852675298_JA_Final_Redacted.pdf

CUI

Source Selection Information -See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Page 1 of 4 Pages

JUSTIFICATION FOR EXCEPTION TO

FAIR OPPORTUNITY OR BRAND NAME

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 16.5 Justification & Approval (J&A)

CSS Tracking Number: 852675298 Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request: HF1026626943 Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) Contract: HC105023D0003 Procurement Title: Cloud Renewal Estimated Value:

Regulatory Authority: FAR 16.507-6(b)(3)

J&A Exception to Fair Opportunity Number: JA26-068

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

Requiring Agency: Department of War (DoW) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Contracting Activity: Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO)/Cloud Capabilities Section

(PS8511)

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

Type of Action: New Task Order (TO) Type of Contract: FFP

This action is to issue a firm-fixed-price TO against the JWCC Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract for Azure Cloud Renewal. This TO will be issued directly to Microsoft Corporation. The anticipated period of performance is for a 1-year base period, plus one 1-year option period and one 1-month option period. The total estimated value is which will be funded by operations and maintenance funds.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

DoW OIG requires a pay-as-you-go type platform and infrastructure as a service cloud services solution contract to fund and maintain the foundational cloud Mission Landing Zone components and security products necessary to secure, support, and maintain the current DoW OIG Software as a Service Impact Level (IL)5 and IL6 cloud tenants.

4. IDENTIFICATION OF EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

FAR 16.507-6(b)(3) - The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

5. DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE

QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF THE

EXCEPTION CITED:

J&A: Cloud Renewal

Page 2 of 4 Pages

1. UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS: The Government previously awarded a competitive task order under the JWCC contract to Microsoft Corporation to establish and host a secure, IL5 cloud environment. During the execution of this initial order, Microsoft successfully deployed the foundational architecture, security controls, and operational baselines required to support active mission workloads. This action requires the use of the "logical follow-on" exception to maintain critical continuity of service. The current IL5 environment is fully operational. Competing this follow-on and transitioning to a new Cloud Service Provider (CSP) would result in unacceptable mission downtime, significant data egress fees, and duplicated engineering costs to rebuild the IL5 infrastructure and achieve a new Authority to Operate (ATO).

These offerings include fully accredited compute, storage, networking, and security management resources. To maintain current operations, the verified minimum requirements must include Established Security Posture: An existing, fully finalized ATO at IL5 to securely host Controlled Unclassified Information and National Security Systems data. Architectural Continuity: Pre-configured zero-trust network boundaries and native integration with the DoW’s current identity credential and access management systems. Operational Connectivity: Dedicated, secure routing infrastructure (e.g., private cloud connections) that are already physically and logically integrated into the DoW information network.

The cloud service offerings must continue at their current level in order to support critical, ongoing DoW mission operations and uninterrupted data processing at the IL5 security threshold. Any degradation or interruption in these services would directly impact real-time mission readiness and the operational capabilities of deployed end-users.

2. IMPACT: Pursuing competitive procedures for this cloud hosting requirement would result in severe, unacceptable detriment, and possible failure of the DoW OIG mission.

Transitioning a mature, IL5 cloud environment to a new CSP will affect mission readiness. The OIG would spend millions of dollars and lose years of operational momentum simply to rebuild the exact same capability it already possesses.

6. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST:

A determination that the price is fair and reasonable will be based on a comparison of the contractor’s proposal to the independent government cost estimate and the JWCC Catalog pricing, including any discounts, which were previously found to be fair and reasonable and based on the contractor’s commercial pricing.

7. MARKET RESEARCH:

Market research for the basic JWCC Contracts was conducted and resulted in a signed market research report on November 9, 2021. This market research was subsequently revalidated and recertified on July 29, 2024, and most recently on February 6, 2026. After a survey of the market, it was concluded that use of the JWCC contract is in the Government’s best interest due to technical feasibility and cost to the Government.

Page 3 of 4 Pages

Based on current market research, dated June 2026, it has been determined that only the aforementioned fully accredited compute, storage, networking, and security management resources provided by Microsoft, can fully meet the Government’s need without significant duplication of cost, delays in mission readiness, and risk to overall mission.

8. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: None

9. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

The previous procurement was not based upon an exception to fair opportunity. The previous TO was awarded competitively, with all JWCC CSPs given a fair opportunity to compete. At the time of the original award, there were no barriers to competition. The circumstances have now changed because that initial award successfully established a foundational, fully operational, and accredited cloud environment. The barrier to competition for this current requirement is not the initial setup, but the significant operational disruption, data migration challenges, duplicate engineering efforts, and prohibitive costs associated with transitioning a now-mature, ATO-accredited system to a new provider.

Procurement History:

Incumbent Contractor: Microsoft Corporation Contract Number: HC105023D0003 Task Order Number: HC105023F0023 Period of Performance: September 18, 2023-September 17, 2028 Competitive Status: Full and open competition Business Size: Large business

To overcome future barriers, DoW OIG will actively prepare for a future competitive recompete by establishing the transition readiness during this period of performance including a practical transition roadmap and preparing system architecture documentation.

Page 4 of 4 Pages

TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Mohamoud Ali SIGNATURE/DATE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: IT Chief, DoW

PHONE:

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Donna Chisholm SIGNATURE/DATE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Acquisition Specialist, DoW

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

NAME: Jacob R. Benhoff SIGNATURE/DATE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: DISA/DITCO/PS8511

PROCURING ACTIVITY COMPETITION ADVOCATE (PACA) APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since this justification does not exceed $100M, this review serves as approval and my written determination that the aforementioned FAR circumstances apply.

NAME: Andrea Horstmann SIGNATURE/DATE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: PACA

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO

Jacob Sopiars, , jacob.m.sopiars2.civ@mail.mil