JA24-094 _AvMC Cloud Capabilities Amd 01_Redacted.pdf

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVAL FOR FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION SUBPART 16.5 ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Contract

Orders under Fair Opportunity Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505, Defense FAR Supplement 216.505-70, Procedures, Guidance, and Information 216.505-70

Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request Number: 12099160 Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) Contract Number: HC105023D0005 Task/Delivery Order Number: To be determined Procurement Title: Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) Cloud Capabilities Estimated Value:

Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) 2304c(b) and FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B)

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Number: JA24-094

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procuring Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the Statutory Authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b) and Regulatory Authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B).

1. REQUESTING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requesting Agency:

U.S. Army (ARMY)/DEVCOM AvMC (Aviation and Missile Center) Building 5400 Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898 United States of America

Contracting Activity:

Defense Information Systems Agency/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization/PL85

2300 East Drive Scott Air Force Base, IL 62225-5406

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

AMD 01: This J&A amendment is to increase the estimated value from to

The original estimated award value did not include Secret Cloud-IL6 or Professional services for both IL5 and IL6 Cloud, both of which are required to meet the Government’s minimum needs. These omissions caused a discrepancy in the calculated cost which increased the estimated value by

This action is to issue a firm-fixed-price task order (TO) against the JWCC Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract for AvMC Cloud Capabilities. This TO will be issued

JA24-094 AvMC Cloud Capabilities

Page 2 of 6 Pages directly to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The anticipated period of performance (PoP) is for a 1-year base period, plus three 1-year option periods. The total estimated value is of which the base period will be funded with FY24 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

Gain connectivity to AWS Gov CSP for Cloud and enable Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) functionality. Additionally, require connectivity to AWS Gov to leverage VMware Cloud (VMC) on AWS licenses/hosts that AvMC acquired from VMware Army Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) and would like to use as Continuation of Operations/Disaster Recovery (COOP/DR) capability.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE

ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity.

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B) - 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.

(b) Description of the Justification.

AvMC own licenses for VMC on AWS from the Army VMware ELA (hosts within AWS Gov) that are intended to be used as a (DR/COOP) location for AvMC on-premise services. In order to leverage these hosts as DR/COOP targets AvMC needs to establish AWS account and connectivity to AWS Gov (east). The VMC on AWS option from VMware Army ELA is only available on AWS Gov.

(c) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

The cloud service offerings must continue at their current level in order to support DR/COOP options for AvMC, and ability for AvMC to manage development IaaS requirements and use of managed cloud services. VMware was chosen because AvMC uses that virtualization technology on premise and the Army VMware ELA made it an easy and cost-effective way to get a DR/COOP site without capital expenditures. Thus, the current Government need is for a CSP that can seamlessly integrate with its current architecture.

These offerings include VMware Cloud, IaaS, managed databases, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning services.

(2) Proposed sole source contractor.

Page 3 of 6 Pages

Amazon Web Services

(3) Discussion regarding the cause of the sole source situation.

The only source capable of performing the AvMC Cloud Capabilities at the level and quality required is AWS based on the VMC service by AWS that is only offered by AWS. This product is essential to the Government’s requirements due to the fact that AvMC's on-premise virtualization technology is VMware and current staff has extensive knowledge of VMware technology. The VMC product within AWS Gov will allow seamless connectivity and transition from on-premise to off-premise for services and resources supported by AvMC technical personnel. The VMC product will allow AvMC to establish DR/COOP services off-premise at a savings versus maintaining a physical site. Other similar products do not meet, nor can be modified to meet, the Government’s requirements due to increase complexity to maintain services for DR/COOP.

(4) Demonstration of unique source.

AWS possesses the knowledge, skills, capabilities, certification, clearance, and experience required to continue the program without a break or degradation in critical mission services. Given these critical mission requirements, AWS is the only contractor that is capable of performing the necessary services for the DoD within the current required timeline.

(5) Procurement discussion.

VMC on AWS licenses have been acquired from the VMware Army ELA and the Government would like to get the DR/COOP testing setup as soon as possible to meet requirements to DR/COOP certain services.

(6) Impact.

Only AWS offers the VMC license which is exclusive to AWS and has been procured through the VMware Army ELA, so no other CSP can offer the required VMC license as a service for AvMC.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION:

A determination that the price is fair and reasonable will be based on a comparison of the contractor’s proposal to the independent government cost estimate and the JWCC Catalog pricing, including any discounts, which was previously found to be fair and reasonable and based on the contractor’s commercial pricing.

Page 4 of 6 Pages

6. MARKET RESEARCH:

Market research for the basic JWCC Contracts was conducted and resulted in a signed market research report on January 17, 2023 After a survey of the market, it was concluded that the JWCC Contract is in the Government’s best interest due to technical feasibility and cost to the Government.

Additional research was conducted from June 1, 2023 to February 28, 2024 by reviewing the specific capabilities in the JWCC Contracts and it was determined that AWS is the only source capable of fulfilling the Government’s minimum needs in the manner and time frame of completion by December 31, 2024. The Government met with VMware on multiple occasions about the VMC on AWS product/service. The Government attended VMWare is the reseller of this capability and the VMC on AWS was made available on the Army VMWare ELA. The Government also attended a workshop hosted by AWS and VMware on the VMC product how it was licensed, priced, and features. The Government attended workshops with Microsoft on Azure offerings. The Government spoke on the Army VMware ELA, AWS was the only cloud offering option for VMC on AWS. Conversations were had with Army Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G6 reps for the VMware Enterprise Licensing Agreement (ELA) about the VMC on AWS offering and how it could be leveraged with Army and AvMC. The results of the research led to the conclusion that the VMC on AWS would meet the requirements of AvMC as a DR/COOP option, plus the fact that the licenses were available to request from the Army VMware ELA. Both of these would allow AvMC to not only meet requirements for DR/COOP at a savings, over maintaining physical hot site, but also provide off-premise cloud services.

Further research was conducted from June 1, 2023 to February 28, 2024 by reviewing the JWCC contractor's catalogs to determine if other similar offerings meet or can be modified to satisfy the Government’s requirements. The results have determined that no other offering is suitable as follows; since VMC on AWS is only available from the Army VMware ELA on AWS Gov. In order to connect to the VMC on AWS, AvMC still needs to have the AWS account with network connectivity. Therefore, it was determined the VMC on AWS is essential to the Government’s requirements and AWS is the only source capable of fulfilling the Government’s minimum needs in the manner and time frame required.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: None.

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY MAY TAKE TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Procurement History:

Not Applicable

(b) To overcome future barriers to competition, will pursue training and certification for Government engineers in other technologies.

To overcome future barriers to competition, future development and enhancement of IaaS

Page 5 of 6 Pages components will include shifting to a containerized platform. This will enable multiple vendors to meet the requirements which will enable the flexibility to shift workload based on financial and mission requirements.

Page 6 of 6 Pages

TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Alan Marett SIGNATURE: See Separate

Signature Page

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: CTO

PHONE:

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Alan Marett SIGNATURE: See Separate

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: CTO

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Darryl Boswell SIGNATURE: See Separate

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: JWCC Contracting Officer/DISA/DITCO-PS8511

PROCURING ACTIVITY COMPETITION ADVOCATE APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Since this justification does not exceed $15M, this review serves as approval and my written determination that the aforementioned FAR circumstances apply.

NAME: Gay Arnold SIGNATURE: See Separate Signature Page

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: PACA/DISA

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO

Darryl Boswell,