P03 Justification Phoenix software FBO_Redacted.pdf

FY21 PHOENIX SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL VA-21-00004709

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Office of Procurement Acquisition and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 1701 Director’s Blvd, Ste 600 Austin, TX 78744

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a sole source, firm-fixed priced, contract with two option periods to provide brand name Phoenix perpetual software and maintenance support.

3. Description of Software license or Services: VA Office of Information and Technology, Service Delivery and Engineering (SDE), Infrastructure Operations (IO) has a requirement for Phoenix software maintenance. The software maintenance is necessary in order for SDE IO to receive software upgrades and updates to their previously purchased software to include major releases, point releases, service releases and security releases on a quarterly basis, and/or within 48 hours in cases in which a high-risk vulnerability fix becomes available. These software upgrades and updates are necessary for SDE IO to be able to operate successfully and is required to ensure the software remains operational. The total estimated price of the proposed action is $ to include a 12-month base period and two 12-month option periods.

4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority 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".

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited: The proposed source is Phoenix Software

International, 831 Parkview Drive North, El Segundo, CA 90245. Based upon market research, as described in section 8 of this justification, it was determined that only Phoenix Software International has the capability to satisfy this requirement. IO currently owns Phoenix JES perpetual licenses, and requires continued maintenance as well as additional perpetual license for JESplus at the Austin location. The additional JESplus software will provide a replacement of the previously used International Business Machine’s (IBM) z series operating system’s (z/OS) job entry subsystem (JES3) for the VA Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) mainframe. IBM announced the end of support for JES3. The replacement of JES3 should function identically to z/OS JES3 V2R4. Since the current IO infrastructure is based on existing Phoenix software, only the JESPlus will be compatible. In addition, VA requires support compatible with the existing infrastructure protocols and functionality for continued operational availability. Only Phoenix Software International can provide the necessary software updates, because of the propriety source code required to develop and implement software updates. No other source is capable of providing the required software and maintenance that meets VA's unique functional requirements. Acquisition of a different product, even if another one existed with qualifications that met VA's stated functional needs, would require multiple support costs if the Phoenix software licenses were abandoned in favor of a different product. In addition, IO would need to purchase new software licenses. No other license is compatible with or interoperable with the existing Phoenix proprietary database structures, protocols, and software application programming interfaces. Therefore, only Phoenix Software International can provide the software and maintenance that meets the Government's requirements.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section 8 of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional Phoenix sources that can meet the Government's requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. Additionally, the proposed action will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities Page in accordance with FAR 5.201 and any proposals that are received will be evaluated

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be fully competed.

8. Market Research: The Government's technical experts conducted market research during April 2020 by reviewing similar software to ascertain if other brands could meet VA's software maintenance requirements. Specifically, VA’s technical experts conducted web-based research on International Business Machine's System Display including IBM.com, WatsonWalker.com and SHARE.org, all of which are viewing and management solutions. As a result of the market research, the technical experts confirmed no other software is compatible with the existing licenses. In addition, no other firm has the capability of developing and issuing software updates and fixes for Phoenix software necessary to support existing IO requirements. Therefore, at present there is no other software and maintenance available in the marketplace that can meet this requirement.

In addition, VA networking Subject Matter Experts regularly review industry trade publications and conduct internet research to ascertain if any other brand name software is available. In addition, the contract specialist conducted additional market research to determine if there are resellers of the required product. On January 11, 2021, Phoenix Software International confirmed by email that they only provide direct sales and there are zero resellers. Based on all these market research efforts, the Government's technical experts have determined that only the Phoenix software can meet all of VA's needs.

9 Other Facts: N/A

10. Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based on price analysis in accordance with FAR Part 13.

12. Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. As this contract does not exceed $750,000, the certification below required by FAR 6.303-2(b)(12) serves as approval.