LSJ_RFQ_PWC065-Redacted.pdf

Limited Sources Justification

PR 21-17-G37PWC065

Application Infrastructure Capability Area

Limited Source Justification

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251, et seq.) and Title 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies Multiple Award Schedule Program FAR 8.401 and is justified by the following facts and rationale required under 8.405-6(b)(1).

(1) Agency and Contracting Activity.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG), Operations Systems Center (OSC) proposes to issue an order under Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) HSHQDC-11-A-00039 on a basis of restricting competition consideration of schedule contractors to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-6(b)(1) on a brand name basis.

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

The USCG C4ITSC provides IT support to local and remote organizations and their network environments. This is an annual hardware/software maintenance renewal for twenty-six (26) BIG-IP Load Balancers manufactured by F5. Ten (10) of the devices are physically located at Detachment Chesapeake, five (5) of these devices are located at TISCOM, three (3) of these devices are located at Alameda, and eight (8) devices are located at OSC. Load Balancers are network hardware appliances that monitor and balance data loads on servers, authenticate public key infrastructure (PKI) access (CAC card access on various applications) and balance the application security manager (ASM) with certificate offloading. Maintenance renewal will allow USCG OSC to continue to open technical support cases with the manufacturer, in situations where there are technical problems with hardware and software functionality. Maintenance renewal will also allow for continued returns of equipment to the manufacturer to receive replacement equipment in the event of faulty hardware. This renewal of service will ensure that the USCG workforce may continue to perform its mission function as required. Failure to have the maintenance renewed will result in risk to the USCG for security vulnerabilities over time, leading to increased exposure to cyber security exploits. Also, non-functional F5 load balancers will cause imbalance of server and network loads causing instability in USCG applications and inability for users to connect to USCG systems.

Proposed Contractor:

Dell Federal Systems L.P.

One Dell Way Round Rock, TX 78682-0001

(3) Description of Supplies/Services.

The products and quantities are identified in the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). The estimated cost of this annual maintenance renewal is approximately $326,958.50. The initial balancers were purchased for Detachment Chesapeake prior to

Application Infrastructure Capability Area

2006 by its support contractor (General Computers & Electronics Company-GCE);

however there is no written documentation to support the purchase of the F5 brand. The Government technical representative at FINCEN believes that F5 was selected due to the load balancing options it offered in supporting both the FPD and CAS Financial Suite.

Research indicates the selection of the F5 brand was made after a comparison of alternatives the Government participated in and endorsed. OSC purchased its initial load balancers in approximately the 2008 timeframe by OSC’s support contractor, QSS Group, Inc. Over the course of the next few years, hardware procurements were made by OSC’s support contractor until a full deployment of 26 F5 load balancers were in place.

The load balancers were purchased on behalf of the Government by QSS Group, Inc., OSC’s prime contractor for its Systems Engineering and Technical Services II (SETS II) task order (General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule Contract No. GS-09F-0047F and Task Order HSCG23-05-F-TWV436). The purchase was made as an Other Direct Cost (ODC) under this task order. QSS Group, Inc. also entered into a contract for annual hardware and software maintenance through 2010. In 2010, the Government awarded a follow-on contract to Ace Info Solutions, Inc., OSC’s prime contractor for its Core Technology Services (IDIQ Contract No. HSCGG3-11-D- PWV888 and Task Order HSCGG3-13-J-PWX002). Beginning in 2010, and continuing through 2015, Ace Info Solutions also entered into a contract for annual hardware and software maintenance

However, in 2013 the Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) directed that, effective 01 January 2015, all ODC purchases historically made on the Government’s behalf by OSC’s Core Technology Services contractor, Ace Info Solutions, Inc., be transitioned to Government purchase requests and Government issued purchase orders. The maintenance renewals have been submitted each year after the initial 12-month warranty expired. The maintenance is necessary to ensure that the USCG C4ITSC can deliver high availability load balancing services for USCG information technology enterprise applications. In 2017, there will be no new software operating system upgrades/updates available from the manufacturer and in 2018 updates for operating system patches will not be available. Therefore, there are planned FY17 backlog requests at Chesapeake and OSC for recapitalization and replacing the entire suite of equipment at both locations as the USCG will be at an increased risk for cyber security violations. The replacement devices estimated to cost $1.2M will be virtual vice physical appliances. The replacement virtual devices will replace the current deployment of 26 load balancers and an additional 6 older F5 appliances installed at FINCEN. The competition planned will be full and open and not brand name specific to any particular manufacturer.

(4) Identification of the justification and the rationale.

Maintenance renewal will allow for continued technical support from the manufacturer, and continued hardware replacement in the event of hardware failure. They will be used to improve the overall performance of applications by decreasing the burden on servers associated with managing and maintaining application and network sessions.

Application Infrastructure Capability Area

The following is the F5 load balancer renewal Products Description:

Product Description

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-HW53

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-BIG-LTM-1600-4G-R

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-HW53

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-BIG-LTM-20000S

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-SW18-EDI

BIG-IO Service, Premium - (Level 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-DNSSEC

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-HW63

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-BIG-LTM-6900-F-R

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-SW27-EDI

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-GTM

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-SW33

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-ASM

F5-SVC-EM-PRE-HW3

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-EM-4000-R

F5-SVC-BIG-PRE-SW34

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-ASM

F5-SVC-EM-PRE-SW35

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-ASM

F5-SVC-BIG-EM-SW36

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-ASM

F5-SVC-BIG-EM-SW37

BIG-IP SERVICE: PREMIUM, (LEVEL 1-3) F5-ADD-BIG-ASM

(5) Determination by the ordering activity contracting officer that the anticipated order represents the best value consistent with 8.404(d).

The Contracting Officer has determined that issuing the proposed order to Dell Federal Systems, LP (BPA HSHQDC-11-A-00039) for this effort represents the best value and will result in the lowest overall cost alternative, considering price and administrative costs, to meet the Government’s needs. This order will be placed in accordance with FAR 8.405-3(c), “Ordering from BPAs.” The General Services Administration (GSA) has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing. The DHS BPAs have negotiated additional discounts to the GSA schedule prices. Prior to issuance of the BPA call, the Contracting Officer will seek price reductions before placing the order. The Contracting Officer will also perform a price analysis to determine that the price at the time of award still represents the overall best value for the Government and is consistent with the BPA and contract terms. The Enterprise Software Solutions (ESS) Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) is designed to establish multiple Department–wide ELAs for Enterprise Software Solutions and incidental services. The ELA was awarded as a

Application Infrastructure Capability Area multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) and is mandatory for use with exceptions at DHS Headquarters and all DHS Components. The ESS ELA is a suite of Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) focused on information technology (IT) products arranged by distinct capability categories. DHS awarded five (5) BPAs under this ESS ELA, one of which is Dell Federal Systems LP, which is the only company under the ESS ELA which can provide the required F5 Networks hardware and software maintenance. Dell Federal Systems LP is an authorized re-seller and service provider for F5 Networks.

(6) A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was initially conducted by DHS to establish the BPA. This requirement will be procured utilizing the strategically sourced DHS ESS BPAs that are “mandatory for use”. The Contracting Officer did additional market research for the same F5 products to confirm the DHS BPA pricing was comparable to open market pricing.

(7) Any other facts supporting the justification.

The equipment that is being maintained remains adequate for anticipated USCG needs for the maintenance renewal period.

(8) A 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.

Competition for comparable products is planned for the 4th quarter of FY17 if backlog funds are successfully obtained. If backlog funds are not possible, the FY18 budget request has already been initiated and planned for as it is essential that the load balancers are replaced with current state appliances that have built in cyber security features. As with all IT procurements, the DHS Strategic Sourcing Vehicles will be utilized. If the requirement should cease to be met by a DHS “mandatory for use” strategic vehicle, then full and open competition of this IT product / service will be utilized for future purchases.

(9) Contracting Officer’s Certification.

In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(c)(2)(ix) I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

(10) Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.

Application Infrastructure Capability Area

I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which form a basis for the justification, are accurate and complete.

Technical Representative/COR Date

APPROVAL:

Craig E. Anderson Date Contracting Officer, OSC

Legal Review and Concurrence Date