DHS readies major cyber contract

DHS expects to award the potential $626 million Network, Cloud and Cybersecurity Services 2.0 vehicle by late November.

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing this year to award a major cloud, cybersecurity and network services contract aimed at further centralizing the management of IT services across DHS.

In a notice posted to Sam.gov last month, DHS laid out the notional timeline for award of the Network, Cloud and Cybersecurity Services 2.0 vehicle, known as NCCS 2.0. The notice included a draft request for proposals and a draft statement of work.

DHS plans to release the final solicitation in early October before making a final award in late November. The contract will have a $626 million ceiling, according to the draft RFP.

The purpose of the contract is to allow DHS to buy “the full range of cybersecurity, network operations, management, and other professional support services” for DHS CIO’s office and select components, the draft statement of work states.

“These services will enable DHS to provide network, cloud platform, system, application, and cybersecurity monitoring and analysis, incident management and coordination, and alert and notification functions in support of the broader DHS information enterprise and to provide other related cybersecurity services,” the document states.

The “primary objective” of the contract is to evolve the DHS headquarters Network Operations and Service Center (NOSC) into a “best-in-class service entity that meets DHS Cybersecurity Provider (CSP) Program, industrial, and other doctrinal Center of Excellence service maturity standards.”

A “secondary objective” for the contract is to redefine the NOSC as the “central hub” for managing network services, infrastructure, platforms and cybersecurity for the DHS OneNet across all classification levels, according to the draft statement of work.

The contract is being issued by the DHS Office of Procurement Operations on behalf of the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer. It continues a trend of the DHS CIO’s office in recent years leading efforts to consolidate enterprise IT spending across the department’s components.

DHS this year has been negotiating department-wide contracts with major cloud hyperscaler firms under its “Cumulus” procurement. DHS’s goal with Cumulus is to centralize oversight and improve efficiency for cloud services being purchased across the department.

The consolidation of IT contracting across DHS was spearheaded by former CIO Antoine McCord, who stepped down in late August. He was replaced by former Department of Government Efficiency staffer Kyle Schutt.

FEMA eyes new ‘Deployment Management Solution’

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is developing plans for a new “Deployment Management Solution.” The new system would replace FEMA’s Deployment Tracking System (DTS), according to an Oct. 1 sources sought notice .

“The replacement solution should support workforce readiness, personnel availability, qualifications, certifications, training, deployment tracking, incident and event staffing, force package management, equipment assignment, reporting, analytics, secure cloud hosting, and interoperability with existing FEMA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) systems,” the notice states.

FEMA estimates the cost of the new system will be between $50 million and $100 million over five to 10 years. Responses to the sources sought notice are due Oct. 16.

Follow @jdoubledayWFED