JA AMD 02_852573580_Redacted.pdf

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Guam Defense System Joint Program Office-JA26-007 AMD02

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for IL6 in the amount of , added storage for IL5/IL6, Cross Domain Solution, and Azure Virtual Desktops in the amount of .

AMD01: The purpose of this amendment is to include additional market research provided by Amazon Web Services, Inc (AWS). AWS will not be able to complete this requirement due to failure in meeting the required response time of 72 hours by submitting their additional market research 45 days late. The mission partner evaluated the response submitted and decided AWS would not be capable of meeting their tight timeline.

This action is to issue a firm-fixed-price TO against the JWCC Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract for GDS JPO. This TO will be issued directly to Microsoft Corporation. The anticipated period of performance (PoP) is for a 12-month base period, plus one 12-month option period. The total estimated value is ) which will be funded by Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

This requirement is to establish a GDS for the JPO cloud tenant to support the Defense of Guam mission. The JPO intends to develop a Joint Integrated Battle Manager (JIBM) to support the 360-degree defense of Guam from the System-of-Systems that are current and planned. The JPO intends to develop a cross-domain Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) environment for the JIBM, including integration with on-prem labs for exchanging simulation data.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity.

FAR 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.

(b) Description of the Justification.

GDS JPO requires Microsoft to establish a long-term, mission-critical cloud presence to build upon existing development efforts and meet immediate, time-sensitive operational needs to meet the Defense of Guam mission requirement. This includes GDS JPO leadership direction to host a prototype Joint Integrated Defense Planner (JIDP) for the Valient Shield (VS) 26 Final Planning Conference in February 2026 and subsequent VS 26 testing event in 3rd Quarter Fiscal Year 2026. This initial phase requires leveraging pre-existing work of the JIDP on Azure Kubernetes Service and Azure Blob Storage to meet aggressive timelines. The GDS JPO operates within an organization that is focused on rapidly developing and delivering capabilities to meet evolving mission needs. The primary long-term objective is to support the full Software Development Life Cycle of

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the JIBM Suite. This demands a highly specialized and flexible DevSecOps environment that can accommodate multiple vendor solutions and integrate tools like Gitlab, Cameo, Jira, and Confluence. A key mission function of GDS JPO is the requirement for this environment to span multiple security domains, from Commercial and Government Cloud IL4 to Top Secret IL6 regions. Universal, secure access for all developers must be provided through Microsoft Virtual Desktops, implementing a Zero Trust entry point.

Furthermore, the JIBM solution will leverage advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, specifically the Microsoft's native OpenAI services and Generative Pre- Trained Transformer family of models. The architecture must support a complex hybrid cloud configuration, hosting the JIBM both in the cloud and on-premises at tactical edge locations, using Azure Local hosted in Guam. Microsoft’s platform is uniquely capable of utilizing Government-owned, custom hardware for these edge deployments, a critical flexibility not offered by any other Cloud Service Provider (CSP) who mandates a Hardware-as-a-Service model. This same hybrid edge capability is required for integration with existing GDS simulation labs to enable the rapid exchange of simulation data, directly influencing JIBM development. This acquisition will begin by provisioning a fully Authority to Operate ready base environment using DoD approved Infrastructure-as-Code templates like the Microsoft Mission Landing Zone, complete with all necessary documentation. The combination of these specific requirements, spanning multi-level security, unique hybrid/edge hardware flexibility, native advanced AI services, and capitalizing on existing work. Microsoft is the only CSP capable of meeting the GDS JPO's mission needs without incurring unacceptable schedule delays and without jeopardizing the capability to provide 360-degree protection against air and missile threats to Guam.

(c) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

The cloud service offerings must continue at their current level in order to support the GDS JPO long-term objectives, which include providing a JIBM Suite that includes a planner and battle manager, establishing a Government-Owned DevSecOps Platform that spans IL 5/6 to rapidly develop and deliver the JIBM capability to the Warfighter, and tight integration with existing GDS JPO simulation efforts to rapidly inform the JIBM Suite development efforts.

These offerings include, Azure Local, Azure Virtual Desktop, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Blob Storage, Azure OpenAI, Azure Data Transfer, Azure Virtual Machine hosting, Azure Structured Query Language (SQL), Azure PostgreSQL, and region availability across Commercial, Government, Secret, and Top Secret.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor.

Microsoft Corporation

(3) Discussion regarding the cause of the sole source situation.

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The only CSP capable of performing the GDS JPO’s JIDP at the required level and quality is Microsoft. The JIDP is already developed and fully operational within a Microsoft architecture. Transitioning to another CSP would require significant re-architecture and re-engineering of the JIDP application, including modifications to its Kubernetes integration, storage backends, and other critical components. This process would introduce substantial financial duplications and operational risks, including delays that would jeopardize the program’s ability to meet critical deadlines. Specifically, the February 2026 VS 26 Final Planning Conference requires hosting a JIDP which is a non-negotiable milestone. The delays associated with transitioning to another CSP, such as re-engineering efforts, testing, and validation would make it impossible to deliver this capability on time, directly impacting the warfighter’s ability to provide necessary feedback to execute the long-term Defense of Guam mission. Given the complexity of integrating the existing application with new requirements and the risks associated with delays, Microsoft is the only CSP capable of meeting the immediate mission needs without causing substantial mission degradation.

(4) Demonstration of unique source.

Microsoft is uniquely positioned to ensure the uninterrupted provisioning of critical mission services due to its knowledge, skills, capabilities, as well as its integration and experience within this specific environment. Given the inability of any other CSP to integrate within the JPO’s current environment for their critical mission requirements, Microsoft is the only contractor that is capable of performing the necessary services for the DoD within the current required timeline.

The foundational JIDP application is deeply integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, relying on native Azure identity management, security services, and Application Programming Interfaces. Migrating to another CSP would not meet the Government’s minimum needs as it would require a significant re-architecture, introducing significant delays and risks to mission execution, along with a duplication of costs. Additionally, Azure Local is the only edge solution that supports hybrid cloud configurations on Government-owned hardware, a critical requirement for deployments within Guam and integration with simulation labs. Microsoft’s Virtual Desktop further provides seamless, secure access for the distributed development team, uniquely meeting Zero Trust requirements without introducing additional architectural complexity or security risks.

(5) Procurement discussion.

Based on the outreach to the four CSPs in September 2025, the only CSP that is currently capable of meeting the minimum needs of the Government is Microsoft. Microsoft is the only CSP capable of meeting the constraints of the JIBM suite of establishing a Government owned DevSecOps Platform that spans multiple ILs to rapidly develop and deliver the JIBM capability to the Warfighter. AWS and Oracle were unresponsive during Market Research, while Google provided a “No Response” letter, further

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supporting the determination that Microsoft is the only CSP capable of supporting the GDS JPO’s requirement.

(6) Impact.

Transitioning to another CSP is not feasible based on an unacceptable risk of failure to mission-critical operations. The impact of not procuring these required capabilities through Microsoft would result in the stoppage of all ongoing development efforts amongst multiple critical projects and would introduce the risk of Guam not having 360-degree protection against air and missile threats. The impact of integrating within a different CSP would result in mission failure and duplication of costs, neither of which are of benefit to the Government.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION:

A determination that the price is fair and reasonable will be based on a comparison of the contractor’s proposal to the Independent Government Cost Estimate and the JWCC Catalog pricing, including any discounts, which was previously found to be fair and reasonable and based on the contractor’s commercial pricing.

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Market research for the basic JWCC Contracts was conducted and resulted in a signed market research report on November 9, 2021, that was revalidated and recertified on July 29, 2024.

After a survey of the market, it was concluded that the JWCC Contract is in the Government’s best interest due to technical feasibility and cost to the Government.

The JPO conducted additional research in June 2025, by reviewing the specific capabilities in the JWCC Contracts and it was determined that Microsoft Corporation is the only source capable of fulfilling the Government’s minimum needs in the manner and time frame required. Market research was conducted between June 2025 – September 2025 by the program manager and technical subject matter experts to identify a CSP capable of meeting the program's unique and complex requirements. This research was conducted by the team's direct, hands-on experience as developers and program managers on other DoD cloud programs, which provided critical, real-world insights into the capabilities and limitations of the four JWCC CSPs.

The research methodology included a comprehensive review of publicly available documentation, technical white papers, and DoD-specific solution catalogs from each of the four JWCC CSP’s. The analysis specifically focused on capabilities essential to this effort, such as support for IL 5/6, native cross-domain solutions, virtual desktop infrastructure, and most critically, the provider's model for tactical edge and hybrid cloud deployments.

In September 2025, the GDS JPO issued the Additional Research to Support Fair Opportunity to the four CSPs. Google responded, “We have carefully considered the requirements of this Exception to Fair Opportunity request and have determined that we will not be responding”.

AWS responded 45 days late and are not capable of meeting the February 2026 deadline needed

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for this requirement. Oracle did not respond.

Upon conclusion of the market research techniques highlighted, it was determined that Microsoft is the only CSP that possesses the required pre-existing application integration and unique technical capabilities to meet the JPO’s mission critical requirements.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: None.

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

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Procurement History:

Not Applicable

(b) To overcome future barriers to competition, future development and enhancement of the JIBM will include a "cloud-agnostic" software suite that can be deployed on any of the four CSP’s environment, directly removing the compatibility barrier that currently exists.

The JPO will develop and execute a comprehensive acquisition strategy for the follow-on requirement, initiating the process with sufficient lead time to conduct an open competition among the four JWCC CSP’s without jeopardizing mission timelines.

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TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: SIGNATURE:

TITLE/AGENCY: Assistant Program Manager, U.S. Army (ARMY)

PHONE: DATE:

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: SIGNATURE:

TITLE/AGENCY: Assistant Program Manager, ARMY

PHONE: DATE:

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: SIGNATURE:

TITLE/AGENCY/ORGANIZATION: Contracting Officer/DISA/DITCO/PS8511

PHONE: DATE:

PROCURING ACTIVITY COMPETITION ADVOCATE APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Since this justification does not exceed , this review serves as approval and my written determination that the aforementioned FAR circumstances apply.

NAME: SIGNATURE:

TITLE/AGENCY/ORGANIZATION: PACA/DISA/DITCO

PHONE: DATE:

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO