Justification for Sole Source GSA.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Limited Sources Justification

For an Order/BPA Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

FAR 8.405 Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) Multiple Award Schedule Program

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

The USDA, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Digital Infrastructure Services Division (DISC).

United States Department of Agriculture, Departmental Administration, Office of Procurement and Property Management, Procurement Operations Division, 321 S. Howes Street, Suite 300, Fort Collins, CO 80521

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

It is anticipated that a firm fixed-price delivery order will be issued against Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) with a brand name justification for SAS mainframe software to the sole authorized reseller, Executive Information Systems (EIS), LLC.

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

The United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Digital Infrastructure Services Center (DISC formerly National Information Technology Center (NITC)) requires authority to renew software maintenance and technical support of the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) SAS mainframe software.

4. The authority and supporting rationale.

The following circumstance justifies limiting the source under FAR 8.405-6:

FAR 8.405-6(b) - Item(s) peculiar to one manufacturer, including brand name.

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

This acquisition is for SAS software licenses and per FAR 8.405-6(b) this brand name justification is to document why one manufacture, SAS, brand is peculiar for the renewal acquisition. COTS software products are copyrighted by their developers, and as such, no other source is authorized to provide the licenses, maintenance, and technical support for this proprietary software.

There are no other known products that can be seamlessly used to replace installed SAS products. A substantial duplication of cost to the Government would be required to replace these products and the cost of the effort would not be expected to be recovered through competition with non-SAS products.

Per market research, SAS is the proprietary owner of these software products. As licensed products, this software is proprietary and has various legal restrictions for use and maintenance. Only the software developer has the rights to the source code. The source code is required to make changes and corrections to the software. No other source is authorized for license, maintenance, and technical support of this proprietary software. In addition, only the developer has the expertise to provide the maintenance required for the software. Without the renewal of this support, the DISC and its customers will no longer have access to software upgrades and bug fixes, which will cause the systems to be vulnerable.

SAS mainframe COTS software is currently used for operations of the mainframe computer system and customer application software supported by the system. The DISC requires this software maintenance and technical support of these products to help enable the DISC’s on-going mission of providing information technology (IT) services to its customer agencies. It is necessary to renew the software maintenance and technical support of the software in order to operate with access to immediate technical support, when required.

6. A determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer (CO) that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

Per FAR 8.404 (d) GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-price services under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. However, the Contracting Officer has researched historical data and have found that Executive Information Systems, LLC has maintained low prices for this proprietary data tool.

7. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The required SAS software was formerly procured through a USDA-wide BPA with EIS, LLC that expired in FY24. Although there was no follow-on BPA renewed by USDA for these products, the SAS products are available on other GWAC vehicles. EIS, LLC has an existing contract on a GSA MAS contract that offers SAS mainframe products

8. Any other facts supporting the justification.

There are no other facts to support this justification.

9. A statement of actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated.

DISC technical staff continually monitor new and existing technology to ensure that optimal solutions are identified, and that the competitive procurement of new technology is maximized to the greatest extent possible. However, due to the specialized nature of this requirement, there are no immediate actions which the Government may take to remove or overcome barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the required services. The Government will continue to monitor the market and any technological advances related to this requirement, as they may become available, and will consider those solutions in deciding the course future procurement actions.

Certifications & Approval

Supporting data which form the basis for and included in this justification are certified accurate and complete.

Dan McCord Mainframe Systems Branch Chief

The information contained in this Limited Sources Justification is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Brandee Keslar Contracting Officer