24-000758 JA- Telemessage 8.5.2024_to Post.pdf

Sole Source Justification for Acquisitions (Brand Name)

“Source Selection Information – see FAR 2.101 and 3.104”

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

a. Federal agency and contracting activity.

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

b. Sponsoring organization.

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) National Institute of Health (NIH) Center for Information Technology (CIT) Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC)

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

a. Acquisition purpose and objectives.

The purpose of this acquisition is to procure Telemessage Enterprise Licenses and Support. This purchase will provide licenses/support services as an automated solution for the archival storage of SMS and MMS message transmissions made on Government Furnished mobile devices, as required by NARA regulations (General Records Schedule 6.1 Email and other Electronic Messages), concerning the management and retention of Government records. The use of text messaging by NIH staff, as part of their official duties, may create federal records that must be captured and managed in compliance with Federal record management laws, regulations, and policies. The Telemessage licenses/support services automatically capture mobile message communications of provisioned NIH employee mobile devices at the network level without any need for user intervention.

The objective of this acquisition is to ensure NIH is compliant with Record Retention policies for mobile devices (currently NIH is not compliant). NIH will have the following shortfalls if the Telemessage acquisition is not made:

1. NIH will not be able to achieve data discovery and not be compliant with Records Management Policies.

2. As mobile devices are now one of the main ways employees communicate, archiving including SMS, MMS, chats, images, audio and video clips, attachments and location is a requirement. Without Telemessage, NIH will not be updated with an ever-changing regulatory landscape.

3. Text messaging used by employees is not secure, leading them to be prone to hacks and data breaches. Sensitive information will not be securely protected and result in data breaches and can cause serious security concerns.

4. Without the acquisition of Telemessage, NIH will not be able to archive text messages and voice calls across all communication channels and devices, including Android, iPhone and BYOD.

b. Project background.

NIH’s Center for Information Technology (CIT) provides a suite of integrated, collaborative tools that enable staff and researchers’ capability for communication and access to scientific and administrative events, trainings, and meetings across NIH and around the world.

To support the mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to protect the health of all Americans and provide essential human services, The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an Operation Division (OPDIV), within HHS, seeks to award a contract for procurement software for Record management compliance by archiving archive text messages and voice calls across all communication channels and devices, including Android, iPhone, and BYOD. The Center for Information Technology (CIT), a center within the NIH, provides leadership for the determination of the need for Telemessage to capture, archive and monitor mobile communications for the NIH enterprise.

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

(including the estimated value).

a. Project title. Telemessage Enterprise licenses and Support.

b. Project description. Telemessage service provides an automated solution for the archival storage of SMS and MMS message transmissions made on Government Furnished mobiles devices as required by NARA regulations (General Records Schedule 6.1 Email and other Electronic Messages).

concerning the management and retention of Government records. The use of text messaging by NIH staff as part of their official duties may create federal records that must be captured and managed in compliance with Federal record management laws, regulations and policies. Telemessage service automatically captures mobile message communications of provisioned NIH employee mobile devices at the network level without any need for user intervention.

• Requirement type.:

Support services (non-research & development) Supplies/equipment X Information technology (IT) Other (specify):

• Type of action.

X New requirement Follow-on Other (specify):

• Proposed contract/order type.:

X Firm-fixed-price Time and materials Indefinite delivery (specify whether indefinite quantity, definite quantity, or requirements):

Other (specify):

• Acquisition identification number. A Request for Quote (RFQ) will be posted on SAM.gov.

c. Total estimated dollar value and performance/delivery period.

The government estimate is for a one-year base and four (4) one-year options. Only the base year will be funded at time of award.

Base Year 8/9/2024 – 8/8/2025

Option Year 1 8/9/2025 – 8/8/2026

Option Year 2 8/9/2026 – 8/8/2027

Option Year 3 8/9/2027 – 8/8/2028

Option Year 4 8/9/2028 – 8/8/2029

1. Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

X This acquisition is conducted under FAR 13.106-1 (b)(1)(i)

(b) Soliciting from a single source.

(1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold.

(i) Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization).

2. Demonstration that the proposed contractor(s) unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

a. Name and address of the proposed contractor(s).

Smarsh Inc.

851 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 800 Portland, Oregon 97204

b. Nature of the acquisition and proposed unique qualifications of the contractor(s).

The manufacturer, Smarsh, is the developer of the products/services (Telemessage Licenses and Software), owns the intellectual property of the software, and is the only company with the ability to resell their products/services. The manufacturer has the ability to resell through authorized resellers of their products/services under GSA, NASA SEWP, and open market. There was only one (1) small business and two (2) other than small business authorized resellers identified under GSA. However, through issuing an RFQ no bids were received. There were two (2) bids received, from authorized resellers, under Open Market.

3. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable. Indicate whether a FedBizOpps notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies.

A notification was posted on GSA via gsa.ebuy.gov and will be posted to the Open Market on SAM.gov restricted to authorized resellers of Smarsh products/services.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost/price to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will work with the Program Office to select the lowest price technically acceptable Offeror, and the Contracting Officer will determine the price fair and reasonable based on the requirements of this acquisition, the independent government cost estimate (IGCE) and quotes received in response to the solicitation.

8. Description of the market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted by directly contacting the manufacturer to determine what vendors had the capability to provide the products/services requested. After a previous determination that the Smarsh Inc. resellers were available on GSA, a RFQ was posted on GSA.eBuy.gov, but only one GSA Schedule quote was received that did not meet the Government’s requirements.

The RFQ did result in two Open Market quotes being provided, one of which met the Government’s requirements. The determination was then made that the Government needed to procure the Telemessage Enterprise Licenses and Support through Open Market procedures– SAM.gov.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

There are no other facts supporting this justification to be listed. All supporting facts are stated in the preceding and following paragraphs.

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

Vendor Name/POC Location Business Size

New Tech Solutions, Inc.

4179 Business Center DR Fremont, California 94538-6355, United States

Open Market

SB

FSR Consulting LLC dba Cirrus Systems 618 S Broad St., Suite 2 Landsdale, PA 19446 Open Market SB

11. Statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the required supplies or services.

The RFQ was issued to GSA authorized resellers and no bids that met the Government’s requirements were received. In the future, CIT will continue to monitor the industry and perform market research to determine if other brands can meet the agency’s needs.