Brand Name Justification - SEWP - IBM zOS Software Renewal for SAM_Redacted.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice Justice Management Division Procurement Services Staff Washington, D.C. 20530

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

(Brand Name Justification)

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

The requiring organization is the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Justice Management Division (JMD), Service Delivery Staff (SDS). The contracting activity is the JMD Procurement Services Staff (PSS).

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

This is a Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity for Brand Name to establish a Delivery Order with Options (DOWO) under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for the renewal of annual standard support for the brand-name International Business Machines (IBM) z/OS Software and related maintenance services for the Department. The requirement will be competed amongst SEWP contract-holders who are authorized to sell IBM zOS Software products and associated maintenance support services.

3. Description of the supplies or services required, including the estimated value.

The proposed action is for the renewal of IBM zOS Software and related services installed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shared Data Centers in Pocatello, Idaho and Clarksburg, West Virginia. The specific subscriptions and software maintenance required by SDS are detailed in the chart below. The estimated value of this Delivery Order for a full year of performance is . SDS operates two (2) Data Centers in a secure and stable environment located in Pocatello, Idaho (PITC) and Clarksburg, West Virginia (CJIS). These Data Center provide a highly available IT infrastructure that enables information sharing and fulfills program needs throughout the DOJ. IBM products are used by the SDS to provide and manage around-the-clock enterprise class mainframes supporting the Z Operating System (z/OS), zLinux and z/Virtual Machine (z/VM). The z/OS services have an extensive set of system facilities and unique attributes that are well suited for processing large, complex workloads that require many I/O operations, access to large amounts of data and comprehensive security in open and virtualized platforms. Specifically, these IBM products are used to manage the Sentry application Database that keeps all information on prisoners. Currently, the BOP Sentry application system can only run on IBM mainframe due to technological constraints that could only be removed by re-writing the application to run on a different Operating System (OS) or a different platform.

Brand Name Justification Page 2 Subject: FY26 IBM z/OS software license and maintenance products

Annual Subscriptions and Support for IBM z/OS software license and maintenance products

MODEL S/N DESCRIPTION QUANTITY

5655X10 W0000VJ Connect: Direct z/OS SE S&S 5 Sessions

5697G59 W0007G8 Fault Analyzer V15 S&S 148 VU

5648D68 W00001Y DB2 UTILITIES SUITE V13 S&S 174VU

5655E90 W0000CV DB2 ADMIN TOOL V11 S&S 148VU

5655F81 W00005T WebSphere for z/OS V9 S&S 148 VU

5655J19 W000BG4 Debug Tool V13 S&S 148 VU

5655M70 W0000ZV CICS Transaction Gateway V9 S&S 148 VU Figure 1 IBM z/OS Items List

Based upon the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), the projected expenditure for this acquisition is The anticipated period of performance is one (1) Base Year of 12 months. The current contract is due to expire on September 30, 2025.

4. Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C § 3304 as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4)(i).

Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above

The Department initially acquired the IBM z/OS products more than 35 years ago. IBM products are currently used by the SDS to support BOP customers. The Sentry application system that manages BOP prisoners’ information can only run on an IBM mainframe due to technological constraints that could only be removed by re-writing the application to run on a different Operating System (OS) or a different platform. There are no other products currently available that provide similar functionality to what is provided with the IBM mainframe-related software. Due to the critical nature of these products, maintenance of the software and support must be purchased each year to ensure continuity of service. Failure to procure the products identified herein would greatly affect the ability of the agency to continue with necessary business functions. For the time being, the risk and the potential negative consequences to the Government in not utilizing the correct OS software on their mainframe must be avoided to ensure SDS’s Data Centers continue to operate properly. The mainframe that runs this software would be non-functional without these software licenses and BOP would be unable to access prisoners’ information.

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Additional market research was conducted in September 2025. The market research concluded that the IBM z/OS brand name continues to be the alternative that could satisfy SDS’s requirements. Market research revealed that there are NASA SEWP V GWAC holders that are authorized resellers of the required brand name IBM z/OS software and support under North American Industry Classification System code: 541519 – Information Technology Value Added Resellers (ITVARs) with a Size Standard of 150 employees. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b)(2), this action will be synopsized at award on the Contract Opportunities in SAM.gov and the justification will be made publicly available. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A), the justification will be posted with the request for solicitation on the NASA SEWP V GWAC.

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

The requirement will be competed among SEWP V contract-holders who are authorized to sell the IBM SW and HW support services. Delivery orders placed under the SEWP contract must comply with FAR 16.505 - Ordering, to provide all qualified contract holders fair opportunity to submit a quote. As a result, the competition will ensure the Government receives the most favorable pricing. Although SEWP prices are considered fair and reasonable at the contract level in accordance with FAR 15.4 - Contract Pricing, additional discounts will be sought for this acquisition.

6. Other facts supporting the justification.

None

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

Although the Government is limiting competition because of specifying a brand name item, there are authorized resellers of the requested software licenses and maintenance on the NASA SEWP V GWAC. To remove or overcome barriers to competition in future acquisitions for this requirement, the agency will work with the program office to perform additional market research so that other solutions can be considered.

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8. Certifications, Concurrences and Approval.

Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification:

I certify that the information contained in this document for which I am responsible is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Contracting Officer Certification:

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

Date