36C10B24Q0578 JA Red Hat Linux Redacted.pdf

CONTROL NUMBER VA-24-00087707

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for award of a Firm-Fixed Price Delivery Order (DO) under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for renewal of Brand Name Red Hat Enterprise Linux v 7.x software subscriptions with associated support.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA Financial Services Center (FSC) has a requirement for renewal of 71 Brand Name Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) subscriptions which includes software subscriptions and associated technical support, which includes software and associated technical support, already in use throughout VA’s Enterprise Linux Operating systems (OS). The existing Red Hat Enterprise v7.x software architecture and infrastructure allows for VA to monitor the performance of the current computers controlled by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS to ensure reliable operations and provides VA the capability to satisfy and execute ongoing maintenance, security, and operational requirements for existing development, test, validation, and production systems executing on Linux controlled computers. The required Brand Name Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x ELS subscriptions shall provide VA with access to Brand Name Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x source code and binaries, version upgrades, patches, fixes, updates, and security resolutions, as well as Technical Account Management. The renewal of these subscriptions will allow VA access to Red Hat Linux Enterprise v7.x technical support advisors/specialists during normal business hours. The included Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x Technical support also includes the following: early identification of deployment issues, periodic risk assessments, quarterly reporting of service performance metrics, and provides for the analysis, troubleshooting, and resolution of any other Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x software product-related problems or questions encountered by Government users with the specified software products. Together, the software support ensures the Red Hat Enterprise Linux software remains fully operational and is continually updated. The Period of Performance (PoP) for this effort shall be 12-months from date of award.

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Based on market research as described in section 8 of this document, it has been determined that only Brand Name

Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Control Number VA-24-00087707

Red Hat subscriptions would meet the Governments requirements, and that limited competition exists among authorized resellers of the required Brand Name Red Hat subscriptions and support.

As previously noted, only brand name Red Hat Enterprise Linux v7.x ELS subscriptions with technical support can meet the Government’s technical requirements. Specifically, no other source of the maintenance can produce patches and updates that can be deployed that will seamlessly interoperate with the existing architecture and infrastructure, which is comprised of proprietary Red Hat software. These patches and/or updates are critical to maintaining current security and operational posture for existing systems, including VA production systems, that are currently executing on Linux controlled computers. As the code is proprietary to Red Hat, access to this source code, by which the updates and patches would be developed based on is critical. Given the proprietary nature of said code, no other source, other than Red Hat, has the requisite access. Introduction of any other brand name software or solution is not viable for this effort as the requirement is specific to maintaining the existing environment, and increases the risk of system security issues and inability to maintain and repair the existing solution.

Failure to renew these licenses will impact the Veteran both directly and indirectly, as its use supports critical VA functions supported by the FSC business sectors.

Limitations on these support functions, such as VA Time and Attendance will limit VA in its mission to provide care to the Veteran.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for brand name Red Hat subscriptions and support. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided, in a redacted format, with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed. Specifically, VA will continue to monitor market trends, new/emerging products, and look for compatible and more advanced technologies to meet VA’s needs.

8. Market Research: VA Technical Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) conducted market research in June 2024, in an effort to identify potential sources capable of providing similar support services. Specifically, VA reviewed similar product offerings and their associated support packages, such as Oracle Linux and Micro Focus International’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. While these sources may be able to provide like services or capability, none can provide the required interoperability and access to the source code of which the current environment is based on as described in Section 5.