Operational Network Extension Services

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the provision, operation, and continuous evolution of the Operational Network Extension (ON-X), a NATO Enterprise cloud capability, up to and including NATO SECRET, delivered and operated as a managed service. Potential U.S. prime contractors must

1) maintain a professionally active facility (office, factory, laboratory, etc.) within the United States,

2) be pre-approved for participation in NATO Competitive Procurement (NCP),

3) be issued a Declaration of

Eligibility (DOE) by the Department of Commerce (DOC), and

4) register with the NCI Agency’s eProcurement tool, Neo: https://www.ncia.nato.int/business/neo-eprocurement.html The reference for the RFP is RFP-CO-424373 and all correspondence concerning the RFP should include this reference. SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENT The Alliance operates multiple NATO SECRET (NS) networks without full interoperability or centralized management, and it is constrained in scalability, resilience, Enterprise-wide collaboration, innovation intake, and cost transparency. ON-X aims to address these current limitations. NCIA intends to contract a single accountable prime contractor for the delivery, operation, and continuous evolution of a scalable, secure-by-design, General-Purpose Cloud capability that stores and processes data up to and including NATO SECRET. The effort will also include the provision of secure digital workplace services delivered to the NATO Enterprise as a service. The prime contractor will function as a managed-service provider under NATO command and governed by NATO policies and directives. The requirement is expressed as outcomes, measurable end-states the capability must achieve, and bidders will propose their solution. The outcomes to be contracted span, at a high level include but are not limited to: • Progressive take-over and management of the operation of the existing Operational Network (ON) capability, with service continuity maintained • Discovery and design of the target solution • Demonstration of go-live readiness at a distinct proof-of-concept gate prior to further scaling • Transition of the in-scope NS landscape to the new environment, with validated data integrity and decommissioning of associated legacy infrastructure as appropriate • Build-up and sustained operation of the ON-X cloud platform and engineering services, identity and data services, AI platform services, secure cloud network access, federation and cross-domain interoperability services, and the digital workplace • Enduring outcomes across the contract term include, but are not limited to: - Sovereignty outcomes continuously evidenced - Security accreditation and continuous compliance at NATO SECRET - Resilience and continued operation under degraded or contested conditions - Continuous service operations and governance, including cyber & incident management - Technology currency and exit readiness The capability will be delivered and accredited under the deployment model(s) authorized by applicable NATO policies. NATO Community-of-Interest applications and mission or warfighting systems are outside the scope of this procurement, as is the migration of their workloads, which is handled separately with support and enablement from the ON-X capability. The Single-Award, IDIQ structure does not guarantee any volume of orders beyond a minimum commitment that will be stated in the solicitation documentation. Individual task orders will be placed from the Service Catalogue as part of the resulting contract. The solicitation is anticipated to be conducted in two steps: Step 1 assesses vendor experience without