ESRI Single Source JOFOC.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Limited Sources Justification

For an Order/BPA Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

FAR 8.405 Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) Multiple Award Schedule Program

Control No. (if applicable) ______________________

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Enterprise Geospatial Management Office (EGMO) and USDA, Departmental Administration (DA), Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), Procurement Operations Division (POD).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The USDA intends to issue a sole source delivery order on a firm fixed price basis via General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) 513210 Software Licenses for Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc (ESRI) specific Geographic Information Systems

(GIS).

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

This request supports the purchase/renewal of ESRI-specific Geographic Information Systems (GIS) desktop, server, mobile & online software, maintenance, and technical support for multiple USDA agencies.

Actual quantities will be determined during the life of the award utilizing true ups to cover additional mission area needs. (base & before exercising each option year) based upon each Mission Area’s determination of need. Below is the estimated “as-is” cost (meaning, the option years currently show no additional licenses from the base year) for a base and 4 option years, per Mission Area.

4. The authority and supporting rationale.

The following circumstance justifies limiting the source under FAR 8.405-6:

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B) – Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services requried at the level of quality required.

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

The Enterprise Geospatial Management Office (EGMO) conducted an internal survey of over 15 USDA Agencies who leverage Geospatial Technology and Services to find the top 12 requirements within USDA. To understand which products meet USDA requirements, the Team reached out to various geospatial services/software vendors including ESRI, Tableau, Google, Precisely (formerly Pitney Bowes), QGIS and Oracle to see if the 12 requirements can be met. Information was gathered from the various company websites and secondary sources by the Team for the Requirements Matrix shown below. For geospatial assets and to deploy products to capture and analyze data, tools must allow for configurations and application of standards that specifically advance the interoperability requirements described by the law. There was no evidence from any vendors of experience with capturing data that aligns with standards such as ISO19115 which are identified by the Geospatial Data Act and supplemental OMB guidance as the mechanisms to ensure interoperability.

Requirement Esri Tableau, PowerBI

Google Earth Engine QGIS Oracle Spatial

PB

MapInfo/Precisely

1.0 Mapping &

Visualization Meets

Partially Meets Meets Meets Meets Meets

2.0 Spatial Data

Management Meets

Partially Meets Meets

Partially Meets Meets Meets

3.0 Field Mobility Meets

Partially Meets

Partially Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets Partially Meets

4.0 Monitoring Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets Partially Meets

5.0 Analytics

including spatial analytics Meets

Partially Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets

Partially Meets Partially Meets

6.0 Design &

Planning Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets Meets

Partially Meets Partially Meets

7.0 Decision Support Meets Meets

Partially Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets Partially Meets

8.0 Constituent

Engagement Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets

Partially Meets

Partially Meets Partially Meets

9.0 Sharing &

Collaboration Meets

Partially Meets

Partially Meets

Does Not Meet

Partially Meets Meets

10.0 Development

tools and frameworks Meets

Partially Meets Meets Meets Meets Meets

11.0 Support for

UAS flight planning and data capture Meets

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet Does Not Meet

12. Support multi-platform for GIS SW and data catalog:

desktop, on-prem server, cloud, Meets

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet

Does Not Meet Does Not Meet

Requirement Esri Tableau, PowerBI

Google Earth Engine QGIS Oracle Spatial

PB

MapInfo/Precisely phone, laptop, mobile

Table Legend Meets Software natively meets this requirement Partially Meets

Software may meet this requirement through integration with other products or the information is not complete

Does Not Meet

No evidence that the product can meet the requirement but could possibly meet through integration if APIs exist or through a future release

6. A determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer (CO) that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d).

Placing this order represents the best value to the government in accordance with FAR 8.404(d).

Award will be made based on the receipt of a technically acceptable quote in response to the provided PWS containing a fair and reasonable price. GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-price services. The resulting order will be firm-fixed-price.

7. A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The EGMO team conducted market research during the first and last quarter of fiscal year 2021 for internal requirements and needs. Using those top requirements POD conducted RFIs on NASA SEWP and GSA. Both RFIs were posted on 10/04/2022. Preliminary research conducted included gathering product requirements, compiling data, and building a matrix showing which of six competing products met each requirement. Secondary research was also conducted by reviewing two studies done by respected market research organizations and reviewing a transition analysis done previously by NRCS.

Professionally produced analysis of geospatial software/systems proved to be difficult to locate. The EGMO market research team was unable to locate any relevant Gartner reports. The team was able to obtain reports from Forrester™ (a Gartner competitor) from 2018 and ARC Advisory Group Geospatial Information Systems Global Market Research Study© covering 2013 through 2017. A follow up consultation with Gartner July 2022 did not reveal new GIS reports.

The ARC Advisory Group Study focused on marketplace trends and market share analysis, rather than technical features and functions. The information is relevant to compatibility with external partners since it shows a long-established leadership in the marketplace as well as market saturation by Esri especially in the government market space. This supports compatibility and interoperability among government entities who rely on Esri as their geospatial software/system. Additionally, reliance on a market leader, whose product meets requirements, benefits from the fact that resources with skills in developing applications using the product are generally available and at more reasonable rates than resources skilled in niche or lesser-known products.

The Forrester Study compared eight geospatial platforms. This study used 27 criteria, scored on a scale of 0 to 5, to evaluate the platforms. Esri was also the leader in this study, scoring a top of the scale

5.00 in key criteria such as Spatial Visualization and Analytics, Execution Road Map, Supporting Services and Partner Ecosystem. The Forrester Study says Esri “brings extensive data offerings with global coverage, together with industry-leading spatial visualization and analytics – a powerful and compelling combination.”

8. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Vendors that replied to the two RFIs on NASA SEWP and GSA provided a limited set of products and services which did not meet USDA requirements as detailed in the Analysis of Alternatives. Market research indicated that third party sellers could not meet the Gov’t requirement. Importantly, there was a general lack of understanding of the importance of specific tools to address the requirements of the law. Vendors reviewed other than ESRI products and did not provide evidence of experience with- nor support for the specific workflows that allow for data analysis and capture that would remain consistent with our statutory obligations. Through the market research it was found that ESRI, as owner and manufacturer, is the sole source provider of all U.S. domestic Enterprise Agreements.

While some products are available through value-added resellers on a unit priced basis, Esri is the only source that can grant a right to copy and deploy products in an Enterprise Agreement. No vendor other than ESRI demonstrated ability to support the different platforms in which USDA deploys its field and emergency programs. Specifically, evidence was lacking to show support for software deployment in the various agricultural settings that USDA engages. ESRI has proven to be the only vendor who can most accurately meet the requirements.

*NOTE: Of the 572 small business vendors the RFIs were issued to, one vendor did submit a response however, it was nothing more than a copy of the vendor’s Corporate Overview; within the summary, there was zero mention of anything relating to Geospatial support in any way at all.

9. A statement of actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated.

USDA will continue to conduct market research on GIS solutions, monitoring the alternatives in comparison to Agency needs, to determine if future tools can be deemed adequate/appropriate, removing barriers to competition.

Certifications & Approval

Supporting data which form the basis for and included in this justification are certified accurate and complete.

Ronald Sequeira Enterprise Geospatial Management Office

The information contained in this Limited Sources Justification is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Ryan Scrivner Contracting Officer

RONALD

SEQUEIRA

Digitally signed by

RONALD SEQUEIRA

Date: 2023.06.16 14:14:34 -04'00'

RYAN

SCRIVNER

Digitally signed by RYAN

SCRIVNER

Date: 2023.06.16 12:08:16 -06'00'

Additional Reviews & Approvals

Signatures are required at each threshold up to the total estimated dollar value of the acquisition

Advocate for competition for the procuring activity (if over $750,000, but not exceeding $15 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed below, as advocate for competition for the procuring activity, I hereby approve this justification.

Rick Jiron Chief, Procurement Operations Division/MASCO Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition

Head of the procuring activity (if over $15 million, but not exceeding $75 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, unless additional approvals are required as prescribed below, as Mission Area- Senior Contracting Official, I hereby approve this justification.

Hilary Erickson Head of the Procuring Activity United States Department of Agriculture

Senior Procurement Executive of the Agency (if over $75 million). I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Therefore, as the Senior Procurement Executive, I hereby approve this justification.

Donald W. Baker, Jr.

Senior Procurement Executive United States Department of Agriculture

DONALD

BAKER

Digitally signed by

DONALD BAKER

Date: 2023.06.16 14:49:29 -04'00'

HILARY

ERICKSON

Digitally signed by

HILARY ERICKSON

Date: 2023.06.16 13:29:00 -05'00'

RICHARD

JIRON

Digitally signed by

RICHARD JIRON

Date: 2023.06.16 12:17:24 -06'00'