60-60600-25-CP360_Sole Source Determination Form_Alliance.pdf.PDF

STATE OF NEWMEXICO

SOLE SOURCE REQUEST AND DETERMINATION FORM

A sole source determination is not effective until the sole source request for determination has been posted for thirty (30) calendar days without challenge, and subsequently approved in writing by the State Purchasing Agent or, for Professional Services Agreements, the Secretary of the General Services Department. The foregoing requirement is regardless of whether the sole source request for determination has been signed by the Agency and/or the Contractor.

I. Name of Agency: Commission for the Blind

Agency Chief Procurement Officer: Kevin C. Romero

Telephone Number: (505) 476-4454 Agency Contact for this request: Audrey Trujillo Telephone Number & Email Address (505) 476-4459 & Audrey.Trujillo@cfb.nm.gov

II. Name of prospective Contractor: Alliance Enterprises, Inc.

SHARE Vendor Number (must be active): 0000553737 Address of prospective Contractor: 2590 Willamette Dr, NE, Lacey, WA, 98516

Contact Name, Telephone Number and Email Address: Kristin De Han, Contracts Manager, 360-356-7000, Kristindehan@allianceenterprises.com Amount of prospective contract before tax: $270,874.79

Estimated tax amount (tax is subject to change): $22,177.88

Term of prospective contract: September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2029 (Four one-year contracts)

Note: For terms longer than one year, Request for Policy Exemption from DFA MUST be included.

III. Agency is required to state purpose/need of purchase and thoroughly list the services (scope of work), construction or items of tangible personal property of the prospective contract (if this is an amendment request to an existing contract, include current contract number issued by SPD):

The Contractor shall deliver at least two releases per year that provide software, technical documentation, and user documentation upgrades for:

Social Security Administration)

Correction of software defects to the core system. Telephone and remote support for installation of new releases, system adaptation, system administration inquiries, and suspected defects. Support hours and days shall mean Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.

to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, except for holidays observed by the government agencies and/or the Contractor.

1. Error Classification and Response Time.

A. Error Classification. If the Agency can reproduce the error independently of any extensions, it shall then report it to the Contractor by electronic mail at the following address: support@allianceenterprises.com or such other address as may be designated from time to time by the Contractor, specifying in detail the nature of such error and the circumstances under which the error occurs.

B. Errors shall be classified by the Contractor as follows:

1. Severity 1 Critical: 1) Within the Production System, whole or part of production system is down and recovery efforts are failing; or 2) Within the Production System, whole or part of Mandated Business Operations workflow is inoperative and an entire business process or an entire functional program is impacted and a Work-Around has not yet been identified or may not be possible.

2. Severity 1 High: Within the Production System, the AWARE Software is saving data incorrectly or the error is causing a commonly used report to calculate statistics or financial data incorrectly.

3. Severity 2 Medium: Within the Production System, information cannot be input or retrieved from the system within the required deadline of a lower priority. One or more staff cannot perform an assigned task through the system but can process other work.

4. Severity 3 Low: The AWARE Software exhibits formatting or other cosmetic problems but is still functional.

5. Agency-Introduced Error: An error introduced by the Agency modifications, extensions, or misuse of the system.

C. Response, Verification, and Resolution Time. The Contractor will respond to and resolve Support Requests, as follows:

1. Severity 1 Critical: The Contractor will give the highest scheduling priority and devote its best available resources to resolve Critical level errors. If reasonably feasible the Contractor shall respond to the Agency within 4 hours after receipt of the Support Request and will work with the Agency to verify the error as soon as possible after the initial response. If reasonably feasible the Contractor shall provide work-around procedure to overcome the effect of the error immediately after Verification of the error.

The Agency shall devote reasonable commercial efforts to resolve the errors after Verification. Even if the work-around procedure is implemented, the Contractor will continue to devote its best available resources until the error is resolved.

2. Severity 1 High: The Contractor will give the next highest scheduling and resource priority to High level errors. If reasonably feasible the Contractor shall respond to the Agency within 1 business day after receipt of the Support Request.

Verification of the problem will be concluded within 5 business days after the Contractor has responded to the Support Request. The Contractor will use commercially reasonable efforts to resolve the errors no more than 15 days after Verification for those functions that are used on a daily basis or needed by an immediate date. Otherwise, the Contractor will release the correction within the next software released but no later than 45 days after Verification. The Agency and the Contractor will jointly set the release schedule based on the frequency of use of the feature.

3. Severity 2 Medium: The Contractor will give the next highest scheduling and resource priority to Medium level errors. The Contractor shall devote commercially reasonably efforts to respond to Medium level errors within 1 business day after receipt of the Support Request. Verification of the problem will be concluded within 7 business days after the Contractor has responded to the Support Request.

The Contractor will use commercially reasonable efforts to resolve Medium level errors no more than 30 days after Verification for those functions that are used on a daily basis or needed by an immediate date. Otherwise, the Contractor will release the correction within the next software release but no later than 90 days after Verification. The Agency and the Contractor will jointly set the release schedule based on the frequency of use of the feature.

4. Severity 3 Low: The Contractor in its sole discretion will determine whether to respond to Low level errors in a future new release.

5. Agency-Introduced Error: If in its sole discretion the Contractor believes such errors can be resolved, the Contractor will correct these on an hourly billing basis or as part of the Block Services, if applicable as mutually agreed upon between the Agency and the Contractor, as its schedule and resources permit. Otherwise the Contractor shall have no obligation to correct any Agency- Introduced errors.

D. Conditions Not Covered.

1. Agency Changes: The Agency shall inform the Contractor in writing of any and all Extensions and Modifications (if permitted by the License Agreement) made to the AWARE Software by the Agency or made for the Agency by third parties

The Contractor shall not be responsible for maintaining or supporting the Agency Changes or for maintaining portions of the AWARE Software affected by the

Agency Changes.

2. Improper Use. The Contractor shall not be responsible for correcting problems caused by use of the AWARE Software by the Agency for any purpose outside the scope intended by the License Agreement.

3. Third Party Technology. The Contractor shall not be responsible for correcting problems caused by using hardware and/or software not included in the Required Hardware and Software.

4.

hardware, including but not limited to telecommunications devices, components, computers, peripheral devices, and storage media. In the event any New Release of the AWARE Software requires additional hardware or software, the Agency shall purchase and install such additional hardware and software at its sole expense on 6 months written notice from the Contractor.

E. Facilitate a National Users Group which disseminates information about the AWARE software and allows the Agency to share information.

F. Maintain the AWARE Info Portal which provides access to all documentation related to the core system and User Groups.

IV. Provide a detailed explanation of the criteria developed and specified by the agency as necessary to perform and/or fulfill the contract and upon which the state agency reviewed available sources. (D ; Do not tailor the criteria simply to exclude other contractors if it is not rationally related to the purpose of the contract.)

To date the Agency has successfully utilized the AWARE system for over 20 years. The product has been very useful and cost-effective. The Agency has also found the contractor to be extremely professional in terms of timeliness and providing high quality support. The field of vocational rehabilitation is highly complex and requires a case management system designed to meet the specific needs of this business. Reporting requirements are also complex and must be accommodated by a relational database that is tailored to capture federally required information. The Contractor has been able to continue meeting federal and regulatory requirements, while also developing system enhancement which have contributed to further streamlining of business activities and improved services to clients.

As part of its maintenance agreement contract, the Contractor is required to provide two major system releases per year. These are designed to meet new federal process and reporting requirements improve system functionality. Typically, there are at least six minor releases provided each year that address any system problems and that also serve to improve system functionality. Currently, 40 Vocational Rehabilitation Programs in 34 states are under contract with this Contractor to use the AWARE case management system.

This is significant in that since its inception, other states are recognizing the value of this product, and all 34 user states can share in the maintenance and development costs of this product. As a result, the cost of doing business with the Contractor has remained static.

During the past contract years, the Agency has experienced no cost increase for the maintenance of the AWARE system.

While vocational rehabilitation programs operate under the same federal regulations, there are some aspects of the service delivery model in NewMexico that differ from other states.

Because of that there must be some system flexibility and adaptability that enables different

AWARE is designed to accommodate this. Should New Mexico opt to change certain functionality, this is possible without having to endure a large system upgrade or change.

The Contractor is actively involved with the Rehabilitation Services Administration national organization comprised of vocation rehabilitation state Directors and administrators that address pertinent rehabilitation issues. Involvement with both enables the Contractor to remain apprised of any federal changes or new initiatives in the field of vocational rehabilitation. This ensures that the system is kept current and that the vendor can remain responsive to the ever-changing business of vocational rehabilitation.

V. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of the reasons, qualifications, proprietary rights or unique capabilities of the prospective contractor that makes the prospective contractor the one source capable of providing the required professional service, service, construction

The Agency is now seeking to obtain a new maintenance and support contract to maintain the existing case management system, the Agency is seeking approval to grant a sole source contract to the Contractor for the following reasons:

A. To obtain another system would involve a system change which would be extremely costly in terms of staff time and capital outlay.

B. The Agency has experienced minimal cost increases for the past 20 years under the current contract with the Contractor. There are no indications that this will change. This saves the State of New Mexico money.

C. Alliance Enterprises, Inc. is the only vendor who is authorized to provide product Updates (which include corrections or patches) and/or Upgrades (which include enhancements and new features). In addition, Alliance is the only vendor who has direct access to all source code and technical documentation.

D. Aware is currently being used in production by 40 Vocational Rehabilitation and/or Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind programs in 34 states, with more than 12,000 agency end users.

E. The Contractor continues to remain committed to implementing system enhancements in order to comply with federal regulations and to meet the changing business needs of the Agency.

F. The AWARE system features are compatible with the Agency computer infrastructure.

G.

clients.

H. The Agency users are accustomed to the use of the AWARE system. No additional training activities would be required.

I. The AWARE system features have been customized to meet the unique needs of the Agency.

J. The Contractor has been extremely responsive to the need of the Agency.

VI. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of how the professional service, service, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property is/are unique and how this uniqueness is substantially related to the intended purpose of the contract.

This is a proprietary software that is owned by the Contractor. The New Mexico participants with other state vocational rehabilitation programs in the use and support costs of this system and we would be maintenance and upgrade costs. There are limited customized and/or customizable portions and/or data.

The Agency is under a non-disclosure agreement with the Contractor as to the disclosure of any portion of the source code or data structures contained within the AWARE product.

The Contractor is the only vendor who has direct access to all source code and technical documentation. So as stated above, to procure the services of another vendor would require the Agency to start over to build a new case management system, which would be cost and time prohibitive, and would result in severe delays in services to the participants. The Contractor has an established timetable for identifying and implementing system enhancements. They have also engaged in several initiatives with the Agency to build features unique to the business of vocational rehabilitation in New Mexico. Selection of another vendor would disrupt those initiatives. No other vendors have been identified that would allow for cost sharing between various states, as is the case with the Contractor. The Contractor is the market leader for providing vocational rehabilitation case management systems in the United States. In terms of time, resources, support and maintenance of a quality product, no other vendor can compete.

VII. Explain why other similar professional services, services, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property cannot meet the intended purpose of the contract.

This is a proprietary software that is owned by the Contractor. New Mexico participates with other state vocational rehabilitation programs in the use and support of this system, costs. There are limited customized and/or customizable portions of this system to meet non-disclosure agreement with the Contractor as to the disclosure of any portion of the source code or data structures contained with the AWARE product.

The Contractor is the only vendor who has direct access to all source code and technical documentation. So as stated above, to procure the service another vendor would require the Agency to start over to build a new case management system, which would be cost and time prohibitive, and would result in severe delays in services to participants. The Contractor has an established timetable for identifying and implementing system enhancements. They have also engaged in a few initiatives with the Agency to build features unique to the business of vocational rehabilitation in New Mexico. Selection of another vendor would disrupt those initiatives. No other vendors have been identified that would allow for cost sharing between various states, as is the case with the Contractor. The Contractor is the market leader for providing vocational rehabilitation case management systems in the United States. In terms of time, resources, support and maintenance of a quality product, no other vendor can compete.

Currently, the Contractor is the only vendor who is authorized to provide product updates (which include corrections or patches) and/or upgrades (which include enhancements and new features). In addition, the Contractor is the only vendor who has direct access to all source code and technical documentation. AWARE is currently being used in production by 40 vocational rehabilitation and/or vocational rehabilitation for the blind programs in 34 states, with more than 12,000 agency end users. The Contractor is the market leader for providing vocational rehabilitation case management systems in the United States.

VIII.

the procurement, including procedures used by the agency to conduct a review of available sources such as researching trade publications, industry newsletters and the internet;;

contacting similar service providers; and reviewing the State Purchasing Statewide Price Agreements. Include a list of businesses contacted (do not state that no other businesses were contacted), date of contact, method of contact (telephone, mail, e-mail, other), and documentation demonstrating an explanation of why those businesses could not or would not, under any circumstances, perform the contract; or an explanation of why the agency has determined that no businesses other than the prospective contractor can perform the contract.

This is proprietary software that is owned by the Contractor, NewMexico participates with other state vocational rehabilitation programs in the use and support costs of this system, upgrade costs. There are limited customized and/or customizable portions of this system to meet under a non-disclosure agreement with the Contractor as to the disclosure of any portion of the source code or data structures contained within the AWARE product. The Contractor is the only vendor who has direct access to all source code and technical documentation. So as stated above, to procure the services of another vendor would require the Agency to start over to build a new case management system, which would be cost and time prohibitive, and would result in severe delays in services to participants. The contractor has an established timetable for identifying and implementing system enhancements. They have also engaged in a few initiatives with the Agency to build features unique to the business of vocational rehabilitation in New Mexico. Selection of another vendor would disrupt those initiatives.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS!

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