JA SDS Redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR SIMPLFIED ACQUISITIONS

FAR Part 13.501(a)(1)(ii)

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501(a)(1) in accordance with

41 U.S.C. 1901 or the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1903, the Office of Acquisition Management proposes to award a purchase on the basis of other than full and open competition with

Software Diversified Services (SDS) for the Compensation Support Processing System annual software maintenance renewal on behalf of Bureau of Information Resource

Management, Enterprise Server Operations Center (IRM/SIO/ESOC). . Period of performance 1/19/2021 – 1/18/2022

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The requested action for approval is the sole source award of a firm-fixed-priced support contract for software products currently in use by the Department of State. This support and license renewal are to be effective for the term of one year and is restricted to the following source:

Software Diversified Services

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the Department’s needs.

The requirement is to provide proprietary software support and licensing.The requested services would provide software support, software patches and revisions, and licensing of Software

Diversified Services (SDS) proprietary products: CICS CAFC are products the Department requires ensuring data integrity is managed for control and reliability.

CAFC and IPCP Plus automatically control groups of transactions and their corresponding resources. A single command can open or close all necessary files

– one or hundreds, simultaneously.

CAFC is an operations aid for CICS users striving for quality service and high systems availability. The product organizes information to simplify (1) CICS region start-up and shutdown, (2) the activation and deactivation of entire applications and their supporting CICS resources and (3) the swapping of files and data bases between batch jobs and active CICS regions. To perform these functions

CAFC monitors and enhances direct and indirect CICS commands that affect the status of resources such as files, transactions, data queues, DBCTL data bases and shared data tables.

This software renewal will provide the necessary system coverage to ensure that the mission critical Compensation Support Processing System maintains little or no down time.

Without renewal, there is no guarantee that the IBM Z Series Compensation Support

Processing System would provide accurate payroll processing and could directly affect the

Department’s Employees.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

In accordance with FAR Part 13.501(a)(1)(ii) for simplified acquisitions this justification serves to support procurement where only one responsible source and no other supplies or services may satisfy agency requirements.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the action require use of the authority cited.

Renewal of Software Diversified Services (SDS) software support is instrumental in maintaining the integrity of the proprietary IBM Z Series Compensation Support

Processing System. Software Diversified Services (SDS) owns the source code for the proprietary products CICS CAFC and their maintenance is unavailable through any reseller.

Therefore, all maintenance including software support, patches, and revisions for these products and licenses must be obtained through the sole source owner. The IBM Z Series

System relies on these compatible products to support its accurate provision of payroll processing which directly affects the Department’s employees worldwide. The annual coverage outlined in this renewal will provide the necessary software support to ensure that the mission critical Compensation Support Processing System records little or no down time.

6. A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, include whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

The Enterprise Server Operations Center has conducted market research to identify possible resellers of the required products without success. Additionally, Software

Diversified Services (SDS) has submitted a formal confirmation of their proprietary ownership of the required products.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the

Government will be fair and reasonable. Note: dollar amounts may not exceed statutory limitations for the commercial items test program identified in FAR 13.500.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based the established market price. There are no anticipated issues that would circumvent a fair and reasonable price determination for this simplified acquisition. By signing the justification, the Contracting Officer makes a determination that the cost/price to the

Government are expected to be fair and reasonable.

8. A description of the market research conducted (per FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Alternative products were researched by ESOC in an effort to expand options and opportunities to other vendors; however, the need to remain compatible with the

Department’s IBM Z Series Compensation Support Processing System is paramount. No other products identified were determined to satisfy agency requirements

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

None.

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

None.

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

None.