DHS Plans $300 Million Law Enforcement Data Analytics Platform

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeks up to three industry partners to help it build the agency’s next-generation investigations support platform.

ICE officials plan to compete three task orders in support of the proposed system, known as the Repository for Analytics in a Virtualized Environment (RAVEn), according to an April slide presentation. One will develop RAVEn’s data analytics platform, another will support design of its user interface, and a third will establish a software development pipeline to speed regular updates to RAVEn users. ICE will compete each task order on the Multiple Award Schedule for IT, formerly Schedule IT-70. Officials value each task order at between $50 million and $100 million.

DHS officials envision RAVEn as the primary analytics platform supporting the department’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit in operations to disrupt human trafficking, drug smuggling, cyber crimes, and other criminal activities in the U.S. and abroad. The tool will enable HSI users to gather intelligence, compare it against information in open-source and government-owned databases, create reports, and share information with team members and HSI leadership.

Photo credit: Department of Homeland Security

ICE relies on three incumbent contractors for the current iteration of RAVEn, which have generated a combined $42.7 million, in obligations since September 2018:

• Directviz Solutions LLC providing the data analytics platform ($9.3 million);
• KCI-Acuity LLC, providing the user interface and user experience (UI/UX) support services ($7.9 million);
• Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., providing RAVEn’s secure software development (DevSecOps) platform ($25.5 million)

Officials plan to release the recompete solicitation for the data analytics task order May 13, UI/UX June 1, and DevSecOps June 15. ICE will employ a two-step acquisition method consisting of a written proposal followed by technical demonstrations. Awards are planned roughly 45 days from release of the solicitation.

ICE has spent about $153 million on data analytics and business intelligence tools and service since fiscal 2017, according to Bloomberg Government’s market definition. The top recipient of ICE data analytics spending is Denver-based Palantir Technologies Inc., earning $91 million over that span.

To contact the analyst on this story: Chris Cornillie in Washington at ccornillie@bgov.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Clark at mclark@ic.bloombergindustry.com