A15_JOFOC_1.pdf

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

for SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS OVER $10,000 ($2,000/$2500 for Construction/Services) AND

UP TO $250,000

(See FAR 13.106-1)

Date: ___3/11/2024_____________________ PR Number: To be assigned_________________________

1. Nature and/or description of the item/service being procured and its intended use (include the anticipated cost):

A sole source award to EarthSoft to continue annual support and maintenance for software licenses for several products that comprise EQuIS (Environmental Quality Information System) at a GSA-Schedule cost of $21,536.53.

2. Sole Source Justification rationale (Check one and explain below):

___X___ Only one responsible source.

______ Urgent and compelling circumstances exist. Include critical delivery or performance dates, and when you became aware of the requirement. Provide a specific statement of the impact on Government operations, financial or otherwise, if the required delivery or performance dates are not met.

______ Other _____________________________________________________

Explain:

This acquisition is solely to continue annual support and maintenance of EarthSoft’s EQuIS software and database which allows continued licensed use of the software, any upgrades that occur during the year, and technical support and training. EarthSoft is the creator and sole provider of the products and their annual support and maintenance. No other company can provide annual support and maintenance for EarthSoft’s products. They are proprietary. The history of the NPS’ original EarthSoft acquisition is provided below and is useful background when computing the current year’s annual support and maintenance cost (when EQuIS isn’t on GSA Schedule).

In FY2011 the NPS purchased EarthSoft’s EQuIS software and database to replace its STORET (Data Entry Module, Import Module, and Reports) system with a more modern monitoring system that included much of STORET’s basic capabilities and data but added new functionality, supported the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) format, and integrated into the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science’s (NRSS) Service Oriented Architecture. The acquisition included the following products:

EQuIS Core Schema (Geology and Chemistry) License ($20,000) EQuIS WQX Schema ($15,000) EQuIS Enterprise EDP Unlimited Internal User Licenses ($15,000) EQuIS Enterprise EZView Unlimited Internal User Licenses ($12,000) EQuIS Environmental Information Agents Unlimited Internal User Licenses ($8,000)

EQuIS Data Processor Unlimited Stand-alone Licenses ($6,000) EQuIS Professional – 2 Licenses ($9,000) EQuIS Professional ArcGIS Integration – 1 License ($2,000)

In 2014, these products were upgraded and consolidated into:

Line Item No.

Line Item Description Extended

Price

EQuIS Enterprise Gold (WQX) Library: Core Licensing

Four (4) Core License (1 Machine) Gold (WQX) Library, SQL Server Edition Supports an unlimited quantity of internal end Users with the following:

$ 100,000

• EQuIS Schema, SQL Server Edition, Gold (WQX) Library products including:

o EQuIS Schema is the proprietary data structure that is being licensed; it is configurable to optimize the customer workflow; and it is the central data repository supporting all EQuIS software products and workflow services o Gold Library includes the basic structure, tables and free formats: EQEDD, EFWEDD, ESBasic, EZEDD, EZLithology EDD, ESGeology EDD, EDGE EQEDD, Reference Values and Water Levels; optional schema extensions, tables, views, reports and formats to support workflows from SPM, DQM, and Alive (specific workflows are dependent on EQuIS Professional Library selections), and WQX.

• Enterprise 6 Dashboards and widgets for automated workflow and web display functions for EQuIS data management

• Enterprise 6 EDP Widget – EDD workflow and data submittal workflow automation o EDDs are submitted to the Enterprise Server via email or web portal, dashboard, or widget o Supports all formats included in the Library for processing EDD’s created by

Standalone EDP, EDGE and other included plug-in generated EDDs (sensors, data-loggers, etc.)

o Supports workflow to Outlook or other SMTP, POP3 email server, or web email account, for example: EDDs@Client.com, EDDs4Client@gmail.com

• Enterprise 6 EQuIS Information Agents (EIA) Widget –notification workflow automation o Includes Notices Dashboard o Agents have date-driven triggers for recurring reports and data - driven triggers for EDD activities, analyte or Action Level exceedances mailto:EDDs@Client.com mailto:EDDs4Client@gmail.com o Triggered alerts, notifications and automated reports may be pushed to unlimited (and uniquely definable) email accounts o Automates pushing reports from EZView Pick Lists

• Enterprise 6 EZView Widget – Reporting workflow automation o Reports Pick List Management o Build reports and save them to, or select them from the Pick List o Provides all reports included in the selected workflow Library and supports report customizations o Licensee must provide licenses for target 3rd party software other than standard output formats (.xls, .pdf, .htm, etc.)

• Enterprise 6 ArcGIS JavaScript API (webmap) widget –mapping services workflow automation o ArcGIS Online widget o Display locations from selected facilities with various grids o Display reports from EZView widget o Includes limited use rights to Esri ArcGIS JavaScript API o Compliments client ArcGIS Online Subscription or ArcGIS Server License

• Widgets and Dashboards –Several other widgets and dashboards for data management workflow automation o TrafficLight Widget and other tools and utilities Internal end users only; no non-client or public connections, access or viewing rights granted without additional 3rd party licensing Requires but does not include SQL Server Licenses

EQuIS Professional Library Product List - Per Concurrent User Licenses

EQuIS Professional – Standard Library Licenses One (1) Concurrent User Licenses of the EQuIS Professional Standard CUL ($4,500) Library includes:

• Access to each of the EQuIS Professional Standard Library software products:

• EQuIS Data Processor (EDP)

• TeeChart and Active Reports run-time licenses

• Crosstab Report Writer License

• Populated Reference Values and Action Levels are not included

• Support for EDD formats included with customer Enterprise Library

$ 4,500

EQuIS Professional – PremierG Library Licenses One (1) Concurrent User Licenses of the EQuIS Professional PremierG ($8,000 per CUL) Library includes:

• Access to each of the EQuIS Professional Standard Library software products:

• EQuIS Data Processor (EDP)

• TeeChart and Active Reports run-time licenses

• Crosstab Report Writer License

• Populated Reference Values and Action Levels are not included

• Support for EDD formats included with customer Enterprise Library

• Access to each of the EQuIS Professional PremierG Library software products:

o Interfaces:

Interface to EnviroInsite, Google Earth, Surfer, LogPlot, RockWorks, EVS, GMS, Groundwater Vistas, gINT, and other graphics, statistics, and analysis software Requires, but does not include any of the 3rd party target software or licenses o EQuIS for ArcGIS o EQuIS for AutoCAD

$8,000

EQuIS ENTERPRISE 6 & PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS: $ 112,500

EQuIS EDP & EDGE Workflow Product List - End Use Licenses

EQuIS Data Processor (EDP) – Unlimited Distribution License ($8,000 per license) Unlimited Distribution of EQuIS EDP standalone EDD data checker with NPS EDD (Optional Format Definition), to Licensee Certified Labs and Consultants, includes:

• Checks EDDs for submission to EDP, Pro or Enterprise EDP

• Support for CLIENT EDD and formats included with Silver Library

• EarthSoft Help Desk will provide registration as a Software Maintenance

Agreement benefit itemized below

• Licensee support only, does not include support or maintenance, other than registration, for contract or independent data providers

$8,000

EQuIS EDP & EDGE PRODUCTS: $ 8,000

SUBTOTAL LICENSE FEES: $ 120,500

Discounts and Credits

• Existing Client EQuIS License Surrender Value ($87,000)

• Government Entity Discount ($8,375)

• Early Adopter Credit ($25,125)

($ 120,500)

SUBTOTAL DISCOUNTED LICENSE FEES: $ 0

In 2022, EarthSoft inflated the current value of these products to $124,000.

As per EarthSoft’s current policy, annual support and maintenance is set at 25% of the current value of the originally purchased products. Given that, our cost for 2024 should be $31,000 (25% * $124,000) but EarthSoft-EQuIS annual support and maintenance went on GSA schedule (47QTCA21D0066) in 2021. The current quote for annual support and maintenance, $21,536.53, is based on paying 25% of the current value of the products on GSA schedule ($86,146.10). Paying the annual support and maintenance entitles the NPS to continue using the software, any upgrades to each product during the next year, and technical support and training.

3. Market Research. Please explain the results or why one was not performed. State whether any other offers were received, or anyone expressed interest:

EarthSoft is the only creator/owner/distributor of EQuIS. Consequently, they are the sole vendor able to provide updates and support for EQuIS and its associated software. Software and support are licensed perpetually on an annual basis.

Instead of building and supporting its own water quality database management system, the NPS Water Resources Division acquired a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product, EarthSoft-EQuIS, in 2011 that fulfilled much of our need. This was the only viable alternative to building our own system. There were no alternative COTS products that could be used without huge/significant additional cost in terms of staff and financial resources to adapt/modify the software and schema, migrate our existing database, and train staff. The cost of performing these actions again to invest in a new/different system could exceed a million dollars and consume two or more years. At the conclusion of that effort, you would still be stuck with another vendor’s proprietary software, obligated to pay annual support and maintenance fees at their prevailing rate. As EarthSoft-EQuIS continues to meet most of our needs, expending those resources, which would simply lock the government into a different sole source system, would be difficult to justify.

At this time, there is little that can be done to overcome barriers to competition for the current acquisition. EarthSoft-EQuIS is still the only product that meets most of our needs. There are other generic database management systems that could be purchased, but the cost to adapt/modify them to meet our needs, migrate our data, and train staff is excessively prohibitive (see above). Given that we need/want to continue to use the EarthSoft/EQuIS software products, there is no other alternative.

Other companies can’t compete to provide annual support and maintenance for EQuIS because it can only be provided by EarthSoft, the creator of the product. There is little incentive for EarthSoft to agree to allow other companies to provide annual support and maintenance for their products because EarthSoft needs the revenue to continue developing the products.

Annual support and maintenance fees charged by software vendors vary and are typically in the 20% to 25% of the original or current purchase price range. EarthSoft’s charge for annual support and maintenance had been 20% of the current purchase price until 2022 when they increased it to 25%.

EarthSoft/EQuIS went on GSA Schedule in 2021. The prices on GSA schedule are offered at a reduced rate.

4. If this is a determination for sole source, the contracting officer certifies:

a. Only one source is available, or urgent and compelling circumstances exist.

b. The anticipated price will be determined fair and reasonable using the price analysis techniques described in FAR Part 13.106-3(a).

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date)______3/11/2024________________

Type or Print Name: _____Dean Tucker_____________________________________ Title:

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date) ___________________________

Type or Print Name: Christina M. Gingras Contracting Officer

Over $25,000:(if applicable)

(Signature) _______________________________________ (Date) ______________________

Warranted Individual 1 Level Above Contracting Officer