JA - Velocity Software Base Only_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

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 the issuance of a firm-fixed-price (FFP) sole source contract to Velocity Software, Inc. 196 Castro St.

Mountain View, CA 94041 for the renewal of brand name software currently in use at the VA which consists of:

1) zPRO Cloud Management software licenses;

2) zVPS performance product suite;

3) zTune performance software licenses and;

4) maintenance for associated Velocity Software products

3. Description of Supplies or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for the procurement of brand name Velocity zPRO Cloud Management software, zVPS performance product suite and zTune Performance licenses and associated maintenance. The VA currently utilizes existing zPRO, zVPS, and zTUNE licenses, which require renewal, and this procurement ensures continued maintenance and support for ongoing operations. The brand name software also provides IO with a state-of-the-art virtual server environment for all VA customers and Veterans. Velocity software zPRO, zVPS and zTune will allow IO to efficiently build and manage new virtual Red Hat Linux servers in the z/VM environment for VA. The zTune performance licenses and maintenance shall include the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software maintenance support that includes professional assistance with detecting, analyzing, and resolving both z/VM and Linux performance issues on the mainframe, 24/7 365 days a year, and response time within 2 hours during business hours, and 4 hours after business hours. Software maintenance for the performance and provisioning software shall include product version upgrades, service packs, access to comprehensive solution library, unlimited web and online service request management, and authorized technical support by pool of support technicians addressing issues based on severity and impact of the issue.

The period of performance shall consist of a one-year base period. The total estimated value of the proposed action is

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1 entitled, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

Velocity Software Licenses and Maintenance Control Number: VA-25-00007323

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Velocity Software owns zPRO Cloud Management software and zVPS performance product suite which provides IOs virtual server environment for all VA customers and Veterans. Since zLinux virtual servers are hosted on IBM mainframe hardware and software, no other brand other than Velocity can be utilized in the infrastructure without jeopardizing IO’s VA mission critical support. Only provisioning software compatible with IBM mainframes in a z/VM hypervisor environment can be fully interoperable into the current proprietary z/VM hypervisor environment. Based on the market research conducted, only Velocity has provisioning software that is interoperable with VA’s existing infrastructure.

In prior years, VA used a brand name IBM provisioning software (IBM WAVE);

however, it is not capable of meeting all of the Governments functional requirements. Specifically, IBM WAVE does not meet the following key functional requirements: function without the use of SMAPI, JAVA or additional Linux server, automatically assign internet protocol (IP) addresses, or allocate additional DASD storage after the server has been built as requested by the customer. Velocity’s brand name software is the only provision software that meets all of the Government’s technical requirements and is compatible with existing IBM Hardware and IBM’s z/VM hypervisor.

During that time, VA also had to resolve many provisioning issues because of IBM WAVE’s complex dependency on SMAPI, Java, and Linux servers to function. This has caused VA many z/VM administrative and Linux administrative hours of lost productivity, major delays, and poor customer service trying to provision virtual Red Hat Linux servers for VA customers. Additionally, the extra IBM WAVE service machines and Linux servers required to run WAVE add more complexity and overhead to using WAVE. Furthermore, IBM WAVE is written in Java and as such Java is required on your desktop run it. This results in additional and unnecessary changes to VA’s current infrastructure which further complicates critical functions such as disaster recovery. For example, during a 9-month period, VA opened 10 IBM WAVE issues with IBM WAVE tech support; one clone issue took VA 34 days to resolve, and another installation failure took 59 days to resolve. Velocity’ software is the only software capable of meeting all of the Government’s functional and interoperability/compatibility requirements and provisioning, modifying and decommissioning servers without presenting added risk, complexity, and unnecessary expenses.

Only Velocity software can provide the necessary software maintenance support because of the propriety source code required to develop and implement software version upgrades, service packs and access to comprehensive solution library. No other source can provide the required software maintenance. Velocity Software maintenance is the only software maintenance that meets the Government's requirements. Failure to continue to utilize the necessary Velocity software and associated maintenance to support the z/VM environment will prohibit IO from operating successfully and result in lost productivity, delays, and poor customer services. On January 8, 2025 Velocity Software provided a letter stating there are no agents or re-sellers authorized or involved in providing these products or services.

Accordingly, Velocity is the sole provider of zPRO Cloud Management Software, zVPS performance product suite, zTune performance subscription services and associated maintenance and support.

It should also be noted that the VA has utilized the Velocity suite of software since September 1st, 2000 and have successfully provisioned, modified, and decommissioned zLinux servers utilizing the Velocity suite. VA has also utilized Velocity’s performance software, zView, to resolve several performance issues and utilized zAlert to alert VA administrators of disk space full conditions and server down situations, allowing VA to resolve and respond to potential issues quicker and thus provide better service to VA customers and veterans.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government’s requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Contracting Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR

5.201. Any proposals that are received shall be evaluated.

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: In January 2025, the Contract Specialist conducted market research by referencing the previously awarded contract 36C10B20C0037 awarded August of 2020, to determine the findings from the prior acquisition. A review of the historical documentation confirmed that market research was originally conducted to identify potential provisioning software capable of meeting the Government’s requirements. As part of that effort, VA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) conducted an internet search, issued Requests for Information (RFIs) on NASA SEWP and GSA, and evaluated alternative products, including IBM WAVE. The findings from these efforts determined that only Velocity Software’s zPRO, zVPS, and zTune products met the required functional and interoperability requirements.

Additional market research was conducted by VA SMEs in December 2024 to reassess available provisioning software. Through this research, IBM WAVE was again identified as the closest alternative; however, IBM’s own previous statements and the current findings reconfirm that IBM WAVE has functional limitations that prevent it from fully integrating with VA’s infrastructure. Specifically, it does not operate independently of SMAPI, JAVA, or an additional Linux server, which introduces unnecessary complexity and administrative overhead. Additionally, it lacks the capability to automatically assign IP addresses or allocate additional DASD storage post-provisioning, which are essential for efficient system management.

These limitations have historically resulted in significant delays, increased administrative workload, and disruptions to VA operations, making IBM WAVE an unsuitable alternative for this requirement. These findings align with prior market research.

The Contract Specialist conducted updated market research to verify whether new competitors or authorized resellers could meet the Government’s needs. This included utilizing the NASA SEWP Market Research Tool to identify potential vendors. Three resellers of Velocity Software were identified: Transource Service Corp, SHI International, and Blue Tech Inc, with SHI International confirmed as an authorized reseller. To confirm the market research, the Contract Specialist contacted Velocity Software, Inc. directly to verify whether any third-party providers were authorized to distribute, sell, or support the required software. Velocity Software, Inc. responded with an updated sole-source letter on January 8, 2025, confirming that they remain the only authorized provider for Velocity zPRO, zVPS, and zTune software, as well as all associated maintenance and support services. No other vendor or reseller is authorized to provide the required software or services.

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.

Signature:

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 price analysis to include comparison of negotiated prices to the Independent Government Cost Estimate, and comparison of previously proposed prices and previous Government and commercial contract prices.

12. Contracting Officer Certification/Approval: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract action does not exceed , this document serves as the contracting officer’s basis for using an exception to the fair opportunity process in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(A).