J A_Redacted.pdf

BSI Software Maintenance Renewal

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JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6 Justification & Approval (J&A), Supporting Procurements under FAR Part 12, FAR Subpart 13.5, and FAR Part 15

Purchase Request Number:

Contract Number: TBD Task/Delivery Order Number: TBD Procurement Title: Business Software, Inc. (BSI) Annual Software Maintenance Renewal Contracting Office:

Estimated Value:

Statutory Authority: FAR 6.302-1

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Justification for OTFAOC Number: N/A

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer hereby approve the use of other than full and open competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1).

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requiring Activity:

Contracting Activity:

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

a. This requirement is to procure a Firm-Fixed-Price contract for the renewal of software maintenance support for BSI Tax Factory software being used in the mainframe environment in . Software maintenance for the last year was provided under .

b. Funds are provided

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3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

The objective of this effort is to obtain annual software maintenance support during the , from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for Tax Factory software maintenance. Software maintenance includes the receipt of new versions and releases of software products. The Period of Performance for this contract is

The software is incorporated in the Mainframe Environment.

4. IDENTIFICATION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

This acquisition is conducted under the statutory authority of 10 U.S.C§2304 (c)(1), and the regulatory authority of FAR 6.302-1/Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 206.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The item/service is peculiar to one manufacturer’s brand name. Only the OEM will satisfy the requirement. No other vendors or distributor can legally obtain access to the software nor make duplicate copies, since it is protected by copyright and patent laws.

5. DEMONSTRATION OF CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS:

a. The software OEM owns all proprietary rights to the source code and has not released the product source code to any authorized third party vendors to sell, lease or maintain their proprietary software product. Only the OEM can provide the continued software licenses and maintenance of the proprietary Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) software.

b. Obtaining replacement software products from other software OEMs would result in massive software conversions and would lead to additional costs for the customer(s)), and central design activities that have developed in-house applications using this COTS software product in their application systems. A competitive functional replacement would result in increased costs to and who require this software

c. An extensive amount of technical expertise has been developed at the computing centers based on the existing software infrastructure. Significant amounts of cost would be expended performing technical review, business cases, implementation and training if replacement software were pursued. Our and customers’ programs/applications have been developed to integrate with BSI’s Tax Factory software.

It would require a tremendous effort and many man-hours for both and its customers to change their programs to accommodate a different product to perform this function.

6. FEDBIZOPPS ANNOUNCEMENT/POTENTIAL SOURCES:

In order to confirm market research efforts which indicate there is only one source from which to procure software maintenance, a synopsis for this requirement will be published to Federal Business Opportunities website as required by FAR 5.2.

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7. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST:

The Contracting Officer will determine that this contract represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) and result in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features and administrative costs) to meet the Government's needs. The technical team will perform an evaluation of any other price proposals based on the evaluation criteria of Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable. Certified cost and price data is not required for these commercial item acquisitions in accordance with FAR 15.403-1(b)(3). The Contracting Officer will determine whether the prices for each individual requirement are fair and reasonable based on one, or a combination, of the following:

a. Comparison of proposed prices received in response to the solicitation. Adequate price competition establishes a fair and reasonable price (FAR 15.403-1(c)(1)).

b. Comparison of the proposed prices to historical and existing prices paid, whether by the Government or other than the Government for the same or similar items. The contracting officer will conclude the prior price was valid for comparison.

c. Comparison with competitive published price list, published market prices of the same commodities.

d. Comparison of proposed prices with the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

8. MARKET RESEARCH:

a. Market research was completed via internet searches and phone calls during by Market research was based on the prior years’ acquisitions.

The software maintenance will continue the annual software renewal of the Mainframe architecture. Market research showed that this license, maintained since the initial purchase, is commercially available to properly support the operating environment, and is not available on existing Government contract vehicles to include

b. No other software product was found in the market that provides similar functionality as Tax Factory. TaxFactory software automates payroll tax calculations to meet regulatory requirements. If functionality could be replaced, it would result in the Government losing its investment in the current infrastructure, as well as extensive application re-writing for the supported customer. In addition, extensive re-training of the technicians who support this software would be required if the software functionality could be replaced. Decreased productivity would be a major negative impact of discontinuing the specific software. In summary, no other software product can meet the Government’s technical capability needs in a cost effective manner.

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9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS:

’s installed proprietary software environment limits the ability to pursue competitive alternatives, but has proven successful in the standardization and cost reduction efforts of

Operations is currently working on an initiative to establish an operating environment that will standardize software categories that have proven to be cost effective in managing and maximizing use of available computer resources at facilities.

10. LISTING OF INTERESTED SOURCES:

A synopsis for the action will be published on the FedBizOpps website as required per the FAR. The synopsis will identify the Government’s minimum mandatory requirements. It is understood that Business Software, Inc. is the only source. However, any responses to the FedBizOpps announcement will be considered by prior to proceeding with an award.

11. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

(a) Procurement History.

(b) Full and open competition will be pursued on future licensing requirements if there are no barriers to software requirements. This action is a follow on renewal of support/software maintenance. The needs will be assessed when the current software becomes obsolete and needs to be replaced, to include consideration for use of other contractor’s products.

12. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP): IAW the exceptions under DARS 7.103 (S-91)(h) an AP is not required.

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ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO