J&A Brand Name VoIP-RFQ Posting.pdf

J&A No. PIJA 20-0001

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A)

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITON: USE OF BRAND NAME

DESCRIPTIONS IN SOLICITATION

This document constitutes justification and approval for a brand name requirement for the acquisition described herein, under the authority of 41 U.S.C. § 1901 and in accordance with FAR 13.501(a)(1)(i) and DFARS 213.501(a)(ii).

1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity.

The Regional Contracting Office – Parris Island (RCO-PI), located at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Building 159 Corregidor St, Parris Island, South Carolina, is the Contracting Activity in support of the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC), located at 3280 Russell Road, Quantico, Virginia.

2. Nature and/or Description of the action being approved.

This J&A seeks approval for inclusion of brand name descriptions in RFQ M00263-20-Q-1001 for Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Equipment. This J&A seeks approval to procure specific brand name VoIP equipment from re-sellers of VoIP licensed products.

3. Description of the Supplies/Services required to meet Agency needs (including estimated value).

This contract is in support of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) completing its transition to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for each of the Marine Corps Districts (MCD) Headquarters (HQs) and the Marine Corps Recruiting Station HQs in accordance with DODI 8100.04, DoD Unified Capabilities (December 9, 2010). VOIP is a type of unified capability. The use of VoIP is part of the General Services Administration (GSA) broader Network Services 2020 strategy as well as Defense Information Services Agency (DISA) End of Life on Legacy Telecom Services by FY2024. This type of VoIP technology will allow MCRC users to make calls via the existing Ethernet platform rather than conventional legacy Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS).

When complete, MCRC will have gain the benefits of a full VoIP Unified system that will have a substantial annual cost savings over legacy Telecom services and allow MCRC Users to share content, instant message, Video Conference, Whiteboard sessions and more, with other MCRC users in the network.

This procurement seeks to establish a single-award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for specific VoIP equipment necessary to transition District HQs and RS HQs. The IDIQ will contain a three (3) year ordering period and will specify a minimum and maximum contract amount. The estimated Not-to-Exceed (NTE)/maximum value of the IDIQ contract, based on the maximum quantities that may be required over a three (3) year ordering period, is All obligations will occur at the delivery order level. It is estimated that the following amounts will be obligated at the delivery order level during each of the three ordering years of this IDIQ:

The specific brand name VoIP equipment (and associated peripherals) to be procured via a Request-for- Quote (RFQ) is as follows:

Brand Name Item Number Description

CISCO WS-C2960X-48FPS-L CATALYST 2960-X 48 GIGE POE

740W, 4 X 1G SFP, LAN BASE

LAN BASE

CISCO C2960X-STACK CATALYST 2960-X

FLEXSTACK PLUS STACKING

MODULE

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-1K-FXS8FXO-P-S SBC1000 W/ 1 PRI, 4 FXO,4

FXS,SBA, 3 DSPS,

LICENSABLE GROWTH TO 2

PRI,16 FXS,8FX

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-1K-LIC25SIP PROVIDES 25 SESSIONS OF SIP

TO SIP

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-1K-LIC-T1E1 SONUS ENABLES 1 T1E1 PORT

ON THE SBC 1000

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-1K-LIC-FXS ENABLES 4 FXS PORTS - SBC

RIBBON/SONUS GS-SRV-DC-PRM-A-E-Q GOLDSEAL PREMIUM MAINT

24X7, HW AHR,

GROUP A ENTERPRISE, SW

UPDATES, GOLDSEAL

SUPPORT LEVELS 1,2

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-5400-PK2-500 SINGLE 5400-2GB, 500

SESSIONS RTU

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-5XXX-PSUAC

ADDITIONAL 1200 W 110V/240

V AC POWER SUPPLY

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-5XXX-LIC500-POLERE 500 SESSION SBC SUPPORT

FOR ACCESSING ERE

DATABASES

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-5XXX-LIC500-

SRTP

500 Session Encryption function for signaling using SRTP

RIBBON/SONUS SBC-5XXX-LIC500-

ENCRYPT

SRTP

500 Session Encryption function for signaling using TLS, IPSec

RIBBON/SONUS GS-SRV-DC-PRMB-

E-Q

SONUS GOLDSEAL PREMIUM

MTCE 24X7 HW-SW

RIBBON/SONUS SRV-ENT-DRV-IMP

SONUS : DIVERSE ROUTING

CONFIGURATION FOR

ENTERPRISE

CUSTOMERS

POLYCOM G2200-48350-019 Microsoft Skype for Business/Lync edition VVX 311 6-line Desktop Phone

POLYCOM G2200-48500-019 G2200-48500-019 POLYCOM

MICROSOFT SfB VVX501

POLYCOM 4870-48350-NBD POLYCOM LIMITED

LIFTETIME HARDWARE

REPLACEMENT

EATON UPS 5PX1500RT UPS 5PX 1500 RT2U

EATON UPS 5PXEBM48RT EATON 5PX EBM 48V RT2U

EATON UPS RS1215-RA Tripp Lite Power Strip 120V AC -

NEMA 5-15P - 12

EATON UPS 5SW5Y-1750UC EXT WARRANTY-5YR UPS

FORTIGATE FG-100E-USG FORTIGATE FG-100E-USG

20XGE RJ45

FORTIGATE FC10-FG1HE-247-02-12 1 year 24x7 Forticare for 100E FORTIGATE FG-80E-POE-USG FortiGate 80E POE FW/VPN only FORTIGATE FG-2000E-USG FortiGate 2000E FW/VPN only FORTIGATE FC-10-002KE-247-02-12 1 year 24x7 Forticare for 2000E FORTIGATE FMG-3000F FortiManager 3000F FORTIGATE FC-10-M03KF-247-02-12 1 year 24x7 Forticare for 3000F

4. Identification of Statutory Authority permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Public Law 114-328, section 888, requires justification and approval to use solicitations that require brand names. DFARS 213.501(a)(ii) implements section 888. This document meets the regulatory requirement at DFARS 213.501(a)(ii), which in turn requires the justification and approval addressed at FAR 13.501(a)(1)(ii) in order to use brand name descriptions. FAR Subpart 13.5 procedures are utilized for this acquisition in accordance with 41 U.S.C. §1901.

5. Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition requires use of the cited Statutory Authority.

The awardee of the contract must provide these specific brand name VoIP equipment in order to complete the transition of all Districts within MCRC to VoIP telecommunication capabilities that connect across the board. As explained in detail below, MCRC has already initiated implementation of its VoIP network, previously investing a significant amount of money into the network’s “front-end” or “brain” with the brand name VoIP devices covered by this Justification. Furthermore, any equipment used in the MCRC VoIP Network must be tested by DISA and approved on the DISA Approved Product List (APL), which is the case for the brand name VoIP devices covered by this Justification. Lastly, the use of different or alternative equipment in the existing VoIP network invites potential failure to the existing network due to compatibility issues; recent market research confirmed this as multiple respondents to the Sources Sought recommended continued use of the brand name VoIP devices previously purchased (and covered by this Justification) in order to ensure compatibility, ease of integration to the existing equipment, interoperability, ease of repair/replacement/training, and uniformity across MCRC’s existing VoIP UC network.

MCRC’s Existing VoIP Network

MCRC began transitioning to a VoIP network in September 2015 with an initial purchase of VoIP equipment in the amount of $914,025.11 (Contract Number M00263-15-P-1041 was executed by RCO-Parris Island). The primary purpose of this initial contract was to establish a scalable MCRC Enterprise VoIP system. The contract required vendors to propose a comprehensive VoIP solution, to include equipment and software, that was scalable from the bottom-up to provide an enterprise solution that is easy to integrate. The awardee of that contract proposed a comprehensive VoIP solution that allowed for full functionality of Microsoft Skype (Lync) services which included Polycom devices, Ribbon/SONUS devices, and full communication ability to other PBX systems to include Cisco.

Since that initial contract in September 2015, MCRC and the Districts have continued making individual purchases of additional VoIP equipment to continue implementation of the VoIP network, totaling approximately $346,000; these purchases were made on behalf of the Districts by the Marine Corps Systems Command (SYSCOM) under a GSA IDIQ contract vehicle. As a result of these prior equipment purchases and the subsequent implementation of the VoIP network’s “front end” or “brain” based on this equipment, MCRC already has a Microsoft Skype Unified Communication (UC) VoIP network in place and operational.

The VoIP equipment previously purchased in September 2015 as part of the establishment of the scalable MCRC VoIP UC network, along with the subsequent equipment purchases through SYSCOM to continue implementation of the network, consists of the Cisco, Ribbon (SONUS), Polycom, and Fortigate devices specified above and covered by this Justification. The total value/investment of the existing equipment previously purchased is approximately $1,260,025.11 ($914,025.11 from the initial September 2015 purchase under contract M00263-15-P-1041 and approximately $346,000.00 in subsequent purchases made by SYSCOM). The VoIP equipment previously purchased was used to set up the existing VoIP UC network’s “front end” or “brain” and is deployed and operational at MCRC HQs (Data Center), multiple District HQs (1st MCD, 4th MCD, 8th MCD, and 12th MCD) and multiple recruiting stations (RS New York, RS Harrisburg, RS Columbus, RS Phoenix, RS San Antonio, and RS Riverside, among others).

Given the VoIP equipment previously purchased from 2015 to the present which established and continued the implementation of the existing MCRC VoIP UC network, the brand name VoIP equipment covered by this Justification is required to maintain the continuity and compatibility of the existing unified VoIP UC network, which in turn will enable the successful functioning of the existing UC network and allow for its completion (enabling all Districts within MCRC to receive VoIP telecommunication capabilities that connect across the board).

DISA APL Requirements

Furthermore, the VoIP equipment previously purchased to establish and implement the existing MCRC VoIP UC network (and covered by this Justification) was previously tested and approved by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for use on a DOD network. Information Technology (IT) Equipment must be tested and accepted for use on DOD networks by DISA and released on the DISA Approved Product List (APL). The APL is established in accordance with the UC Requirements (UCR 2013) document and mandated by the DOD Instruction (DODI) 8100.04.

Its purpose is to maintain a single consolidated list of products that have completed Interoperability (IO) and Cybersecurity certification. The VoIP equipment previously purchased to establish and implement the existing MCRC VoIP UC Network (and covered by this Justification) is currently the only DISA APL VoIP Equipment, as confirmed during market research for this requirement (see Sections 6, 8, and 10 below).

The addition of any untested or non-compatible equipment at this stage of the MCRC VoIP transition would create significant national security risks and invite potential catastrophic failure to the existing VoIP UC network through MCRC wide failure of the VoIP UC voice, video, chat, and IP based collaboration.. Allowing any untested VoIP equipment (VoIP equipment not approved/released on the DISA APL) onto a DOD network creates significant national security risks as non-APL equipment has been found to have “hidden” software or hardware that allows foreign countries or terrorist groups to monitor calls and data. Therefore, it is critical that any VoIP equipment purchased is already tested, approved, and released by DISA onto the APL, as is the case for all VoIP equipment previously purchased by MCRC to establish and continue implementation of the existing MCRC VoIP UC network (the same equipment covered by this Justification).

Compatibility Issues from use of alternative equipment

It is highly likely that using different equipment other than that previously purchased by MCRC to establish the existing MCRC VoIP UC network would create compatibility issues. In fact, for this very reason, multiple respondents to the Sources Sought (discussed further in Sections 6, 8, and 10) recommended continued use of the brand name VoIP devices previously purchased (and covered by this Justification) in order to ensure compatibility, ease of integration to the existing equipment, interoperability, ease of repair/replacement/training, and uniformity across MCRC’s existing VoIP UC network.

In terms of why this compatibility issue would be problematic, it must first be noted that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifies the annual Marine Corps Active Duty Strength to meet the growing need to protect the nation. To ensure compliance with NDAA, this mission is directed and managed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) utilizing MCRC. With nearly 6,000 personnel widely dispersed across 1,500 CONUS and OCONUS locations, mission success hinges on command and control over MCRC’s Voice over Internet Protocol Unified Communications (VoIP UC) system. MCRC’s existing VoIP UC Services afford MCRC commanders the ability to effectively lead, guide, and direct mission attainment across broad geographies with speed and effectiveness of voice, video, chat, and other IP based collaboration tools in order to meet this critical NDAA mission. The potential failure of existing VoIP network due to the introduction of non-compatible equipment could jeopardize MCRC’s ability to meet the “No Fail Mission” mandated by the NDAA and directed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, thereby putting National Security and interests abroad at risk.

The only way to introduce different equipment into the existing VoIP UC Network and avoid this compatibility issue would be to re-engineer the existing network. This would require bringing in new hardware and network configurations to modify or completely revamp the existing network’s “front end” or “brain.” MCRC has already invested at least $914,025.11 into the existing UC network’s “front end” or “brain” (based on the value of the existing equipment previously purchased in 2015 which was used to establish the existing network). Factoring in this prior investment, it would be costly to the Government to modify or revamp the existing UC network’s “front end” or “brain” to avoid the compatibility issues from introducing different equipment into the existing network.

MCRC estimates that it would require another similar $914,025.11 investment to modify or revamp the “front end” of the existing UC network by bringing in new hardware and network configurations;

this would be on top of the original $914,025.11 investment made in the 2015 contract to create the existing UC network’s “front end,” resulting in significant cost inefficiencies for the Government.

6. Description of efforts made to solicit offers from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

A formal Sources Sought announcement was posted to the GPE (www.fbo.gov) on 17 October 2019 for the purpose of conducting market research in accordance with FAR Part 10. In an effort to promote competition, the Sources Sought provided industry an opportunity to inform the Government of any potential alternative or “equal” equipment that would enable MCRC to fully complete its implementation of VoIP command wide without the brand name requirements, taking into account network uniformity/compatibility constraints and DISA testing/APL constraints discussed earlier.

The results of the Sources Sought are documented in Sections 8 and 10 below.

In accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5 and FAR Part 12, RCO-PI will issue a combined synopsis/solicitation for these required brand-name VoIP products through the Government wide Point-of-Entry (GPE), which is the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. All interested re-sellers of this VoIP equipment will have an opportunity to submit a quote and potentially receive contract award.

7. A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable. Based on the market research results, it is anticipated that adequate price competition will exist among authorized re-sellers to enable a price reasonableness determination based on comparison of proposed prices received in response to the

RFQ.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

As indicated above, a formal Sources Sought announcement was posted to the GPE (www.fbo.gov) on 17 October 2019 for the purpose of conducting market research in accordance with FAR Part 10.

In an effort to promote competition, the Sources Sought provided industry an opportunity to inform the Government of any potential alternative or “equal” equipment that would enable MCRC to fully complete its implementation of VoIP command wide without the brand name requirements, taking into account network uniformity/compatibility constraints and DISA testing/APL constraints discussed earlier.

Interested vendors were instructed to submit capability statements describing the potential alternative or “equal” equipment, to include providing said equipment’s DISA APL Joint Interoperability Test Commands Letter of Certification. Information provided was required to be detailed enough to enable the Government to assess whether the alternative or “equal” equipment can realistically satisfy the Government’s requirement. For example, the narrative information was required to affirmatively demonstrate how any alternative or “equal” equipment satisfies both constraints described above (mere assertions or statements that the “equal” equipment would satisfy both constraints were not considered adequate; supporting information was required).

The Sources Sought responses revealed no vendor which proposed any alternative or “equal” VoIP devices that could satisfy both listed constraints (maintaining uniformity and compatibility with the existing UC network and released on the DISA APL). In fact, multiple vendors recommended continuing with the brand name VoIP devices previously purchased (and covered by this Justification) in order to ensure compatibility, ease of integration to the existing equipment, interoperability, ease of repair/replacement/training, and uniformity across MCRC’s existing VoIP UC network. Furthermore, no vendors expressed any concern in their responses with the potential use of brand name descriptions in order to fully complete the existing MCRC VoIP UC network.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of Other than Full and Open Competition.

Not applicable. All facts and information supporting the use of the cited Statutory Authority are contained in paragraph 5.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

There were seven (7) vendors who submitted capability statements in response to the formal Sources Sought posted on the GPE. See the table below for a complete listing of the vendors who expressed interest. As stated previously, no vendor proposed any alternative or “equal” VoIP devices that could satisfy both listed constraints (maintaining uniformity and compatibility with the existing UC network and released on the DISA APL). Multiple vendors recommended continuing with the brand name VoIP devices previously purchased (and covered by this Justification) in order to ensure compatibility, ease of integration to the existing equipment, interoperability, ease of repair/replacement/training, and uniformity across MCRC’s existing VoIP UC network.

Furthermore, no vendors expressed any concern in writing with the potential use of brand name descriptions in order to fully complete the existing MCRC VoIP UC network.

11. A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

As confirmed by the recent Sources Sought results, there is currently no known alternative VoIP equipment in the market tested and accepted for use on DOD networks and released on the DISA Approved Product List (APL) that also satisfies the existing network’s uniformity/compatibility requirements. Nonetheless, the requirements generator and Contracting Officer will continuously monitor the market and leverage any new technologies to remove barriers to competition, should they become available in the future.