JA18-020_-_JSDR_ISD-signed_Redacted.pdf

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL (J&A)

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 8 ACQUISITIONS

Multiple Award Schedule (MAS)/Multiple Award Contract Orders under MAS/General Services Administration Schedules (GSA)/Federal Supply Schedules

(FSS) FAR 8.405-6

Purchase Request Number:

Contract Number: GS-35F-011GA Task/Delivery Order Number: HC104717F0058 Procurement Title: Joint Spectrum Data Repository (JSDR) and Integrated Spectrum Desktop (ISD) Sustainment Estimated Value:

Limited Source Authority: FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B)

LIMITED SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

J&A Number: JA18-020

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve this limited source justification in accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B).

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requiring Agency:

Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO) 2004 Turbot Landing, Annapolis

MD 21402-5064

Contracting Office:

Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization-National Capital Region

(DITCO-NCR – PL63)

P.O. Box 549, Ft. Meade, MD 20755-0549

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

The purpose of this justification is to increase the scope of work for JSDR/ISD Sustainment, which addressed requirements under the Global Electromagnetic Spectrum Information System (GEMSIS) Block III phase. The request of work increase is for:

• Increase of other direct costs (ODC) for the purchase of additional third party software and associated consulting support.

• Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) increase to include travel, plan inputs, and COOP exercises.

• Increase of additional system administration requirement for integration and operation of monitoring, logging tools, compliance tools, implementation & operation of software repository in MilCloud.

JSDR and ISD Sustainment-JA18-020

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This work is being added in the existing Firm Fixed Price (FFP) with Cost Reimbursable (CR) Travel and ODC’s order, which was awarded to Expression Networks LLC, on 01 June 2017 as a competitive FAR Part 8, total small business set-aside order. The additional work is to be performed under the base year contract, following on the option years. The estimated value for this additional work is making the total estimated life-cycle value .

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

The goal of JSDR/ISD, as well as predecessors JSDR v2.0 and v2.1, is to replace the data storage and user access provided by the legacy Joint Spectrum Center Data Access Web Server (JDAWS) / JSDR version 1 (JSDR v1) (referenced hereafter as JDAWS), on Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet). JSDR/ISD replicates the functionality of JDAWS, and enables access to the same data sources. JSDR/ISD allows for expandability by allowing easy incorporation of additional external data sources, a machine-to-machine interface for data exchange with external systems, and ease of integration of widgets for enabling spectrum operations data access, correlation and analyses functions. Organizations external to GEMSIS are interested in leveraging investments made in JSDR to implement specialized analytical capabilities that may be incorporated into the GEMSIS baseline. These tasks are currently being funded externally using non-GEMSIS funds.

The ongoing JSDR effort contract is:

Contract # GS-35F-011GA, Order #HC104717F0058 Period of Performance: Base: 01 June 2017- 31 May 2018 + four Option Years Method of Acquisition: competitive FAR Part 8, total small business set-aside

GEMSIS has the requirement, as defined in the GEMSIS Life Cycle Sustainment Plan (dated January 2006), to address sustainment of JSDR/ISD. This requirement includes maintaining the usability of JSDR/ISD, incorporation of additional data sources and associated data access, and accelerating the sunset of the legacy JDAWS system. Operation of JDAWS off-line as well as legacy data generation tools will still be required for some period of time for data record creation, pre-processing and population of JSDR/ISD. Sustainment activities consist of data administration activities, system administration and documentation, development of administrative interfaces, automation of data ingest, ingest of additional data sources, and additional user interface customization. Required activities also include training of JSDR/ISD and training of advanced features for the specialized commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) capabilities within JSDR Unstructured Repository and Business Intelligence components. The JSDR/ISD infrastructure that is being deployed on the SIPRNet and NIPRNet offers potential solutions that could be leveraged across the GEMSIS program, including implementation of interfaces to external spectrum operations applications, implementation of a universal authentication and authorization approach for the GEMSIS applications, and implementation of a common user interface (UI) framework.

This J&A supports the increase of work necessary to enable the analysis and visualization of a new data source, support COOP, and support the use of additional tools on MilCloud to maintain the JSDR/ISD.

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4. IDENTIFICATION OF LIMITED SOURCE AUTHORITY AND DEMONSTRATION OF

CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS:

(a) Circumstances Justifying Limiting the Source.

FAR 8.405-6 (a)(1)(i)(B), only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized.

(b) Description of the Justification.

This action requires the utilization of Expression Networks in order to meet the critical tasking requirements within the GEMSIS Block III phase timeline.

Currently, the Expression Networks contract is in the first year of development of JSDRv3 (01 June 2017- 31 May 2018), with four more option year available (01 June 2017- 31 May 2022).

Without the increase of work, the mission would suffer great impacts by not being able to implement and maintain the software needed to fulfil the requirements of this project. In addition, COOP operations would not be able to continue without the necessary support being requested. The GEMSIS program assesses that the most cost and time effective way to obtain the necessary supplemental services within the Block III phase timeframe, is to contract with Expression Networks, LLC to minimize cost, schedule and capability risk to the program.

Only Expression Networks LLC is capable of successfully completing this requirement, as it has the specific in-place expertise with the following combination of technologies and software components, integration of these technologies and software components in a unified architecture on SIPRNET, the associated security requirements, and also with the spectrum datasets integrated within the JSDRv2. In addition when this requirement was re-competed, only two responsive quotes were received, which limits the available sources to provide this urgent support.

(c) Justification:

• Minimum Government requirements. This modification addresses three requirements that evolved from the ongoing JSDR work:

o The Director of DISA has requested a quick reaction integration of satellite data and associated analysis extension within JSDR to support near term operational requirements. This requires purchase of an additional license with the necessary analytical and visualization capabilities. Thus, it is necessary to increase the contract ODCs for the purchase of additional third party software and associated consulting support. There is a yearly recurring cost for this license.

o COOP is a requirement that was inadvertently omitted from the original PWS.

COOP operations require the system administrator and database administrator who perform the daily maintenance activities for JSDR to provide those same functions from an alternative location. Thus it is necessary to cover travel costs, development of COOP plan inputs, and support of COOP exercises. This requirement extends for the lifespan of the contract.

Page 4 of 8 Pages o JSDR has recently been deployed to MilCloud. The Government has identified additional requirements for optimizing the maintenance of the JSDR within MilCloud which will also address security compliance. This requires the integration of additional administrative tools within the MilCloud environment and associated labor to implement and manage these tools. Specifically, tools are needed for monitoring, logging, security compliance, and software repository management. (The tools are to be purchased by the Government).

• Proposed sole source contractor. Expression Networks possesses expert knowledge of the data sources, the technical components of JSDRv3, and technical requirements for integration of the necessary components to support the Director’s requirement. Expression Networks also possesses expert knowledge of system administration, deployment and maintenance of JSDR/ISD within MilCloud. Contract award to another vendor would result in unacceptable project delays, and substantial duplicative government expense, as there will be a need to duplicate a large portion of the work that has taken place over the past year and half year due to the steep learning curve to understand the complexity of the requirements.

• Discussion regarding cause of the limited source situation. This newly established order is a follow on to the previous JSDRv2 continued development and sustainment service, which was placed as a Sole Source to Expression networks to accomplish the GEMSIS Increment 2 Full Operational Capability (FOC) completion. The newly identified requirements for the JSDR/ISD are time critical, and addressing these separately from the JSDR/ISD sustainment contract would result in inability to meet the Director’s requirement by 2QFY18, inability to address near term COOP requirements, and inability to address required maintenance and information assurance (IA) requirements (logging, security compliance).

• Demonstration of limited source. Expression Networks is the only source that can provide the required services in the time required, as attempting to re-compete the work increase would cause further delays including mission failure to address the Director’s operational requirement, support required COOP activities, and address the maintenance and security requirements for JSDR/ISD. As identified in Section 4, there are not sufficient vendors available with the capability to successfully provide what is required.

(1) Procurement discussion. The purpose of the modification is to allow the original developer of the application to perform the newly identified integration task, the COOP task, and the sustainment task. Allowing the original vendor to perform the newly identified tasking will avoid duplicative substantial learning curve effort, avoid developmental delays, reduce the probability of integration problems, and potentially the introduction of cyber security vulnerabilities.

(2) Impact. If an exception to small business competition is not granted, the GEMSIS program will not be able to perform the newly identified requirements for allowing the JSDR/ISD to meet an urgent operational need, maintaining the JSDR/ISD, and supporting COOP operations JSDR/ISD. Delay would be experienced in providing

Page 5 of 8 Pages the satellite analysis capability to the warfighter at a particularly critical time in spectrum operations.

In summary, a delay on the modification of this contract will result in adverse effects on the GEMSIS Program's ability to maintain and address IA concerns for integrated suite of spectrum capabilities in a timely manner. Specifically, it will significantly delay the ability for JSDR/ISD to meet a critical operational need identified by the Director of DISA, support COOP operations, and provide proper maintenance and security for the deployed JSDR/ISD on MilCloud.

5. BEST VALUE DETERMINATION:

(a) This original requirement was competed using FAR part 8, placing an order against a schedule contract. The ordering activity has concluded that this order represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs.

(b) GSA has already determined that prices of supplies, fixed price services, and rates for services offered at hourly rates are fair and reasonable for the purpose of establishing the schedule contract. However, the evaluation criteria being Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) determined that the original requirement was the lowest acceptable offeror Estimates of the additional work will be compared with the original award pricing to ensure fair and reasonable.

6. MARKET RESEARCH: The Government's GEMSIS PMO technical experts stay current with marketplace developments, which are relative to support services through reviews of available technical documentation, determining the sources that can meet the Government's requirements. The acquisition history along with market research for both the JSDR and ISD was reviewed, and performed during January and February 2016 by the JSDR Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and the Alternate COR, along with input from DSO’s Business Management Office. Multiple presentations from vendors, including small businesses, have taken place over the past year in support of DSO acquisition efforts involving similar scope, magnitude and complexity. These meetings were attended by DSO technical personnel and the Business Management Office. Presentation material was reviewed in support of this effort, and Electromagnetic Spectrum Engineering Services research showed no other vendor has been identified to have the necessary in-place complement of skills, and experience. Consequently, the market research shows that no other company has the capability to provide the required services in a timely, and cost effective fashion for the immediate need. Contracting these services using the JSDRv2 development contract through Expression Networks LLC, is the only viable approach for meeting the mission requirements at this time. They have the unique expertise necessary to address the specific requirements for the supplemental development, sustainment activities, and ISD integration.

Based on market research, it has been determined that only the aforementioned product and/or product support for JSDR/ISD can fully support the Governments need. This requirement is for http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/02.htm#P10_628

Page 6 of 8 Pages product support and no competitor functional replacement products exist in the market at this time to meet the Government's need. The Government will continue to conduct market research to determine if there are changes in the market place that would enable future competitive actions, i.e. there are similar products and/or product support in the marketplace that provides the same functionality, the original equipment manufacturer releases ownership rights of product, or it is economically feasible to procure a new system.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS

The JSDR/ISD systems engineering oversight as well as an independent consultant has recommended enhancement of the maintenance activities which will address IA concerns associated with SIPRNET. In order to address these concerns quickly minimizing security vulnerabilities, additional maintenance tools need to be integrated into the production and COOP environments for JSDR/ISD in MilCloud. COOP requirements have not been addressed for JSDR/ISD, which needs to be addressed rapidly. The integration of a new COTS product into JSDR/ISD supports quick reaction military needs, and is thus time critical.

On-boarding of a new contractor includes hiring, training, conducting background checks, gaining access to Government and military facilities and gaining access to Government systems which will further delay the current program schedule. The estimated impact to the program is that there would be an additional cost to the Government of and a schedule slip of six months.

The time estimate of six months is based on the amount of time to establish expertise for the JSDR/ISD technology and software components, the extract, translate and load (ETL) processes, data sources, and the IA configuration, as well as the new component to be integrated to JSDR/ISD.

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE BARRIERS THAT LED TO THE

RESTRICTED CONSIDERATION:

(a) Procurement history.

Contract # GS-35F-011GA, Order #HC104717F0058 Dollar Value Total:

Period of Performance: Base: 01 June 2017- 31 May 2018 + four Option Years Method of Acquisition: competitive FAR Part 8, total small business set-aside

Contract Number: HC1047-16-C-0003 Lifecycle value:

Exception to full and open competition (OTFAOC) # JA16-075 for Sole Source procurement Type of set aside: N/A, not competed

This effort of development of a modernized JSDR system (known as JSDRv2) was necessary to meet the more extensible, dynamic data needs to support Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) and analysis of DoD spectrum usage requirements. This new JSDRv2 has been incorporated into the GEMSIS ACAT III program of record. The GEMSIS Program Management Office (PMO) delivers capabilities through and evolutionary incremental acquisition approach, and

Page 7 of 8 Pages is approaching the Increment 2 Block III Milestone C decision in September 2017, with FOC to be achieved by 4Q 2017.

Due to the time and cost constraints of completing GEMSIS Increment 2 FOC, it is imperative to acquire as an interim measure, supplemental developmental and sustainment tasking to the ongoing JSDRv2 rapid development effort to allow for completion of new items that have been identified to be necessary to prepare the JSDR program for sustainment. This will allow GEMSIS to meet other Increment 2 Key System Attributes within the Increment 2 timeframe that have not been able to be successfully addressed through other efforts.

9. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP): In accordance with the exceptions under DARS 7.103(S-91)(1)(viii), an AP is not required.

Joint Spectrum Data Repository (JSDR) and Integrated Spectrum Desktop (ISD) Sustainment

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ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO

GLORIA NORWOOD at 301-225-4504 or gloria.r.norwood.civ@mail.mil.