JA25-083 for IDEAS Tier 2 - Tier 3 Support Final_Redacted.pdf

CUI

Page 1 of 9 Pages Controlled By: DISA Controlled By: PSD/PS8222 CUI Category: PROCURE Distribution/Dissemination Control: FEDCON POC: disa.scott.ditco.mbx.ps822-satcom-contracting-branch@mail.mil

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND

OPEN COMPETITION (OTFAOC)

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6 Justification & Approval (J&A), Supporting Procurements under FAR Part 12, and FAR Part 15

Purchase Request Number: 622571164 Contract Number: TBD Procurement Title: Integrated Defense Enterprise Acquisition System (IDEAS) -Tier 2/Tier 3 Support Estimated Value:

Statutory and Regulatory Authority: 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) and FAR 6.302-1

Justification for OTFAOC Number: JA25-083

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as Head of the Contracting Activity, hereby approve the use of other than full and open competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of FAR 6.302-1, Only one reasonable source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY:

Requiring Agency:

Defense Information System Agency (DISA)/ Program Executive Office (PEO) Services Division (SD2) 6914 Cooper Avenue Fort Meade, MD 20755

Contracting Activity:

DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO)/PS8222 2300 East Drive Scott Air Force Base, IL 62225

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S):

The nature of this action is to award a firm-fixed price (FFP) contract for a one-year base period, and four option years. The contract will be funded annually with Operations & Maintenance (O&M) funding.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES:

DISA/Procurement Services Directorate (PSD) utilizes a separately procured contract writing system, IDEAS, that was developed utilizing Appian’s Business Process Management (BPM) for

JA25-083-IDEAS Follow-On

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In 2009, purchase order HC1028-09-P-2167 was awarded to Appian Corporation, who at that time was a small business, to complete development of the IDEAS application for telecommunications contracting, specifically improving performance and incorporating the competitive contracting process called Inquiry – Quote – Order.

In 2011, the Government parsed IDEAS Tier 2 production support and Tier 3 into separate requirements as production support did not require the same level of expertise as Tier 3.

Consequently, the requirement for Tier 2 support was awarded to an 8(a) qualified Appian business partner, CollabraLink, while Appian focused on completing deployment of the telecommunications contracting application.

In 2012, the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy office (now Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy) announced the sunset of the Standard Procurement System. PSD desired to add traditional, FAR-based contracting processes into the IDEAS application and prepared a business case. The business case was subsequently approved, and because of the extent of the development required, the Government required additional support from Appian as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) until the traditional FAR-based contracting processes were complete in the IDEAS application.

This resulted in a second non-competitive contract (HC1028-15-F-0061) awarded to Appian Corporation in 2015.

At the end of 2016 and early 2017, the Government Acquisition team believed the traditional contracting development to be largely complete. In 2018, CollabraLink was awarded the prime contract for IDEAS software support, Tier 2 and Tier 3, and data integration support. The contract was terminated for the convenience of the Government in March 2019 due to the inability of the contractor to properly resource the contract. All offerors that had proposed on this effort, to include CollabraLink, had established a teaming arrangement with Appian as a significant subcontractor in order to provide certified Appian engineers. The required tasks under the terminated contract were then non-competitively awarded to Appian under contract HC1028-15-F-0061.

In 2020, a new sole source contract was written that combined Appian’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 tasks into a single contract. The scope included all tasks associated with the support, deployment, and sustainment of IDEAS.

The IDEAS platform was built using Appian’s BPM software and is intended for a government acquisition system. It is required to be integrated into multiple government systems and needs to maintain compliance with government regulations. Appian Acquisition Accredited (AAA) partners or Appian are the only vendors that would be capable of performing this contract successfully.

(b) Justification.

(1) Minimum Government requirements.

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The Government requires support for the continued development, deployment, and sustainment of IDEAS, a single integrated telecom procurement solution, which is built upon and relies solely on Appian’s proprietary BPM software.

The overall objectives of the contract are:

• Create a single integrated procurement solution for telecom contracting that is uniformly implemented and readily accessible worldwide;

• Share consistent data, services, and processes across business functions and systems applying the tenets and principles of net-centricity;

• Provide accurate and easily retrievable information for all DISA telecom contracting functions and associated external users;

• Reduce operational costs while increasing procurement efficiency

Appian BPM software development, and support services are required to bolster and enhance the previously purchased, tested, and implemented acquisition system for PSD. Appian, the company, and/or AAA partners have a documented and demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the Appian platform focused on contracting processes that form the baseline for current IDEAS application, which is required to develop and sustain IDEAS. IDEAS has been tested, deployed, certified, and accredited using the Appian-based BPM software baseline. The Appian software and solution comply with the Department of Defense (DoD) and DISA Chief Information Officer standard architecture. The consulting and programming service support meets architectural development requirements for installing additional application infrastructure and application support upgrades.

In order to ensure seamless continuity maintaining and enhancing the IDEAS application with the Appian BPM platform, DISA requires that this procurement be limited to Appian and/or AAA Partners. Therefore, to be eligible to compete for and receive an award of the IDEAS Tier 2/Tier 3 Support contract, the contractor must be an AAA Partner or be Appian LLC.

(2) Proposed limited number of contractors.

Any active AAA Partners

Or

Appian Corporation 7950 Jones Branch Dr Mclean, Virginia 22102

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

The IDEAS Contract writing platform was built on Appian’s proprietary BPM software. Moreover, IDEAS has been successfully developed and deployed within

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DISA. The IDEAS software is procured under a separate contract. In order to sustain and enhance the current procurement platform, any prospective contractor must have certified expertise with the Appian BPM software and a deeply rooted knowledge of the complexities of working with government acquisition systems and their required integrations.

DISA’s procurement of telecommunications services is unique in government contracting and is conducted under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Subpart 239.74, Telecommunication Services.

(4) Impact Failure to complete the IDEAS program integration, implementation, and sustainment adversely impacts DISA’s ability to achieve modernization of the FAMIS-WCF capability; a total of approximately $25M in investments. Failure would also adversely impact DISA’s ability to procure telecommunication services. For example, the preliminary and critical designs for the existing IDEAS system cost the Government $3.27M. During initial configuration and deployment, the Government invested $23.54M for configuration, testing, and deployment of the IDEAS application software and interfaces for use in its enterprise. A replacement BPM solution would duplicate this configuration and deployment cost, at substantial cost to the Government that is not likely to be recovered through competition. Further, an award to any other source without AAA partnership would cause unacceptable probability of failure associated with delays in moving forward with the alignment of IDEAS to the BEA, and integrating IDEAS with DISA Marketplace and FAMIS- WCF. It would also negatively affect DISA’s ability to meet DoD directives and the following operational objectives:

• Build upon DISA’s Working Capital Fund clean audit successes

• Comply with business enterprise architecture

• Support streamlined / updated business process reengineering efforts

• Align with other initiatives / investments (e.g., Data Entry & Payment System)

• Reduce labor intensive manual processes

6. CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES ANNOUNCEMENT/POTENTIAL SOURCES:

The request for proposal will be posted on SAM.gov for a period of 30 days to ensure the widest dissemination of the requirement.

7. DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE COST:

As the Government expects to receive multiple acceptable proposals, price will be determined fair and reasonable based on competitive proposals. Should only one offeror be received or determined acceptable, the Contracting Officer will determine pricing fair and reasonable through comparison of proposed prices found reasonable on previous purchases, independent government cost estimates, and pricing for similar services.

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8. MARKET RESEARCH:

Based on current market research, dated September 2024 through March 2025, it has been determined that only the aforementioned services provided by Appian Corporation or any active Appian Acquisition Accredited partner, can fully meet the Government’s need.

9. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: Not Applicable

10. LISTING OF INTERESTED SOURCES:

Sources Sought Notice, Tracking Number 622571164, was posted 8 November 2024. The following sources expressed interest in this requirement. While all interested sources are not AAA Partners, they may become Partners.

- Appian Corporation

- CACI, Inc

- DKW Communications, Inc

- Global Enterprise Services, LLC

- Horizon Industries, Limited

- Hunter Strategy, LLC

- Synergy Business Innovation &

Solutions, Inc.

- Oran Inc.

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

THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

(a) Procurement History.

Contract Number: HC1047-20-C-0004 Brief Description: Provide software development support for DISA’s

Business Systems Portfolio Management Office.

Contractor (Business Size): Appian Corp (Large Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $77,500,000.00 Period of Performance (including options):

6/1/2020 – 5/31/2025

Contract Type: FFP Basis of Award: Limited/Sole Source

Delivery/Task Order Number: HC1028-15-F-0061 Brief Description: Tier 2/Tier 3 Support Contract. Software development for the Appian BPM Platform.

Contractor (Business Type): Appian Corp (Large Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $45,317,000 Period of Performance (including options):

7/1/2018 through 6/30/2020

Basis of Award: Exception to Fair Opportunity (Sole Source)

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Delivery/Task Order Number: HC1028-14-F-0366 Brief Description: Tier 2 Support Contract. Production support for

IDEAS, primarily the Appian platform.

Contractor (Business Type): CollabraLink (8(a)) Life Cycle Contract Value: $4,537,000 Period of Performance (including options):

10/01/2014 through 9/30/2018

Basis of Award: 8(a) Set Aside

Delivery/Task Order Number: HC1028-11-F-0774 Brief Description: Tier 2 Support Contract. Production support for

IDEAS, primarily the Appian platform.

Contractor (Business Type): CollabraLink (8(a)) Life Cycle Contract Value: $3,930,000 Period of Performance (including options):

10/01/2011 through 9/30/2014

Basis of Award: Exception to Fair Opportunity (8(a) sole source)

Delivery/Task Order Number: HC1028-11-F-0785 Brief Description: Tier 3 Support Contract. Software development for the

Appian BPM Platform.

Contractor (Business Type): Appian Corp (Large Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $18,948,000 Period of Performance (including options):

10/01/2011 through 12/31/2014

Delivery/Task Order Number: HC1028-09-F-2482 Brief Description: Tier 2 and Tier 3 Support Contract. Software development and production support for the Appian BPM Platform.

Contractor (Business Type): Appian Corp (Small Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $12,763,000 Period of Performance (including options):

07/15/2009 through 09/30/2011

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Purchase Order Number: HC1028-09-P-2167 Brief Description: Tier 3 Support Contract. Software development and production support for the Appian BPM Platform. This was a Proof-of-Concept contract that took the solution delivered by Vangent Corp under the acquisition contract and was to demonstrate the application’s viability.

Contractor (Business Type): Appian Corp. (Small Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $100,000 Period of Performance (including options):

05/29/2009 through 08/01/2009

Contract Number: HC1013-06-C-2005 Brief Description: Provide a single integrated procurement solution.

Contractor (Business Type): Pearson Analytic Solutions, Inc. (Large Business) Life Cycle Contract Value: $20,556,000 Period of Performance (including options):

03/24/2006 through 05/31/2009

Contract Type: Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) Basis of Award: Full and Open

(b) Removing Barriers to Competition.

Previous acquisitions required a sole source environment, but the Government was able to remove a barrier to competition by removing some of the customized code that was being utilized. However, unlesss DISA/PSD migrates to a different contract writing system for telecommunications altogether, one that does not hinge on an Appian BPM platform, support will need to be provided by Appian Corporation or AAA Partners. No further actions can be taken to further remove barriers to full and open competition.

(1) Reviewing officials and the approval authority have reviewed the previous J&A, which was routed with this J&A, and determined any planned actions to remove barriers to competition listed on the previous justification were considered. Even after reviewing the actions taken to remove barriers to competition, it is determined that a limited source environment exists given the critical need for the AAA Partner requirement.