- The IDIQ is set aside for small businesses, with three to six awards planned
- It covers Azure IL5 and IL6 environments, SD-WAN and endpoint management
- Proposals are due Dec. 11
The Navy has issued a solicitation for a potential $99 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to run the cloud and network infrastructure behind Flank Speed, restricting the award to small businesses and planning to split it among three to six companies.
NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk published the notice Monday on SAM.gov for enterprise cloud and network operations and management services supporting Naval Network Warfare Command, with proposals due Dec. 11. The base ordering period will run from January 2027 through December 2031, with a six-month option extending it to June 2032.
Work covers the Microsoft Azure environments the service uses at Impact Level 5 for controlled unclassified information and Impact Level 6 for data classified up to the secret level, as well as Microsoft 365 administration, Intune endpoint management, software-defined wide-area network operations within and outside the U.S., records management and eDiscovery.
What Support Services Does the Navy Require?
The performance work statement stated that the Navy has moved from on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-centric zero trust architecture and is now doing the same with its classified network. Contractors will operate tenants, manage identity and access through Azure Entra ID and Defense Information Systems Agency provisioning tools, administer Microsoft Conditional Access and Microsoft Defender policies, and run IT service management functions in accordance with the Information Technology Infrastructure Library and the Defense Enterprise Service Management Framework.
The statement lists 16 labor categories, including project manager, technical writer, conditional access policy administrator, Azure virtual desktop administrator, configuration manager, eDiscovery administrator and network engineer.
Primary work performance location is at Naval Network Warfare Command in Suffolk, Virginia, with remote and telework possible at the government’s discretion.
What Clearance and Workforce Requirements Apply?
Offerors must hold an active top secret facility clearance at proposal submission, verified through the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s National Industrial Security System and dated no earlier than 30 days before the solicitation is issued.
Administrative positions require secret clearances backed by Tier 3 investigations; personnel holding domain or root-level administrator accounts need top secret clearances backed by Tier 5 investigations. Most of the 16 positions carry the top secret requirement. All personnel must meet DOD 8140 cyberspace workforce qualifications and document 20 hours of continuous learning annually.
The eDiscovery role additionally requires Federal Law Enforcement Training Center digital forensics certification.
How Will the Navy Evaluate Proposals?
The Navy will rank proposals by price, then evaluate organizations’ facility security clearances and past performance until it identifies three to six offerors rated acceptable under its standards.
Awardees will be required to sign associate contractor agreements with one another, establishing a governance structure under a government-led council, procedures for exchanging technical data and performance metrics and a tiered dispute resolution process ending with the government program manager. Refusing to sign may be grounds for termination for cause.
