PR_2008_1821_AWARE_JUSTIFICATION0004.pdf

PURCHASE REQUISITION 20081821

JUSTIFICAT ION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Office of Administration - Procurement Directorate

Information Technology Contracting Division

The United States Customs and Border Protection, Procurement Directorate proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition.

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

As required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR ) 6.302-1 , this justification supports circumstances permitting other than a full and open competition .

This requirement will not provide for a bridge contract.

3. Description of Supplies/ Services.

CBP has initially deployed 2700 TPAC (Traveler Primary Arriva l Client) workstations with 2700

Ten Print Units at the US Ports of Entry (POE), which are using 2700 licenses of already fielded

Aware NISTPACK Version 5.14 CaptureSuite Bio Metric Analysis Software.

There are total of 2,700 Ten Print Units requiring use of this software. CBP has a requirement to purchase Annual Maintenance for 2,700 already purchased licenses.

The Annual Maintenance will be purchased for 2,700 licenses of this software for a base year and one option year.

The software tool is used to perform the following tasks:

o Fast ridge flow analysis of slap preview images including quick angle segmentation, scoring of the fingers, detection of "handedness " o FBI certified WSQ compression of fingerprint images NFIQ quality scoring o Segmentation of individual fingers (1-4) out of a multi finger slap image o Segmentation of thumbs from a stitched image of two thumbs o Counting the number of fingers in a multi-finger image o Identifying missing fingers o Identifying the bounding box of each finger tip o Identifying the "handedness" (left or right of each 4-finger image) o Conducting sequence checks on combinations of fingers to detect finger or hand duplication Joining two separate thumb images into a single dual-thumb image.

The total estimated value of the procurement is as follows:

Base Year: $149,175.00 Option Year 1: $149,175.00

Total: $298,350.00

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is FAR 6.302-1 -Only

One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements , When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, or, for DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources , and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements , full and open competition need not be provided for.

5. Demonstration That the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited.

This requirement is for maintenance, upgrade, user support, modifications required for integration with existing and new functionalities to the fielded software that was designed by AWARE.

The existing software is proprietary and only AWARE may provide necessary maintenance, upgrades, user support and make the modifications.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

A notice of intent to sole source will be publicized as required by FAR 5.2 at www.fbo.gov , the government-wide point-of-entry . The notice of intent will request offerors to provide capability statements if they can meet the technical specifications of the requirement.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determine d that the anticipated price will be fair and reasonable based on the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) developed for the requirement. The IGCE will be utilized as a basis for negotiating a fair and reasonable cost to the Government. This estimate was based on historical costing data.

8. Description of Market Research.

The internet was searched for a list of contractors that could provide the software or compatible software that would work with AWARE software. Research was also init iated with DHS

First Source vendors. The market research showed that only AWARE could provide the software and there are no other distributors but the manufacturer.

CBP is in the throes of modernization and needs to retain a consistent code base as we move forward.

It would not be prudent or cost effective to change code/vendors midstream. We need to maintain our legacy infrastructure as near to status quo as possible while we design and implement our modernization strategy.

Therefore, refactoring our biometric functionality on old ten print devices by introducing a new vendor and software would be costly and not feasible.

AWARE software is proprietary and cannot be provided by other vendors.

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

As noted in paragraph 3 above, the proprietary AWARE NISTPack software operates on 2,700 workstations in a mission-critical ten- print operation around the clock. It interfaces with law enforcement operations such as NCIC/Nlets. The size and complexity of this software preclude the possibility of transferring the maintenance responsibility to another software house. Any such transfer would result not only in unacceptably high costs but also in unacceptable disruption in service.

While the full and open competition is in the works, CBP needs the continuity of the CaptureSuitetm software so that the existing applications do not suffer from a discontinuation of use and quality in supporting the mission.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

Time Frame in which Market Research was conducted: February 15 – Oct. 21, 2014. The table below shows the techniques and sources used during market research.

Sources Used in Market Research Details of Research/Comments

Research Sources

Interviewed knowledgeable individuals in industry

Interviewed prospective EDWOSB firms

Interviewed knowledgeable individuals in Government

Interviewed CBP Director, IT Acquisitions

Government databases reviewed GSA e-Library, FPDS, NAICS

Commercial databases reviewed

Source Lists of DHS and Other Government agencies reviewed

Catalog and Product Literature reviewed Reviewed websites of prospective contractors

Other: Hoovers.com listing sought

Market Research Included:

1. EDWOSB Vendors Identified From GSA e-Library Listing – Special item Numbers 874.7 and GSA

MOBIS Consulting Listing

2. Enterprise Risk Management SBA CERTIFIED: 8(A), EDWOSB, Minority Owned Business GSA

70, GSA 520, GSA 874

3. BPX Technologies, Inc., Rockville, MD

4. Contracting Resources Group, Inc., Baltimore, MD Dynamic-Pro, Inc., Alexandria, VA

5. Endya, Inc., McLean, VA

6. Garud Technology Services, Inc., Ellicott City, MD

7. H2 Performance Consulting Corp., Pensacola, FL

8. Innovation Partners, LLC, Matthews, NC

9. Insignia Federal Group, LLC, McLean, VA

10. Karna LLC, Alpharetta, GA

11. Quality Compliance and Management Consulting, Inc., Laurel, MD

12. Reed Integration, Inc., Suffolk, VA

13. SAM Inc., College Park, MD

14. Serdi, LLC, Alexandria, VA

15. SSG-Advisors, LLC, Orlando, FL

16. T&T Consulting Services, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD

17. The Agile Group, LLC, Albuquerque, NM

18. The Management Edge, Inc., Largo, FL

19. The Nolan Group LLC, Joppa, MD

20. Unkvisum Consulting Group, Inc., McLean, VA

Upon conclusion of the market research, it was realized that AWARE is the only vendor that can meet the requirements.

Aware was chosen as part of the Ten Print deployment for TPAC in 2005-2006. At that time it offered more advanced data analysis for fast preview and detailed analysis than the few competitors at the time. The aforementioned applications are all in maintenance mode and depend on the continued licensing of Aware to maintain ten print functionality and remains a critical component for PSPD applications. The market research revealed that there were no superior options. Thus, Aware offers us an integrated solution into our current applications that no other business offers.

11. A Statement of the Action s, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any

Barriers to Competition on Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or

Services Required.

CBP is in the planning stages of identifying companies that can provide Ten Print Scanners that can use more than one type of software. CBP will issue a Request for Information to identify vendors that can provide Ten Print Scanners that can read more than one type of software. A vendor pre-proposal conference may be held to answer questions concerning the requirements before a solicitation is issued for the requirement. We will look at what solutions are being are being developed by other law enforcement agencies.

PSPD currently has ~2700 ten print readers in the US ports of entry. CBP applications are currently dependent on the Aware CaptureSuitetm software for quality and compliance assurance mechanisms in processing fingerprint images for verification and identity management functionality.

The ten-print readers are at end of life and can no longer be procured. A procurement team has been established to set up a new contract vehicle for full and open competition for new ten print devices meeting CBP’s API requirements for all OIT applications. An RFI for ten print devices is scheduled to post December 2014. In addition to pursuing open-source ten print devices, this team is assessing alternatives for the CaptureSuitetm software, to include market research, evaluation, integration, testing and deployment. The objective of this team is to provide CBP options in procuring 10-print devices and necessary SDK software packs that can be accessible by all OIT biometric applications.

This assessment will include determining system changes needed to support the new ten print device(s) and SDKs.

In the interim, CBP needs the continuity of the CaptureSuitetm software so that the existing applications do not suffer from a discontinuation of use and quality in supporting the mission.

AWARE is the only vendor that can meet the requirements.

The dependency on existing applications for this software is a large factor in continuing the licensing for its use through AWARE.

12. Planning and Funding Statement.

The requirement does not result from a lack of planning or the expiration of funds.

J&A CERTIF ICATIONS

13. REQUISITION/PROG RAM OFFICE CERTIFICATION

I certify that the foregoing justification is accurate, meets the Government's minimum needs and contains complete information necessary to support the action described in this document and the authority cited.

[ X ] The guidance in HSAM Subcha pter 3006.3 and HSAM Appendix G have been followed .

Office :

Name:

Title :

Passenger Systems Program Directorate Deputy Executive Director, PSPD

Signature: See Signature Page Attached__________ Date: October 7, 2014

14. CONTRACTING OFFIC ER CERTIFIC ATION/APPROVAL*

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

*In accordance with FAR 6.304(a)(1), CO certification of a J&A for a requirement not exceeding $650,000 shall constitute approval of the J&A .

Name:

Contracting Officer

Signature: See Signature Page Attached _

15. SMALL BUSINESS SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION (over $150,000)

I certify that I have conducted a search for small businesses and other socio-economic concerns capable of participating in this acquisition.

If any were found, a list is attached .

Name:

CBP Small Business Specialist

Signature : See Signature Page Attached Date:

Name (Print) :

Signature :

Date:

Legal did not sign off on J/A as they did not find it Legally Sufficient. The CO still decided to procure Software maintenance for the 2,700 licenses.

17. COMPETITION ADVOCATE (over $650,000)

D Approved D Disapproved

Name (Print): _ _ _

Competition Advocate

Signature: _ __ Date: