Attachment 1 - JA_Redacted.pdf

Limited Sources Justification and Approval (J&A)

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I. Contracting Activity.

AFLCMC/PZITA

2275 D St., Bldg. 16, Rm 132

WPAFB, OH 45433-7288

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

In accordance with paragraph 2.5.1 of the Department of Air Force Manual (DAFMAN) 17-1203, dated 13 September 2022, Client computing devices shall be purchased using the Client Computing Solutions III (CCS-3) program including products under the Quantum Enterprise Buy (QEB) cycles as well as Rugged Product Buys (RPB) cycles. Organizations must utilize the CCS-3 purchasing program as the primary means of acquiring client computing systems. In the event that a mission requirement cannot be met by CCS-3 through the QEB, RPB, or the Specialized Product Solutions (SPS) request for quote process, organizations must obtain a waiver from the MAJCOM A6. If approved, then seek the product using the Second- Generation IT (2GIT) buying program using the GSA portal. Products that are not in scope of CCS-3 do not require a waiver before seeking those products through 2GIT.

In order to properly determine if the requested hardware was offered via 2GIT BPA, market research conducted indicates the requested items are not available via CCS-3. The program office issued Requests for Information (RFIs) to 2GIT (RFI# ) quote request platform. Results of this market research indicate the government's bill of materials is able to be fulfilled via a 2GIT BPA.

Therefore, this action will be awarded as a new firm-fixed price delivery order on a 2GIT BPA. Based on research the total estimated value of this delivery order is The estimated delivery date for this action is 30-60 days after contract award.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The Information Technology (IT) infrastructure is in a state of constant growth and these devices are needed to support a . Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, IT modernization efforts geared toward high performance data storage solutions have been incorporated within cornerstone networks. As utilization increases and migration from legacy storage solutions continue, further expansions in storage capacity are needed. This hardware aligns with the existing, upgraded environment devices already in place which allows the user to maintain administration and architecture consistency upon entering a specific network environment.

has a new requirement to purchase a quantity of 6 Dell PowerEdge R760XA Servers and associated parts to support . As stated in section IV, this is for a modernization effort. Dell R760XA PowerEdge servers are Dell's latest server designed to run complex workloads using highly scalable memory, Input/Output, and network options as well as the associated parts.

requested delivery date for this requirement is within 30-60 days of contract award. The period of performance is one year from contract award date.

The estimated value of this delivery order is $

IV. Identification of the justification/rationale for limiting sources and demonstration of the contractor's unique qualifications to provide the required supply/service.

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FAR 8.405-6 requires an ordering activity to justify its actions when restricting consideration of schedule contractor to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-1 or FAR 8.405-2. The specific circumstances that justify restriction for this acquisition are in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(b)(1): The brand name items, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, are items peculiar to one manufacturer, Dell. The purchase of these six (6) Dell PowerEdge R760XA Servers is a crucial part of supporting a specialized network.

The procurement of Dell R760XA Servers is essential in maintaining the integrity and performance of a network. This hardware is part of an effort to modernize current hardware

Failure to continue standardized network components would be detrimental to the network integrity . Standardization provides seamless user performance, security, and data transference Other companies' similar items do not meet, cannot meet, or cannot be modified to meet the agency's need due to compatibility issues. The use of an Other-Than-Requested (OTR) brand would not allow us to leverage observability, firmware updating, and patching tools that integrate with Dell's Open Manager Enterprise (OME) software suite. This incompatibility would result in service denials and would limit the resources currently available

An OTR brand would negatively affect recovery and protection by increasing internal use malfunctions, creating both manning and infrastructure strains due to a reduction in expertise and network integrity.

In total, incorporating an OTR solution for this requirement would take approximately of duplicated costs to the Government to complete. Accordingly, Dell, through their authorized resellers, is the only brand capable of providing the supplies without significant mission impacts and delays, as well as substantial duplications of costs that can't be recovered through competition.

Systems that provide similar capability but are not interoperable with other brands.

V. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with

FAR 8.404(d).

A fair and reasonable price determination will be made by the Contracting Officer based upon a lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) competition among GSA 2GIT vendors, capable of providing the requested brand. Only GSA 2GIT vendors shall be considered for award. It has been determined that this contract vehicle is the best contract vehicle to ensure fair competition among brand name resellers as well as satisfying the Government's requirements for fair and reasonable pricing based upon adequate price competition. In the event only one (1) quote is received the Contracting Officer will determine a fair and reasonable price based on FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii).

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VI. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or explain why market research was not conducted.

As noted above, the brand Dell is necessary to maintain the integrity of the network in question. Logic, experience, and industry best practices all hold that standardization is the key to a stable and successful network. There are no alternatives that will work because, as stated, standardization is vital. Without standardization, we will invalidate Dell warranties, run the risk of hardware/software incompatibility and also experience network outages. A formal Request for Information was issued to both 2GIT and NASA SEWP purchasing platforms . Results of this market research indicate the Government's Bill of Materials is able to be fulfilled via GSA 2GIT. See the results of the RFIs below:

2GIT (RFI#

NASA SEWP (RFI#

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Therefore, based on the above market research, this effort will be advertised to all authorized resellers for the required bill of materials as well as procured from an authorized GSA 2GIT vendor.

VII. Other facts supporting the justification.

None.

VIII. Actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the restricted consideration before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services.

will continue to query for commercially available hardware and software products of this kind to determine if the capabilities are able to meet the government's requirements. will also review technical publications, expositions, trend guidelines, and Air Force regulations and instructions, as well as confer with other agencies and experts, so that future actions may be solicited under full and open competition procedures. All competing commercial products have been evaluated prior to submission of this requirement, and none were deemed feasible for incorporation into current technical infrastructure. As new trends formulate within production, will continue to inquire about these devices and research ways to develop, test, and integrate them if possible.

IX. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

X. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.