Gartner LSJ_Redacted.pdf

Rev.:7/2022

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE

ADMINISTRATION

IT Procurement Office (ITPO)

LIMITED-SOURCES

JUSTIFICATION For

80TECH24Q0025 - Gartner, INC

This is a Limited-Sources Justification (LSJ) prepared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) IT Procurement Office (ITPO).

This acquisition will be conducted under the Multiple-Award Schedule (MAS) Program (Title 41 U.S.C. 152(3)). This action is for a firm-fixed-price BPA to obtain memberships (subscription access) to Gartner, Inc.’s proprietary database of research, toolkits, and network of over 2,500 analysts and subject matter experts for all NASA.

It is anticipated that award will be made to Gartner, Inc. under General Services Administration (GSA) IT Professional Services Special Item number (SIN) 54151S.

The total estimated ceiling amount of the proposed BPA is $ and the estimated period of performance is June 1, 2024 – March 31, 2028.

Base Period: June 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025

Option Period One: April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026

Option Period Two: April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027

Option Period Three: April 1, 2027, through March 31, 2028

Authority Cited and Rationale:

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(A). An urgent and compelling need exists and following normal procedures would result in unacceptable delays.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(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.

FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(C). In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to an original GSA FSS order provided that the original order was placed in accordance with the applicable GSA FSS ordering procedures. The original order or BPA must not have been previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.

FAR 8.405-6(b), Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer. An item peculiar to one manufacturer can be a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer. A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer.

Rationale:

Gartner, Inc. is a technological research firm that conducts research and analysis on technology and provides access to their proprietary database of research, toolkits, and network of over 2,500 research analysts through membership subscriptions. They are a leading source of research and analysis in the IT industry and their proprietary work products (e.g., research articles, toolkits, benchmarks, templates, and frameworks), including over 150,000 independent, non-sponsored research articles, are not available through any other source. The Gartner memberships provide exclusive access to their large database of proprietary core research documents that is continually updated, provides advice about information technology and the functional responsibilities of specific IT roles, access to all exclusive gartner.com home pages that serve as gateways to role-specific content, access to an exclusive online community that provides insight and experience from both Gartner analysts and IT peers, analysis of breaking news of interest to specific technology roles, access to written research reports (e.g., vendor and product ratings, cross-cutting special reports, and diagnostic “toolkit” resources), and the ability set up individually tailored teleconferences with Gartner's expert research analysts to discuss their proprietary research developed for Gartner.

NASA has leveraged Gartner memberships for more than a decade and over the last few years the research provided through Gartner have proved to be invaluable to the mission of NASA's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and aided tremendously in their transformation efforts. For NASA to continue to build on the tools and frameworks that NASA has leveraged from Gartner in the past, it is critical that NASA continue to have access to this research. Failure to obtain membership to this vendor’s online research and membership subscriptions will result in a systemic degradation in the Agency’s ability to stay abreast of critical IT research, IT service and software and complete its mission of empowering NASA’s people and partners to achieve mission success through secure, evolving information technology and accessible data.

Determination by the contracting officer that the order represents the best value consistent with FAR 8.404(d):

Pursuant to FAR 8.404(d), Pricing. Supplies offered on the schedule are listed at fixed prices.

Services offered on the schedule are priced either at hourly rates, or at a fixed price for performance of a specific task (e.g., installation, maintenance, and repair). GSA has already determined the prices of supplies and fixed-prices services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates, under schedule contracts to be fair and reasonable. GSA’s determination does not relieve the ordering activity contracting officer from the responsibility of deciding of fair and reasonable pricing for individual orders, BPAs, and orders under BPAs, using the proposal analysis techniques at 15.404-

1. The Contracting Officer will determine price reasonableness during the proposal evaluation process prior to contract award, based on comparing proposed pricing to commercial pricing, and historical prices paid on current contract.

The Gartner memberships included in their GSA Schedule contract 47QTCA18D008L are listed as fixed priced annually at a discount off Gartner’s commercial pricing. NASA intends to request an additional discount off GSA pricing for the NASA BPA.

Market Research:

Market Research conducted in May 2024 shows that access to Gartner’s proprietary research is not available through any other source. This market research was conducted through the open market, GSA library, as well as Library of Congress’ FedLink offering. The market research indicates there are several vendors who offer online subscriptions for IT research libraries; however, only Gartner provides access to their proprietary database of research, toolkits, and network of over 2,500 research analysts.

Additionally, Gartner, Inc has no authorized value-added resellers.

Pursuant to FAR 8.405-6(a)(2), the LSJ will be posted to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) on SAM.gov for a period of thirty (30 days) within 14 days of award.

Other Facts: None

A statement of the 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:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.