AFPOA_Justification_for_an_Exception_to_Fair_Opportunity-signed.pdf

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity

1) Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justif ication f or an Exception to Fair Opportunity.”

Procurement Office: General Services Administration (GSA) – Region 7, Federal Acquisition Services (FAS), Acquisition Operations Division (AOD) Agency: Air Force Personnel Operations Agency (AFPOA) Task ID: ID07170020002 Description of Requirement: EMC Data Domain Duplication Storage System Hardware and Oracle Software Total Estimated Value of the Action: $301,000.00 Period of Performance (PoP): 31 April 2017 Contractor Name: Iron Bow Technologies Procurement Vehicle: Air Force NETCENTS-2 Network Operations and Infrastructure Solutions

IDIQ

2) Nature and description of action being approved:

AFPOA has a requirement to purchase a total solution duplication and data domain recovery system. The system contains EMC Data Domain Deduplication Storage System Hardware and Oracle Software and needed in support of the backup and recovery modernization project. The purchase will support all AFPOA and Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) users’ backup and recovery requirements, it will replace end of life hardware, provide compatible hardware to enterprise backup and recovery environment and extend the life of the current program until the planned data center consolidation targeted for the end of calendar year 2018.

3) A descrip tion of the supplies or services r equired to meet the agency’s needs (inclu ding the estimated value):

AFPOA data center provides data backup/restores, storage, and application services to all units assigned to AFPOA/AFPC and worldwide total force users. The AFPOA data center located in San Antonio, TX has been tasked with better aligning their backup and recovery environment until the projected 2018 data consolidation project is completed.

Currently, AFPOA’s data center infrastructure is already service by an EMC Data Domain Equipment DD990 and Oracle Software. This particular requirement calls for the purchase of EMC Data Domain DD6300 deduplication storage system with associated on-board modules which will replace end-of-life equipment and while modernizing the environment.

4) Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting a Fair Opportunity Exception:

FAR 16.505(b)(1)(i) requires the Contracting Officer to provide each awardee under a multiple award contract, a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding $3,500 unless a statutory exception applies. The specific exceptions set forth in 16.505(b)(2) that preclude the fair opportunity process are listed below. The authority pertaining to this specific acquisition is marked accordingly.

16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

X 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

______ 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C) The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued under the contract, provided that all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

16.505(b)(2)(i)(D) It is necessary to place an order to satisfy a minimum guarantee.

16.505(b)(2)(i)(E) For orders exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, a statute expressly authorizes or requires that the purchase be made from a specified source.

16.505(b)(2)(i)(F) In accordance with section 1331 of Public Law 111-240 (15 U.S.C.

644(r)), contracting officers may, at their discretion, set aside orders for any of the small business concerns identified in 19.000(a)(3). When setting aside orders for small business concerns, the specific small business program eligibility requirements identified in part 19 apply

5) Supporting rationale (for the authority cited in 4) above) including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s un iq ue qualif ication s or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited. If the contracting officer uses the logical follow-on exception, the rationale shall describe why the relationship between the initial order and the follow-on is logical (e.g., in terms of scope, period of performance, or value):

AFPOA, San Antonio, Texas’ current infrastructure for the data center is serviced by an EMC Data Domain DD990. The entire AFPOA backup and recovery deduplication and replication is 100% EMC and Oracle and the introduction of any hardware/software that is not these specific brand name items will introduce incompatibility issues with the environment. To integrate another contractor into the backup and recovery environment would require additional hardware and software to ensure data backup and recovery replication can continue.

In addition, this turn-key solution will provide an increased level of security on the backup and recovery infrastructure. Stability is achieved by avoiding interoperability issues that arise from using systems from differing manufacturers. Therefore fixes, upgrades, patches and enhancements can be more easily deployed, resulting in a more stable, secure network.

It would not be in the best interest of the Government to incur additional costs for training, transition and down time to convert to another manufacturer enterprise backup and recovery replication and deduplication appliance. The EMC Data Domain hardware and Oracle software is essential to the Government's requirement, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company.

NETCENTS-2 IDIQ contracts are a mandatory source of supply for AFPOA .

An alternate solution at this time would not provide a cost-effective solution for the back-up and recovery environment. Furthermore, AFPOA would not be able to recover essential Air Force applications that support all personnel and would result in an unacceptable gap in service without the required EMC Data Domain and Oracle equipment. It is considered to be in the best of the Government to procure the required EMC Data Domain DD6300 and Oracle software from a distributor using NETCENTS-2-Product IDIQ.

6) Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer will conduct a comparison of the vendor’s proposed price with the historical cost from the previous task order and Government estimate to determine that the quoted pricing is fair and reasonable before award of the bridge task order.

7) Any other facts supporting the justification:

As stated in Section 5 of this document, AFPOA intends to consolidate its back-up and recovery environment sometime in calendar year 2018. However, due to end-of-life system equipment and modernization initiatives AFPOA in San Antonio cannot fulfill their mission until the consolidations happened. In order to complete their mission AFPOA is in immediate need of the EMC Data Domain

DD6300.

8) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made:

EMC Data Domain and Oracle software are currently the only brands capable of meeting the Government's needs. Until it is determined that the current hardware/software no longer meets AFPOA backup and recovery requirements, EMC Data Domain hardware and Oracle software must continue to be procured from an authorized EMC Data Domain reseller. To ensure the above is met, AFPOA will continue to evaluate the capabilities of other vendors through continuing market research and changing needs of the Air Force. Continued efforts in this regard will ensure that the Government utilizes the most efficient and economical provider.

Additionally, the General Services Administration (GSA), FAS, Region 7 office conducts continuous market surveys of services and products in order to determine the availability of qualified sources for meeting mission-critical software support. Project managers attend conferences, displays, demonstrations and review trade publications to keep current on hardware and software technologies in this highly technical area.

9) The contracting of f icer’s ce rtif ication that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contrac ting of f icer’s kn ow ledge and belief :

The contracting officer’s signature on the Signature/Approval page evidences that he/she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

10) Evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel (e.g., verif yin g the Gov ern ment’s mi nimu m needs or requirements or o ther ra tionale for an exception to fair opportunity) and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel:

By signatory below, I state that I have read, understand, and agree with the technical information/representation made herein. The client provided the Agency and site specific technical information expressed herein, which is current and accurate to the best our knowledge.

Technical Representative’s Certification:

Technical Representative Date

By signatory(s) below, I state that I determine the statutory authority as cited herein and expressed in FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) apply to this justification, and the justification is hereby approved on its merits as noted. Technical information was presented as being accurate and complete as received from the client, and was fully relied upon to document the request for

“exception to fair opportunity,” described herein.

CONTRACING OFFICER CERIFICATION

The Contracting Officer has determined that the actions taken under this acquisition meet the conditions described in FAR 8.404 and 8.405-6. The information contained in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer's knowledge and belief.

PREPARED BY: Contracting Specialist

Jack Brothers Date

Contracting Specialist

APPROVED BY: Contracting Officer

Contracting Officer Date

Lori Herrera

EVANS.MAURICE.11867

73825

Digitally signed by

EVANS.MAURICE.1186773825

Date: 2017.03.29 09:22:41 -05'00'

JACK BROTHERS

Digitally signed by JACK BROTHERS DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=General Services Administration, cn=JACK BROTHERS, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=47001000481191 Date: 2017.04.04 08:14:07 -05'00'

LORI HERRERA

Digitally signed by LORI HERRERA DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=General Services Administration, cn=LORI HERRERA, 0.9.2342.19200300.100.1.1=47001001383665 Date: 2017.04.05 13:57:36 -05'00'