JA VACO DSS Extension Final_redacted.pdf

Control Number VA-24-00086872

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 sole-source action is for a modification to a Firm- Fixed-Price (FFP) Task Order (TO) 36C10B19N10260037, titled “Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) Information Technology (IT) Tier II Desktop Support Services (DSS),” issued under the Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) Contract VA118-16-D-1026 with Pro-Sphere Tek, Inc. (Pro-Sphere), 10632 Little Patuxent Parkway, Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21044. On June 28, 2019, the TO was awarded with a 12-month Base Period beginning on June 30, 2019 with 4 12-month Option Periods. The last Option Period (Option Period Four) currently expires on June 29, 2024. The purpose of this modification is to extend the period of performance (PoP) of Option Period Four for continuation of services for VACO IT Tier II Desktop Support Serivces, for a period of 2 months. This extension will serve as a bridge of support until a new competitive TO is awarded and transitioned.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The scope of the the current TO is to provide services and support for the full range of IT functions to support work that is performed by the VACO Help Desk/Desktop that supports both on-site and remote VA customers.

The scope of the work being performed under the current TO encompasses providing desk side technical, remote technical, and operational user support; desk side service support for both Windows and Apple operating systems for an estimated 12,444 devices. These devices are distributed to customers within the VACO Campus Sites located throughout the National Capital Region (NCR) and national remote locations.

The exception to this would be services for Senior Executives (“white glove” service described in Section 5.3). Tier II desk side technical and operational user support is assigned by the Enterprise Service Desk. The Contractor is providing the necessary Tier II IT services to support the overall availability and functionality of the VA work environment. These requirements include supporting the full suite of Microsoft applications, performing standard network setup at the users’ level, learning new technologies quickly, being customer oriented and able to provide direct Tier II desk side support and training to users.

The overall support for VACO DSS is critical to ensure continued Tier II desktop support services for 14,000 VACO Customers located throughout 31 sites within the NCR and national remote locations. VA requires continued support for 2 months under Option Period Four for continued Tier II desktop support services for project management, reporting, business process analysis and improvement support, daily system administration support, and weekend/after hour and senior leadership emergency on call support. These core services are currently under the TO. VACO requires that the current services outlined above continue without interruption to prevent a lapse in service and critical IT support for VA ITSS Customers. The overall period of

VACO IT Tier II Desktop Support Services 60-Day Extension Control Number VA-24-00086872 performance shall be extended from 60 months to 62 months, commencing on June 30, 2024, and extended through August 29, 2024. The total estimated value of the proposed action is .

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “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.”

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this action is Pro-Sphere Tek, Inc., 10632 Little Patuxent Parkway, Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21044. Pro-Sphere was awarded the existing VACO IT Tier II DSS TO on June 28, 2019, as a competitive Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside, with fair opportunity provided among all T4NG SDVOSB prime contract holders. Pro-Sphere is currently providing IT Tier II administration support to approximately 10,000 devices located in VACO Campus buildings in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, Maryland, Virginia, and national remote locations under this TO.

This support also consist of providing deskside services by performing installation, configuration, maintenance, and troubleshooting on VACO personal desktop computers (Windows operating system), MAC computers (Apple operating system), laptops, and peripherals such as printers, monitors, and scanners. The Contractor supports all VACO Campus Customers with respect to the computer equipment and the software installed on their systems, making sure that the appropriate software functions properly in VACO's environment. Pro-Sphere has been working closely with VA over the past five years. VA is currently in the process of awarding a competitive follow-on TO for IT Tier II desktop support services.

VACO IT Tier II DSS will expire on June 29, 2024. It is imperative that the current desktop support services continue without a lapse in support. Failure to have this critical IT Tier II Desktop Support Service in place, would result in VA ITSS being without a variety of critical specialized desktop support services to support the delivery of IT Technical Support to its many VACO customers who have come to rely on this support for the latest versions of existing IT equipment and products as deployed by VACO, thereby risking IT delays in service and considerable work stoppages. In addition to the many VACO Customers served, this critical service also extends to VA Senior Executives who currently receive “white glove” service on-site and/or remotely.These Senior Executives require "white glove" service due to their routine business operations.

This group of customers have various roles with strict business deadlines, they respond to Congressional Inquiries, Veterans Support Services, Other Government Political appointees, and attend Congressional hearings which all would be impacted if there is a lapse in support.

Any source other than Pro-Sphere requires an estimated minimum of 180 days to provide the requested services. This includes 90 days to process and award a new research supports a VA determination that only Pro-Sphere is capable of providing continued Tier II desktop support services until award and transition of the competitive TO. Only Pro-Sphere has the technical expertise and experience that can meet VA's needs in the required timeframe for seamless continuation of administration support services for VACO Customers located within the NCR, consisting of all technical and administrative activities described in Sections 3 and 5 above until the new TO is awarded. The competitive TO is currently projected to be awarded in the August 2024 timeframe. This extension will provide for the timely continuance of this critically needed support to ensure there is no gap in service.

9. Other Facts: None

10. Technical/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 comparison to historical prices paid. The TO was initially executed on June 28, 2019, and was awarded based on adequate price competition. The proposed prices for the 60-day extension shall be compared to the prices presently on contract and will be negotiated as necessary to reach an overall price that is fair and reasonable.

12. Contracting Officer Certification/Approval I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. This contract action exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold, but does not exceed $750,000, therefore, the certification required by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(A) serves as the Contracting Officer’s approval.