AppArmor Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)_Redacted.pdf

JOFOC-2022-012

Rev.:7/2022

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER (NSSC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For 80NSSC22Q0086 AppArmor

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Shared Services Center.

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is the NSSC Enterprise License Management Team (ELMT).

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source purchase order to Rave Wireless, Inc for AppArmor software. AppArmor is an application for emergency notification, warning, and critical information about emergencies for organizations. The application provides notifications, warnings, and critical information about emergencies for the entire agency, employees, and visitors.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA requires the purchase of an enterprise solution package for AppArmor Safety Recurring License for an emergency notification system. It is a cloud-based content management system that allows mass notification options, reporting functions, and location services features. This requirement will be used agency-wide and the application is configurable for each NASA center, site, and facility.

The following are inclusive to AppArmor and required to meet the agency’s needs:

Application is fully customizable.

Application allows custom branding.

Application provides unlimited push notifications.

Application mass notification system is capable of delivery times of 1-5 seconds.

Application notifies even when app is not running.

Application informs users (employees) and visitors (unlimited) about emergency situations and provides who to contact.

The branding to customize and place the NASA name and logo (meatball, vector, etc.) on the application allows users to know the app is from NASA. The branding of the app, including app store ownership, is unique.

Custom branding is important for three reasons. First, the current NASA Emergency Notification System (ENS) does not have branding, the current NASA ENS system’s text messages, and phone calls originate from a Tennessee area code that some employees ignore thinking the contact is a telemarketer, spam or a nuisance call. AppArmor’s branding allows NASA to avoid this user problem and the reluctance to use the app due to identification concerns.

Second, marketing research shows custom branding maximizes outreach compared with apps without this customization. A company that focuses on app store optimization stated the foundation of marketing for successful mobile applications is the app icon. The icon is the first thing someone sees in the app store, so the design (branding) is critical to success. As users scroll through the app store, the app should be eye-catching, recognizable, and familiar.

Without the NASA imprint, employees may miss the app and not download it.

Third, significant downloads are promoted by the custom branding for higher levels of adoption. Employees and visitors are far less likely to download what they perceive as a random app from a random app store account. Using a NASA logo will lead to trust cues where end users know they are downloading the correct app. The customized app design should serve as a clear representation of the app and provide as much information as possible to what users will find after they install it. The app icon should be as straightforward as possible, simple is best avoiding cluttered or confusion to the eye.

It is critical to have an app that can be branded with NASA name and logo (meatball, vector, etc.).

2. Content Management AppArmor is the only system on the market with the real-time update capability for all app features. This capability allows the Incident Commander of an incident to make changes to the content at the scene without the product customer service or technical support personnel getting involved. This flexibility is very important particularly since most emergency situations are fluid - quick, reliable, and timely information is important. For example, to push notification information and then edit the gate or building hours or status has changed is critical to the successful management of an incident. It is not necessarily all about the number of downloads but more importantly on the attention on the user and providing up-to-date content and information. Without content management, the app is useless during an incident. Three features standout.

First, configurability is another way to drive downloads by making the app more valuable with its features and content. AppArmor is more configurable than other solution. On the market, essentially the Incident Commander can build a custom safety app to meet specific use cases at a location(s) and make real-time updates to fine-tune it to meet the situation’s needs. The most important aspect about content is being able to provide information whether on or offline to users about what to do during emergency situations.

Second, regarding content management once the app goes live, NASA can make an unlimited number of changes via AppArmor's Designer Content Management System (CMS). The CMS updates the app in real time, providing unique safety/security resources for a specific event. For example, NASA launch sites at Kennedy Space Center and Wallops Flight Facility would use this capability for launches to pass critical parking, traffic, and security information to tourists and launch visitors.

Third, the powerful features of CMS and configurability changes are crucial for employees and visitors, but there are other robust features that provide NASA flexibility such as connecting different features to different locations by making unique dashboards for each location, e.g., during an event such as a launch, panic buttons can be directed to a location specific security operations center instead of the normal dispatch operation.

3. Providing New Capabilities AppArmor provides for new capabilities to improve security awareness and services. For example, Friend Walk allows the user to send real-time location information to a contact such as Dispatch or a friend, so when an employee leaves their building at night and walks to their car in a far-off parking lot, the contact can follow the employee on a map. Mobile Blue Light provides an Emergency Call or Panic Button as means for employees to contact Dispatch immediately. A one-button call does not exist at present, so with Friend Walk or Mobile Blue Light employees have a feature to request overwatch or contact Dispatch with a one-button call.

The GeoFence is the most important upgrade and move to improve the Dispatchers’ situation awareness of emergency calls on center. The GeoFence converts 911 calls to 281-483-3333 the JSC Emergency Dispatch number, something that JSC currently does not have, so should someone on center call 911, the phone call goes to a downtown Houston call center, where sometimes the information is passed to JSC Dispatch and at other times first responders show up to a call without JSC’s awareness.

4. Anonymity or Identification AppArmor allows the users and app to be totally anonymous and not collect any user information. There can also be a user registration process that integrates with the Single Sign On (SSO) via SAML. There is also a partition feature where different sections are restricted and those sections which are for employees only remain behind a registered SSO. Visitors and the Public with no SSO ability would be limited in access and information.

It has been determined that AppArmor is the only requirement that can satisfy all of the agency’s needs as stated above.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on September 15, 2022, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Rave Wireless, Inc. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

The Government anticipates a fair and reasonable-priced offer from Rave Wireless, Inc since this software is offered commercially. The contracting officer will compare the price offer to prices found reasonable on similar previous purchases and the commercial list price. The contract file will include a statement of price reasonableness based on the comparisons.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

The Enterprise License Management Team (ELMT) conducted a review of Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurements (SEWP), General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage and a targeted internet search using the specific titles of the AppArmor software tools. This search did not yield any results. Market research has determined the software is available only through a direct sell from the publisher, Rave Wireless, Inc. The chief financial officer, William Price, confirmed on a company letterhead that Rave Wireless, Inc is the sole provider for AppArmor software. Please see attached letter.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

Deviation from this sole source justification of Rave Wireless’s AppArmor Safety Software would generate additional costs in time and money for compatibility research. The technical staff at NASA/JSC has determined that Rave Wireless’ AppArmor Safety Software is the correct service provider for NASA.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). No other firms have expressed interest in writing for this acquisition.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

For 80NSSC22Q0086 AppArmor

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Technical Representative

I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contract Specialist

Lead Contracting Officer