police 911 dispatch system. The procurement includes installation and configuration of the two new firewalls. Incumbent shall do the following: Install 2x new Fortinet firewalls and connect them to both the Avtec dispatch system and the Cisco Call Managers. Configure the Fortinet devices as necessary and add SIP lines to consoles and test operations. Additional Call Manager IP and port settings will be needed to add the SIP extensions to the consoles. Salient Characteristics Item # Description/Part Number* Qty 1 Installation Labor, High Tier Labor, Trip Charge, Firewall configuration 1 Period of Performance No later than 11/20/2024 Place of Performance The contractor shall deliver the items to 1 Veterans Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55417.