A.3 FAR Subpart 16.5 Justification for Use of Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer or Exception to Fair Opportunity (V1.3 10-01-2025) - NetApps Redacted.docx

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

MARINE CORPS INSTALLATIONS NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO

3250 CATLIN AVENUE

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA 22134-5001

J&A No. M00264-26-JA-021 FAR Subpart 16.5 Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

FAR Subpart 16.5 Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY – NASA SEWP

(Acquisition over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold)

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

The Contracting Activity is the Marine Corps Installations National Capital Region – Regional Contracting Office (MCINCR-RCO), located at 2010 Henderson Road, MCB Quantico, VA. The requiring activity is Marine Corps Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Enterprise (MCISRE) Insider Threat Program (InTP) located at MCB Quantico, VA

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The action being approved is an exception to fair opportunity to fulfill a brand-name specific requirement for NetApp data storage hardware, software, and related professional services. The intent of this action is to issue a brand-name order for NetApp products and services through the NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) contract vehicle for the following requirements: one (1) AFF C30 Model, two (2) AFF C30r2 HA System, one (1) AFF C30r2 HA System -C, two (2) NVMe SHLF 2U24 Empty NSM100B CF -C, twenty-four (24) Drive Pack NVMe SED CF 2X15 3TB -C, seven hundred thirty-four (734) SW ONTAP One Package Per TB CF C30 -C, ten (10) IO Module 2PT 100GbE -C, two (2) IO Module,4PT,10/25GbE,-C, two (2) Cable,Cntlr-Switch OM4,MPO/MPO,2m,-C, eight (8) Cable,100GbE,QSFP28-QSFP28,Cu,2m,-C, eight (8) Cable,LC-LC,OM4,2m,-C, eight (8) SFP28,25GbE,SR,-C, four (4) QSFP28,100GbE,SR,-C, three (3) Rail,4-Post,Thin,Rnd/Sq-Hole,Sm,Adj,24-32,-C, six (6) Jumper Crd,In-Cab,C13-C14,-C, six (6) Power Supply,1600W,Titanium,-C, two (2) Data at Rest Encryption Capable Operating Sys, one (1) SupportEdge Advisor - 24 months, one (1) 4hr Parts Replacement - 24 months, one (1) Non-Returnable Drives (HDDs, SSDs) - 24 months, one (1) SupportEdge Protect for Government - 24 months, one (1) Advisor Plus for System - 24 months and one (1) PS Deployment ONTAP, Standard, Low.

Specifically, NetApp falls under a Department of the Navy (DON) Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL) IT agreement established on NASA SEWP, which includes ten (10) authorized NetApp resellers. Because eight (8) of these authorized vendors are small businesses, the Government intends to compete this requirement as a 100% small business set-aside among the eligible small business resellers operating under the DON ESL agreement.

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The MCISRE Insider Threat Program requires a new NetApp storage solution to replace existing network storage hardware that has reached its end of life (EOL). The new system is critical for maintaining operational continuity, ensuring high availability, and mitigating the risk of catastrophic data loss on classified networks.

Specifically, this procurement acquires a NetApp AFF-C30 All-Flash Storage Array configured for High Availability (HA), augmented with two NS224-T NVMe expansion shelves. The system will be populated with high-capacity 15.3TB Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) Self-Encrypting Drives (SED), which are strictly required to ensure data-at-rest encryption standards are met within the classified environment. To seamlessly integrate into the current MCISRE enterprise architecture, the hardware includes 100GbE and 10/25GbE networking I/O modules and is powered by NetApp ONTAP One software to manage approximately 734 Terabytes of data capacity.

In addition to the hardware and software licenses, the requirement includes 24 months of essential Government-tier support services. This consists of SupportEdge Protect for Government, 4-hour expedited parts replacement to ensure minimal mission downtime, and a Non-Returnable Drive retention policy. The Non-Returnable Drive policy is a mandatory security requirement, allowing the Government to retain physical custody of failed drives to prevent the spillage of classified data. Finally, the procurement includes specialized professional services to facilitate the secure deployment and migration of data to the new system.

The Government intends to issue a single Firm Fixed Price (FFP) order with fixed-price CLINS against a NASA SEWP contract vehicle. This requirement is for one (1) twelve-month base period and two (2) twelve-month option periods. The required base delivery/performance start date is 29 September 2026.

The total estimated value for this procurement is $XXX,XXX.XX, inclusive of all option periods. Marine Corps Procurement Funds appropriations will be used to fund this requirement as outlined in the table below:

Base Period

4. Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale.

This justification is prepared in accordance with DFARS 206.302-1 and satisfies the applicable justification and approval requirements for orders placed under FAR 16.5 procedures. In accordance with FAR 16.507(2)(i)(G), this action meets one of the statutory exceptions permitting the use of other‑than‑full‑and‑open competition under 10 U.S.C. 3406(c)(5). Furthermore, the procurement of these specific NetApp products is in direct compliance with the mandatory Department of the Navy (DON) Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL) IT agreement.

Under FAR 6.302‑1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source—or, for DoW, NASA, and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources—and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition is not required. This requirement meets that condition due to the critical compatibility, interoperability, and enterprise-architecture constraints necessary to seamlessly deploy and migrate data within the existing NetApp infrastructure currently operating on the MCISRE classified networks.

The MCISRE Insider Threat Program (InTP) requires these specific NetApp products and associated services to ensure 100% compatibility and interoperability with the program's existing network and storage architecture. The InTP environment is currently built entirely on NetApp’s proprietary ONTAP data management software. Procuring a different manufacturer's storage array would introduce unacceptable mission risk and schedule delays for the following reasons:

· Interoperability and Data Migration: The legacy End-of-Life (EOL) systems are NetApp arrays. Utilizing native NetApp replication protocols is the only secure, zero-downtime method to migrate highly sensitive, classified Insider Threat data to the new AFF-C30 array. Introducing a third-party storage vendor would break existing data replication protocols and require risky, time-consuming data translation processes.

· Architectural Constraints: A non-NetApp solution would require a complete architectural redesign of the storage network, replacing the existing ecosystem that the InTP currently relies on for High Availability (HA) and disaster recovery.

· Duplication of Cost and Retraining: Migrating to a different Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) would result in a substantial duplication of costs to the Government. It would necessitate purchasing new, entirely different management software suites and require extensive retraining of government system administrators who are currently trained and certified exclusively on the NetApp ONTAP ecosystem.

· OEM-Certified Professional Services: To ensure the secure deployment of the hardware and to maintain the integrity of the OEM warranty and support (SupportEdge Protect), the deployment and data migration must be performed using NetApp standard deployment services.

The required NetApp AFF-C30 All-Flash Storage Array, powered by ONTAP One software, provides high-availability, low-latency data storage for the MCISRE Insider Threat Program (InTP). This system executes critical mission functions, including instantaneous data replication, secure snapshot backups, and hardware-level Data-at-Rest (DaR) encryption via Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs). These capabilities are strictly required to ingest, analyze, and protect highly sensitive, classified insider threat intelligence without system degradation or downtime.

Market research was conducted to evaluate other Tier-1 enterprise storage solutions capable of handling 734TB of All-Flash NVMe capacity, such as Dell (PowerStore), Pure Storage (FlashArray), and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Alletra). While these manufacturers produce hardware capable of meeting the raw performance and capacity metrics, their products were determined to be unacceptable for this requirement due to critical compatibility, interoperability, and enterprise-architecture constraints.

The InTP environment is currently built entirely on NetApp’s proprietary ONTAP data management ecosystem. Introducing a non-NetApp storage array into this closed classified environment would introduce unacceptable mission risk, schedule delays, and duplication of costs for the following reasons:

· Interoperability and Data Migration (Native Replication): NetApp utilizes proprietary SnapMirror technology for seamless, encrypted data replication. Migrating classified data from the legacy EOL NetApp system to a competitor (e.g., Dell or Pure Storage) would require the introduction of third-party data migration tools. This breaks native replication, introduces massive security risks regarding data spillage, and would require unacceptable system downtime to perform complex data translations across different file systems.

· Architectural Constraints and Disaster Recovery: The current InTP Disaster Recovery (DR) and Continuity of Operations (COOP) architectures are hard-coded to communicate natively between NetApp arrays. A non-NetApp solution would break the existing DR posture, requiring a complete architectural redesign of the storage network to ensure high availability.

· Substantial Duplication of Cost and Retraining: Implementing a comparable product from a different Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) would result in a substantial duplication of costs to the Government not expected to be recovered through competition. It would necessitate:

1. Rewriting hundreds of custom automation and security scripts currently tailored for the NetApp ONTAP OS.

2. Purchasing new, entirely different management software suites.

3. Extensive retraining of government system administrators and engineers who are currently trained and certified exclusively on the NetApp ONTAP ecosystem.

In summary, attempting to transition to a non-NetApp storage ecosystem would not only result in a substantial duplication of costs, but would severely degrade the MCISRE Insider Threat mission by forcing months of unacceptable operational downtime while a new architecture is engineered, integrated, and accredited.

In accordance with DFARS 208.7402, DoW and Department of the Navy (DON) components are required to fulfill requirements for commercial software and IT equipment through established Enterprise Software Agreements. The DON ESL program promotes the use of these vehicles to provide standardized terms, pre-negotiated pricing, and reduced administrative burden. Because NetApp falls under a mandated DON ESL agreement on NASA SEWP and is the only technology that can seamlessly interoperate with the classified MCISRE environment without a substantial duplication of cost, additional market research for alternative brands was not required. As such, NetApp is the sole manufacturer that satisfies the Government’s minimum needs, fully justifying a brand-name exception to fair opportunity.

5. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will determine the anticipated price to be fair and reasonable through adequate price competition. The Government intends to compete this requirement among the authorized NetApp resellers available under the mandated Department of the Navy (DON) Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL) agreement on the NASA SEWP contract vehicle.

Furthermore, the Contracting Officer will ensure pricing is fair and reasonable by confirming that the quoted pricing aligns with, or is discounted from, the contractors’ established NASA SEWP contract rates. The Contracting Officer may also review available commercial market pricing or historical pricing for similar NetApp hardware and services to ensure the Government is receiving the best value. If more advantageous pricing is identified through other commercial sources, the Contracting Officer will apply the procedures outlined in DFARS PGI 208.7403 to obtain the lowest available price consistent with DON ESL requirements.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

N/A

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

The NetApp storage ecosystem is deeply integrated into the classified MCISRE environment, making an immediate transition to another brand cost-prohibitive and operationally disruptive. To reduce this barrier for future acquisitions, the Government will conduct continuous market research to identify emerging enterprise storage solutions capable of meeting the program's strict interoperability and security requirements.

Furthermore, in accordance with DFARS 208.7402, the agency will continue to monitor the Department of the Navy (DON) Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL) program. As new storage technologies are added to the DON ESL that can seamlessly integrate into the Marine Corps’ architecture without a substantial duplication of cost, the Government will reassess the market to maximize brand competition for future enterprise storage needs.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this Justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Technical/Requirements Cognizance:

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined that this Justification is legally sufficient.

_____________________ Melinda Sumner (703)784-1993 See Signature Signature Name (Printed) Phone No. Date

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

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

V 1.2 (28 April 2023)

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