The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a request for information (RFI) on how best to combine two existing data centers and revamp the infrastructure to be more cloud-based. The agency wants to modernize legacy IT computers and storage, migrate data to the Cloud, and to optimize remaining data center environments, so they are soliciting feedback on cost effective and innovative strategies from industry. In addition, they are gathering information on vendor capabilities with experience, expertise, and technology for modernizing and migrating infrastructure and mission-critical applications and services to the Cloud and optimizing remaining data centers while ensuring a seamless and improved end user experience.
DHS believes that a hybrid (both on-premise and cloud) IT, multi-cloud (multiple Infrastructure as a Service [IaaS], Platform Server room as a Service [PaaS], and Software as a Service [SaaS] providers) approach would best fit their needs.
The Acting Deputy Secretary Claire Grady, with the support of the Cloud Steering Group (CSG), has directed DHS headquarters and components to make appropriate considerations given the June 2020 expiration of the current Data Center 2 contract with Hewlett-Packard. Data Center 1 will be re-sized to support that facility. In addition to Data Center 1, DHS considers two additional facilities within 50 miles of Washington, DC to be the primary government-owned anchor points for their next-generation compute locations.
DHS is seeking comprehensive information from the RFI that demonstrates vendor best practices, risk mitigation strategies, lessons learned, and methodologies for rapid migration from the original environments with minimal impact to current operations. Due to the critical nature of some of these applications and services, full operational capability is needed during the migration process.
Responses are due March 20, 2019.
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