BNJ M67854-24-NORFP-PMW-206-0216_20240404_Final_Redacted.pdf

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

MARINE CORPS SYSTEMS COMMAND

2200 LESTER STREET

QUANTICO VIRGINIA 22134-5050

IN REPLY REFER TO:

Code: CT 2.4

J&A Number 24,171

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity

Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC)

Program Executive Office for Digital and Enterprise Services (PEO Digital)

Information Technology Contracting Center (ITCC)

2200 Lester Street

Quantico, VA 22134-5050

2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

The purpose of this Brand Name Justification is to document the determination that the

Government’s requirement can be met only through items particular to one manufacturer. The proposed action uses a brand name specification in the procurement of the Cloud Service

Provider (CSP) Amazon Web Services (AWS) proprietary Cloud Native Services (CNS) for

Impact Level 6 (Secret Region) data for a 12-month period of performance, plus one optional surge support for four months.

This is an established Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability

(JWCC) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract (HC1050-23-D-0005) for AWS commercial cloud services offerings. JWCC provides commercial CSP controlled Anything as a

Service (XaaS) offerings (e.g., compute, network, storage, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS)) and cloud support packages

(e.g., advisory and assistance services, help desk services, training, and documentation support) across all security domains and at all classification levels and ILs. JWCC offerings are also made available from the strategic level to the tactical edge, to include denied, degraded, intermittent, and latent environments, as well as closed-loop networks.

The procurement of this brand name CNS will be awarded in accordance with Federal

Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 16.505. The brand name CNS are essential to the Government’s requirement and no other supplies or services can currently meet or be modified to meet the

Governments requirement.

3. Description of Supplies/Services

The procurement requirement is to procure AWS Impact Level (IL) 6 (Secret Region) CNS to extend the current AWS cloud hosting capability to Marine Corps Mission Owners with Secret

Classified data. This is a required service offering delivered by PEO Digital, Neptune Cloud

Service Management Organization, Hybrid Cloud Services. The AWS IL-6 (Secret Region) CNS

Pursuant to FAR 5.202(a)(6) and FAR 16.505(a), a synopsis is not required. A redacted version of this justification will be posted in accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii).

6. Description of Market Research Conducted

Market Research was conducted in March 2024, by the Neptune Cloud Hosting Services Product

Owner and team members utilizing the DoD JWCC IDIQ mandated source for AWS IL-6

(Secret Region). The type of required CNS is not priced by quantity; the pre-pricing structure is designed to account for anticipated monthly usage (consumption). The team assessed various

AWS services for function and monthly usage pricing based on the strategic security posture the

Cyber Security Service Provider (CSSP) needs to operate and defend the AWS cloud environment. The United States Isolated (US ISOB) East (Ohio) region is the only AWS Secret

Region available to order AWS IL-6 CNS. After several combinations of architecture designs, the team determined the required services meet Zero Trust architecture and the Department of

Defense Secure Cloud Computing Architecture framework. The team assessed historical Marine

Corps cloud consumption trends within a comparable cloud environment to determine that an optional surge support would be likely if an early Authority to Operate (ATO) is granted. The

JWCC contract allows for up to fifty percent (50%) of estimated spend should an option for

“surge support” be required.

7. Other Facts Supporting the Justification

The justification requirement for AWS as the best choice and lowest cost Cloud Service

Provider (CSP) is based on several factors. First, the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations

Group (MCCOG) CSSP IL5 Support services is already operationalized with an Authority to

Operate in an AWS IL5 environment. Selecting another CSP would result in additional costs, administrative overhead, technical debt, and schedule delays. Second, the existing IL5 Secure

Cloud Computing Architecture (SCCA) with AWS as the CSP allows for the reuse of documentation, Standard Operating Procedures, automation scripts, and support personnel, resulting in cost savings to the Marine Corps in startup and operations and maintenance costs.

Additionally, the compatibility and integration of MCCOG CSSP Tenants already within a

IL6 AWS CSP environments allows for onboarding to the DOD required CSSP Services provided by MCCOG to be more streamlined and standardized during the onboarding process.

Choosing a different CSP for the IL6 AWS SCCA CSSP Services would lead to delays, additional costs, and long-term operational and maintenance overhead to the MCCOG and their ability to effectively provide mission critical CSSP Services to its IL6 customers. These parameters were considered when conducting Market Research. Failure to execute this procurement by 16 April 2024, will result in Secret Classified mission delays supporting our warfighters.

8. Action to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

To overcome future barriers to competition, future development and enhancements of

Infrastructure as a Service components could include containerized platforms. This could enable multiple vendors to meet the requirements which will enable the flexibility to shift workloads based on financial and mission requirements. The Marine Corps will continue to conduct market research to determine if competing products or solutions offer a better value to the Government while maintaining compliance.