47QFEA24K0012 Brand Name LSJ 2024-11-26.pdf

LSJ

Acquisition: #47QFEA24K0012

Brand Name

Limited-Sources Justification

FOR THE PURCHASE OF

ServiceNow Software as a Service

ACQUISITION NUMBER: 47QFEA24K001

A procurement by the U.S. General Services Administration

Assisted Acquisition Service, AAS Civilian, Sector 1, Division 1 On behalf of

The Integrated Award Environment Project Office Washington, D.C.

This requirement is being fulfilled through a Task Order Under the

Federal Supply Schedules NAICS 541519 – Other Computer Related Services Product Service Code D305 – Software as a Service

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity:

The requiring Agency is the Integrated Award Environment Project Office. Washington, D.C. The contracting activity for this action is GSA AAS Civilian, Sector 1, Division 1 Contracting Office.

2. Nature and /or Description of Action:

This Limited Sources Justification sets forth the rationale for purchasing a GSA controlled unique instance of a call center software ticketing and customer service automated learning system. It is proposed that GSA acquire the help desk ticketing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) developed by ServiceNow, Inc. This ticketing software will support the Federal Service Desk (FSD) which provides assistance to government agencies and commercial entities with all SAM.gov applications. ServiceNow SaaS has been previously purchased through a Federal Service Desk prime contractor. To gain better control of the help desk ticketing process, GSA has decided to purchase the ServiceNow SaaS directly as part of a reconfiguration of the help desk operation.

The ServiceNow SaaS will be integrated into the phone system used by an AbilityOne 501(c)(3) 410 nonprofit contractor National Telecommuting Institute, Inc. (NTI), and the SAM.gov software platform. This will be a competitive action among those vendors who offer the ServiceNow SaaS.

It is anticipated that this purchase will result in a fixed price type task order. The estimated ceiling price of this three-year task order is approximately $4 million.

3. Description of Supplies or Services:

The ServiceNow Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based enterprise service management platform that delivers the following capabilities on a single data structure, security model, and user

Docusign Envelope ID: 076EB8C8-3628-471D-B7CD-FAEDFDFC9507 interface.

Incident, Problem and Change Management

Asset Lifecycle Management

Field Service Management

Service Level Management

Service Catalogue

Knowledge Management

HR Service Delivery Management

Facilities Management

Security Operations Management

Project Portfolio Management

IT Financial Management

Customer (Case) Service Management

Workflow automation engine

Analytics and Reporting

Native Mobile application

Flexible integration capabilities

Custom Application Development IDE

The platform application, data storage, and infrastructure must have FedRAMP High JAB approval/certification. Additionally, the cloud platform must be delivered in a hot/hot, single tenant architecture, where the data collected and stored within the enterprise platform is secured from other federal customers.

Core Now Platform Capabilities

All applications in the ServiceNow Portfolio are built on the Now Platform; therefore, all metrics, tasks, services, assets, people, locations, and information are stored together, creating a single system of record and a single system of engagement for the enterprise.

All applications on the New Platform use the features listed below, including a common workflow engine to bring together people processes and automated processes.

• Core Services: Configuration Management Database (CMDB)/Common Services Data Model (CSDM), Knowledge Management, Service Catalog, Service Level Management, Flow Designer, Advanced Work Assignment

• Now Intelligence: Analytics and Insights, Virtual Agent, NLP/NLU/NLQ, Predictive Intelligence/Machine Learning (ML)(Classification, Similarity, Clustering, Regression), AI Search, User Experience Analytics, Process Optimization/Mining, Performance Analytics, Generative AI Integration

• Administration and Configuration: Admin Center, Web UI and Mobile Builder, Low-Code Development, Delegated Development and Deployment, Automated Test Framework, Subscription Management, Instance Data Replication, Seamless Upgrades

• Workflow and Integrations: Integration Hub, Action Designer, Service Bridge, Flow Designer, Process Automation Designer, REST/SOAP/JDBC/PowerShell

• Security and Compliance: Authentication, Compliance, Instance Security Center, Role- Based Access Control, Access Control Lists, Data Certification, Encryption, Domain Separation, Privacy, Multi-factor Authentication, Antivirus Scanning

• User Experience and Feedback: Dynamic Translation, Universal Request, Surveys and Assessments, Walk-up Experience, Visual Task Boards

In this instance, the ServicNow platform will be configured to operate as a help desk ticketing system which is used to manage, transfer, record and monitor public and private inquiries regarding SAM.gov components. GSA intends to purchase the following ServiceNow SaaS components which are unique to this system.

Manufacturer Name Part Number Product Description

SERVICENOW, INC PROD19292

Public Sector Digital Services (PSDS)Enterprise

SERVICENOW, INC PROD19246 App Engine Unlimited

SERVICENOW, INC PROD21238

Gen AI - Now Assist for PSDS Pro Per User

SERVICENOW, INC PROD19394 Integration Hub Professional v2

SERVICENOW, INC PROD18725 (included with #1, above) Workforce Optimization for

PSDS ENT

SERVICENOW, INC PROD18729 (included with #1, above) Process Mining for PSDS ENT

SERVICENOW, INC PROD23095/ PROD23096/ PROD23097

ServiceNow GCC Instance (dev/test/prod)

The total value of this order is estimated to be as follows:

Base Period $1,294,000.00 Option 1 $1,332,820.00 Option 2 $1,372,805.00

Total Lifecycle Estimated Amount: $3,999,625.00

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

40 U.S.C. 321 Acquisition Services Fund of February 27, 1929 (45 Stat. 1342; 41 U.S.C. 7c).

https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title40/subtitle1/chapter3/subchapter1&edition=prelim

This acquisition will be conducted under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, (Pub. L. 152, Ch. 288, 63 Stat 377, 41 U.S.C. 152(3) - Multiple-Award Schedule Program Competitive Procedures, and 40 U.S.C. 501 - Services for Executive Agencies) as implemented by FAR 8.405-6(b)(1), which indicates that the government may limit the purchase to a specific brand named product or services if “…the brand name is essential to the Government’s requirements, and market research indicates other companies’ similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency’s needs”.

Since the dollar value of this action is $3,999,625.00, this justification will require the approval of the Competition Advocate as prescribed in FAR 8.405-6(d)(2) “For a proposed order or BPA with an estimated value exceeding $750,000, but not exceeding $15 million, the justification must be approved by the advocate for competition of the activity placing the order, or by an official named in paragraph (d)(3) or (4) of this section.”

Docusign Envelope ID: 076EB8C8-3628-471D-B7CD-FAEDFDFC9507 https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title40/subtitle1/chapter3/subchapter1&edition=prelim http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3 http://uscode.house.gov/browse.xhtml;jsessionid=114A3287C7B3359E597506A31FC855B3

5. A Determination by the Contracting Officer that the task order represents the best value to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable:

This acquisition will be competitively solicited to vendors who can supply the required brand name service. The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government for this purchase will be fair and reasonable because it will be equal to or less than the prices in the contractor’s published Multiple Award Schedule price list, which has been determined to be fair and reasonable per FAR 9.404(c). Additionally, the Government will request a discount off the MAS Pricelist of each offeror as this requirement exceeds the SAT.

6. A Description of the Market Research Conducted Among Schedule Holders and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research was not Conducted:

IAE’s technical lead surveyed the marketplace and identified four vendors whose ticketing software most closely match GSA’s requirement and needs. A live demonstration of the software’s capabilities and features was provided to GSA for a hands-on look and feel.

The results of this survey are provided in the following table, which lists the features most important to GSA.

Key Requirements ServiceNow HappyFox ManageEngine Zendesk 1 FedRamp High approved Yes No No No (FR low)* 2 Appear to understand the Federal software security process

Yes No No Partial

3 Data Transfer Risk Minimal High High High

4. IAE staff re-training Not required Required Required Required

5 Customizable Yes Yes at higher $$ Insufficient info Yes at higher $$ 6 AI capable Yes Limited Limited Yes 7 Robust analytics Yes Limited Limited Yes

* FedRamp High is required for the SAM.gov application. Zendesk currently has a FedRamp Low security classification. In discussions with this company, GSA learned that Zendesk has no current plans to upgrade to FedRamp High which makes them ineligible to perform this requirement.

A subsequent Request for Information (RFI) was published on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities on 1 November 2024 with fifteen responses received on or before the 8 November 2024 due date.

Of these vendors, only ServiceNow, Inc. and Beyond 20, which is a ServiceNow Elite Partner, both of which are offering the ServiceNow SaaS, are FedRamp High approved. Without this designation, vendors’ software will not be able to receive authorization to operate (ATO) in the SAM.gov software environment. The respondents are listed as follows.

1. ServiceNow

2. OBM Innovations LLC

3. NINE3SIX Solutions LLC w/ Capsher Technology Inc.

4. Timely Network Inc.

5. Events.com

6. Databricks, Inc.

7. Acachi, LLC

8. Health IT 2 Business Solutions LLC dba CODICE

9.World Services, LLC

10. Beyond 20

11. FedSolutions, LLC, Strategic Solutions International

12. IBM

13. Palantir Technologies Inc.

14. Salesforce, Inc.

15. BMC Software, Inc.

Lastly, as part of the market research for this requirement, a Request for Information (RFI) for ServiceNow resellers was published on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities on 14 August 2024 with responses due on or before 26 August 2024. Five small business resellers responded, indicating that there is sufficient interest among the small business community to solicit this requirement as a competitive small business set-aside using the Federal Supply Schedule vendor pool.

7. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of a Brand Name Product:

1. ServiceNow and its resellers are the only vendors offering Help Desk Ticketing SaaS that currently has a FedRamp High security classification and familiarity with the government’s security standards necessary to perform GSA’s SAM.gov help desk support. The FedRamp High security classification is essential for a software to be given authority to operate (ATO) in the SAM.gov environment. Additionally, integration of the ticketing software with other GSA systems is extremely restricted if it does not meet the government’s security requirements. It has been known to typically take several months, and in some cases up to a year, for a vendor to get its software FedRamp High approved and be given authority to operate with other government systems.

The following statutes, regulations, policies and guides prescribe the requirements for obtaining authority to operate a software system in the government space. Currently the ServiceNow SaaS is the only one that meets all applicable security requirement.

40 U.S.C. 11331, “Responsibilities for Federal Information Systems Standards”

FISMA of 2014, “The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014”

OMB Circular No. A-130, “Managing Information as a Strategic Resource”

Docusign Envelope ID: 076EB8C8-3628-471D-B7CD-FAEDFDFC9507 https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2009-title40/pdf/USCODE-2009-title40-subtitleIII-chap113-subchapIII-sec11331.pdf https://www.congress.gov/113/plaws/publ283/PLAW-113publ283.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A130/a130revised.pdf

FedRamp authorization Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

OMB M 14-03, “Enhancing the Security of Federal Information and Information Systems”

OMB M-10-23, “Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications”

OMB M-15-13, “Policy to Require Secure Connections across Federal Websites and Web Services”

Additionally, the contractor shall comply with all applicable Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS).

2. Data transfer from ServiceNow, GSA’s current help desk ticketing solution, to another vendor’s software; although not impossible, will be an arduous, time-consuming, and costly task. All data fields of the gaining system must match perfectly with the data fields of the losing system. Since databases are constructed differently by different vendors, additional database configuration would be required if a SaaS other than ServiceNow is purchased.

Because ServiceNow SaaS is the software current employed by the Federal Service Desk prime contractor, the transfer of date from one ServiceNow platform to another ServiceNow platform largely eliminates database inconsistencies and data field mismatches. Experience has shown that when transitioning from one vendor’s database to another vendor’s database the data transfer is rarely seamless and there is the ever-present risk of data loss.

Additionally, there is the risk that the data won't transfer in the time needed. This is a high risk because if the data doesn't transfer in time and in a meaningful and accurate way it would cause serious project delays and costly re-work.

3. There is added time and expense associated with training the GSA staff, and the staff of vendors whose software integrates with the ticketing system, on a new system. This is a concern because IAE is constrained by an extremely tight budget and a contract award deadline.

4. All systems reviewed are customizable and will require some expense to customize.

However, the technical reviewer noted that the government will need to engage the technical staff of all vendors who do not offer the ServiceNow SaaS, at an additional expense, to customize those systems. This would not be the case with ServiceNow.

5. Zendesk and some other vendors are offering software that has equal capability as ServiceNow in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics. However, most vendors, for example, only offer very basic chatbot AI capability and basic data collection analytic toots and not the GenAL ("Generative Artificial Intelligence") and the innovative analytics that the government is looking for. Unfortunately, except for ServiceNow, offered software that meets the Government’s needs in these areas does not remove the critical security requirements deficiency.

6. GSA currently has software engineers who are knowledgeable in both ServiceNow and the other systems which need to connect with ServiceNow. They are prepared and able to perform the required integration work. If another ticketing system was otherwise able to meet the Government’s technical and security requirements, GSA would incur a substantial delay and additional cost to find and hire software engineers capable of integrating that different ticketing system if GSA purchased it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2014/m-14-03.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2010/m10-23.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2015/m-15-13.pdf

8. A Statement of the Actions, if any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Barriers that led to the Restricted Consideration Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for the Supplies or Services is Made:

At the end of this task order GSA will assess the market and its operational needs to determine a suitable acquisition strategy for a follow-on procurement action that will be in the best interest of the Government. If at that time other vendors offer a service that eliminates the current barriers, foremost being the government’s strict security requirements, a more widely solicited procurement strategy may be used.

9. Contracting Officer Certification.

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

NAME: Chris Payton TITLE: Contracting Officer

SIGNATURE: _______________________ DATE: ____________________________

10. Technical 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.

NAME: Richard Lee TITLE: IAE Management and Program Support Division, Q2ACA

11. Certifications and Approval

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

NAME: Eben Greybourne TITLE: Supervisory Contracting Officer

11/26/2024

11/26/2024

Legal Sufficiency Review.

I have reviewed the foregoing justification and approval and deem it legally sufficient.

NAME: Katherine Vernet TITLE: Legal Counsel

Contracting Director.

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

NAME: Lawrence Unger TITLE: AAS Civilian Sector 1, Division 1 Contracting Director

Sector 1 Director.

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

NAME: Mark Johnson TITLE: AAS Civilian Sector 1 Director

Competition Advocate Approval.

I hereby certify that the Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief, and I determine on the basis of the findings above that the exception to fair opportunity is in accordance with the requirements and is in the best interest of the Government.

Approval is granted subject to the availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

NAME: Jacqueline Sullo

TITLE: FAS, AAS Civilian Deputy Client Executive Competition Advocate

11/26/2024

11/26/2024

11/27/2024