2025-0105 Specialized VDI Engineering Support (NS) - TUE 22 Jul RELAUNCH

Previously submitted bids were non-compliant for the following reasons:

• Based on CV evaluation, candidate does not have required knowledge on the following Specific Requirements: -VMware AppVolume -VMware Horizon -FSLogix -App Volumes, ThinApp, App-V, MSIX App Attach. Familiarity with vRealize Operations (vROps), LoginVSI or ControlUp
• Following the technical interview results, candidate did not demonstrate any expected knowledge IOW Statement of work: -VMware AppVolume -VMware vsphere -VMware DEM/UEM -FSLogix
• Following the technical interview, candidate did not demonstrate required knowledge on the following Specific Requirements: -VMware AppVolume -VMware Horizon -FSLogix -App Volumes, ThinApp, App-V, MSIX App Attach. Familiarity with vRealize Operations (vROps), LoginVSI or ControlUp

Bidding Instructions - Technical Proposal:

Bidders shall submit a proposal clearly providing the following information:

a. CVs of the assigned individual(s) for the project. Each CV shall contain accurate contact details for reference person(s) for each of the listed professional experiences relevant to this Statement of Work.

b. The CVs shall clearly distinguish if the proposal is for Key Personnel or not.

c. The Service provider shall select one of the proposed locations as primary location where the services will be delivered.

Deadline Date: Tuesday 22 July 2025

Requirement: Specialized VDI Engineering Support

Location: Braine-l’Alleud, BE

OR The Hague, NLD

OR Ramstein, DEU

OR Bydgoszcz, POL

OR Stavanger, NOR

Full Time On-Site: Yes

Time On-Site: 100%

Period of Performance: 2025 BASE: As soon as possible not later than 25th August 2025 (tentative) – 31st December 2025 with possibility to exercise the following options:

• 2026 Option: 1st January 2026 until 31st December 2026

• 2027 Option: 1st January 2027 until 31st December 2027

• 2028 Option: 1st January 2028 until 31st December 2028

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

1. PURPOSE

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (further referred to as “Purchaser”) is seeking for support by a qualified Service provider in the field of specialized VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) Engineering services (further referred to as the Service) focused on architecture, design, implementation, integration and upgrade of VDI commercial technologies augmenting the capabilities of the Purchaser.

2. BACKGROUND

NATO Digital Workplace Centre (NDWC), as part of NCI Agency, provides simple yet innovative solutions that underpin the Digital Transformation of NATO by providing feature-rich Digital Workplace, which enable NATO staff members to connect, communicate, and collaborate.

Personal Workspace service area delivers the following user-facing services to NATO Commands, NATO Force structure and Nations in all 32 Allied Nations:

- Windows-based and iOS/iPadOS-based end user device provisioning, management, operation, and lifecycle across multiple separate networks of different classifications and various form factors;

- Work stream collaboration including email and instant messaging server backend and client frontend provisioning, management, operation and lifecycle across multiple separate networks of different classifications.

The services integrate with other services such as print/scan/copy, voice, video-teleconference (VTC), collaboration portals and enable NATO-specific functional applications higher up the software stack.

Through several on-going streams of work in Q4/2024 and onwards, the services are rapidly evolving from using fully on-premise to a mixture of on-premise and public cloud technologies.

2.1. PURCHASER SUPPORT STRUCTURE

The Purchaser support structure is organized in three levels:

- Level 1 support provided by a virtual Centralized Service Desk;

- Level 2 touch-labor and more specialized support provided by a CIS Support Unit or IT Service Kiosk;

- Level 3 provided by a centralized team of engineers.

3. OBJECTIVES

With this SoW, the Purchaser aims to achieve the following objectives:

- Leverage industry expertise and best practices in installation, configuration, monitoring, optimisation and daily operation of commercial off the shelf (COTS) technologies and software, namely Omnissa Horizon.

- Ensure healthy and functional end user computing environment providing to the end users  devices that are compliant with the security and functional requirements.

- Improve the fault tolerance and disaster recovery of the IT systems thus enhancing the overall business continuity.

- Improve the maturity of the IT Operations by standardizing and optimizing activities, creating and documenting procedures.

To achieve these objectives, the Purchaser is looking for specialized VDI Engineering support services. The Purchaser works in an agile way with specific activities and tasks delivered in sprints. It is up to the Service Provider to define the number of individuals delivering the services, taking into account the constrains mentioned in section 8.

4. SCOPE OF WORK, DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILESTONES

Considering the extended period of execution and the rapid evolution of the commercial technologies and their use in NATO, the provision of the services included in this SoW is measured in sprints, where each sprint is defined as deliverables produced by one person planned for a duration of one calendar week. The detailed tasks in each sprint will be determined at the start of each sprint by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact following the Scope of Work defined herein, and documented in writing.

4.1. SCOPE OF WORK

The SoW covers the following activities and tasks:

4.1.1. Installation, configuration, administration and monitoring of VDI infrastructure based on Dell end user devices and Omnissa (former VMware) Horizon technologies

A) Perform daily administration, troubleshooting and monitoring of VDI infrastructure instances including underlying virtual, application delivery and profile infrastructure;

B) Conduct installation, upgrade and configuration of existing and new VDI instances including associated virtual and application.

C) Monitor the performance, troubleshoot and continuously optimize the existing VDI setup including so called master or “golden” images. Responsible for design, implementation and management of end-to-end VDI servers.

D) Ensure VDI image, back-end and thin clients are kept updated with security fixes and maintenance updates.

E) Continuously monitor the environment to ensure it is always available.

F) Ensure all tasks are automated as much as possible so there is minimal overhead to the system.

G) Ensure all applications not in the baseline are packaged correctly for the VDI environment.

H) Ensure all components of the system have sufficient licenses.

4.1.2. Ensure healthy and functional end user computing environment

I) Review, troubleshoot and ensure compliance with security policies and functional requirements of the VDI setup and associated enabling technologies (Active Directory).

J) Work on and resolve problem requests.

4.1.3. Enhance business continuity by improving the fault tolerance and disaster recovery

K) Propose design, implement, test and maintain fault tolerance and disaster recovery of the complete VDI stack including virtual infrastructure, VDI, application and user profile layers.

4.1.4. Improve the maturity of the IT Operations

L) Develop, implement, improve and follow standard operating procedures and instructions on IT operation activities related to the VDI setup.

M) Develop, disseminate and improve instructions for Level 1 and Level 2 technicians.

N) Perform on the job trainings as needed to team members, Level 1 and Level 2 technicians.

4.2. DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT MILESTONES

The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance of the Certificate of Acceptance – (Annex A).

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A), signed by the Service provider and the Purchaser authorized point of contact.

The Purchaser (NCIA) reserves the right to exercise a number of options of one or more sprints based on the same scrum deliverables, at a later time, depending on the project priorities and requirements, at the following cost: for base year (2025) at the same cost, for outer years (2026-2028) the Price Adjustment Formula will be applied in accordance with paragraph 6.5 of the Framework Contract Special Provisions.

The following deliverables are expected from this statement of work:

4.2.1. BASE 2025: period of performance 25 August 2025 (tentative) – 31 December 2025

Deliverable: 36 sprints of Specialized VDI Engineering support (The number of sprints is calculated considering a starting date 1 st of May 2025. This will be adjusted based on actual starting date.)

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work. Completion of each milestone shall be documented in a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A), signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact and the Service provider.

4.2.2. 2026 OPTION: period of performance 01 January 2026 – 31 December 2026

Deliverable: 52 sprints of Specialized VDI Engineering support

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work. Completion of each milestone shall be documented in a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A), signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact and the Service provider.

4.2.3. 2027 OPTION: period of performance 01 January 2027 – 31 December 2027

Deliverable: 52 sprints of Specialized VDI Engineering support

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work. Completion of each milestone shall be documented in a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A), signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact and the Service provider.

4.2.4. 2028 OPTION: period of performance 01 January 2028 – 31 December 2028

Deliverable: 52 sprints of Specialized VDI Engineering support

Cost Ceiling: Price will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO‐115786‐ AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.

Payment Milestones: Upon completion of each fourth sprint and at the end of the work. Completion of each milestone shall be documented in a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A), signed for acceptance by the Purchaser’s authorized point of contact and the Service provider.

5. SCHEDULE

This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties.

It is expected that the service starts as soon as possible but not later than 25 August 2025 (tentative) until 31 December 2025.

The Purchaser reserves the right to exercise the following options under the same conditions with price per sprint determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO-115786-AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5.:

• Option 2026 – up to 52 sprints with period of performance from 01 January 2026 until 31 December 2026;

• Option 2027 – up to 52 sprints with period of performance from 01 January 2027 until 31 December 2027;

• Option 2028 – up to 52 sprints with period of performance from 01 January 2028 until 31 December 2028.

6. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

6.1. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The deliverables will be produced on-site at Purchaser’s premises in:

- Braine L’Alleud, Belgium; or

- The Hague, The Netherlands; or

- Ramstein, Germany; or

- Bydgoszcz, Poland; or

- Stavanger, Norway.

The working environment is a typical office working environment designated as Class II or Class I security area.

6.2. WORKING HOURS

The Service provider personnel is expected to follow the Purchaser’s working hours—Monday to Thursday from 08h30 until 17h30 and Friday from 08h30 until 15h30 and observe Purchaser’s official holidays.

The Purchaser’s official holidays may differ from the public holidays in the Host Nation.

6.3. TRAVEL

Depending on the Purchaser’s priorities, travel may be required to both NATO and non-NATO nations.

Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with AAS+ framework contract provisions and applicable NCIA Travel Directive, in addition to the not to exceed ceiling mentioned in this SOW.

6.4. PURCHASER FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (PFE)

The Purchaser will provide to the Service provider personnel standard IT work position setup to allow access to the necessary networks, IT systems and tools.

The Service provider personnel shall follow the Purchaser’s policies, procedures and take due care of the Purchaser furnished equipment.

6.5. MEETINGS

The Service provider’s personnel shall participate, at no additional cost, at a minimum to the following meetings:

6.5.1. Weekly sprint planning and retrospective meetings

The meeting is focused on IT operations technical matters and typically take place virtually on the Purchaser’s own network.

7. REPORTING

7.1 At the end of each sprint, the Service provider shall report the completion and achievements to the Purchaser point of contact via email for each individual providing services under this SoW.

7.2 At the end of each fourth sprint, the Service provider shall deliver a Certificate of Acceptance (Annex A) for the Purchaser’s approval and signature for each individual providing services under this SoW.

7.1. QUALITY ASSURANCE CHECK

7.1.1 The deliverables shall be produced within the sprint timeframe as requested and be of satisfactory quality to avoid re-work.

7.1.2 The Purchaser reserves the right to request a change of Service provider personnel in case at least two out of four consecutive sprints have non-satisfactory deliverables.

7.1.3 The Purchaser reserves the right to request a change of Service provider personnel in case of non-compliance with the requirements of this SoW (e.g. unprofessional behavior, etc.)

8. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

8.1 The Service provider shall manage and be responsible for all Service provider personnel.

8.2 The Service provider’s personnel shall be knowledgeable and experienced in the nature of the tasks and activities of the Service.

8.3 The Service provider’s personnel shall possess valid Personal Security Clearances for the duration of the Contract performance.

8.4 The Service provider’s personnel shall be courteous and professional in dealing with NATO and

Purchaser’s staff.

8.5 The Service provider’s personnel shall have sufficient knowledge in English language to allow smooth verbal and written communication.

8.6 The Service provider shall strive to lower the rotation of personnel and maintain the same individuals working under this SoW.

8.7 The Service provider shall seek Purchaser’s approval prior to appointing new personnel to work under this Statement of Work.

8.8 The Purchaser will support the Service provider’s personnel with access to the IT systems as required.

The Service provider shall submit requests for change of Service provider’s personnel at least 30 days in advance.

8.9 The Service provider shall handle the Purchaser’s furnished equipment (PFE) with due care.

8.10 The Service provider shall operate the equipment following the manufacturer’s requirements.

8.11 The Service provider shall minimize the impact to the end users during the execution of the work.

8.12 The Service provider shall bring immediately to the attention of the Purchaser Point of Contact any issues preventing the execution of the work.

8.13 The Service provider’s personnel will report to and receive guidance from Purchaser Point of Contact on-site, Service Owner and Service IT Operations Lead.

8.14 The Service provider’s personnel shall follow local site procedures to obtain physical unescorted access to the assigned work position and logical access to the networks in scope.

8.15 The Service provider’s personnel shall liaise with other Purchasers’ support teams as necessary.

8.16 The Service provider’s personnel shall use the Purchaser Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) ticketing system following the Purchaser’s procedures and observe relevant KPIs.

8.1. CONSTRAINS

8.1.1 All the deliverables provided under this statement of work will be based on Purchaser templates or agreed with the Purchaser’s Point of contact.

8.1.2 All scripts, documentation, etc. will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided Purchaser tools and systems.

8.1.3 Part of the work will involve handling classified networks, therefore, a valid security clearance at NATO SECRET level is required for the Service provider’s individuals undertaking this project.

8.1.4 Purchaser can accommodate only one individual working on the services at the same time.

8.2. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

[See Requirements]

9. GOVERNANCE

9.1. PURCHASER’S KEY ROLES

The following personnel is considered Key personnel in the context of this SoW:

Service Owner – the person accountable for the end-to-end delivery of the IT services. Unless decided otherwise, the Service Owner is the Purchaser’s designated representative to sign the acceptance documents under this SoW.

Service Delivery Manager – the person responsible for delivering the assigned IT service(s) on a day-to-day basis.

Service IT Operations lead – the person responsible for the Level 3 support engineering team. The Service IT Operations lead will provide technical guidance to the Service provider’s personnel.

Same person may perform more than one role.

9.2. SERVICE PROVIDER’S KEY ROLES

The Service provider shall assign a project (or service) manager for the duration of the work under this SoW.

The Service provider’s Project Manager shall be the single point of contact for any matters related to this SoW.

The Service provider shall strive to maintain the same person for as long as possible.

The Service provider shall seek Purchaser’s approval prior to appointing a new Project Manager following the candidate replacement procedure in accordance with the AAS+ Framework Contract provisions. The same procedure will be followed in case of replacement of any of the team members proposed. When the reasons to appoint a new Project Manager are beyond Service provider’s control, the Service provider shall inform the Purchaser at least 30 days in advance.

9.3. ESCALATION

For matters related to this SoW except contractual matters, the Service provider shall follow the escalation procedures as follows:

The first point of contact is the Purchaser’s site point of contact.

The first escalation point is the Purchaser’s Service Delivery Manager.

The second escalation point is the Purchaser’s Service Owner.

The Service provider shall escalate all contractual matters as per the Contract General and Special provisions to the Purchaser Contracting Officer and inform the Service Owner.

• Part of the work will involve handling classified networks, therefore, a valid security clearance at NATO SECRET level is required for the Service provider’s individuals undertaking this project.

8.2. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

To efficiently and effectively deliver the Service, each of the Service provider personnel shall possess at a minimum qualifications and skills in the following areas:

• Three years experience with Group Policy Management (GPOs): Assisting in the creation, modification, and maintenance of Group Policies to enforce settings across user devices.
• Three years experience with Application COTS Troubleshooting: Ability to diagnose issues related to COTS applications, proficiency in installing and configuring, integration with exiting system, ensuring seamless operations. Ability to diagnose latency, connectivity, and application performance issues
• Three years experience with Windows Server troubleshooting: Problem solving, strong knowledge of windows 10 & 11 OS, Diagnose and resolve technical issues, support software and hardware related problems. Deep understanding of Windows Server (2016/2019/2022)
• Seven years experience with VMware AppVolume: Management and deployment of AppVolumes, troubleshooting, and updates. Strong skills in VMware vSphere / ESXi
• Seven years experience with VMware Horizon: Setup, configuration, and management of Horizon VDI environments.
• Three years experience with VMware vSphere: Managing virtual machines, ESXi hosts, and vCenter operations.
• Two years experience with VMware DEM/UEM: User environment management, personalization, and policy enforcement. Expertise in FSLogix, Citrix Profile Management, and UEM
• Two years experience FSLogix: Profile management, troubleshooting logon issues, and optimization.
• Three years experience with Master Image (VDI-MDT): Creating, maintaining, and optimizing VDI master images using MDT.
• Three years experience with Optimization / Monitoring / Performance: Performance tuning, monitoring VDI environments, proactive troubleshooting. Experience automating VDI provisioning, patching, and user management. Experience optimizing IOPS, latency, and deduplication for VDI performance. Strong grasp of protocols (RDP, PCoIP, Blast Extreme, ICA)
• Two years experience with PowerShell: Create, document, implement and troubleshoot scripts written in PowerShell. Proficiency in PowerShell, Python, Bash, or Ansible for automation
• Experience with one or several of the following technologies / products: App Volumes, ThinApp, App-V, MSIX App Attach. Familiarity with vRealize Operations (vROps), LoginVSI or ControlUp

Note: Due to recent change of branding from VMware to Omnissa, the use of the words “VMware” and “Omnissa” in the description of the technologies are considered equal.