JandA VAE Redacted.pdf

DDEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY

8725 JOHN J. KINGMAN ROAD, STOP 6201

FORT BELVOIR, VA 22060-6201

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Nature and/or Description of Action

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracting activity proposes to procure without using full and open competition a renewal of cyber tools, consisting of software licenses for a product proprietary to VAE, Inc., located at 12005 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191.

This procurement will be accomplished through a modification to an existing contract, HDTRA119C0039, in which these licenses were previously purchased.

2. Description of the Supplies/Services Required

The intent of this procurement is to add software licenses for a VAE product, ITPIE. The software application is used to conduct mission assurance assessments. DTRA intends to procure the licenses in the current period of performance and for each remaining three (3) option years under contract number HDTRA119C0039. Each option year stipulates delivery dates for software renewals; these additional licenses will specify an “off-cycle” delivery date. This requirement is estimated at a total of [REDACTED], inclusive of options.

3. Statutory Authority

The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is pursuant to Chapter 41, Section 1901(e)(2) of the United States Code and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.501, which provide that the Contracting Officer may award on a sole source basis only if the “the need to do so is justified in writing and approved.”

4. Applicability of Authority

The software that DTRA requires is only available from the original source. The software is one component of DTRA’s cyber toolkit used for cyber assessments, and without the software, DTRA would be unable to use its cyber assessment tool. The data capture and modeling of the IT infrastructure would not be possible without ITPIE. DTRA developed the original cyber toolkit and each of the components, including ITPIE, have been tested and fielded to ensure that all components work together well. Each component of DTRA’s cyber toolkit, including ITPIE, and the cyber toolkit as an end product was reviewed and authorized for use by the DoD CIO.

Even if alternative solutions exist that have similar capabilities as ITPIE, purchasing an alternative software would cause delays to mission execution because DTRA would have to test the interoperability of the alternative software with the other hardware and software components of the cyber toolkit. After performance has been validated, DTRA would need to seek DoD CIO re-authorization to use an alternative software.

The cost of a new configuration and the time it would take to deploy a new cyber analysis toolkit would negatively impact mission, would impede DTRA’s readiness posture, and would undoubtedly require increased costs to test and validate that an alternative software is appropriate for use.

The software license is only sold by VAE, and as a result, only VAE can provide the products to complete the renewal of the cyber tools. A solution that incorporates the right combination of software and hardware is crucial to this effort. VAE is the only provider of the software component and the one that will be able to provide a compatible hardware component to enable this cyber capability.

5. Effort to Solicit Potential Sources

Prior to awarding a contract to VAE in FY19, a sources sought was posted on August 20, 2018, as required by the DFARS PGI 206.302-1. Two responses were received but only one was deemed to be responsive to the RFI. VAE, Inc. was determined to be responsive to the request for information. The other response was from Denamita who submitted a capability statement that offered non-IT services. No other vendor provided a software application substantially similar to the ITPIE. Because the software license renewal is produced and sold by only one entity, the Contracting Officer believes it would be futile to post any further requests for information. The acquisition team continues to survey the market for possible alternatives.

A notice of intent to award a sole source contract action will be posted in accordance with FAR 5.2 prior to soliciting a proposal from VAE.

6. Fair and Reasonable Costs

The anticipated cost/price of this contract action to the Government will be determined to be fair and reasonable based on a comparison of proposed prices to previous prices, and based on negotiations.

7. Market Research

Market research was completed and documented in the Market Research Report and states that previous searches for alternative software solutions were made, but did not produce any viable alternative sources. The acquisition team is continuously surveying the market for network forensic applications. The acquisition team has yet to identify a software comparable to ITPIE.

8. Other Facts

None.

9. Interested Sources

See above.

10. Subsequent Actions DTRA anticipates the solution for the next cyber tool will be competed once the lifespan of this capability expires.

Technical Certification

I certify that the data and information forming the basis for this justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Program Manager

Digitally signed by

THOMPSON.BRANDON.LERON.

Date: 2020.08.26 13:43:15 -04'00'

Contracting Officer

General Counsel Coordination This justification is legally sufficient.

[REDACTED]

Associate General Counsel

Approval Based on the above justification, I hereby approve accomplishment of this acquisition by means of other than using full and open competition.

[REDACTED]

Competition Advocate

FEIGE.TAMMY.MO Digitally signed by

Y. FEIGE.TAMMY.MOY.

Date: 2020.08.26 14:20:09 -04'00'

THOMPSON.BRA

N DON.LERON.

[REDACTED] Digitally signed by

[REDACTED]

Date: 2020.09.02 09:02:47 -04'00'

[REDACTED] Digitally signed by

[REDACTED]

Date: 2020.09.03 08:39:15 -04'00'