J&A_FBO.pdf

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OPOAM 3006.301-90(a)(1) Template:

Justification &Approval (J&A)

Justification For Other Than Full And Open Competition 41 U.S.C. 3304

J&A No.: FY19-0137

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Procurement Operations, proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition.

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

(a) Type of action: Firm-fixed price contract

(b)

(c) Type of funding: PC&I, Procurement, Construction, and Improvements.

(d) Year of funding: FY 2019

(e) Other brief descriptive words and phrases: DHS intends to procure maintenance and support services for the DHS-owned Kofax Markview software licenses on a sole source basis.

Contractor: Carahsoft Technology Corp Address: 1860 Michael Farady Drive Suite 100 Reston, VA 20190

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The requirement is to procure maintenance and support services for the DHS-owned Kofax Markview software licenses. Kofax MarkView is unique and highly specialized brand name software program used as a part of the accounts payable module of the existing DHS FSM Solution

(FSMS).

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4. Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition require use of the authority cited.

a. Background information about the requirement;

Kofax Markview for AP (Markview) integrated with the legacy financial system, Core Accounting System (CAS) and has been used by Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and United States Coast Guard (USCG) over the last two decades. As these three Components proceed with the ongoing implementation of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS R12.2) offered by the Department of Interior (DOI)/Interior Business Center (IBC), a newer version of Markview module has been installed, configured and tested since spring of 2017.

b. Details covering what events lead to the situation requiring use of other than full and open competition procedures;

The licenses require maintenance and support service on a regular basis to maintain proper functionality. The importance of having a maintenance service in place is to allow for upgrades to be made expeditiously. To allow another potential vendor without the properly trained and certified technicians to provide maintenance service for these licenses could cause an interruption to the FSM Implementation. This could lead to spending additional funding to bring the systems back to functionality.

For these licenses, maintenance support is required. Market research indicates that DHS previously procured Markview licenses going directly to Carahsoft for the purchase. Carahsoft provided the particular non-production license and support required for Kofax Markview. The Kofax Markview licenses can be found on GSA Advantage, but the part numbers required for the maintenance of the Markview licenses are not available for purchase under that vehicle. The maintenance services for these licenses are not available within the DHS Strategically Source First Source II vehicle. Therefore, other than full and open competition procedures were used.

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c. Why considered alternatives will not work;

Acquisition alternatives were considered, including the potential for use of DHS's Strategic Sourcing Contract portfolio, Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions II, government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC), such as NASA’s SEWP and NIH’s NITAAC, other indefinite- delivery contracts, and Federal Supply Schedules to acquire the required supplies/services. However there were no sources found.

d. Which authority applies and why; and

Pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source is capable of satisfying the agency Requirement of providing the Kofax Markview support services because Markview is unique and highly specialized and is a brand name item peculiar to the FSM solution currently being implemented for the TRIO FSM program. No other product is currently able to interconnect or function with the existing AP involving solution and configuration.

e. Explain the impact to the mission that would result if the J&A is not approved and, consequently, the product or service not provided.

This is the only maintenance support that meets all of the requirements of the Kofax Markview Licenses in support of the Financial Systems Modernization. If DHS were to award to an alternative vendor, the essential work of the FSM implementation could not be done, resulting in loss of credibility of DHS’s work.

Carahshaft Technology is Kofax’s Public Sector distributor and sole GSA contract holder. This requirement is not available for competitive acquisitions.

Additionally, the use of other products/services could result in interoperability, compatibility and interface issues that would preclude the system’s support team from providing efficient and effective customer support. Procuring from an alternative service provider would be cost prohibitive, require reconfiguration and result in the loss of significant investment.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

The specific FAR Subpart supporting this brand name justification is FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

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Price analysis was conducted to ensure that the cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. This information was ascertained by reviewing current prices. Prices were also compared to recent contracts for similar services which were determined fair and reasonable by cost analysis.

8. Description of market research.

DHS previously procured licenses through DOI using the NASA SEWP vehicle for the purchase.

Since this vehicle is active and was a method by which we’ve procured licenses before, DHS opted to use similar market research to justify this purchase.

We reviewed and validated that the vendor on the NASA SEWP (Carahsoft) had the correct product numbers. Once validated, we reviewed the price from the vendor to validate that it was reasonable and comparable to prior purchases. We reached out to the POC who handles First Source II within the DHS Strategic Sourcing Office, but we’re told that the product was not available in the vehicle. We found Kofax licenses on GSA Advantage, but the Carahsoft representative confirmed that that these particular model numbers for the maintenance services are not available for purchase under the GSA vehicle. Therefore, the maintenance support for the licenses could only be obtained through Carahsoft Technology vendor.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

Purchasing maintenance support from another venue that is not compatible with the existing licenses would create duplicative costs. It is common for software vendors to sell their products and then provide maintenance and support to the end users of their products on an additional-cost basis. The support from Kofax includes upgrades, patches, and related technical collateral necessary to keep the application functional and secure. Therefore, the only way to obtain these license maintenance service is by buying directly from the open market venue Carahsoft Technology.

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

No other sources are known that can have expressed an interest, in writing, in the proposed acquisition from previous procurements.

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

It is the policy of DHS to promote the use of competitive procedures whenever and wherever possible. In an effort to remove or overcome barriers to competition in the future, the market will be scanned frequently for new companies and products that could satisfy the Government’s requirement. The staff meets regularly with manufacturers and vendors and attends manufacturer and industry training to keep current on technology. Vendor and trade magazines are scanned for new, open technologies that can satisfy future infrastructure requirements. The agency will

- 5 -continually re-evaluate the products/services currently being used and will research for the manufacturers and products/services that will be in the Government’s best interest for future products/services at the agency’s site and at sites the agency supports. The current situation requires this justification to satisfy requirements. Since there is a continual re-evaluation to products/services currently being used by the agency for the present requirement, if/when alternatives become available, they will be evaluated for use.

12. Contracting Officer’s Certification. 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.