DA01--Replacement of IBM COBOL Mainframe System for Veteran Benefit Debt Management

Description

{"description":"The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Technology Acquisition Center (TAC) is seeking information concerning the availability of capable contractors to provide a possible Replacement of IBM COBOL Mainframe System for Veteran Benefit Debt Management, NAICS - 541519\n \nThis is a Request For Information (RFI) only and is limited to seven pages. Do not submit a proposal or quote. There is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this RFI. Your response to this RFI will be treated only as information for the Government to consider for Market Research purposes. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this RFI. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted, or competition sensitive information contained in their response. \n\nIf interested, please provide the following: \n\nProvide a high-level response that describes your ability to meet the technical requirements described below. If additional information is required by VA to determine a contractor s capability to provide the full requirement and the economic feasibility of the information provided, additional information may be requested at a later date. A draft version of the requirement is below. \n\nProvide a Rough Level of Effort which would be required to complete this project. Include Labor Categories, Labor Category Descriptions, and project number of hours per Labor Category. This will be based upon your estimate of how long the Replacement of IBM COBOL Mainframe System for Veteran Benefit Debt Management will take to complete.\n\nPlease direct all responses to David Gabrysiak, david.gabrysiak@va.gov and Debra Clayton, debra.clayton2@va.gov.\n\n\nReplacement of IBM COBOL Mainframe System for Veteran Benefit Debt Management\n\nScope\n\nThe Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requires contractor support to modernize a legacy Veteran Benefit Debt Management system that is running on an IBM COBOL mainframe system. The Contractor shall provide the technical expertise necessary to design, develop, implement, test, and transition to a modernized solution that fully replaces the legacy mainframe capabilities while ensuring continuity of operations.\n\n2.0 Background\n\nThe current Veteran Benefit Debt Management system supports agency-wide Veteran Benefit and Debt operations. It performs debt aging, generates demand letters, and conducts file-based integrations with approximately ten external systems. Each external system integration utilizes a unique file-based interface. Approximately two million debt records are maintained in Virtual Storage Access Method (VSAM) and sequential file structures.\n\nThe legacy environment consists of:\n257 COBOL modules totaling approximately 258,000 lines of code\n540 JCL files totaling approximately 43,000 lines of code\n87 PROCS totaling approximately 8,000 lines of code\n18 COPYBOOKS totaling approximately 14,000 lines of code\nThese programs are executed daily or on demand via the CA7 scheduler.\nAdditionally, the system includes approximately 300 Java programs (126,000 lines of code) executed on Microsoft Windows servers, also via Computer Associates Workload Manager 7 (CA7) or on demand.\n\nThe legacy mainframe serves as a backend system and transmits updates to a Microsoft SQL Server database that supports APIs running on the MuleSoft AnyPoint Platform. These downstream systems are expected to remain in operation and must be fully supported by the contractor s solution.\n\nRequirements\n\nSolution Development and Modernization\n\nThe Contractor shall provide a replacement solution that:\n\nReplicates or enhances all existing functional capabilities of the Veteran Benefit Debt Management system.\nSupports all debt management operations including, but not limited to, debt aging, demand letter generation, and batch processing.\nAccommodates the migration and processing of approximately two million debt records currently stored in VSAM and sequential files.\n\nIntegration Requirements\n\nThe Contractor shall:\n\nProvide interfaces that support all current file-based integrations with approximately ten external systems.\nMaintain compatibility with each system s unique integration format and operational requirements.\nEnsure continued interoperability with the existing Microsoft SQL Server environment and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform APIs that depend on mainframe-generated updates.\nOperational Requirements\n\nThe Contractor shall ensure the modernized solution:\nSupports scheduled and on-demand execution of batch processes analogous to those performed using CA7.\nProvides equivalent or improved performance, reliability, and auditability compared to the legacy environment.\nSupports secure, reliable data transfer between all interfacing systems.\n\n3.4 Data Migration\n\nThe Contractor shall:\nMigrate all legacy VSAM and sequential file data without loss or corruption.\nConduct validation of migrated datasets to ensure data integrity and functional continuity.\n3.5 Transition and Implementation\n\nThe Contractor shall:\nProvide a detailed transition plan that ensures uninterrupted operations during system cutover.\nDeliver training materials and training sessions to VA personnel as required.\nProvide post implementation support during stabilization.\n\n4.0 Constraints and Considerations\n\nAll existing downstream systems (SQL Server, MuleSoft APIs) must remain operational throughout.\nThe Contractor shall ensure compliance with VA security, privacy, and data protection requirements.\nAll modernization efforts must minimize disruptions to current business operations.\n\n\n\n"}