USDA, Office of Operations, Procurement Operations Division, Room 1547-South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9850

70 -- USDA/NITC INTENDS TO ACQUIRE MAINFRAME BASED AD HOC REPORTING SOFTWARE DUE 091198 POC Sherri Davis, Contract Specialist 202-720-8309; Bill Boyd, 202-720-8946 The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Technology Center (NITC) intends to acquire mainfrme based Ad Hoc reporting software products for nationwide use from Information Builder's Inc. The software products and intended use are described below. The Processed Commodities Inventory Management System (PCIMS) is a mission critical IDMS system utilizing a network topology that supports the acquisition of USDA commodities used in all domestic and foreign food assistance programs for the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and the Agricultural marketing Service(AMS). PCIMS is a highly complex system built around the integrated business and accounting requirements of each agency. Approximately 600 reports are produced and distributed in the nightly, weekly, and monthly cycles. The PCIMS IDMS database is represented by 191 Record typed, 51 Areas, 92 Files, and 206 Sets. The WebFOCUS software will be used to perform all ad hoc reporting requirements for PCIMS and other agency IDMS legacy data base systems. There are currently 47 FOCUS views that provide access to the existing PCIMS data elements stored in the IDMS mainframe database repository. These existing views are currently utilized by 520 FOCUS programs. These views and programs will be employed with the suite of WebFOCUS software products. Any comparable product must be compatible with the existing PCIMS FOCUS views and programs. The implementation of the WebFOCUS system will provide users with the tools needed to create their own reports, decrease custom report creation time, and increase the flow of vital information within the Department. The WebFOCUS Internet solution solves the implementation and maintenance obstacles present with Client/Server solutions and the connectivity problems associated with mainframe applications. Users located in any state or county will have Ad hoc reporting capability as a result of this acquisition and implementation of these software products. The Web390 product is a mainframe Internet WebServer that is compatible with the Y2K-compliant OS/390 operating system installed at NITC-KC. Additionally, a mainframe-installed Internet web Server like the Web390 product will be a critical component for supporting Electronic commerce initiatives that need to obtain data from and provide data to mainframe legacy applications. Product(s) Capabilities -- (1) Enterprise Reporting Agent-Upgrades the current enterprise Data Access (EDA) software to include the WebFOCUS Java-based, thin-client reporting analysis package and on-line analytical procesing navigation. (2) Managed Reporting Environment -- Allows a database administrator to transform views of data into objects that can be used by users to produce ad hoc queries and reports. A license is needed for each user who wishes to save any report they create. For each license purchased, 10 additional users can access the system and create their own reports, but can not save their reports for later execution. (3) Report Broker -- A Java-based scheduling and distribution application which centralizes the execution and distribution of WebFOCUS reports over the Web, E-mail, printers, and faxes. (4) Web390 -- Full-scale Internet server specifically designed for MVS users. Provides secure access to legacy data and legacy applications in transaction systems, from standard Web browsers. The installation of the Web390 software on the mainframe provides the mainframe with Web server capability. The software products will allow Web access to IDMS, DB2 and oracle. With additional plug-ins, the software will allow Web access to more than 70 data base types. This software will be installed at the NITC/KC. This software is Year 2000 provisions. The only known source for software product with these capabilities is Information Builders, Inc. Interested parties who can demonstrate comparable product capabilities and product support experience may submit documentation which demonstrates those capabilities for evaluation by the NITC. Any documentation provided must include clear and convincing information showing comparable capabilities to meet the listed requirements as well as product and support pricing. All submisions must be sent to the National Information Technology Center, 8930 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri 64114, Attn: SPSB. This is NOT A Request For Proposals. NO solicitation document exists. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not be acknowledges. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Posted 08/07/98 (W-SN234144). (0219)

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