FY25 - VMWare LSJ Redacted_Redacted v2 PC.pdf

Limited Sources Justification and Approval (J&A)

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

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Clients. Only the VMWare hardware/software and equipment is capable of meeting the Government's needs at this time.

Without the purchase of this software, the VMWare hardware system in place will be rendered inoperable. The software is unique and highly specialized and only authorized resellers/distributors of VMWare are able to provide it.

The aforementioned organizations have implemented and maintain a large network of multiple virtualized servers and desktop computers. This hardware/software doubles the network capacity by implementing virtual servers instead of a physical rack or blade servers. The hardware/software also allows employees to utilize the desktop interface employed at their normal duty locations or from remote locations if they are deployed or otherwise teleworking. In order to support this network of virtual servers and computers, the hardware/software support coverage is required.

VMware hardware/software and services are deeply integrated in all core network functions. The virtualization of the current desktop configuration, as well as the virtualization of core servers has shown

. Replacing VMware with another manufacturer's product would require a completely new study analysis for the virtualization program. This would force the Command to scrap all VDI progress currently achieved, greatly reducing all network functionality by forcing a redesign of all virtual servers, and require a total rebuild of all domain servers currently employed.

Support that is not brand name could cause grave impact, which would negatively affect the missions, cause unacceptable service interruptions, and create a steep learning curve disruption. At this time, barriers to competition cannot be removed, as allowing other than name brand would require replacing the VMware branded software and all hardware that is integrally tied into the VMware software system across the entire information technology enterprise located at the Peterson Space Force Base. Without this unique hardware/software and brand name maintenance support, personnel will be unable to perform their mission to conduct operations to deter, prevent, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States, its territories, and interests within the assigned area of responsibility and provide military assistance to Civil Authorities, including consequence management operations in support of Homeland Defense, as directed by the President through the Secretary of Defense.

V. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with

FAR 8.404(d).

FAR 8.404(d) states GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-priced services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. Therefore, ordering activities are not required to make a separate determination of fair and reasonable pricing. FAR 8.405-2(d) does not apply in this acquisition because hardware and software licenses do not require a statement of work. By placing an order against a schedule contract using the procedures in FAR 8.405, the order represents the best value and the lowest overall cost alternative to meet the Government's needs. DFARS 208.404 Use of Federal Supply Schedules - "See DoD Class Deviation 2014-O0011- Determination of Fair and Reasonable Prices When Using Federal Supply Schedule Contracts, dated March 13, 2014. Effective immediately, contracting officers shall comply with the following policy, in lieu of FAR 8.404(d), Pricing, when using Federal Supply Schedules. This class deviation remains in effect until incorporated in the DFARS or otherwise rescinded." Prior to making award, in accordance with FAR 15.404-1, the Contracting Officer will determine that the proposed price is fair and reasonable.

VI. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or explain why market research was not conducted.

In accordance with DAFMAN 17-1203, para 3.6.3.1, published on 13 September 2022, all DAF software will be procured using applicable buying programs (in order of precedence):

1) DAF Enterprise License Agreements (ELA), (T-1) – Not on this list

2) DoD Joint Enterprise License Agreements (JELA), (T-1) – Not on this list

3) DoD Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA), (T-1) – On this list, but only for Navy’s use.

4) General Services Administration (GSA) 2nd Generation (2GIT) BPA schedules, (T-1) – Available on GSA 2GIT

5) Other vendor-authorized sources, (T-1) - Available on NASA SEWP

A search on the DoD ESI website revealed this particular hardware/software cannot be procured via the ELA, JELA, or ESI BPA buying programs. Additionally, a search through GSA 2GIT and NASA SEWP contracts revealed this specific hardware/ software can be acquired under either contract platform.

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Other mandatory government sources of agencies' inventories, Federal Prison's Industry and AbilityOne (FAR 8.0002), do not offer products to satisfy this requirement.

VII. Other facts supporting the justification.

In accordance with FAR 19.502-2(a), a small business set-aside is not appropriate because of the non-manufacturer rule (the NAICS 541519 is not on the waiver list for SBA) and GSA 2GIT has a rule stating that a small business can not order off of a large business's schedule and receive small business credit.

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.

The stakeholders in this acquisition are 21 CONS as the contracting agency and as the end users. These licenses are on an Approved Product List that lists all types of software and hardware allowed in the end user's workspace at a Top Secret/SCI level.

In accordance with the previous LSJ (included within the contract file), 21 CONS requested the end users to evaluate the APL to ensure that all allowable options were investigated. During this acquisition process, the customer was contacted to confirm if the APL had been updated since the previous acquisition. The customer confirmed that the APL has other software options, however their infrastructure is built using VMWare. is unable to migrate to a new product unless their is a major life cycle replacement to give them the opportunity for such a change.

The Government continually evaluates the latest technology and will continue to monitor trends as well as developments in this area. Technical refresh assessments of systems are conducted annually as well as research of new applications while considering replacement of the existing systems as newer technologies become available.

Going forward, unless VMWare is removed from the APL, VMWare will need to be purchased to meet the future software needs of the current system.

IX. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

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.

X. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

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GUIDANCE

I. Contracting Activity.

Fully identify the contracting activity responsible for the proposed contracting action. Include the name/phone number of the Contracting Officer. Specifically identify as a “Limited Sources” Justification. Identify purchase request number, if applicable.

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

State whether the action is a new order or by modification to an existing order. Identify the GSA schedule number, the Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) number, the order number for the current action, and the Contactor(s). Indicate the Period of Performance (PoP). Also identify the type of the order/line items on the order (e.g. Firm Fixed Price, Labor Hour, etc).

III. Description of the supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

Specifically describe the supplies and/or services to be acquired including the price and quantity of each item in the order and state the total estimated value of the order. For services, state whether the services are performance-based and, if not, provide rationale for not being performance based. Also state the delivery/performance schedule/period for the items under the order.

IV. Identification of the justification/rationale for limiting sources and demonstration of the contractor's unique qualifications to provide the required supply/service.

This section is normally the most detailed part of the justification. To assist you in preparing this justification, an introductory sentence and the four circumstances of FAR 8.405-6 that justify restricting the number of schedule holders are provided below. Select the appropriate cite, then provide, in narrative form, a detailed explanation supporting the specific circumstance cited for limiting the number of schedule holders.

(Introductory sentence) FAR 8.405-6 requires an ordering activity to justify its actions when restricting consideration of schedule contractors to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-1 or FAR 8.405-2.

After selecting the appropriate cite, next select one of the four sentences below and provide a detailed explanation supporting the specific circumstance cited.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), “Only one source is capable of responding due to the unique or specialized nature of the work”. (Provide a detailed justification with supporting documentation, as evidence of the “unique or highly specialized” nature of the procurement.

The user/customer typically provides this supporting information. Recommend attaching supporting documentation to the back of the document. General statements are not acceptable.)

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C), “The new work is a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures.” The original order was not issued under sole source or limited source procedures. (Provide details on the previously competed order and explain how this order is a logical follow-on to that order. Explain fully the connection between the previous work/order and the current one.

The user/customer typically provides this supporting information. General statements are not acceptable.)

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(A), “An urgent and compelling need exists, and following the ordering procedures would result in unacceptable delays.” (Provide a detailed justification with supporting documentation that explains the exact urgency of the requirement and the schedule impact if time were to be taken to follow FSS ordering procedures. The user/customer typically provides this supporting information. Recommend attaching supporting documentation to the back of the document. General statements of urgency are not acceptable.)

FAR 8.405-6(b)(1), “The item is peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.” (Brand name specifications should not be used unless the particular brand name, product or feature is essential to the Government's requirements. Therefore, explain why the particular brand item is essential to the Government's requirements, and why other companies' similar items, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or

April 2024 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 7 of 8 cannot meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency's need. The user/customer typically provides this supporting information.

General statements are not acceptable.)

V. Determination by the ordering activity Contracting Officer that the order represents the best value consistent with

FAR 8.404(d).

This section needs to be tailored based upon whether the order is for supplies/services not requiring a statement of work (FAR 8.405-1) or if the order is for services requiring a statement of work (FAR 8.405-2).

For FAR 8.405-1 orders the best value determination needs to be based upon the supply or service offered under MAS contracts by surveying at least three schedule contractors through the GSA Advantage! on-line shopping service, or by reviewing the catalogs or price lists of at least three schedule contractors. The ordering Contracting Officer's review of the Contractor's price list(s) and any price reductions sought is also required. (Contracting Officer should seek additional price discounts/concessions based on the specific order requirements on all orders over the micro-purchase threshold.) In addition to price, when determining best value, the ordering activity may consider, among other factors, past performance, special features of the supply or service required for effective program performance, trade-in considerations, probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item, warranty considerations, maintenance availability, environmental and energy efficiency considerations, and delivery terms.

When an order contains brand name specifications, the Contracting Officer shall post the Request for Quote (RFQ) along with the basis of the justification as required by FAR 8.405-6(b)(3).

For FAR 8.405-2 orders for services requiring a statement of work, FAR 8.405-2(d) requires that an evaluation be performed based on the criteria provided to the schedule contractors. Therefore, the justification must address how the FAR 8.404(d) requirement for an evaluation of the proposed level of effort and mix of labor will be conducted and include a statement that the Contracting Officer will perform a price reasonableness determination as part of the best value determination.

VI. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or explain why market research was not conducted.

Discuss market research that was conducted among schedule holders and the market research results that led to the conclusion to go sole source or to limit the number of schedule holders to be solicited. The narrative in this section should provide a high level of confidence that the requirements of FAR 8.405-1 and FAR 8.405-2 could not be met. If no market research was conducted, state so and provide the rationale.

VII. Other facts supporting the justification.

When FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C) is cited for an follow-on acquisition as the basis for the justification, include an estimate of the cost that would be duplicated and the basis and derivation of the estimate, or provide details on why a delay to solicit additional schedule holders would be unacceptable.

Provide any other facts supporting the Limited Sources Justification.

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.

Describe all efforts to be taken to remove or overcome any barriers that preclude the agency from meeting the requirements of FAR 8.405-1and FAR 8.405-2 before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made. If no actions are planned, so state and provide reasons.

IX. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

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. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel

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