07 Aw Notice_Redacted.pdf

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN ORDER EXCEEDING

THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 8.405-6)

CARIS Software Assurance (SA), Maintenance, and Enterprise Licensing Agreement (ELA)

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program.

1. Agency and contracting activity.

Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Eastern Acquisition Division (EAD) Norfolk, VA, National Ocean Service (NOS) Office of Coast Survey (OCS).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NOAA AGO EAD intends to issue a limited source task order against Teledyne Digital Imaging, Inc.’s General Services Administration's (GSA) Information Technology (IT) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract number 47QTCA20D00EH. This task order will continue providing Software Assurance (SA) of existing licenses and software upgrades of CARIS Enterprise Licensing Agreement (ELA). A firm-fixed-price (FFP) order is expected for award. The ELA and software licenses will be procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4- Federal Supply Schedules.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

NOAA OCS has a need for the renewal of CARIS Hydrographic Data Processing software ELA and associated annual maintenance. CARIS software is required to process, manage, and perform quality assurance on data acquired by NOAA. OCS manages the production of NOAA nautical charts and its nautical data collection and information programs. The CARIS integrated suite of programs in hydrography and cartography helps protect life and property, supports economic growth and development, and protects the environment in addition to OCS’ overall mission of promoting safe navigation. This renewal includes OCS, onboard the NOAA survey fleet and response vessels. These packages process this data to generate various products that support commercial shipping, the fishing industry, United States Navy and Coast Guard operations, state and local governments, geographic information system users, and recreational boaters throughout the United States.

This requirement allows NOAA access to the following items for software packages, software assurance, ELA, and associated annual maintenance used for hydrographic survey data collected by the agency:

Critical software security patches Software new releases and updates Feature enhancements Technical support

NOAA requires an annual license agreement to maintain the following software packages that Teledyne has developed. The following table includes the required products and quantity of licenses that are part of this licensing agreement:

Product Product ID Quantity *HIPS/SIPS Pro CMW117-S 63 BASE Editor CMW200-S 40 BASE Manager CMW201-S 7

*HIPS/SIPS - Hydrographic Information Processing System/Sonar Information Processing System

For CARIS software maintenance, an ELA is required that includes access to the number of licenses for the software. This agreement will utilize single and network Endpoint Management Server (EMS) licenses. A license file can contain any or all Teledyne CARIS software included in the ELA. The EMS licenses can replace any local or network USB keys, or site licenses, at NOAA’s discretion. The license files can only be distributed within the following locations:

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey NOAA’s Joint Hydrographic Center, UNH Durham, NH NOAA’s Hydrographic Survey Ships and Response Vessels

The maintenance subscription will also include:

Software updates o New product versions via download from Teledyne CARIS Online Customer Services Website o Service packs and hotfixes via download from Teledyne CARIS Online Customer Services Website o Include solutions that correctly process hydrographic data and adhere to NOAA Hydrographic System Specifications and Deliverable (HSSD) using NOAA provided test datasets.

Technical Support o Available via telephone, E-mail and Online Teledyne CARIS HelpDesk submission o All service requests are tracked and accessible anytime via Online Teledyne CARIS

HelpDesk o Dedicated CARIS-NOAA liaison available during normal business hours EST requirement. OCS has investigated alternative software packages, and has found no other commercial off-the-shelf solution that will allow OCS to meet existing procedural requirements outlined in the Field Procedures Manual without a) Significant modification of either the software itself and b) extensive adaptation of OCS’ established data processing and compilation workflows, both of which would require significant time, effort, and funds to address. Due to the significant investment OCS has already incurred with the procurement of the CARIS software licenses and maintenance, the replacement of this software would not be advantageous to government. The CARIS suite of programs is thoroughly integrated in NOAA’s hydrography and cartography office and daily functions. Without soliciting this action as a sole source to Teledyne for CARIS, there is a significant risk of failure achieving NOAA and OCS’s mission. The following OCS hydrography and cartography functions would be at risk of failure:

Protecting life and property;

Supporting economic growth and development;

Protecting the environment; and OCS’ overall mission of promoting safe navigation.

Based on the above information, it is not in the best interest of the government to purchase new software and maintenance support. The depth of testing requirements and resources needed for integration of any new software into the network of hydrography and cartography programs is too great and would take several years. To test new requirements for licenses, testing, training, labor, and maintenance that would be needed for the integration of any new software into the network of programs would require additional resources, labor, and funding as well as threaten the continuation of services when the current contract expires.

Compatibility with existing systems and system components is essential to meet mission needs, therefore only CARIS can currently meet the needs of the government.

5. Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

In accordance with FAR 8.404(d), GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-price services under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. The Contracting Officer will also request additional discounts/price reductions before award consistent with FAR 8.405-4.

Prior to award, the Contracting Officer will conduct a price evaluation as required by FAR 8.405- 2(d) in order to conclude that the order represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs. Quoted pricing will be compared to the company’s GSA Contract and awarded prices on the current task order. The estimated price stated herein is based on Teledyne’s current pricing under GSA Contract No. 47QTCA20D00EH.

6. Market research conducted among schedule holders (or reason market research was not conducted).

Teledyne developed CARIS software and has intellectual and proprietary rights to its code.

Teledyne does not distribute or permit maintenance of its software products through resellers. This was confirmed by a search of the company’s website which revealed no authorized distributors or resellers. The Vice President and General Manager of Teledyne confirmed by email on January 22, 2025, that the company is the sole source developer and provider of CARIS software and software subscriptions. A search of GSA found there are no schedule holders who provide the required software outside of Teledyne.

A Sources Sought Notice (SSN), was posted to SAM.gov on April 14, 2025 to identify potential sources for the required CARIS products. The SSN requested capability statements from interested vendors who qualify under NAICS Code 513210 Software Publishers and have ability to provide the specified CARIS products and services. The Government received three responses. A capabilities analysis was conducted by the Government’s technical point of contact. None of the respondents were found capable of fulfilling this requirement.

A Notice of Intent (NOI), in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2, Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions, was posted to SAM.gov on June 16, 2025. The NOI requested capability statements from all interested businesses who met NAICS Code 513210 Software Publishers and the ability to provide the specified CARIS products and services. No responses were received as a result of this notice. NOAA determined that Teledyne Digital Imaging, Inc.

was the only capable business of providing the required CARIS licenses and maintenance for the NOS OCS.

7. Any other facts supporting the justification.

All supporting facts have been documented herein.

8. Actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for supplies and services is made.

CARIS software is an industry standard for bathymetric data management and processing of hydrographic survey data and is proprietary to Teledyne. NOAA’s hydrographic offices and fleet currently have many licenses of CARIS software in use, and have a continued requirement for maintenance for this essential software. Replacing the hydrographic data processing software licenses in OCS and aboard NOAA’s vessels would be the only way to overcome the sole source nature of this requirement. Due to the significant investment OCS has already incurred with the procurement of the CARIS software licenses and maintenance, the replacement of this software would not be advantageous to the government at this time.

If another potential source emerges, NOAA will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible through market surveys to evaluate the existing market options. Any sources that meet all of the critical requirements will be considered. The Government will continue to conduct thorough market research to gauge the marketplace capabilities, and exclusivity of data rights, for future requirements.