JA BRAND NAME CISCO QSFP TRANSCEIVER MODULES AND FIBER CABLING VA-24-00083767_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a Brand Name firm-fixed price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for the purchase of Brand Name CISCO Quad Small Formfactor Pluggable (QSFP) Transceiver Modules and Fiber Cabling needs for Keysight iBypass connectivity for the Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC)

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The Department of the Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), and Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for Brand Name CISCO QSFP Transceiver Modules and Fiber Cabling for Keysight iBypass connectivity for the Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC).

The IO Cybersecurity group needs to sustain IO’s network environment against the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The IO group requires brand name Cisco QSFP Transceiver modules to comply with network support standards for equipment connectivity services to the onsite CISCO data center core switches, which support all data center equipment out of PITC. Without Cisco transceivers, the iBypass KeySight equipment would not be able to connect to the core environment because the overarching OEM equipment already in use does not support non-Cisco compliant transceiver modules. The associated maintenance support for the hardware will be covered under the Cisco National SmartNet Agreement. The Brand Name CISCO QSFP Transceiver Modules and Fiber cabling shall be delivered within 30 days after receipt of order (ARO). The total estimated price of this proposed action is .

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee can provide the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Based upon market research, as described in Section 8 of this justification, it was determined that only Brand Name Cisco QSFP Transceiver Modules can meet all of the Government’s requirements.

Specifically, the brand name Cisco QSFP Transceiver modules are required to ensure that the pre-existing brand name Cisco based infrastructure in place at PITC. This procurement must be exclusively for Brand Name Cisco QSFP transceiver modules, as

Brand Name CISCO Quad Small Formfactor Pluggable (QSFP) Transceiver Modules and Fiber Cabling needs for Keysight iBypass connectivity for the Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC) Control Number: VA-24-00083767 they are the only hardware supported to operate with the proprietary Cisco core switch environment established at PITC.

Failure to procure the required Brand Name Cisco QSFP transceiver modules will prevent the necessary upgrades and updates to the overarching system and infrastructure currently in place at the PITC. Failure to replace these outdated systems leaves the infrastructure vulnerable to outside threats and attacks. If Brand Name CISCO QSFP Transceiver modules are not procured, the sole alternative would necessitate Connectivity and Collaboration Services – Core Network Services (CCS CNS) undertaking a comprehensive overhaul, incurring estimated costs of . This overhaul would be essential to replace the Cisco vendor cores at PITC to secure network core vendor support for troubleshooting issues related to non-Cisco transceiver modules.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in market research section of this document. It was determined that limited competition is viable among resellers for the required Brand Name Cisco QSFP Transceiver Modules.

In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be competed.

8. Market Research: The government’s subject matter experts conducted market research from May 2024 through June 2024 with comprehensive analysis to access the availability and capabilities of similar hardware. Although the technical experts identified similar capabilities in other sources, these alternatives did not satisfy the justification of requirements as outlined in paragraph 5 above. Consequently, it was determined that only Cisco or its authorized resellers can provide the necessary interoperability and support services, as other providers lack the proprietary elements required.

Based on the above the Contract Specialist conducted additional market research in May 2024, by releasing a Request for Information (RFI) from May 31, 2024, to June 10, 2024 on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise- Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) to all contract holders to determine whether there were resellers available to provide Brand Name Cisco QSFP transceiver modules and associated Fiber Cabling. Four (4) contract holders responded to the RFI; all the contract holders were identified as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small-Business (SDVOSB) resellers. All four contract holders provided Rough Order of Magnitudes (ROMS) which were sent over to the Governments Technical Experts for review to determine their capability of being able to complete the subject requirement. The technical experts determined that three of the four resellers who submitted a ROM met the VA’s requirement to provide Brand Name Cisco QSFP

Brand Name CISCO Quad Small Formfactor Pluggable (QSFP) Transceiver Modules and Fiber Cabling needs for Keysight iBypass connectivity for the Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC) Control Number: VA-24-00083767

Transceiver Modules and associated Fiber Cabling. Only one of contract holders that submitted a ROM was deemed not capable as they did not demonstrate they could provide the fiber cabling. As a result of the RFI responses, at least two vendors are expected to bid on the formal solicitation for this requirement, limited competition is expected.

In addition to the above RFI. The Contract Specialist conducted additional Market Research by utilizing NASA SEWP V GWAC Provider Lookup Tool. It was determined that there are one hundred thirty-three (133) contract holders that are resellers of Brand Name Brand Name Cisco QSFP Transceiver Modules and associated Fiber Cabling needs for Keysight iBypass connectivity for the PITC, twenty-three (23) of which are SDVOSB’s. Nineteen (19) of those SDVOSB’s are categorized as approved re-sellers of Brand Name Cisco QSFP transceiver modules and associated Fiber Cabling on the NASA SEWP V GWAC. Therefore, limited competition is expected for this proposed action on NASA SEWP V GWAC.

9. Other Facts: None

10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on the expectation of price competition in addition to the fact that prices on the NASA SEWP V GWAC have already been determined to be fair and reasonable. Additional price analysis will be performed by comparing the proposed prices to the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.