Deadline fast approaching for $3.4B DHS cloud contract

The Homeland Security Department has dropped the final solicitation for its $3.4 billion cloud migration contract that ultimately will land with a single winner.

DHS' Data Center and Cloud Optimization Support Services contract is the agency's main vehicle for a massive cloud shift. The department wants a single contractor to migrate its two main data centers to a cloud environment. First to move will be Data Center 1, which carries the bulk of DHS’s infrastructure. Once that is complete, Data Center 2 will be moved.

As it shuts down the data centers, DHS wants to move to a hybrid computing environment managed by a single contractor.

DHS is looking for benefits such as greater efficiency, better quality data, more security and better mission support.

The DCCO competition will have three phases with each phases have a downselect decision. Only bidders who pass the downselect will have access to the documents needed for the next phase.

Deadline number one is fast approaching and filings are due Tuesday, with the pass-fail notifications coming a week later on Jan. 26.

Responses for phase two are due Feb. 16 and a downselect notification will be made Feb. 25.

Phase three responses are dune March 11.

DHS is looking at six evaluation factors:

• Factor 1: Facility clearance and level of safeguarding
• Factor 2: Corporate technical experience and reference checks
• Factor 3: Staffing and management approach
• Factor 4: Technical approach
• Factor 5: Oral presentation
• Factor 6: Price

A different factor is critical in each phase. The pass/fail gate for phase one is Factor 1 -- facility clearances and level of safeguarding.

For phase two, Factor 2 is most important -- corporate technical experience and reference checks.

Phase three emphasizes Factors 3, 4 and 5. Factors 1 through 5 are “significantly more important than Factor 6 -- Price,” according to solicitation documents.