Navy seeks support for new networks

The Navy Department has asked the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) to help it plan new Navy and Marine Corps networks as a follow-on to existing networks, including the Navy Marine Corps Intranet. The Marines also seek contractor support to help it develop Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) requirements.

The Marines said in a request for information released Feb. 26 that the work done by CNA for the Navy Department will be the foundation for the follow-on contract to NMCI. The center will also provide an analysis of future capabilities that NGEN must provide to ensure that it will support the department's business and warfighting operations beginning in 2010.

The Marines said they want a contractor to provide objective, independent research on NGEN requirements and conduct a comparative pricing analysis of existing and future enterprise information technology services.

Besides NMCI, the Marines want the NGEN contractor to review other existing networks, including the Marine Corps Enterprise Network; the Navy ONE-NET, which serves overseas locations; and the shipboard IT21 network and potential follow-ons.

The RFI states that contractors should hold as many as four workshops with CNA and other Navy Department stakeholders to confirm requirements and develop technical solutions for NGEN. They should also develop and define a performance-based sourcing strategy for the network that can help the department define requirements and negotiate vendor contracts. Responses to the RFI are due March 5.

The Navy awarded EDS the NMCI contract, valued at $7 billion, to connect 500,000 Navy and Marine Corps users in 2000. Last March, the service awarded the company a $3 billion, three-year extension.

Bob Brewin is the editor at large with Washington Technology's affiliate publication, Federal Computer Week.