B08_Solicitation_Attachment_2_Brand_Name_Justification_Redacted.pdf

J&A Control Number

Requirement Title / Name:

Purchase Request Number:

Originating Office (Customer):

Division / Unit / Branch:

Red Hat Licenses for OIT/DIS

44055377

Office of Information Technology (OIT)

BIA/OIT/DIO/DIS

1. This is a justification for other than full and open competition.

Agency:

IA Acquisition Office:

Indian Affairs

A16 Central Office - Services & Supplies

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

Requirement:

Pricing:

Follow-on Requirement

Firm-Fixed Price

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

The Red Hat operating system serves as a stable, enterprise-grade platform for numerous applications utilized by Indian Affairs that require vendor-specific support.

These include Maximo Application Software (MAS) 8, OpenShift, Ansible, and other critical tools. Red Hat is the preferred solution due to its robust support model and mature security baselines, which align effectively with the Department of the Interior’s security posture. The government requires the continuation of these Red Hat operating system licenses.

IGE REDACTED

4. An Identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

AUTHORITY: 41 U.S.C. 1901; FAR 12.201(a)

BRAND NAME ONLY JUSTIFICATION

JA26-00306

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

OpenShift MAS, Ansible and Red Hat Enterprise Limux Purchase unique qualifications include: The organization is under a strategic mandate to transition to OpenShift Managed Application Services (MAS) as part of its modernization and cloud-native application strategy. This move aligns with enterprise-wide goals to standardize application deployment across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, accelerate DevSecOps adoption by leveraging container orchestration and automation, ensure compliance with federal and agency-specific IT modernization directives, Open Shift MAS provides a fully managed Kubernetes platform that reduces operational overhead while ensuring scalability, high availability, and security. The deployment and operation of OpenShift MAS necessitates the use of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as the underlying operating system. RHEL is a critical component for:

platform compatibility with OpenShift clusters, enterprise-grade support and long-term stability, security hardening and compliance with Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), integration with existing Red Hat tools such as Satellite, Ansible Automation Platform, and Insights.The RHEL license ensures that the infrastructure supporting MAS is secure, reliable and fully supported by Red Hat. MAS requires Red Hat Enterprise Linux because MAS is supported only on Red Hat OpenShift, and the OpenShift versions required for MAS can run only on RHEL. Additionally MAS relies on Red Hat-specific entitlements, repositories, storage drivers, systems - regardless of modification. This is a combination of vendor support boundaries, technical dependencies, and platform coupling. Other Operating Systems could be modified however, it would take many months or years of Government time to develop/modify and deploy a new system. Whereas, Red Hat is already a well defined, secure operating system that many of OIT's systems fully rely on.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by part 5 and, if not, which exception under part 5 applies.

A written solicitation will be issued via SAM.gov in accordance with FAR 12.603(a) as a 100% set aside for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise (ISBEE) vendors. This procedure combines the synopsis required by 5.203 and the issuance of the solicitation into a single document.

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

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination is based on the following:

The contracting officer will assess the anticipated cost to the Government is fair and reasonable, primarily by leveraging competition. Competitive pricing is the most effective means of ensuring that the Government secures a fair deal.

Alongside competition, additional methods such as an Independent Government Estimate (IGE), historical data analysis, and comparisons to GSA pricing may also be employed to confirm the price's fairness.

8. A description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

In accordance with FAR 10.002, meaningful market research was conducted to identify qualified sources for this acquisition. The research focused on identifying vendors under NAICS 541519 which falls under 'Other Computer Related Services'. Specifically, identifying 499 ISBEE vendors that are available under this NAICS code.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of justification of other than full and open competition, such as:

Full and open competition is not feasible due to the absence of suitable technical data packages, specifications, or statements of work necessary for the required solution. The unique nature of the work, which requires seamless integration with existing systems, renders the development of standardized specifications impractical and costly. Expert consultations and analyses of past projects indicate that pursuing full and open competition would likely result in delays, disrupt critical services, and create inefficiencies, ultimately leading to costs that far outweigh any potential benefits of increased competition. Therefore, it is justified to pursue alternatives to full and open competition.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

While no specific ISBEE contractors have been identified for this acquisition, a vendor who participated in previous acquisition of a similar supply/service was classified as an ISBEE.

11. A statement of any 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 is dedicated to removing or addressing any barriers to competition prior to future acquisitions. To tackle potential obstacles, we will focus on refining technical specifications, enhancing our market research efforts, and expanding outreach to a wider array of vendors. Furthermore, we will seek opportunities to simplify requirements and processes that may have previously restricted competition. These initiatives will help foster a more competitive environment for upcoming acquisitions.