Contact Center as a Service Products and Services

Sources Sought / Request for Information (RFI)

This RFI is issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Connectivity & Collaboration Services (CCS), Unified Communications for information and planning purposes regarding Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) Products and Services. It does not constitute a solicitation, and the VA is not seeking quotes or proposals at this time. This effort aims to stabilize and improve the technical and service delivery for connecting VA Contact Center Professionals to Veterans experiencing mental health crises or suicidal thoughts, and to enhance the overall Veteran experience with VA Enterprise Contact Centers.

The VA requires a cloud-based CCaaS platform delivered as a subscription service over the internet. The vendor will host and maintain the infrastructure, updates, and reliability. Key capabilities include:

• Omnichannel routing (voice, email, chat, SMS, social)
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and intelligent call routing
• Workforce management and quality monitoring
• AI-driven features (bots, transcription, sentiment analysis)
• Integration with CRMs and UC platforms
• Real-time and historical analytics The VA will staff the contact centers.

Interested parties should submit a white paper via email to tac-aprocurementteame@va.gov by 3:00 PM EST, March 31, 2026. The white paper must not exceed five (5) pages and should include:

• Company Information: Name, address, POC, SAM UEI, business size/socioeconomic status.
• Contract Vehicles: Identify GWACs and FSS under which services can be offered.
• Cost Estimate: Recommended CLIN structure and per-seat/per-user cost estimate.
• Technical Capability and Expertise: Demonstrated experience in enterprise-level system engineering, integration, deployment/sustainment of large-scale communication infrastructure, and security compliance (FISMA, IRS standards). Describe tools, platforms, and methodologies used.
• Contact Center Domain Knowledge: Detail experience with contact center technology solutions.
• OEM Management: Experience managing OEM relationships.
• NAICS Validation: Comment on the appropriateness of NAICS code 518210 (Size Standard $40.0M) or recommend an alternative with justification.
• Feedback on Draft PWS: Page limitation does not apply to PWS feedback.

Submissions should have the subject line "VA CCAAS- [Your company Name]" and not exceed 5 MB. Oral communications are not permissible. SAM.gov is the sole repository for information. Responses are not offers and will not be returned.

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for Cloud Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) products and services for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The primary goal is to stabilize and improve the technical and service delivery of connecting VA Contact Center professionals with Veterans, particularly those experiencing mental health crises, and to enhance the overall Veteran experience across all VA Enterprise Contact Centers.

The contractor shall provide CCaaS concurrent licenses, project management, related consumables, customer experience journey mapping add-ons, technical account manager services, professional services, technical support, Service Level Agreement (SLA) credits, and training. The CCaaS solution must be FedRAMP authorized at a moderate impact level and integrate with VA's enterprise systems.

• CCaaS Capabilities: Omnichannel communication (voice, video, email, chat, SMS/text, social media, self-service/IVR) with seamless interaction continuity, Veterans Experience Journey Tools, AI and automation capabilities (chatbots, virtual agents, predictive routing), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration (e.g., Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft Dynamics), "Agent Assistant" and Supervisor Assistant features, and comprehensive Knowledge Management.

• Licenses: 11,000 CCaaS Concurrent licenses, with an option to expand to 20,000.

• Availability: CCaaS must be available and operational 99.999% of the time.

• Technical Requirements: Support for IPv6-Only, Trusted Internet Connection (TIC), standard computer configuration, Veteran-Focused Integration Process (VIP), and adherence to VA's Technical Reference Model (TRM) and Critical Security Controls.

• Security & Privacy: Compliance with all applicable Federal laws, VA policies, HIPAA, GDPR, and other security and privacy requirements, including identity, credential, and access management (FICAM).

• Personnel: Contractor personnel must meet background investigation requirements based on task risk designation.

• Deliverables: Monthly Progress Reports, Contractor Staff Roster, and documentation in electronic format.

• Performance Period: 12 months from award, with four 12-month option periods (totaling up to 60 months).

• Uptime: Specific uptime percentages are defined, with corresponding SLA credits for falling below thresholds (e.g., 10% credit for <99.99% uptime, 30% for <99.0%, 100% for <97%).

• Technical Support: 24x7x365 support with defined response and resolution times based on issue severity (Critical, High Impact, Medium Impact).

• Performance Metrics: Defined for Technical/Quality of Product/Service, Project Milestones and Schedule, Cost & Staffing, and Management, with acceptable levels generally being "Satisfactory or higher."

• Performance Period: 12 months base period, with four 12-month option periods.

• Place of Performance: Contractor Site, to include telework/remote. Work may be performed at remote locations with prior concurrence from the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

• Key Personnel: OEM SME Technical Account Manager and OEM SME Professional Services.

• Training: Comprehensive training programs for VA's CCS Engineers and Contact Center Agents.

• Government Furnished Property (GFE): Limited to one laptop and one mobile phone per contractor personnel requiring direct network access.

• Security: Strict adherence to VA security protocols, including background investigations, PIV card requirements, and data protection.

• Optional Tasks: May be exercised at VA's sole discretion.

• The document includes extensive details on security, privacy, and compliance requirements, including numerous applicable documents and directives.

• The PWS is a DRAFT version (Version Number 1.0, dated March 13, 2026).

Sources Sought Notice / Request for Information (RFI)

This notice is for information and planning purposes only, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (OIT), Connectivity & Collaboration Services (CCS), Unified Communications. The VA is seeking information regarding Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) Products and Services. This is not a solicitation, and no contract will be awarded based on this notice. It does not commit the VA to any acquisition approach or contract.

The VA requires CCaaS products and services to stabilize and improve the technical and service delivery for connecting VA Contact Center Professionals to Veterans, particularly those experiencing mental health crises. The effort includes expanding the implementation and deployment of the VA's current FedRAMP-compliant CCaaS platform, encompassing telephony circuits, monitoring, call recording, workforce management tools, and voice analytics.

CCaaS is defined as a cloud-based platform delivered over the internet as a subscription service, where the vendor hosts and maintains the infrastructure. Key capabilities include:

• Omnichannel routing (voice, email, chat, SMS, social)
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and intelligent call routing
• Workforce management and quality monitoring
• AI-driven features (bots, transcription, sentiment analysis)
• Integration with CRMs and UC platforms
• Realtime and historical analytics

The VA will staff the contact centers.

Interested parties should submit a white paper via email to tac-aprocurementteame@va.gov by 3:00 PM EST, March 31, 2026. The white paper cannot exceed five (5) pages and must include:

• Company Information: Name, address, POC, SAM UEI, business size, and socioeconomic status.
• Contract Vehicles: Identify GWACs and FSSs under which services can be offered.
• Technical Capability and Expertise: Demonstrated experience in enterprise-level system engineering, integration, large-scale communication infrastructure deployment/sustainment, and security compliance (FIMSA, IRS standards). Describe tools, platforms, or methodologies used.
• Contact Center Domain Knowledge: Detail experience with contact center technology solutions.
• OEM Management: Experience managing OEM relationships, especially with multiple vendors.
• NAICS Validation: Indicate appropriateness of NAICS code 518210 ($40.0M size standard) or recommend an alternative with justification.
• Feedback on Draft PWS: Page limit does not apply to PWS feedback.

Submissions must have the subject line "VA CCAAS- [Your company Name]" and not exceed a 5 MB email limit. Oral communications are not permitted. SAM.gov is the sole repository for information.