FAA launches competition to modernize aging IT portfolio
Gettyimages.com/ Douglas Rissing
By
Nick Wakeman
The Federal Aviation Administration is using a challenge-based acquisition strategy that will require vendors to demonstrate, not just describe, their approach.
The Federal Aviation Administration has a sprawling and aging digital infrastructure with roughly 200 applications and 3,000 databases that support a wide span of responsibilities, ranging from safety inspections to regulatory compliance.
In an effort to transform this portfolio, the agency is launching a challenge to gather ideas from industry on how to move these old systems to cloud-native architectures and reduce its technical debt.
According to a Tuesday notice on Sam.gov, the agency is forgoing a traditional acquisition in favor of a challenge-based approach. The multi-phase competition will allow the FAA to watch vendors perform, not just pitch.
Phase 1 proposals are due March 10. Competitors are being asked for their track record using a self-scoring system that looks at factors such as contract size, portfolio, cloud migrations, artificial intelligence deployments and experience with critical safety systems.
Only the top 10 scorers will have their concept papers evaluated.
In Phase 2, the FAA will narrow the field to five finalists that will have to explain how they would rationalize and consolidate the FAA’s portfolio.
For Phase 3, the finalists have to demonstrate what the FAA calls a "modernization factory." This is where they have to show a real modernization challenge, not just describe one.
Phase 4 is the award, which the FAA is targeting for Sept. 30.
The focus on a factor model is a shift away from traditional time-and-material staffing toward more automated, productized process powered by AI.
The FAA wants AI to analyze legacy code, generate and test new code and automate security monitoring functions. A second goal is for AI to identify redundant systems that can be eliminated.
The FAA wants more modern systems to underpin the safety of the National Airspace System, making the stakes high.
The FAA says it needs 99.9% uptime on mission-critical systems, continuous cybersecurity and long-term cost reductions.
The expected contract will run for 10 years. The FAA does not give an estimated value, but the self-scoring matrix indicates the agency wants contractors with experience with large contracts.
The matrix awards points for contracts larger than $25 million, $50 million, and $100 million annually.