MicroStrategy_-_BNJ_Redacted.pdf

Brand Name Justification Department of Education - Federal Student Aid

MicroStrategy Software Maintenance and Support Renewal

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Agency: Department of Education Contracting Activity: Federal Student Aid (FSA) Acquisitions

This document is a brand name justification (BNJ) prepared in accordance with FAR Part 13.501(a)(1)(ii) & 6.303-2.

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

The acquisition of MicroStrategy Corporation’s (MicroStrategy) Mobile, Legacy Architect, Legacy Server, Legacy Web software services used for data warehousing, business intelligence, data mining, and reporting.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs

(including the estimated value).

FSA requires the following MicroStrategy products for three (3) years consisting of a base period of 7/1/2016 to 6/30/2017 and two one-year option periods.

Products:

MicroStrategy Mobile 9.4.1 Type: Named User Part # 81106 Qty: 25

MicroStrategy Mobile 9.4.1 Type: Per CPU - Unrestricted Part # 81158 Qty: 2

MicroStrategy Legacy Architect 9.4.1 Type: Named User Part # 81227 Qty: 87

MicroStrategy Legacy Server 9.4.1 Type: Named User Part # 81230 Qty: 48

MicroStrategy Legacy Server 9.4.1 Type: Per CPU – Unrestricted Part # 81233 Qty: 4

MicroStrategy Legacy Web 9.4.1 Type: Named User Part # 81234 Qty: 48

MicroStrategy Legacy Web 9.4.1 Type: Per CPU – Unrestricted Part # 81235 Qty: 6

MicroStrategy Legacy Server 9.4.1 Type: Per CPU 3000 MHz Part # 81244 Qty: 2 Option Periods:

Option Year 1: 7/1/17 – 6/30/18 Option Year 2: 7/1/18 – 6/30/19

The total estimated value of the contract is $XXXXXXX.

4. An identification of the statutory authority and supporting rationale.

Statutory authority is 41 USC 1901 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

MicroStrategy software and services are proprietary and no other sources except authorized resellers can provide the required software and continued maintenance.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

Market research identified the manufacturer, MicroStrategy Corp., sells the product through authorized resellers on the open market. This Brand Name Justification and https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%205_2.html#wp1107980 https://acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%205_2.html#wp1107990 solicitation will be publicized on FedBizOpps to allow maximum amount of resellers the opportunity to submit quotes.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

This product is available on the open market. With adequate competition amongst resellers and comparison to historical pricing paid, the Contracting Officer will determine if the price is fair and reasonable.

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

Market research was limited to authorized resellers of MicroStrategy software products.

The current contractor is a SDVOSB and HUBZone company.

9. Any other facts supporting the justification.

There are similar products provided by other manufacturers, in the sense of BI development or analytical tools; however, they do not have the functionality or features that MicroStrategy provides. For example:

• Development interface that includes integrated monitoring, reporting, analysis, and decision support workflow

• Defines business rules for easily creating and maintaining BI (business intelligence) applications within a unified BI environment

• Economic savings, analytical insight, and up to 50X faster performance

In addition to the absence of these features, other manufacturers come at a substantially higher price than MicroStrategy. Not only is there product cost, there is the cost to re-train the technical team to become technically competent with the replacement software. Replacing the product may also introduce unwarranted security risks due to incompatibility and other unforeseen issues. Without this product, FSA would not be able to reduce VDC operational costs via virtualization of the environment, maintain compliance with manufacturer’s terms and conditions, eliminate the use of unused licenses, or further reduce the number of websites through the integration of data sources for student reporting.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

None

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

For the foreseeable future, FSA is satisfied with and intends to continue its use of the MicroStrategy software. Should this subsequently change, a future opportunity may arise to consider other alternate tools for data warehousing, data mining, business intelligence, and reporting.

12. Certification.

This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. The requiring FSA program office has provided written supporting data, which is contained in the contract file, that verifies the technical requirements and support the government ongoing need to use the aforementioned brand name commercial items.

_Signed copy in file______________ ____________ XXXXXXXX Date Contracting Officer US Department of Education Federal Student Aid

13. Advocate for Competition’s Approval.

__Signed copy in file_____________ ____________ XXXXXX Date Advocate for Competition US Department of Education Federal Student Aid