DOD issues RFI for next-generation intranet

The Defense Department has issued a request for information to determine the availability of companies to build and operate an intranet capable of serving as many as 8 million users in the department.

The RFI is part of an initiative to upgrade and expand the existing Army Knowledge Online intranet by transitioning to a more comprehensive approach that will be known as Defense Knowledge Online.

The Army's Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems and other DOD agencies will use the information received from industry to determine its acquisition strategy and help structure its request for proposals.

The scope of work would require the contractor to operate and maintain the existing enterprise intranet portal and design, install and maintain the future portal. The future system might be housed at an Army area processing center, a Defense Information Systems Agency enterprise computing center or both.

DOD wants a system that uses service-oriented architecture and modular, plug-and-play applications, according to the Federal Business Opportunities notice.

The RFI contains 19 specific questions on which DOD is seeking comment. For example, it wants to know whether a partial managed-service agreement is practical and how the government should determine ownership of services if it adopts a software-as-a-service approach.

The Army plans to issue a draft RFP in the fourth fiscal quarter 2008. Responses to the RFI are due July 9.