JA Redacted.pdf

Oracle Hardware Software Maintenance CONTROL NUMBER VA-25-00041873

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: This proposed action is for a firm-fixed price order to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name Oracle hardware and software support services.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA, Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for brand name Oracle hardware and Oracle Operating System (OS) software maintenance and technical support via telephone, e-mail, or internet to troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment/components or provide replacement equipment/components that restore full operation and accessibility to the original redundant component configuration. This action shall consolidate three existing VA contracts to align to the same period of performance. The base period shall be June 27, 2025, through June 26, 2026, with two (2), 12-month option periods. The total estimated price of the proposed action, inclusive of all option periods, is $ .

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), this brand name requirement is justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Title 41, United States Code, Section 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: The current IO infrastructure is built on Oracle hardware and requires support compatible with the existing infrastructure protocols and functionality for continued operational availability. VA requires hardware upgrades and updates to include major releases, point releases, and service releases of applicable hardware on a quarterly basis, or within 48 hours in cases where a high-risk vulnerability fix becomes available. Only Oracle or an authorized Oracle reseller can provide the necessary hardware and software support services because of the proprietary source code required to develop and implement hardware updates. Access to this code is also required to ensure all the services provided are properly configured.

No other source is capable of providing the required hardware and software support that meets VA’s unique functional requirements. Also, no other brand name replacement hardware can meet VA’s form, fit and function requirements. Specifically, any other hardware and software support will not communicate or fit (inter-operate) in the existing infrastructure due to Oracle’s proprietary constraints within the existing platform.

Failure to authorize the Oracle Maintenance Agreement (included in the software support services) poses a significant risk to the continuity, security, and performance of critical VA infrastructure that supports the health, benefits, and services relied upon by millions of Veterans. The Oracle platforms—including the Oracle SuperCluster and Enterprise Oracle Database environments—underpin mission-critical applications such as patient records, claims processing, financial transactions, and scheduling systems across VA medical centers and associated facilities. Without the authorized maintenance agreement, these systems would no longer receive essential security patches, firmware updates, or vendor support, exposing VA to severe cybersecurity vulnerabilities, unmitigated operational faults, hardware/software compatibility issues, and unscheduled outages. Any disruption to these services directly impacts Veterans’ access to care, the protection of their sensitive data, and VA’s ability to deliver timely, accurate, and compliant services.

To use any other source for hardware and software support, the Government would be required to procure a new hardware and software solution and migrate existing data, at an estimated cost of approximately $27M, which would not be recovered through competition. This estimate is based on previous acquisitions and technical refresh cost estimates. Transitioning away from Oracle technology would also require substantial time and additional financial investment. While maintaining the existing system, migration to an alternate enterprise platform would involve multi-year planning, re-engineering of legacy applications, procurement of new hardware (as stated above), retraining of personnel, and comprehensive testing to ensure data integrity and continuity of operations. It is estimated that the total time for such a transition would be 18 months, based on past acquisitions of similar size and scope. Moreover, this transition would divert resources from other priority Veteran services, increase the risk of system failures during migration, and significantly delay IT modernization efforts. In summary, non-renewal of the Oracle Maintenance Agreement jeopardizes the operational stability and mission-readiness of the VA’s enterprise systems, with direct and detrimental effects on the Veterans who depend on them. Continued vendor support is essential to safeguard service continuity, maintain compliance, and ensure the secure, uninterrupted delivery of benefits to the Veteran community. The brand name Oracle hardware and software support is the only support that meets the Government’s requirements.

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 viable among authorized resellers for the required brand name Oracle hardware and software support services. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided 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.

8. Market Research: The Government conducted market research in December 2024 to ascertain if any other sources could provide the required hardware and software support. Specifically, the Government’s technical experts conducted web-based research for other equipment manufacturers’ hardware and software support services to include those from International Business Machines (IBM) and Hewlett Packard (HP) and determined that their support services cannot meet the Government’s requirements as neither can communicate with or through the existing Oracle proprietary source code. Thus, only Oracle or authorized resellers are capable of providing the required brand name Oracle hardware and software support.

The Government’s technical experts issued a Request for Information (RFI) on SEWP in December 2024 to ascertain whether any contract holders could fulfill the requirement.

On December 4, 2024, the Government’s technical experts determined the two (2) respondents, one (1) Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and one (1) Large Business, capable of meeting the Government’s requirement.

The Contract Specialist (CS) conducted additional market research in April 2025, specifically to determine whether there is a reasonable expectation for Small Business vendors to fulfill the requirement. Sources Sought Notice (SSN) 36C10B25Q0209 was issued to Contract Opportunities on SAM.gov on April 5, 2025, and closed on April 15, 2025. On April 16, 2025, the Government’s technical experts determined the two (2) respondents, one (1) SDVOSB and one (1) WOSB, both SEWP prime contract holders, capable and responsive to the SSN.

Finally, on April 16, 2025, the Government’s technical experts confirmed with Oracle that four (4) SEWP prime contract holders, one (1) WOSB, one (1) Small Business and two (2) Large Businesses, are authorized Oracle resellers. On April 28, 2025, the CS confirmed with Oracle that there is only one (1) SDVOSB approved to tier with the authorized resellers. Therefore, although this action cannot be set-aside for SDVOSBs or VOSBs, there is competition among Small Businesses at the reseller level on SEWP.

Further, SEWP contract holders have dynamic catalogs where line items can be added based on customer requests, as long as the required products or services are within scope of the SEWP contract. This requirement was found to be within scope of the SEWP contract in a separate determination.

9. Other Facts: None

10. Technical and Requirements Certification I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination

I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable because NASA SEWP GWAC prices have been determined fair and reasonable. Additionally, price competition is expected among authorized resellers for this action. Additional price analysis may be performed in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(b).

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Office of General Counsel (OGC) Review I have reviewed this document and find it legally sufficient, based on the representations set forth in the documents and, if any, attachments. The Competition Advocate’s approval is an independently supported decision not wholly reliant on the legal sufficiency determination.

Approval

In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of brand name Oracle hardware and software support services on an other than fair opportunity basis pursuant to the authority cited in paragraph 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Technology Acquisition Center Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Department of Veterans Affairs