FY21 IBM LSJ signed_Redacted.pdf

Limited Sources Justification IBM MLC/WLC IPLA Licensed Products

1. Contracting activity:

This Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ) supports a procurement action to be conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program (FAR 8.401). The procurement action is generated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Office of Procurement Operations

(OPO).

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

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) Operations Technology Management’s (OTM) Data Center (DC) has a requirement for continued licensing and software support services for IBM Enterprise Servers also known as OPM’s Mainframe, specifically annual maintenance renewal for IBM’s Monthly License Charge (MLC), based on IBM’s Advanced Workload Charging (AWLC). The renewal of software services needed from IBM entitles CIO/OTM/DC to new versions of the various operating system software products, assistance with identifying and fixing problems any time of the night or day, seven days per week, and the changes necessary to repair any defect found. Additionally, CIO/OTM/DC has a requirement for continued licensing and software support services for IBM Enterprise Servers, specifically annual maintenance renewal for IBM’s International Programming License Agreement (IPLA). The renewal of software services needed from IBM entitles CIO/OTM/DC to new versions of the various operating system software products, assistance with identifying and fixing problems any time of the night or day, seven days per week, and the changes necessary to repair any defect found.

OPM requires IBM IPLA and MLC/WLC software licensing and maintenance support renewal for a period of performance of twelve months (December 1, 2020 – November 30, 2021). The licenses and support were previously purchased on a Sole Source basis to IBM via task order 24322620F0012 in the amount of $9,879,019.74, which will expire on November 30, 2020.

This document provides justification for the renewal of OPM’s suite of IBM licenses and support and maintenance. Renewal of IBM licenses will require the acquisition be limited to IBM, as IBM does not use resellers for this Subscription and Support (S&S) renewal.

3. Supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

Please see the attached Bill of Materials (Attachment 1) to renew IBM’s Licenses and support.

The estimated value for this action is

4. Identification of the statutory authority and supporting rationale 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” as IBM is the only provider for licenses and software renewals. IBM is the sole proprietor of the software and does not have resellers for this requirement.

OPM’s operations cannot function without the suite of IBM Systems Software which is being used on the IBM Enterprise Servers. This software is the z/OS operating system and related products which is only available from IBM, as it was developed by IBM, and therefore proprietary in nature. Without the renewal of support for the z/OS IBM Operating System software MLC/AWLC and the z/OS IBM IPLA software products contained within the IBM Systems software account, OPM’s Information Technology staff will not have access to technical support from IBM in the event of system failure and will not allow OPM to continue to operate its mainframe enterprise server environment which currently houses the majority of OPM’s mission critical applications. The MLC/WLC and the z/OS IBM IPLA software represents a portion of the mainframe operating system environment. The services are absolutely required by CIO/EIS/DC to provide timely resolutions of problems or defects which may be found in the various Retirement Services, Merit Systems Audit & Compliance (MSAC), e-HRI and other OPM business lines’ applications. Most of this software is operating system software on an IBM platform. It cannot be replaced unless OPM decided to go away from this type of operating system. If that occurred, none of the applications that run on this platform would function and all would have to be rewritten and/or converted. Of the products that are not operating system specific, a conversion to other products would have to be done that would be a major undertaking for all of OPM’s CIO for conversion are rewrites of applications and training would be required of most of the CIO staff that use the software.

IBM does not authorize resellers for MLC/WLC or IPLA licensing and maintenance services, and 100% of all services are provided directly by IBM. Therefore, IBM is the only supplier of its proprietary software and the only vendor capable of supporting its products.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated order will represent the best value:

Based on the nature of the requirement, the solicitation will be issued to a single source, IBM under GSA Schedule Number GS-35F-110DA. Competition will not be sought. In order to determine that the anticipated order will represent the best value, the Contracting Officer and requesting activity will review previous orders. Additionally, the vendor will be requested to provide any discounts available beyond the published GSA price. Per FAR 8.404 pricing provided for on the Federal Supply Schedule is already determined to be fair and reasonable.

6. Description of the market research conducted and the results or statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

Based on the market research conducted, the product is only available through IBM. Market research specific to this requirement was conducted by CIO and OPO in August 2020, and it identified IBM as the sole source offeror of IBM IPLA and MLC/WLC licensing and annual maintenance support services. IBM does not authorize resellers for this required proprietary software or support.

7. Other facts supporting the justification.

IBM does not use authorized business “partners” or resellers of this software. All upgrades, problem reporting, and troubleshooting is done directly with IBM.

8. Statement of actions, if any, 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:

OPM currently owns and utilizes the IBM Enterprise Servers (Mainframe) which require IBM’S IPLA and MLC/WLC software licensing and ongoing maintenance support. OPM will continue to conduct market research and seek competitive actions should adjustments to OPM’s mainframe systems, resulting in a change to OPM’s software needs, be made.

In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(2)(i) – Limited Sources, within 14 days after delivery order award, a notice shall be posted in accordance with FAR 5.301 and a copy of this justification posted at the GPE http://beta.SAM.gov for a minimum of 30 days. Any contractor proprietary data, references and citations, as are necessary to protect the proprietary data, will be removed before making the justification available for public inspection.

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