DHS CBP - ActiveMQ 24x7 Support Services - Market Research

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the General Services Administration (GSA), is conducting market research to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Information & Technology's Enterprise Infrastructure and Operation Directorate (EIOD). The primary goal of this initiative is to enhance CBP's technological capabilities by transitioning from a large IBM MQ messaging system to an Apache ActiveMQ infrastructure. This transition aims to reduce operating costs while maintaining high standards for data integrity, accessibility, and system availability that are crucial for border protection and trade facilitation.

The scope of work involves providing Advanced Customer Support (ACS) consulting services for Apache ActiveMQ, a widely-used open-source message broker built on Java. CBP anticipates maintaining up to 100 production ActiveMQ Brokers and 50 non-production Brokers. Given the open-source nature of Apache ActiveMQ, which does not come with direct support services from its developers, CBP requires a firm fixed-price contract for around-the-clock support services. These services include access to a dedicated toll-free hotline for resolving escalated issues that surpass in-house expertise.

To ensure seamless integration and operation of the new messaging system, the selected vendor will be responsible for offering knowledge transfer sessions through live online training. This training will be conducted on an ad-hoc basis and will focus on equipping CBP's IBM MQ messaging experts with the necessary skills for managing Apache ActiveMQ systems effectively. Additionally, these sessions can cover advanced topics as mutually agreed upon by CBP and vendor subject matter experts.

Specific tasks under this contract include establishing an Enterprise Service Desk that operates 24/7/365, managed by an assigned Technical Account Manager (TAM). The TAM will oversee critical issue resolution related to Apache ActiveMQ via a dedicated toll-free number. This comprehensive support structure is designed to ensure continuous operational excellence as CBP transitions its messaging infrastructure towards more cost-effective open-source solutions.