Justification Authorization Restrict Competition Over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Combined Synopsis Solicitation 1232SA26Q0045.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Justification to Restrict Competition

Identification Number: 1232SA26Q0045 (1162140)

Rev. 11/6/2025

In accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 12.102 (b), the following justification documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Contracting Activity: Supply 1 Section/Contracting Operations Branch/Acquisition and Property Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.

Requesting Activity Agency: USDA, ARS, NEA, Facilities Division, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Bldg. 426, BARC-EAST, Beltsville, MD 20705.

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This acquisition involves procuring Maximo Application Suite (MAS) as a Service Software Licensing Renewal consisting of one (1) one-year base period and four (4) one-year option periods. The total duration of this contract shall not exceed five (5) years. It is anticipated that a firm-fixed price contract will be utilized for this acquisition.

These services are commercial in nature and will be procured utilizing the procedures listed in FAR Part 12.

This J&A authorizes and approves the intent to award a sole-source, firm-fixed price contract for the Maximo Application Suite (MAS) as a Service Software Licensing Renewal. A new contract will continue to provide the critical resources and expertise needed to maintain and enhance the performance of requirement.

The suggested contractor is:

Internation Business Machines (IBM) Corporation 1 North Castle Drive Armonk, NY 10504

UEI: J64CSQTQNRC1

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

This contract will provide the Maximo Application Suite (MAS) as a Service Software Licensing Renewal. This contract will renew the 248 IBM Maximo AppPoints as monthly service subscription for the existing MAS 9.1 environment currently hosted within the IBM commercial platform. This contract will also provide updates and access to new software versions as they become available and 24 x 7 technical support via IBM website.

Identification Number: 1232SA26Q0045 (1162140)

Rev. 11/6/2025 to SAM.gov. The eight contractor’s responses were forwarded by email to the Facilities Division, Beltsville, MD location COR and Technical POC for their technical review.

(7) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contract Specialist has determined that the anticipated cost will be considered fair and reasonable for this acquisition. The service covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable based on a thorough comparison of historical pricing data from the prior contract and the development of an Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) using current market rates.

(8) A description of the market research conducted, and the results or a statement of the reason

Market Research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted to verify the availability of comparable software licensing and support from other vendors. Quotation from suggested source was obtained for the requested software licensing and support. A review of prior orders for this type of service was conducted through the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG). Research into orders for this type of service was also conducted using the contracting opportunities section of SAM.gov. The responses and findings confirmed that no other software licensing and support met our required compatibility and performance criteria. A Sources Sought Notice was posted on SAM.gov on 01/05/2026. Eight responses were received in response to the notice.

Additionally, a combined synopsis/solicitation of the proposed contract will be posted on the SAM.gov website to gauge broader industry interest. No other contractors aside from IBM were able to meet the program's stringent requirements for this acquisition. This comprehensive market research provides a high level of confidence that no other qualified sources exist that can fulfill the government's requirements.

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

The following eight contractors submitted responses to the Sources Sought Announcement posted under Contracting Opportunities on SAM.gov website.

A technical review of eight contractors responses by the Facilities Division, BARC, Beltsville, MD location determined none of the eight contractors are able to provide the stringent requirements required and that are already established and in place as a result of previous IBM Contract #12305B25P0004. The eight contractors would not be able to provide competitive pricing to be able to meet the Beltsville, MD location requirements for this acquisition.

Identification Number: 1232SA26Q0045 (1162140)

Rev. 11/6/2025

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

It is unlikely that efforts to promote competition for this type requirement will be able to overcome the significant constraints posed by the specialized technologies of the current subscription service program already established. The USDA, ARS, NEA, Facilities Division, BARC-EAST, Beltsville, MD location will strive to promote competition for this type of acquisition by exploring other acquisition strategies that may be available to further promote competition. Posting of combined synopsis/solicitations to the Contracting Opportunities section of SAM.gov website will continue to be the acquisition process to be followed to seek further competition. The USDA, ARS, NEA, Facilities Division, Beltsville, MD encourages competition for all their requirements, but due to the exacting specifications and requirements of this acquisition, this type of acquisition indicates that substantial hindrance to competition will likely remain.

(11) Certifications & Approvals

Technical / Requirements Personnel Certification 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.

Name Date Title

Contracting Officer’s Certification I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name Date Contracting Officer

RYAN HERKIMER

Digitally signed by RYAN

HERKIMER

Date: 2026.02.03 07:25:13 -05'00'