CUI_Belvoir JEFO 2024_67 _Redacted.pdf

Control Number: MICC 2024-67

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR PART 16 EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY JUSTIFICATION

For Actions Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC-Fort Belvoir), 9410 Jackson Loop, Building 1425, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060

2. Description of Action: Arlington National Cemetery requests the award of a firm-fixed-price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for GovDelivery Communications Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS) license. NAICS code 513210 – Software Publishers was considered and selected based on being primarily engaged in providing software from Software Publishers. The size standard is 1,000 employees. The projected award date is for 02 September 2024 and fiscal year 2024, . An Acquisition Plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: This proposed action is for the brand name procurement of GovDelivery Communications Cloud SaaS. The contract will consist of a 12-month base year and four 12-month option years.

GovDelivery Communications Cloud SaaS connects over 250 million people with accessible relevant and important government information. GovDelivery allows government agencies to integrate graphics and multimedia content, deliver updates, and newsletters to subscribers, and manage subscription preferences. The software solution provides secure services such as an authenticated and direct communication platform through trusted communications to families and visitors without backend integration.

These services will enable Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) to communicate harvested data from across the enterprise’s business lines in a manner that is usable and easily accessed by the public through internet-connected devices. Additionally, the software provides services to allow users to create customizable profiles and subscribe to information from across ANC platforms.

GovDelivery provides enterprise reporting capability for agency users regardless of access level, as well as reporting for each communication sent on behalf of the agency.

This ability will allow ANC administrators to better analyze the activity to better identify trends, opportunities, and make data-driven decisions with confidence. Communication reporting will provide statistics that reflect at a minimum, engagement rates, subscriber access, and bounce rates.

Control Number: MICC 2024-67 publishers are also encouraged to pursue distribution of their products/services through small disadvantaged, certified 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned, Women Owned Small, and Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses. Market research will be conducted annually on the current requirement to determine if changes occurred in the marketplace that would enable greater competition. If similar requirements arise, every effort will be made to compete to the maximum extent practicable.

7. Market Research: Market research revealed no other software currently on the market, besides GovDelivery, will meet the Government’s FedRAMP requirements. The email marketing communication cloud services feature needs to be FedRAMP compliant at the moderate level. From the conducted market research, it is known that the GovDelivery software support is only available through its authorized resellers.

Market research was performed by Government technical experts in 2023 by reviewing similar software which included Mailchimp software by Intuit, Salesforce software by Salesforce Inc., and Constant Contact software by Endurance International.

Based on reviews of these products, no other solution can provide all of the functionality required. ANC networking Subject Matter Experts regularly review industry trade publications and conduct internet research to ascertain if any other solutions are available.

Additional Market Research was conducted via release of Request for Information

(RFI) Notice ID 36C10B22Q0301 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, who have pursued the same requirement, which was posted to the Contracting Opportunities page under Sam.gov in May 2022. Included with this RFI was the draft Product Description that included salient characteristics and four technical questions about alternative solution capabilities in order to identify both alternative solutions and potential resellers.

Four responses were received: American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), AVTECH Solutions, Carahsoft Technology Corporation, and ThunderCat Technology.

Two of the respondents, AT&T and AVTECH Solutions, were found to be non-responsive to the RFI’s salient characteristics and questions. Both Carahsoft Technology Corporation, and ThunderCat Technology provided a response that was focused on the brand name requirement. These two were considered responsive to the RFI. As such, coupled with the Market Research detailed above, it was determined that the Government would pursue the brand name requirement and the solicitation will be released under NASA SEWP V GWAC as a small business set-aside.

8. Other Facts: This is a new requirement and no procurement history exists.