AITC Uptime Institute Membership_ JnA NE.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Acquisitions

Enterprise Procurement Office (EPO) 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103

Frederick, MD 21703

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

FAR 6.103-1: Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

1. Contracting Activity:

This Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other than Full and Open Competition is executed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Acquisitions, Enterprise Procurement Office in partnership with VA’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), Austin IT Center (AITC).

2. Nature and/or Description of Action Being Approved:

The purpose of this document is to obtain approval for the use of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.103-1(a): Only One Responsible Source. Agencies may contract without providing for full and open competition when the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This sole source action is to award a purchase order with a base year and four option years for an organizational membership with The Uptime Institute (TUI) providing institutional knowledge and guidance to AITC.

3. A Description of the Supplies or Services Required to Meet the Agency’s

Needs (Including the Estimated Value):

The VA‘s AITC requires a membership with Uptime Institute to provide guidance and a framework that drives best practices for the effective design, management and operation of the data center, including its broader IT infrastructure. An Uptime Institute membership provides the following deliverables:

• Uptime Intelligence – Access to Uptime Intelligence Analysts, Consultants, and information such as forward looking Intelligence reports and webinars, member survey results and benchmarking data on data centers and IT infrastructure and operations, and up to four (4) hours annually of one-on-one advisory consultation with a TUI data center consultant.

• Member Events – Global access to all TUI membership events (regional, private and local member briefings, roundtables, webinars, conferences, etc.

• Member Roundtable Discussions – a collaborative approach of small group online forums offered throughout the year.

• Access to TUI’s Network Online Portal.

• Monthly newsletter highlighting membership services stated above.

• Access to TUI’s Abnormal Incident Report (AIR) database

• Direct and dedicated client support provided by TUI’s Network Membership Services Team.

The proposed cost for these membership services is $25,000.00 per year for a base and 4-option year total of $125,000.00

4. An Identification of the Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and

Open Competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.3304(a)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Section 6.103-1 entitled, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements”.

5. A Demonstration that the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the

Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited:

The Uptime Institute is the only source to provide the AITC with an industry-standard Data Center Tier Certification. This certification is required by VA in order for AITC to be documented at a specific level of data center equipment reliability. TUI developed trademarked industry-standard tier process of data center “grading” and the Data Center Tier Certification process, which is the intellectual property of TUI. This process grades data center performance, equipment investment, and return on that investment.

Levels of certification are dependent upon various aspects, such as non-redundant and redundant capacity components, dual-powered equipment, multiple uplinks and fault-tolerance of uplinks, storage, chillers, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and servers. AITC’s membership with TUI will ensure it receives a Data Center Tier Certification grading. Without the certification grading, VA-AITC will be at risk of losing customers or not receiving new applications from customers and resulting in lost revenue, as AITC computer room space is leased to its customers. AITC is structured such that facility projects are funded and fully dependent on customer revenue without which AITC would ultimately be impacted.

6. A Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as

Practicable, Including Whether a Notice was or will be Publicized as Required by Subpart 5.1 and, if not, Which Exception Under 5.101 Applies:

The Uptime Institute is the only entity available to provide the aforementioned Tier Certification. Market research supports these findings.

Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 5.201. No unsolicited proposals are expected as a result of this posting.

7. A Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable:

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. Normally, competition establishes price reasonableness; however, since this is a Sole Source acquisition, no competition is anticipated. Therefore, in accordance with FAR 15.404-1, the VA will ask the vendor to provide their commercial catalog pricing, as offered to their most preferred customers.

VA will also compare pricing to the independent Government cost estimates as well as other means reasonably necessary to ensure fair and reasonable pricing.

8. A Description of the Market Research Conducted (see part 10) and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted:

See attached Market Research document.

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition:

There are no other known sources for this critical service.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if any, that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the

Acquisition:

VENDORS

RESPONDED

SOCIO

ECONOMIC

CATEGORY

MFG/DIST/RESELLER

PRODUCT

SOURCE

PRODUCT

SOURCE

BUSINESS

SIZE

COUNTRY

OF

ORIGIN

SAM

Registered

The Uptime Institute

Other than Small

Sole Distributor TUI Other than

Small USA Yes

11. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency may take to Remove or

Overcome any Barriers to Competition Before any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services Required:

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. All future requirements will be handled on a case-by-case basis to determine any future acquisition strategy.

(12) Contracting Officer Certification that the Justification is Accurate and Complete to the Best of the Contracting Officer’s Knowledge and Belief:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Furthermore, I determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this action will result in fair and reasonable prices paid based on the rationale provided herein.

Signature: _________________________________

Nicole Egan Contracting Officer Enterprise Procurement Office