Sole Source Justification -Hyperion Research 2024 3-29-signed.pdf

SOLE SOURCE - SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

RECOMMENDATION AND DETERMINATION TO SOLICIT FROM ONE

SOURCE

I recommend that NSF negotiate with the Hyperion Research for the Technology, Innovation, and Partnership (TIP) Directorate to study and provide research on extensive industry interviews, other information sources and analysis by subject matter experts that provide timely insights into the current status and emerging trends in, High Performance Computing (HPC), AI/ML/Big Data capabilities, Cloud Computing, and Quantum Computing Hardware and Software.

I have reviewed other products/services to identify other vendors which might meet NSF’s requirements through one of the following methods

X GSA Schedule

□ Open Market Price Lists

□ Previous requirements

□ Other

FAR 19.502-2 requires award to Small Business for supplies or services with an anticipated dollar value exceeding $2,500. If applicable specify why award is being recommended to other than a Small Business.

X No other Small Company can supply the equipment or service

□ The Company does not have a small business distributor that can supply the equipment or service

□ GSA schedule does not provide the equipment or service from small business

□ Other

The total estimated cost, including shipping and handling (if applicable), of this effort is $50,000 and the period of performance or lead-time for delivery or start date is between May 01, 2024 – April 30, 2025.

This recommendation is made pursuant to FAR 13.106, for the acquisition of supplies or services determined to be reasonably available from only one source. Competition is impractical for the following reasons:

Hyperion has unparallelled knowledge and expertise related to the global high performance computing space, including knowledge of U.S. government systems, non-government customer systems and requirements, vendor offerings, etc.

Hyperion’s knowledge and expertise is so deep and specialized that is has been determined to be of importance to U.S. national security. Per HPCWire (https://www.hpcwire.com/2017/03/09/idcs-hpc-group-spun-temporary-trusteeship/), when its previous owner (IDC) was sold to a foreign entity, the U.S. Government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) determined that the unit could not be part of the sale and an agreement was reached to transfer the https://www.hpcwire.com/2017/03/09/idcs-hpc-group-spun-temporary-trusteeship/ https://www.hpcwire.com/2017/03/09/idcs-hpc-group-spun-temporary-trusteeship/ group to an independent entity (now Hyperion).

Hyperion is exclusive for the following reasons:

• The only dedicated HPC analyst company with more than 1-2 analysts.

• The longest operational HPC research firm

• The only HPC research firm with detailed market tracking of HPC.

• The only HPC company conducting multiple HPC meetings with government, industry, academia users along with vendors.

• The only HPC research company with customers that includes all major global vendors.

• The only HPC research company that conducts dozens of survey projects a year with thousands of individual surveys on HPC, AI, QC, HPC in the Cloud, Storage, Supply Chain, etc.

• Hyperion Research tracks HPC and connecting emerging areas to HPC to include AI, HPC use/spending in the cloud, Storage and Quantum Computing.

Unique Experience:

As a new NSF directorate, with a specific mandate from Congress to accelerate U.S.

competitiveness in key technology areas including Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML), High performance Computing (HPC) and Quantum Information Science and Technology, TIP needs to rapidly come up to speed in the AI/ML, HPC and Quantum Computing spaces.

Hyperion’s accumulated history in HPC and its combined coverage of AI/ML, HPC and Quantum Computing differentiate it from alternative offerings, which: lack this historical track record in HPC; only cover one of the 3 topics; and/or do not include advisory services with deep expertise in HPC. Their HPC knowledge has been accumulated over an extended period that will accelerate TIP’s ability to familiarize itself with HPC history and link it to the more recent activities in AI/ML and Quantum Computing. For example, the members of the Hyperion team have operated the HPC User Forum for approximately 25 years, allowing team members to accumulate substantial and unparallelled insights into not just the HPC technology, but also the community of practitioners that is associated with it.

Exclusive Rights:

Hyperion has exclusive data rights with respect to the extensive market data, from both customers and suppliers, that they have accumulated over a sustained period of time. This information will be accessed both via reports and tools, such as QView (over 100 quarters of historical data) and End User Multi-Client Studies, and through the advisory services that are included in this contract.

The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition of 41 USC 3304(a)(1), FAR citation 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

The proposed contractor, Hyperion Research Holdings, LLC is the only known source based on the existence of exclusive date rights.

David Tennenhouse Date TIP OAD Advisor

3-29-2024

I hereby accept the above stated recommendation and determine that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.

Contracting Officer Date

04/01/2024