OMS NGC SIG Field and Engineering Support, CSS #622673817

Page 2 of 8 Pages

Contracting Activity:

DISA / Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) National Capital Region (NCR) / PS62 6910 Cooper Avenue P.O. Box 549 Fort Meade, Maryland 20755

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): This requirement is to purchase proprietary, commercial SIG software and field and engineering support services for DISA / SD / SD43.

This is a follow-on action to OMS NGC SIG Field and Engineering Support requirement 47QTCA20D00ET HC104721F0022. This procurement will be awarded as a firm-fixed-price order to Brandes Associates, Inc. (BAI), utilizing GSA MAS 47QTCA20D00ET. BAI is the only provider of the required SIG software product and field support and engineering services.

The period of performance will be a base period of 12 months with four, one-year option periods.

The period of performance will be as follows:

Base Period: June 1, 2026 - May 31, 2027 Option Year 1: June 1, 2027 - May 31, 2028 Option Year 2: June 1, 2028 - May 31, 2029 Option Year 3: June 1, 2029 - May 31, 2030 Option Year 4: June 1, 2030 - May 31, 2031 Six-month extension, if exercised per FAR 52.217-8: June 1, 2031 – November 30, 2031

Fiscal year 2026 Defense Working Capital funds have been provided via Universal Purchase Request Number HC108926CMTMS11. The applicable North American Industry Classification System code is 513210 Software Publishers, with a size standard of $47 million.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

(a) DISA requires messaging interoperability services in support of the OMS program. OMS provides secure, reliable organizational messaging functionality and interoperability between the Department of Defense (DoD) and major mission partners, including Combatant Commands, Services, Agencies, Allied and Coalition nations. The OMS service is maintained by DISA SD’s Organizational Messaging Branch, SD43. The messaging interoperability services must integrate with existing OMS infrastructure and support Java Message Service (JMS) routing protocols, Intelligence Community Information Transport Service (IC-ITS) connectivity, and legacy Allied Communication Publication (ACP) message conversion. The required services must fall under the OMS program’s Authority to Operate (ATO) approval. In addition, to ensure continuous operability, DISA also requires messaging field and engineering support services at the NGCs. The Government needs Field Service Representative (FSR) and Field Engineering Notice support services at the NGCs.

(b) To meet DISA’s messaging interoperability needs, the Government must acquire brand name SIG software and field engineering support services. The required SIG software is currently

Page 3 of 8 Pages deployed and acts as a multi-directional gateway and message translator between the United States Information Technology Service Operation Management (ITSOM) hosted systems and existing OMS systems. The SIG messaging software is seamlessly compatible with existing OMS systems and supports required JMS routing, IC-ITS connectivity, and ACP message conversion needs. No other products can integrate with OMS infrastructure without re-engineering JMS and IC-ITS integration points and revalidating message conversion, routing, and classification filtering logic. SIG software and services are currently included in the OMS program ATO approval. The requirement to provide on-site FSR expertise for the SIG requires a product specialist with proven SIG experience or in-depth training by BAI developers and senior engineering staff supporting the SIG application. The SIG FSR supports a Command-and-Control operational mission and is required to ensure its operation within the OMS remains reliable, secure, survivable, and highly available at all times.

4. IDENTIFICATION OF LIMITED SOURCE AUTHORITY AND DEMONSTRATION

OF CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS:

(a) Circumstances Justifying Limiting the Source. The following circumstances justify FAR 8.401 (Class Deviation 2026-O0049), only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.

(b) Description of the Justification. The Government has a need for messaging interoperability capabilities that are compatible with existing OMS systems, and the Government requires field engineering support services at the NGCs. The SIG is a commercial product developed and owned by a small business, BAI. BAI is the only source capable of providing the proprietary software and support services. Only the brand name SIG messaging service provides the necessary gateway services between the DoD, NGC connected subscribers, and the IC, and integrates with existing OMS infrastructure.

The Government also requires on-site field representative support. The required technical skills for expert support of the SIG are significantly higher than those required to support common computer and/or data systems. BAI is the only contractor with the technical knowledge and abilities to sustain and secure its proprietary software application suite.

This technical knowledge is necessary to meet all latest requirements to support the robust message exchange between the IC ITS/OM and OMS supporting the DoD.

(c) Justification:

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

The Government requires a minimum set of requirements defined to support organizational messaging. These requirements consist of providing connectivity/ interoperability, message delivery, timely delivery, confidentiality/security, sender authentication, integrity, availability/reliability, Page 4 of 8 Pages training, recipient identification, message preparation support, storage and retrieval support, and distribution and determination of delivery.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor.

BAI is the sole developer, owner, manufacturer, and authorized provider of the proprietary SIG software. BAI retains exclusive intellectual property rights to the SIG software which includes all source code, object code, configuration frameworks, integration components as well as maintenance rights. No other entity is authorized to provide licensing, sustainment, maintenance, updates, patches or engineering support. BAI does not authorize resellers, distributors, or third-party maintenance providers.

BAI

9220 Kimmer Drive, Suite 175 Lone Tree, Colorado 80124 Unique Entity Identifier: QGEYKEC8HHP5 Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code: 0SU55

(3) Discussion regarding cause of the limited source situation.

The BAI SIG is a highly specialized product that is a major mission component within the OMS environment. The SIG has been customized to support the OMS by continuing interoperability with partner messaging communities and is operational within the OMS environment. The customizations include required JMS routing, IC-ITS connectivity, and ACP message conversion needs, noted in Section 3 above. The SIG acts as multi-directional gateway and message translator between IC-ITS/OM hosted systems and existing OMS systems. This requirement will provide on-site support for the BAI SIG operational sustainment in the operational environment.

(4) Demonstration of limited source.

The BAI SIG has been customized to support the OMS and is in the integration and system testing phase of deployment. This requirement will provide the annual SIG software maintenance renewal and on-site support for the SIG operational sustainment in the operational environment. Due to SIG’s unique capabilities and limited availability for use due to its proprietary nature, BAI is the only source capable of providing the maintenance for their proprietary software and trained SIG product specialists. The requirement to provide on-site field service representative expertise for the SIG requires a product specialist with proven SIG experience or in-depth training by the BAI developers and senior engineering staff supporting the SIG application. There is no similar product/support on the market that can offer the same functions as the one currently available from BAI. Only the OEM software and support will satisfy Agency needs and can support the infrastructure currently in place. BAI owns the copyrighted software, with all legal rights, privileges, and ownership contained

Page 5 of 8 Pages therein. No other source may legally modify or change the software, nor would they have access to the source code to do so, due to copyright and patent law protections. BAI is the only source capable of providing the proprietary software and support services.

(5) Procurement discussion.

The OMS program is restrained by proprietary software and support requirements.

This is a follow-on action to OMS NGC SIG Field and Engineering Support requirement 47QTCA20D00ET HC104721F0022, with a period of performance of June 1, 2021, through May 31, 2026. Prior to 2021, the Government purchased the required SIG software and SIG software support services separately on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement (SEWP) through BAI authorized small business resellers. In February 2026, the Government verified with BAI that BAI will no longer allow for resellers of its product or support services. The Government’s requirement is only available directly through BAI via their GSA

MAS 47QTCA20D00ET.

(6) Impact.

The existing OEM product is proprietary, and the required upgrades and support are available from only the existing OEM due to the required technical skills for expert support of the SIG application. If the currently installed software and support is not renewed, the software would not receive the necessary updates, upgrades, and patches upon which the Government depends to provide continuity of operations. Any delay or gap in service could result in mission failure. The warfighter would lose access to critical communication and be unable to perform mission-critical command and control capabilities. Failure to procure the required SIG support services could jeopardize the warfighter’s ability to originate, receive, and disseminate critical time-sensitive organizational messages.

5. BEST VALUE DETERMINATION:

A proposal will be solicited from BAI for the required SIG software and field and engineering support via their GSA MAS 47QTCA20D00ET. GSA has already determined that prices of supplies, fixed price services, and rates offered at hourly rates are fair and reasonable for the purpose of establishing the schedule contract. The Contracting Officer will make a determination of fair and reasonable pricing of the proposal received using the proposal analysis techniques at FAR 15.404-1. Discounts from GSA MAS pricing will also be sought prior to award.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Market research included contacting the incumbent contractor, conducting internal discussions, reviewing Government-wide acquisition contracts, and researching the DISA Market Research Repository. The Government reviewed DISA contract vehicles Systems Engineering, Page 6 of 8 Pages

Technology, and Innovation and ENCORE III for suitability. The Government also reviewed the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative, GSA, and NASA SEWP databases in February 2026. This requirement is only available through BAI’s GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)

47QTCA20D00ET.

Based on current market research, dated February 2026, it has been determined that only the aforementioned brand-name SIG product and product engineering support services provided by BAI can fully meet the Government’s need. The Government requires SIG software and services to support message interoperability requirements to support the OMS program. This requirement is for a proprietary product and product support and no competitor functional replacement products exist in the market at this time to meet the Government's need. The Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future competitive actions; i.e., there are similar products and/or product support in the marketplace that provides the same functionality, the original equipment manufacturer releases ownership rights of the product, or it is economically feasible to procure a new system.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS:

N/A

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE BARRIERS THAT LED TO

THE RESTRICTED CONSIDERATION:

(a) Procurement history.

47QTCA20D00ET HC104721F0022

BAI, Small Business

Period of Performance: June 1, 2021, through May 31, 2026 Sole-Source via GSA MAS

NNG15SWD30B HC102819F0253

Epoch Concepts, LLC, Small Business

Period of Performance: June 1, 2019, to May 31, 2021 Small Business Set-aside via NASA SEWP

NNG15SD94B HC102820F0543

Architechture Solutions LLC, Small Business

Period of Performance: June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021 Small Business Set-aside via NASA SEWP

(b) Actions to remove barriers.

Page 7 of 8 Pages

At this time, only BAI can provide the required SIG software and engineering support services. If BAI elects to surrender their legal ownership, copyright, and/or intellectual property software rights and move toward providing an open-source solution for the products being purchased under this procurement, then the Government will seek open competition. Regardless, the Government will continue to search the marketplace to determine if alternative solutions exist. If the Government should determine that the above brand-name product is no longer required, the Government will seek competition for the required functionality. To remove barriers in the future, if a solution is available that will satisfy the Government’s requirements, then the Government will seek a competitive acquisition approach.