DHS sets fast-track schedule for network, cloud and cyber consolidation vehicle
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By
Nick Wakeman
The Homeland Security Department is working against a compressed timeline to make awards for this contract to centralize IT operations at headquarters and across components.
The Homeland Security Department has released the procurement schedule for what could be a large contract consolidating its needs for network security, cloud and cybersecurity services.
A Sam.gov notice posted Thursday indicates the department is eyeing Oct. 1 to release a final solicitation for the DHS Network Operations Security Center Network, Cloud, and Cyber Services 2.0 contract.
From there, DHS has the contract on a very fast track:
- Oct. 6: Proposals due for phase 1.
- Oct. 9: Notification to proceed to phase 2.
- Oct. 21: Phase 2 proposals due.
- Late November: Anticipated awards.
DHS wants one centralized hub for IT service management functions across all of the department’s network infrastructure, cloud and platform services, and cybersecurity operations. That management work is currently fragmented across DHS headquarters and its components.
With this contract, the department wants a single contract vehicle and one operational structure over all of its IT infrastructure.
To make that happen, DHS expects the winning solutions to include agentic AI to automate low-level responses to IT issues. DHS wants to free its personnel to focus more on high-value analysis such as detecting and deflecting threats.
Phase 1 is a pass/fail gate based on whether the bidder has a facility clearance. This is Factor 1 of the evaluation.
Phase 2 tasks bidders with demonstrating their prior experience and providing references (Factor 2), explaining their staffing and management approach (Factor 3), and their pricing (Factor 4).
For its best-value determination to pick the winner, DHS will give the most weight to Factor 2.
Factors 2 and 3 are “significantly more" important than Factor 4, price.
Once proposals are submitted, DHS plans to award the contract without discussions with bidders.
“Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint,” according to the draft request for proposals.
DHS is folding several component-level contracts into this single vehicle, but Leidos currently holds the core NOSC support work on a short-term bridge order. That makes Leidos the closest thing to an incumbent, though companies like General Dynamics IT and Peraton hold pieces of the adjacent legacy contracts.