JA25-0025 - VetsFirst - OpenText SCA Signed 1_Redacted.pdf

CONTROL NUMBER VA-25-00015797

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 a firm-fixed price (FFP) effort for brand name OpenText Fortify Static Code Analyzer (SCA) software maintenance and support for existing VA owned perpetual licenses with FedStore Corporation (FedStore), 1 Research Court, Suite 450, Rockville, MD, 20850.

3. Description of Supplies or Services: The proposed action is to provide software maintenance required for the continuous operation of VA owned OpenText Fortify SCA. This software is in use at VA Software Assurance Group (SWA) and supports the VA OIT Certification Program Office assessment and authorization activity. The software maintenance shall consist of software version updates and rule pack updates on a quarterly basis. The software maintenance support is necessary to ensure VA owned software remains fully functional and operational allowing the applications to operate successfully. The Contractor shall provide one telephone number and a point of contact for VA to contact and open-up maintenance service calls. In addition, the Contractor shall provide secure connection capabilities for the downloading of software updates and/or the uploading of diagnostic information. The period of performance for this effort shall be December 10, 2024, through December 9, 2025. The total estimated value of the proposed action is

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this acquisition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(5), “Authorized or Required by Statute”, as implemented by FAR 6.302-5. For this action, 38 U.S.C. 8127(c), known as the Veterans First Contracting Program provides the authority to directly contract with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or a Veteran- Owned Small Business (VOSB).

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this acquisition is FedStore. FedStore is a certified SDVOSB and technically qualified to provide OpenText Fortify SCA software maintenance and support for existing VA owned perpetual licenses. FedStore won a delivery order competed among resellers for brand name OpenText Fortify SCA software maintenance and support in November 2021. FedStore was the only evaluated offeror who conformed to the technical requirements in the solicitation and has performed successfully to date.

The existing delivery order expires on December 9, 2024, however continued maintenance and support is an ongoing need beyond this delivery order. Failure to continue maintenance and support for VA-owned OpenText Fortify SCA software would have significant adverse effects on VA’s operations. Should the required support not be continued, existing proprietary database structures, protocols, software application programming interfaces and software updates cannot be installed. This would result in VA software development teams functioning with an

OPENTEXT FORTIFY SCA CONTROL NUMBER VA-25-00015797

outdated and unsupportable software version, leading to potential disruptions in their workflow and delays in project timelines. This could hinder the timely development and deployment of critical applications. Operating with outdated and unsupportable software will result in providing less functionality to the end users utilizing the source code OpenText Fortify SCA tool. Specifically, it will adversely affect VA’s ability to issue Authorizations to Operate (ATO) as this tool is regularly used throughout the software development life cycle minimizing the risk that a serious problem goes undetected prior to going into deployment. The VA OIT Certification Program Office relies on the OpenText Fortify SCA tool for Assessment and Authorization activities.

Without proper maintenance, the tool may fail to meet compliance standards, jeopardizing VA’s ability to issue necessary ATO. This would significantly impact VA’s software development life cycle, as the inability to issue ATOs would prevent new software from being deployed, thereby stalling critical projects. Operating with outdated software could lead to higher long-term costs. VA may need to invest in emergency fixes, additional security measures, or even replacement software, which would be more costly than maintaining the current system. The lack of regular software updates and rule pack updates would expose VA’s systems to security vulnerabilities. This increases the risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches, potentially compromising sensitive Veteran information. Ultimately, any disruption or delay in VA’s software development and deployment processes could negatively impact the services provided to Veterans. Ensuring the continuous operation of the OpenText Fortify SCA software is crucial for maintaining the quality and reliability of VA’s services.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in Section 8 of this document. Upon the determination that a sole source award to FedStore was in the best interest of the Government, the Contracting Officer (CO) confirmed that FedStore meets all of the requirements detailed in VAAR 819.7008.

Consistent with the guidelines of the Veterans First Contracting Program, the proposed action described herein will be synopsized on the Contract Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR Part 5.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The current delivery order was competed among SDVOSB resellers and awarded on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). As stated above, this effort will be issued as a sole source action to FedStore using the VA Veterans First Contracting Program, which allows the CO to make a sole source award as a business decision wholly and to the discretion of the CO. Awarding this contract to FedStore aligns with VA’s commitment to supporting SDVOSBs and VOSBs, promoting the economic well-being of Veterans and fulfilling the goals of the VA Veterans First Contracting Program. The use of sole source authority in this case is compliant with VAAR 819.7008, ensuring that all procedural requirements are met, including the business meeting the eligibility requirements in VAAR 819.7003. The Government is reviewing the requirement in order to consolidate and update this acquisition with the plan to compete a longer term contract by the end of FY25.

8. Market Research: Market research was conducted by the Government’s technical experts in October 2024. The Contracting Officer considered whether there are other contractors in the marketplace. It is in the Government’s best interest to continue services with the incumbent contractor as the we consolidate and update the requirement in order to compete a longer term contract because FedStore has the established management and technical expertise capability necessary to perform the requirement.

The Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) database was accessed on November 19, 2024. This search concluded that FedStore is registered and certified and qualifies as a SDVOSB in accordance with the federal small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System Code 541519. It was verified on November 7, 2024, that FedStore is registered in the SAM.gov database and is eligible to receive a Government contract.

A Contractor Responsibility Assessment was pulled on November 7, 2024, and a review of their Representations and Certifications was conducted of which FedStore has no exclusions. Additionally, a review of the Responsibility/Qualification shows no reports from FedStore that would indicate defective pricing, instances of contractor fault or recipient not-qualified, terminations for cause, default or material failure to comply, or non-responsibility of the contractor. Finally, FedStore’s past performance evaluations on other contract actions with periods of performance ending within the last three (3) years have also been considered. The Contracting Officer reviewed the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) reports for FedStore and determined it is a responsible contractor with respect to performance.

9. Other Facts: The Procuring Contracting Officer has determined that this proposed action meets all the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 8127(c). This acquisition is below the $5,000,000.00 threshold, FedStore is a responsible SDVOSB for performance of the services described herein, and the proposed contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price, and an award to FedStore is in the best interest of the Government.

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.

Brian Baker Date Chief, Security Assessment & Validation Directorate (SAVD)

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 NASA SEWP V GWAC catalog pricing, which has already been determined to be fair and reasonable. Additionally, the proposed price wil be compared with the Independent Government Cost Estimate.

Kimberly Geran Date Contracting Officer

12. Contracting Officer Certification/Approval I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Kimberly Geran Date Contracting Officer

BRIAN BAKER Digitally signed by BRIAN BAKER Date: 2024.11.21 15:16:42 -08'00'

KIMBERLY GERAN Digitally signed by KIMBERLY GERAN Date: 2024.11.21 19:29:14 -05'00'

KIMBERLY GERAN Digitally signed by KIMBERLY GERAN Date: 2024.11.21 19:29:55 -05'00'

Approval

In my role as procuring activity Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition of brand name OpenText Fortify SCA software maintenance and support for existing VA owned perpetual licenses on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority cited in Section 4 above, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Jason Bullen Date Advocate for Competition Technology Acquisition Center Office of Procurement, Acquisition and Logistics Department of Veterans Affairs

JASON BULLEN

Digitally signed by JASON

BULLEN

Date: 2024.11.25 13:06:12 -05'00'