Centralized Procurement of Marine Corps Common Network Storage

1. PURPOSE. THIS IS A COORDINATED HQMC COMMAND,
CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTERS (C4), HQMC PROGRAMS AND
RESOURCES (P&R) AND MARINE CORPS SYSTEMS COMMAND (MCSC) PRODUCT
GROUP 10 (PG10) MESSAGE. PER REF A, THIS MESSAGE PROVIDES POLICY
AND GUIDANCE TO PROJECT OFFICERS, COMMANDERS, COMPTROLLERS,
CONTRACTING OFFICERS, SERVICE MEMBERS, AND EMPLOYEES FOR THE
PROCUREMENT OF NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE (NAS) AND STORAGE AREA
NETWORK (SAN) PRODUCTS. IMMEDIATE ACTION IS REQUESTED TO ENSURE
THAT THE USMC RECEIVES THE BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT WITH REGARD TO
NAS AND SAN PROCUREMENTS. THIS INVESTMENT STRATEGY IS ALSO AN
INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF THE MARINE CORPS ENTERPRISE IT SERVICES
(MCEITS) STORAGE ARCHITECTURE. THESE PRODUCTS WILL BE CENTRALLY
PROCURED BY MCSC (PG 10), MARINE CORPS COMMON HARDWARE SUITE (MCHS)
PROJECT.
2. BACKGROUND
A. MCSC (PG-10) HAS RECENTLY ESTABLISHED A BLANKET PURCHASE
AGREEMENT (BPA) CONTRACT VEHICLE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO DELIVER
STANDARD NAS AND SAN PRODUCTS IMMEDIATELY. THE MARINE CORPS SPENDS
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON STORAGE PRODUCTS ANNUALLY. BY PROCURING
THESE PRODUCTS THROUGH A SINGLE CONTRACT, THE MARINE CORPS CAN
ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS. ADDITIONALLY, PRODUCTS PURCHASED
THROUGH THIS AGREEMENT WILL INCLUDE STANDARD WARRANTIES, ASSET
TRACKING AND OTHER LOGISTICS SUPPORT AS PART OF THE PROCUREMENT.
B. THIS BPA CONTRACT SHALL BE THE ONLY APPROVED METHOD FOR INITIAL
PURCHASE AND REFRESH OF NAS AND SAN STORAGE PRODUCTS BY ANY MARINE
CORPS ORGANIZATION.
C. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH REF B, THE USMC MAY
ESTABLISH BPAS FOR PURCHASES. USING A BPA SCHEDULE SIMPLIFIES
PROVISION OF COMPUTER RESOURCES AND ACCELERATES THE ABILITY TO MEET
RECURRING REQUIREMENTS FOR STORAGE PRODUCTS. BPA ORDERING CAN ALSO
LEVERAGE A CUSTOMER'S BUYING POWER BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF QUANTITY
DISCOUNTS, REDUCING PROCESSING TIME, ASSOCIATED PAPERWORK AND COSTS.
 BPAS STREAMLINE ACQUISITION PROCESSES SUCH AS SEARCHING FOR
SOURCES, PREPARING SOLICITATIONS AND SYNOPSIZING THE PROCUREMENT. 
D. RELATIONSHIP TO MCEITS AND SHARED DATA INITIATIVES. THE STORAGE
AND AVAILABILITY OF DATA IS A CRITICAL IT FUNCTION. THIS BPA
PROVIDES ACCESS TO STORAGE SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE SHARING OF DATA
THROUGHOUT AN ENCLAVE AND ARE ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOPING HIGH
AVAILABILITY SYSTEMS WITH DISASTER RECOVERY, ARCHIVAL, AND FAILOVER
CAPABILITIES. THE PRIMARY PROGRAM OF RECORD FOR MANAGING ENTERPRISE
DATA IS MCEITS. MCEITS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING STANDARDIZED
METHODS TO ACCESS, MANAGE AND SUPPORT STORAGE SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIED
IN THIS BPA. THIS WILL ENABLE COMMANDS TO BOTH MANAGE THEIR OWN
LOCAL STORAGE SOLUTIONS AND IMPLEMENT ENTERPRISE LEVEL BACKUP,
RECOVERY, AND AVAILABILITY SOLUTIONS WHEN THEY ARE FIELDED.
3. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, REQUESTS FOR STORAGE SOLUTIONS AND
PRODUCTS, QUOTES, PROCUREMENTS AND RENEWALS OF LICENSE AGREEMENTS
WILL BE COORDINATED VIA MCSC (PG 10), MCHS TEAM. NEGOTIATIONS AND OR
PROCUREMENTS OUTSIDE OF THIS POLICY ARE PROHIBITED. STORAGE PRODUCT
INFORMATION IS NOW AVAILABLE AT HTTP:SLASH SLASH
WWW.MCHS.MARCORSYSCOM.USMC.MIL/
4. REQUESTS FOR NEW NAS OR SAN PURCHASES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA THE
USMC IT PROCUREMENT SYSTEM AT 
HTTPS:SLASH SLASH ITPROCUREMENT.HQMC.USMC.MIL AFTER COORDINATING
WITH MCSC (PG 10). MCHS STORAGE PRODUCTS CAN BE FOUND AT HTTP:SLASH
SLASH WWW.MCHS.MARCORSYSCOM.USMC.MIL/. IF REQUESTING STORAGE
PRODUCTS NOT ON THE MCHS BPA, DETAILED JUSTIFICATION MUST BE
INCLUDED IN THE IT PROCUREMENT REQUEST. MCHS IS NOT CENTRALLY
FUNDED TO PROCURE STORAGE PRODUCTS. THE REQUESTING UNIT MUST FUND
THE PURCHASE BASED ON THE EXPENSE/INVESTMENT CRITERIA. QUESTIONS
REGARDING THE EXPENSE/INVESTMENT CRITERIA SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO MS.
SHARI RITTER, HQMC P&R (RFR).