70CTD024FR00000008 Redacted.pdf

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT

ICE Acquisition Manual 3016.505-90

ITEMS PARTICULAR TO ONE MANUFACTURER (BRAND-NAME)

WHEN PLACED UNDER AN INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY (IDIQ) CONTRACT

FAR 16.505(a)(4) and 16.505(b)(2)(ii)

4. Statutory Exception and Rationale.

Exception:

The specific exception for providing for brand-name awards under multiple award contracts is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 16.505(a)(4). An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand-name, product, or a feature of a product peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand-name item, even if available on more than one contract, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.

Rationale:

OCIO requires the purchase of Infoblox’s yearly maintenance and license renewal in order for the currently installed Infoblox appliances to continue operating as intended. The Infoblox appliances are used in support of critical ICE network infrastructure.

Market research was conducted by the program office between 12/29/2023 and 1/10/2024.

ICE conducted market research on the following product: Infoblox Maintenance and License Renewal. Specifically, no other products were able to interconnect and function with current ICE network architecture, maintenance platforms and configuration. Procuring an alternate product other than Infoblox hardware maintenance and licensing will require complete infrastructure replacement with a significant increase in cost.

There are no competing products for this requirement, as this is for a yearly maintenance hardware and software renewal for Infoblox products currently in place in ICE’s network infrastructure. Infoblox was refreshed in FY2021, other competitors that were looked at during this period were Microsoft’s Domain Name System (DNS)/ Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) BIND/DHCP.

Infoblox Trinzic DDI appliance provides integrated DNS, DHCP, and IP Address management. The appliance form factor allowed ICE to easily deploy this centrally managed platform into our data centers within minimal configuration. Unlike the competitors, all Infoblox appliances in a given deployment can be centrally managed “out of the box: with a single unified web interface, where software upgrades, high-availability clusters, disaster recovery support, DHCP failover, and DNS are available with no custom integration or third-party products required.

Infoblox will not be refreshed until it reaches its end-of-life cycle – at that time all other competitors will be considered.

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT

ICE Acquisition Manual 3016.505-90

ITEMS PARTICULAR TO ONE MANUFACTURER (BRAND-NAME)

WHEN PLACED UNDER AN INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY (IDIQ) CONTRACT

FAR 16.505(a)(4) and 16.505(b)(2)(ii)

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer anticipates the price to be fair and reasonable based on the receipt of adequate price competition and comparison to historical pricing. Multiple DHS First Source II contract holders provide these brand name products and services. The Government has reasonable expectation that at least two quotes will be received.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

N/A

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

OCIO will consider other products that may remove some of the barriers for more open competition in the future as the equipment nears its end of life.

8. If the total dollar value of this action exceeds $30,000, OAQ intends to provide the justification and supporting documentation along with the solicitation to all (IDIQ) contract awardees under the First Source II HUBZone Socio-Economic Category in accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A).

9. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.

I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which form a basis for the Brand-Name Justification, are accurate and complete.

10. Contracting Officer’s Certification and Approval.

I hereby certify that the Brand-Name Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date