FA701424Q0062_ Sole_source_justification_EVOX System Fully Executed_Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

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The contracting activity for this acquisition is :

Headquarters Air Force Contracting Division (AFDW/PKH) Air Force District Washington 1500 W. Perimeter Rd Joint Base Andrews NAF, MD 20762

This acquisition will result in the award of a new start, sole source Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order to eVerbatim, Inc. for the procurement of a comprehensive court reporting technology system using automated speech recognition (ASR), coupled with training, warranty, and support services.

The JAG Corps is required by DAFI 51-201, Administration of Military Justice and DAFMAN 51-203, Records of Trial to record and produce verbatim transcription for court-martial proceedings. DAFI 51-201 requires verbatim transcription of court-martial proceedings be completed in either 64 or 38 days, depending on the nature of the proceeding. The JAG Corps satisfies service requirements to record and transcribe administrative discharge proceedings under DAFI 36-3211, Military Separations and Flying Evaluation Boards under DAFI 11-402, as well as various other legal and administrative proceedings.

This is a replacement of the current system used to record and transcribe court-martial and administrative proceedings. It brings the Department of the Air Force in compliance with current legal and policy requirements by dramatically increasing the rate at which proceedings can be transcribed and equips the Air Force with a court reporting system that is inter operable with sister services who utilize court reporters.

This acquisition consist of the purchase of annual software subscription to include warranty and maintenance services, auxiliary hardware and training. The items break down is of services and items being procured to include the period of performance is provided below.

0001 Software Subscription (Wrnty and Mxs) 12 Mos 16 Sept 24 -15 Sept 25 0002 Auxiliary Hardware 1 Lot 16 Sept 24 -15 Sept 25 0003 Training 1 Lot 16 Sept 24 -15 Sept 25 1001 Software Subscription (Wrnty and Mxs) 12 Mos 16 Sept 25 -15 Sept 26 1002 Training 1 Lot 16 Sept 25 -15 Sept 26 2001 Software Subscription (Wrnty and Mxs) 12 Mos 16 Sept 26 -15 Sept 27 3001 Software Subscription (Wrnty and Mxs) 12 Mos 16 Sept 27 -15 Sept 28 4001 Software Subscription (Wrnty and Mxs) 12 Mos 16 Sept 28 -15 Sept 29

This requirement will be funded with funds.

The Air Force requires a complete recording and transcription system which can be deployed to any courtroom on any installation and which does not require any internet connectivity. The system must utilize automated speech recognition (ASR) as its primary form of transcription, must produce verbatim transcription with an accuracy rate of at least 90%, and must be capable of producing completed transcripts at a rate of at least 1-1.

The Air Force does not have individual court reporters assigned to individual court rooms and

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March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 9March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 9 individual installations. Court reporters are stationed at multiple installations throughout the world but are detailed to cases on a traveling basis. The average court reporter will travel to many different locations throughout the year. The Air Force has approximately 86 locations in which courts-martial are held, and a maximum of 55 court reporters. Any one court reporter's equipment must be compatible with every Air Force courtroom, worldwide.

Air Force courtrooms are all currently equipped with a mixture of legacy court-reporting equipment acquired at various times from the early 1970s to the present day. Most, if not all, of the currently deployed systems in Air Force courtrooms are incompatible with modern automated speech recognition hardware and software components and are only useful for providing backup recordings of proceedings (or being used with outdated software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking (DSN) and For the Record (FTR). To effectively deploy a modern automated speech recognition hardware and software package throughout the Air Force, all current hardware must be replaced or superseded.

Air Force courtrooms have no access to commercial internet. Locations in which administrative proceedings are held also typically have no access to commercial internet. Court reporting equipment must be able to be operated, and produce verbatim transcription, without internet connectivity, to include in combat or deployed locations. Transcription must be able to be accomplished using a system that can be transported between various locations (and used by any court reporter in the field, with interchangeable components).

Software Specificities:

The EclipesVox AI System (EVAS) records, plays back, translates, and transcribes various courts-martial proceedings and administrative hearings, in real time, without access to commercial Internet connectivity. It provides a complete system capable of performing real-time transcription viewing, team editing, recording, and air-gapped local storage of all court-martial proceedings.

EVAS is comprised of computer and audio components integrated with proprietary software and is a complete, end-to-end solution that converts speech to text in real-time --with or without continuous commercial Internet connection. EVAS is capable of meeting the military-specific requirements unique to courts-martial recording and transcription functions that require integrated hardware and software deployment to remote or austere locations, to locations which lack commercial internet, and be able to complete verbatim transcription of Military specific jargons and proceeding at a required speed and accuracy without commercial internet connectivity. EVAS is currently the only software used across the sister services to be able to meet this need.

Salient Characteristic:

1.Speech engine output is NOT accepted and presented to the user in its original, raw form. It is fully reprocessed using highly-refined transcription algorithms developed over 30 years of software development for automated legal transcription. Aside from formatting issues, EVAS adds the following refinements to the speech results:

a. Speaker identification

b. Punctuation number

c. Processing capitalization

d. Variations accounting for specialized vocabulary

e. Resolving common speech recognition errors

2.As the raw speech text is reprocessed, custom dictionaries are applied in real-time. These “dictionaries” are significantly more powerful than simple vocabulary lists because they not only replace mis-transcribed words, but also add punctuation, change case, and even alter the format and spelling of contiguous words.

a. The dictionaries are continually added to and modified by the users, thus increasing transcription accuracy with extended use.

b. EVAS dictionary vocabularies created by users can be sent to the speech engine so that it can recognize

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3. Discrete, high-quality audio is captured for each speaker and synchronized precisely with the text.

a. As the transcript is being edited, both the mixed and discrete channels are available for instant playback by the reporter or editor.

4.The reporter has the ability to temporarily exclude noisy channels to prevent them from being included in the speech recognition results, while still creating an audio recording of those channels as a backup.

5.Using a local area network (LAN - not connected to the internet), the reporter of record can share the transcript being generated in the courtroom with an editing team comprised of one or more additional users.

a.Each team editor can hear the audio and see the text on screen as it is being created by the ongoing testimony in the courtroom.

b. Each team editor can make corrections, add or remove text, add entries to dictionaries, and more, all in realtime.

c. Using this feature work groups are able to reduce transcript delivery times substantially, and increase transcript production efficiency.

6. Critical Aspects and Unique Differentiators: EVAS offers both on- and off-premise speech-to-text generation. Most systems rely on an off-premise, continuous commercial Internet connection to convey the audio to a cloud-based processor and to receive the transcribed text from it. EVAS is capable of handling this entire operation locally, using an on-premise speech engine.

7.Full reprocessing of speech engine output.

a. Speech engines often incorrectly recognize speakers. EVAS has two methods for this process: hardware- or software-based. This means it can use the individual channel recordings to identify speakers and insert speaker designations into the transcript, or it can use the algorithms in the speech engine software.

b. Reprocessing text processed by a speech-to-text engine is a vital step to a more accurate result since raw text is laden with errors resulting from audio deficiencies, cross-talk, misrecognition, and more.

c. The reprocessing cleans up the initial draft of the text considerably, making it possible to generate final versions of transcript documents more efficiently and in less time.

8.Intelligent audio & text transcript redaction.

a. Because audio redaction is extremely laborious, compliance with privacy mandates for audio records poses a sizable challenge. EVAS automates the process, enabling the transcript editor to easily redact both the audio and the text using just a couple of keystrokes. A redacted and unredacted copy of the audio and text can be created for distribution. Time-coded, audio- synchronized text versions can be created in the Bridge format.

9.Automatic and hyperlinked indexing.

a. EVAS generates hyperlinked indexes in PDF and HTML formats. The automatic indexing features allow the user to easily generate a complete index for each transcript or a volume of transcripts.

b. As a PDF is created, this index is added to the PDF bookmarks, which are hyperlinked to the document.

When creating a PDF, the user can also create a concordance showing the location and frequency of each word in the transcript, all hyperlinked.

c. Alternatively, users can export a completed transcript with an index and a concordance in HTML format.

10.Audio system integration.

a. Modern audio interface devices make possible new, integrated systems for legal transcription

b. EVAS is the only transcription system to merge the powers of audio technology, state-of-the-art computers, and advanced programming into one fully orchestrated process.

c. Multiple voices are captured by high-fidelity microphones, sent to the speech engine, fully processed a

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11.Portable document viewer.

a. Bridge, a free document viewer, is available for EVAS users and can be distributed without restriction.

b. The finished EVAS transcript can be exported into the Bridge format (.brg) as a time-stamped, exhibit-linked, audio- synchronized document.

c. Anyone downstream can use the Bridge viewer to open these documents, play audio at any point, check exhibits, etc. This is in addition to the other document formats the software can generate.

d. Which include:

e. Bridge. Built-in audio synchronization, time stamping, and exhibit linking. Using Bridge, a viewer can move anywhere in the text and play audio or view embedded exhibits.

f. PDF. Built-in time stamping and exhibit linking, including a hyperlinked concordance.

g. HTML. Built-in time codes, and a hyperlinked concordance.

h. RTF. Can be ported into Word, Word Perfect, other word processors, but no time stamping, no exhibit linking, and audio synching.

i.ASCII. Universal text format, with optional time stamping, no exhibit linking, and no concordance.

Hardware Components and training schedule are attached as separate documents.

This action is estimated at which is above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), but below the commercial item threshold ($7.5M), therefore, IAW below FAR cites, use of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP) is authorized. SAP do not require use of FAR part 6 (Competition in Contracting/CICA) requirements for full and open competition.

FAR 13.106-1(b) (2) "For purchases exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. The requirements at 13.501(a) apply to sole-source (including brand-name) acquisitions of commercial products and commercial services conducted pursuant to subpart 13.5."

FAR 13.500 "This subpart authorizes the use of simplified procedures for the acquisition of supplies and services in amounts greater than the simplified acquisition threshold but not exceeding $7.5 million... if the contracting officer reasonably expects, based on the nature of the supplies or services sought, and on market research, that offers will include only commercial products or commercial services.

FAR 13.501(a) "Sole source (including brand name) acquisitions. (1) Acquisitions conducted under simplified acquisition procedures are exempt from the requirements in part 6."

The Air Force cannot operate a system that must be pieced together through different vendors, and which is unsupported by military communications squadrons or other technical support units. Court reporting hardware and software are unique, and only exist within the confines of the court-martial system. Regular DAF communication squadrons have no familiarity with, and cannot service, the technology associated with modern court reporting systems. As such, any system purchased must include complete, end-to-end hardware and software warranty, licensing, and 24/7/365 technical support. eVerbatim, Inc. is the only vendor who currently provides such a service. If the DAF independently purchased software, hardware, and licensing, it would be unable to service these components in the field (or provide training on their use).

The Air Force has not located any other vendor who has any experience in deploying these hardware and software systems to military environments, specifically military courtrooms. Military facilities differ greatly

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March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 6 of 9March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 6 of 9 from their civilian counterparts and have unique challenges uncommon in civilian settings. eVerbatim, Inc. is the only vendor who has the background of implementing the Eclipse RSR/Bridge software suite within the military court-martial system, and in creating matched hardware sets that are both capable of producing the required transcription rate and being quickly fielded in locations with no existing court reporting infrastructure (or infrastructure that is decades-old), to include deployed locations, and to locations that lack internet connectivity.

The Air Force has not located any other vendor who can provide training on the use of Eclipse RSR specific to military court-martial practice, and at locations throughout the world. Other vendors sell hardware or software, but do not provide an on-the-ground training suite such as that provided by eVerbatim. Of note, between 2020 and the present day, eVerbatim provided in-person training for more than 140 United States Army court reporters, to include at OCONUS locations. While the Air Force could purchase Eclipse RSR/Bridge and some matching hardware components from various other vendors, without training and education, the current cadre of court reporters could not utilize them.

The government has attempted to locate a vendor selling a fully integrated court-reporting system, including all necessary hardware and software components, which functions without an internet connection and performs ASR at a greater than 90% accuracy rate.

Between January 2022 and July 2024, the government conducted vendor surveys, internet searches, and engagements with industry trade groups such as the National Association of Court Reporters (an accredited institution representing the court reporting and transcription industry), and while several vendors sell ASR software and some associated hardware pieces, only one software suite is capable of functioning fully without either a permanent or temporary internet connection: Eclipse RSR. All other ASR software is either wholly or partially reliant on cloud-computing solutions that require commercial internet connectivity unavailable in Air Force courtrooms.

The Air Force attempted to locate vendors of Eclipse RSR who could provide not only the required software, but also matching hardware components, warranty and support services, training, and software licensing. At present, Eclipse RSR is only authorized to be sold to Department of Defense customers by one authorized vendor, eVerbatim, Inc. eVerbatim is also the only contractor who can offer systems guaranteed to be compatible with those of sister services (of note, all sister services who employ court reporters utilize eVerbatim's end-to-end system.

The Air Force has made contact with the sister service entities responsible for both court reporter and transcription management, and who have the same legal and policy requirement to produce verbatim transcription for courts-martial. This includes the Army MICC-FSH contracting entity at JBSA, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, who confirmed that eVerbatim, Inc. was and is the only vendor offering a completely integrated real-time-speech recognition court reporting hardware and software suite capable of meeting the relevant requirement. All of the services utilizing court reporters have determined that the integrated system offered by eVerbatim is the only system currently in the marketplace capable of meeting the unique military requirements,and being deployed in locations lacking commercial internet connectivity.

When determining fair and reasonable pricing the Contracting Officer may base the statement on comparison of the proposed price using methods under FAR 13.106-2 and 13.06-3 (a) (2)

A complete analysis of the contractor's prices will be performed in accordance with applicable FAR

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 7 of 9March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 7 of 9 provisions. Commercial pricelists, procurement history, IGCE analysis, and other available pricing information will be reviewed. A determination of fair and reasonable pricing, as required by statute and regulation, will be made by the Contracting Officer A certificate of cost or pricing data will not be requested due to the commercial nature of this requirement.

12 August 2024: A search on www.abilityone.gov revealed that this requirement is not available through the AbilityOne program. ( www.abilityone.gov )

12 August 2024: A search on Unicor's website revealed that this requirement is not available

12 August 2024: These services are not available through Federal Supply Schedule, government wide acquisition contracts, multi agency contracts, and any other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies. Additionally, the software and integrated components are not available through Enterprise Software Agreements for commercial software pursuant DFARS Subpart 208.74. The market research conducted revealed that there was no integrated software meeting the specification and performance requirement which was, a fully integrated court-reporting system, including all necessary hardware and software components, which functions without an Internet connection and performs real-time speech to text transcription at a greater than 90% accuracy rate. This requirement will also be for software and licenses with routine service to update the software and troubleshoot errors, it was revealed that such a system was not available through the Strategic Sourcing Initiatives site.

1 July 2024 - 12 August 2024: The government conducted vendor surveys, internet searches, and engagements with industry trade groups such as the National Association of Court Reporters (an accredited institution representing the court reporting and transcription industry) in order to determine what court reporting and transcription systems would meet the proposed requirement. Court reporting and transcription uses one of three systems; stenography, re-dictation, or automated speech recognition (ASR).

Stenography is not legally permissible in the military environment, as it does not use digital audio recordings as the basis for the transcription, which is a requirement under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Digital audio is utilized by the prosecutor, defense counsel, and court reporter to both produce and subsequently certify all court transcripts. Stenography does not utilize digital audio recording,and is thus incompatible with military courts-martial. No military service utilizes stenography.

Re-dictation (also known as voice writing) is the system currently utilized by the Air Force. This method of court reporting does not produce transcription at a rate sufficient to meet the policy requirements of DAFI51-201. One hour of a proceeding takes approximately 5-8 hours to transcribe verbatim. Use of this system has resulted in the Air Force currently being in violation of policy. ASR is the industry standard for recording and transcription where a digital audio file is utilized. There are several vendors of ASR systems for court reporting. The primary providers of these systems are CaseCat, Eclipse RSR, Verbit, Colibri, Rev, Parrot ASR, and For the Record. Each sells some version of an ASR software suite which can be deployed using various hardware components. However, only Eclipse RSR offers an ASR system that does not require any commercial internet connection. Other ASR systems either entirely, or at least primarily, rely on some form of cloud-backed support infrastructure in order to function effectively.

There is a single authorized Eclipse RSR vendor for the United States Armed Forces: eVerbatim, Inc.

The Army acquired similar software and integrated hardware system in 2020 ( Contract # W9124J-20- C0027) for the OTJAG (the entire Army JAG corps). The acquisition was a sole source procurement, the sole sources was to eVerbatim, Inc. The United States Marine Corps has used a version of Eclipse RSR acquired from eVerbatim since 1994. The Coast Guard recently acquired an Eclipse RSR system, also from eVerbatim. eVerbatim, Inc. is the only vendor offering systems guaranteed to be cross-compatible with those of sister services (the United States Navy does not utilize the system because

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March 2023 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 8 of 9 they do not utilize court reporters at all).

22 August 2024: The Air Force searched on SAM.GOV . The search revealed that the National Guard Bureau had issued an Intent to Sole Source the same system we are seeking to acquire, from eVerbatim, Inc.

The market research conducted indicated that there is only one reasonable and responsible source that is capable of meeting this requirement. The market research conclusively revealed that there is no other system available on mandatory sources or on the commercial market place that can meet the governments needs except for the system sold by eVerbatim, Inc.

eVerbatim Inc. (CAGE 1HLK8) is currently the only known source that can provide the hardware and software being requested under this requirement. Due to being the current contractor, eVerbatim is the only provider of the hardware warranty extension and is also the only authorized reseller of the Eclipse RSR/EVAS software suite to the United States Armed Forces. Thus, eVerbatim will continue providing hardware that is fully installed and integrated with the required software to ensure full and optimal functionally of a complete court reporting system. Attached is the authorization letter designating eVerbatim Inc. as the sole authorized distributor of the Eclipse RSR/EVAS system. eVerbatim Inc. is the only authorized distributor of t EVAS software that specifically allows interoperability and communications amongst the sister services, and no other vendors or sources have the ability to provide such services.

None.

The Government has made every effort to overcome barriers to competition. During market research phase, the Government explored platforms such GSA to see the ability to purchase Eclipse RSR and supporting hardware and software package, the search proved futile. A search on SAM.GOV indicated that the Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard had all pursued a sole source acquisition for the system from eVerbatim, Inc, To enhance competition for subsequent purchases the DAF intends to conduct continuous comprehensive market research: Engage in market research to identify all potential suppliers, including small businesses, and assess their capabilities. Utilize various tools and resources, such as the System for Award Management (SAM), GSA eLibrary, and industry publications, to identify alternative sources. The DAR will monitor and evaluate the competitive landscape. The DAF team will continue to pulse the market staying informed about industry trends, potential new entrants, and changes in supplier capabilities. The DAF team will adjust future acquisition strategies as necessary based on market dynamics to ensure ongoing competition.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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