FY14_LSJ_AFFIRST__(2).pdf

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

I. Contracting Activity

Department of the Air Force, 502d Contracting Squadron, JBSA Randolph TX, 78150-4525, Limited Source Justification. Purchase Request Number # is F3PT444148A001. Contracting

Officer: Gina F. Garcia DSN: 487 5131, COM: (210) 652 5131.

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

This is a sole source requirement as outlined in FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), to provide Web-

Hosting and Maintenance Service for the Air Force Family Integrated Results Tracking

(AFFIRST) System. This is a follow on requirement for an existing order. The current order is

FA3089-13-F-0101 awarded to DefenseWeb Technologies, Inc. The anticipated award will be a firm-fixed price delivery order with two line items in the order for the period of

27 SEP 14 - 26 SEP 15.

III. Description of the Supplies/Services Required To Meet Agency Needs

The Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), Airman & Family Readiness Center (A&FRC), requires continuation of the AFFIRST hosting, maintenance and technical support services. This includes the providing of continuous system maintenance for the current AFFIRST system, bug fixes (i.e., security patches, etc.) and other system maintenance requests. Contractor will also continue to provide technical support for all users of AFFIRST. This includes responding to inquiries through the system and support AFFIRST with any other system issues encountered.

The period of performance is 27 Sep 14 - 26 Sep 15.

IV. Authority and Supporting Rationale for Limiting Sources and Demonstration of the

Contractor’s Unique Qualifications to Provide the Required Supply/Service

FAR 8.405-6 requires an ordering activity to justify its action when restricting consideration of schedule to contractors to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-1 or FAR 8.405-2. This specific circumstance that justifies restriction for the acquisition is FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized. DefenseWeb Technologies, Inc. solely developed AFFIRST and has maintained, hosted and provided technical support for the AFFIRST system since its inception in the spring of 2004. The AFFIRST system was developed utilizing DefenseWeb's proprietary Xtendable Server software which there are no other authorized resellers, nor does any company have authorization or the capability to access

AFFIRST program code to manipulate, modify or write program code in support of this requirement without obtaining rights to Xtendable Server. The AFFIRST system was awarded an Authorization to Operate (ATO) on 3 Apr 12 for a period of three (3) years by the Air Force

Designated Accrediting Authority (DAA) for IT applications such as AFFIRST. This ATO was granted for the environment it is currently hosted in DefenseWeb’s contract hosting facility.

Obtaining a new ATO in a different environment is a 6 - 9 month process that could result in a significant gap in availability and necessitate additional funding and manpower to complete.

AFPC/DPFFS was notified by DefenseWeb in December 2013 that they would not be pursuing the next contract due to their parent company (Humana) shifting priorities to development and management of their healthcare based systems. Therefore, DefenseWeb has allowed a company called Three Wire Systems access to the source code for the Xtendable Server software.

DefenseWeb has provided Three Wire Systems rights to the Xtendable Server software so they can program and maintain the system as needed. More importantly, Three Wire Systems will be allowed to keep AFFIRST operating at the same hosting facility DefenseWeb currently uses.

Migration of the system to another hosting facility is not required. Migrating the system would be a major task at a potentially significant cost that could result in system downtime.

Additionally, by AFFIRST remaining at the current hosting facility the 3 year Authorization to

Operate (ATO) will be minimally impacted and the upcoming re-accreditation effort (re-accreditation work began in June 14) will be much smoother since the current ATO is based on the vetted security of the current hosting facility.

V. Determination by the Ordering Activity Contracting Officer that the Order Represents the Best Value Consistent with FAR 8.404(d)

This requirement will be posted on GSA eBuy. A sole source contract to Three Wire Systems is the only way to fulfill the Government’s requirement for AFFIRST’s hosting and support services. Technical specifications are only available from the manufacturer and cannot be made available to other sources since the Government does not own or have legal access to the source code. Proliferation of another vendor’s software into the current system is not in the best interest of the Government. Price analysis techniques prescribed in FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii-vii), and (c) as necessary will be utilized to determine the price fair and reasonable.

VI. Description of the Market Research Conducted Among Schedule Holders and the

Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research Was Not Conducted

This requirement has been mandated to utilize NETCENTS-2 based on a scope analysis of the

PWS. A request for information (RFI) was posted on NETCENTS-2 amongst the Application

Small Business Companion contractors. Results revealed there are no authorized contractors who have access to the source codes for the Xtendable Server software that responded to the

RFI. This is consistent with the results of the acquisition process for the current contract. The current order FA3089-13-F-0101 was procured on GSA E-buy as a sole source to Defense Web.

No other capable vendors were identified through the previous year’s GSA RFQ posting.

DefenseWeb has not allowed any other contractors access to source codes for the Xtendable

Server software. Therefore, as discussed above, ThreeWire Systems is currently the only known source capable of meeting the Government's needs.

VII. Other Facts Supporting the Justification

HQ AFPC/DPFFS is the designated single service manager of family matters data to include results management, service effectiveness, and return on investment information. AFFIRST is the web-based system that is used to document, manage and analyze services provided to

A&FRC customers. AFFIRST measures the long-term impact of A&FRC services on readiness and retention. Currently the system is used by over 2,000 A&FRC, MAJCOM & HQ users, who service over 1.5 million total force individuals (AD, Guard, Reserve, Family Members &

Retirees) with a similar number of actions documented annually. Loss of the system would result in mission failure in several instances and serious mission degradation in the remaining areas of service for Airman & Family Readiness.

VIII. Actions the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers that Led to the

Restricted Consideration Before Any Subsequent Acquisition For the Supplies or Services is Made

HQ AFPC/DPFFS personnel is actively seeking out a new software platform to remove the current dependency on the Xtendable Server. Once the new platform is available this will alleviate the organization from a continual sole source requirement. Until this new platform is developed and available the AFFIRST hosting, maintenance and technical, development support services support will be limited to Three Wire systems. To ensure the above is met, HQ

AFPC/DFFFS personnel will continue to monitor and evaluate the software capabilities of other manufacturers through continuing market research. Continued efforts in this regard will ensure the Government utilizes the most efficient and economical web-hosting provider.

IX. Contracting Officer’s Certification

The contracting officer’s signature on the signature page evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

X. Technical/Requirements Personnel’s Certification

As evidenced by their signatures on the signature page, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein which is their responsibility are both accurate and complete.