JOFOC-CoLocation_Svc_16Dec15.pdf

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

ACQUISITIONS MANAGEMENT BRANCH

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER AND FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

Pursuant to the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined that the use of other than full and open competitive procedures is justified for this procurement action to Century Link Technology Solutions.

1. Identification of Agency and the contracting activity

The NLRB, Acquisition Management Branch, proposes to enter into a contract on a basis of other than full and open competition for the NLRB Office of the Chief Information Officer

(OCIO).

2. Nature and/or description of action being approved

The NLRB has an ongoing need for information technology co-location services. The NLRB intends to award a new contract to Century Link for the services identified below.

3. Description of supplies or services

The NLRB has a continued need for information technology co-location services which include:

• Co-location services – i.e., leased space, security, network and power

• Hands on administrative tasks such as reboot/power cycle of government furnished equipment (GFE), manual entry of commands to GFE from a keyboard, securing cabling to connections and inspection and reading of alarm indicators and displays.

The estimated cost for the services is $996,006.24 (Base and two option periods).

4. Statutory Authority

The statutory authorities permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1 entitled, “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.”

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5. Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Rationale for the Nature of the Acquisition Requiring Use of Authority Cited.

The initial Task Order for this requirement was posted to GSA eBuy on 2/8/2011 to allow for as many GSA FSS vendors to submit a quote. Only one GSA FSS vendor provided a quote. The Task Order was therefore awarded to the incumbent on 3/29/2011 through GSA eBuy. The incumbent has provided highly satisfactory services since the award. Server co-location is a critical requirement for the NLRB to carry out its mission and extended down time of these critical services is unacceptable. If these services were awarded to another vendor it would require either moving all of the existing equipment to a new location or standing up all new equipment in the new location in parallel with the existing. The scenario of moving would require the overlap of some costs in addition to extended down time which is not acceptable.

Some of the costs included in the overlap would be new Wide Area Network data circuits and Internet circuits along with the cost of the new data centers. Non overlap costs would include the disconnection, disassembly, move, reassembly and reconnection of all equipment in the data centers. The move would cause a total outage of networks services for the entire agency until restored; this may take up to a week and is not acceptable programmatically. The alternative of bringing a new location online with new equipment in parallel minimizes downtime but is very costly and the Government would seriously be injured to pay duplicative costs of installation and equipment. This would require the same overlapping costs as a move along with the acquisition of new infrastructure for both data centers including LAN switches, routers, firewalls, VPN concentrators, servers, storage network, equipment racks, etc.

The current contract with Century Link formerly SAVVIS expired on October 31, 2015. A modification was issued, in accordance with FAR 52.217-8, to extend the current contract an additional two months to allow for adequate market research to be conducted. The OCIO is requesting that a sole-source contract be awarded to the incumbent for a base year period of performance January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, with two (2) one year option periods.

6. Description of the Efforts Made to Ensure That Offers are Solicited From as Many Potential Sources as Is Practicable.

No efforts will be made to solicit to more than one source at this time. Market research results, limited resources, and anticipated unacceptable delays lead the NLRB to procure the services from only one source. The initial requirement was solicited from as many potential sources as was practicable by way of GSA eBuy. The incumbent was the only vendor who submitted a proposal to the Request for Quote issued in 2011 through GSA e-Buy. The OCIO has used their technical knowledge and expertise of this requirement in determining that the existing source is the most cost effective method of continuing critical agency operations with minimal interruption of service. A review of the current services provided by Century Link shows that the cost of new equipment that would need to be installed as well as the cost associated with moving to a new data center would not be cost effective to the NLRB. It is estimated that it would cost up to an additional $1 Million dollars in hardware and services to award to a new contractor. Any interruption/delay in services would be detrimental to the mission of the NLRB.

The JOFOC will be made publicly available at the Government Point of Entry per FAR 6.305.

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7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Pricing

The Contracting Officer will review the prices to be quoted and review them in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) to determine fair and reasonable pricing. Many of the prices in this award are based on the previous Task Order, which was let under a GSA Schedule. These prices previously have been determined to be fair and reasonable under GSA FSS and determined to be the best value for the Government. In accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a), the remaining prices, representing open market items, have been checked against the current commercial market and determined to be fair and reasonable.

8. Market Research

On November 5, 2015 a notice of intent to issue a sole source award to CenturyLink Technology Solutions for co-locations services was posted to FBO.gov. Five contractors expressed an interest in providing these services.

A review of the responses was conducted by OCIO and the Contracting Officer. It was determined that although most of the contractors could provide hosting services, they would not be able to provide any necessary equipment that would be involved in the move to a new location. Most of the current NLRB owned equipment would not survive a move to new location and it would be necessary to buy new replacement equipment. Additionally, there would more than likely be an interruption of services unless a parallel site is set up with all new equipment which would cost approximately a million dollars to procure. At this time, the funding needed to procure replacement and/or additional equipment is not available in the NLRB’s budget. It is uncertain whether the funding will be available in future fiscal years.

Given the knowledge of the potential injury to the Government of duplicative costs and the potential for interruption in service, the contracting officer has determined a contract awarded under sole source requirement is in the best interest of the Government.

9. Any other facts supporting the justification

In 2011, Century Link, formerly SAVVIS, was selected after advertising in GSA e-Buy for the IT co-location services and the performance of the vendor has been highly satisfactory.

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10. A listing of sources, if any that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

• Recovery Point Systems;

• E Quality Corporation;

• Superb Internet Corp & HopOne Internet Corp;

• Plexus Solutions LLC; and

• 724 Hosting, Inc.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

A competitive procurement is being considered for future requirements. Based on market research, the availability of OCIO resources and funding, a solicitation will be posted to FBO or GSA e-Buy at the end of the current contract to allow for competition.

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Certification

The information contained in this justification for other than full and open competition is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Acquisition Initiator:

Per FAR 6.303-2(c), I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate.

IT Specialist, OCIO Date

Contracting Officer:

Per FAR 6.303-2(b)(12), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

Reviews and Approvals

Competition Advocate:

Per FAR 6.304(a)(2), I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate. The signature below documents approval of this justification.

Competition Advocate Date

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