JOFOC_sam.gov.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1)

Speakerbus Conference Bridge

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

PART I

1. The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA Operations Center (FOC) and the FEMA Alternate Operations Centers (FAOC-E, FAOC-W) current conference bridge solution is Speakerbus which manages all EAS, NAWAS, Blast dialing, and conferencing. The Speakerbus Conference Bridge is used to create, schedule, and manage audio conferences and blast dialing on a conferencing server. The purpose of this request is to procure continued technical support and maintenance for the 3 existing systems.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved: Approval for a sole source, follow-on procurement for supplies, services, maintenance, rework, etc. as identified on the attached quote. The FOC has a requirement on a sole source basis to provide continued technical support and maintenance for the existing Speakerbus Conference Bridge systems from:

Optivor Technologies Quote Phone: 877-325-1515 Fax: 240-646-3937 10820 Guilford Road, St. 208 Annapolis Junction, MD DC 20701 (a Speakerbus authorized partner)

3. The requirement is to provide support and maintenance for the Speakerbus Conference Bridge located at Mount Weather, VA, Thomasville, GA and Lakewood, CO. The Speakerbus Conference Bridge is the solution that provides a conference bridge for the FOC, FAOC-W and FAOC-E the hoot n holler circuits for (NAWAS) and (EAS), which requires continuing support and maintenance of a Speakerbus conference bridge solution in all three locations, with an estimated total cost of $______. The Speakerbus Conference Bridge is used to create, schedule, and manage audio conferences and blast dialing on a conferencing server. Hardware/software support of the Conference Bridge and associated equipment will provide assurance that the FOC, FEMA Alternate Operations Center (FAOC-E - Thomasville, GA) and the Tertiary FEMA Alternate Operations Center (FAOC-W-Lakewood, CO) will have the uninterrupted ability notify more personnel in a shorter amount of time. Since this hardware/software support is for an existing proprietary system, the manufacturer or one of its partners are the only one that provides this enhancement and the required hardware/software support for a smooth transition.

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) (for USCG) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) (for other Components;

except TSA) 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”.

5. This requirement is for continued support and maintenance for hardware/software which was designed and manufacture by Speakerbus. The existing hardware/software is proprietary and patented and only Speakerbus or one of its authorized partners possesses the corporate knowledge required to modify the system. Modifications of the existing hardware/software by any other contractor other than Speakerbus will violate and void the warranty hardware/software support agreement for the Speakerbus Conference Bridge.

6. The Internet was searched for a list of contractors that could provide the hardware/software support for Speakerbus proprietary software. The market research showed that only Speakerbus or one of its partners could provide the hardware/software support and there are no other distributors but the manufacturer. Furthermore, the Contracting Officer (CO) posted a Sources Sought notification to the System for Award Management on 05/23/2024 to determine if there were vendors that could support the Speakerbus software. The CO received one response and asked the contractor via email on 05/28/2024 if they have an agreement in place to support Speakerbus software and did not receive a response. The previous CO called the Speakerbus representative to determine who are the authorized maintenance support providers to Speakerbus services but did not provide a response. Optivor is the only known source to provide technical and maintenance support.

7. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition:

The enhancement features of the system must be compatible with the existing systems design by Speakerbus in the FOC, FAOC-E-Thomasville MOC, and FAOC-W-Denver MOC. If Speakerbus (or one of its partners) does not provide the hardware/software support, the new contractor will have to re-develop patented technology of the existing software to provide hardware/software support which would be extremely costly to the government and would adversely affect current emergency operations.

8. The FOC is seeking to provide hardware/software support, enhancement and maintenance of the existing Conference Bridge in the FOC and FAOC-E- Thomasville MOC to the FAOC-W-, and Denver MOC. Only one source can provide the enhancement of existing equipment.

9. I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

Technical Representative Date

PART II

1. A notice will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 which will include J&A.

2. Market Research. X no additional market research was conducted to determine potential sources because/or the results were: service is for maintenance follow-on from initial warranty and the software maintenance and warranty is not resold as it is maintained only by the manufacturer.

3. I have determined that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on the following: prior purchases by the Government and published and pre-established price lists.

Based on the estimated acquisition value identified above, I concur with and approve the above justification:

APPROVAL:

Contracting Officer Date