Navy wants a single budget system — and wants the software maker to run it

The Navy operates with a patchwork of legacy systems to manage local budgets. The fragmented approach has created data silos, inconsistencies and inefficiencies across its various commands.

But in a new sources sought memo, the Navy is looking for industry input on how it can change all of that with a commercial, cloud-based software-as-a-service platform.

Because it has no single authoritative system, the Navy struggles to get a unified financial picture of its components. The Navy needs that information to feed into its program budget information system. The PBIS is what the Navy uses to develop the data it submits to the Navy comptroller.

The sources sought notice describes the Navy’s desire to modernize the systems and processes used to build and validate budget data before it's loaded into PBIS.

In the May 20 Sam.gov, the Navy says it wants information on several key capabilities it wants in a cloud-based system, including:

• Aggregate and reconcile budget inputs from across all Navy commands.
• Automate the creation and validation of budget exhibits and PBIS submissions.
• Support scenario modeling, including continuing resolutions.
• Incorporate AI tools such as narrative generation, anomaly detection, and document summaries.
• Provide dashboards and drill-down reporting for senior leaders.

The Navy also wants the new system to integrate with existing software platforms such as SAP S/4HANA, PBIS, and the War Data Platform (Advana/Databricks/Palantir).

The system will also need to meet security requirements such as FedRAMP High, IL5 (and potentially IL6), NIST 800-53 and Zero Trust.

There is no dollar value estimate for any future contract, but the Navy wants a rough order of magnitude estimate for 10,000 users.

Questions on the sources sought notice are due May 26 with whitepaper submissions by June 2.

 The Navy will review the whitepapers and pick vendors to provide a live demo of their software. The demos will need to address four scenarios:

• The Future Frigate Program to demonstrate an ability to manage a complex, multi-year acquisition program budget.
• The Golden Fleet to demonstrate management of an operations and maintenance budget.
• The Headquarters Command to showcase strategic analysis and portfolio management capabilities.
• The Consolidated Enterprise View to demonstrate the ability to consolidate disparate budget inputs.

The sources sought notice also indicates that the Navy doesn’t want a traditional prime contractor to lead the effort. Instead, it wants a direct relationship with the software maker. The traditional prime will likely end up as a supporting player, if the scenario described in the notice holds up.