Pure Storage JA FAR Part 6 Redacted.pdf

CUI

CUI//SP-PROCURE//FEDCON

JUNE 2025

Program/Equipment: U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Chemical Biological Center (CBC) G6 is procuring Pure Storage Hardware Remote Maintenance Renewal

Authority: 10 United States Code §3204(a)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount:

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval For Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Requiring Activi

2. Contracting Acti

3. Description of Action: The U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Chemical Biological Center (CBC) G6 requests a new Firm-Fixed-Price delivery order for the procurement of the brand name, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Pure Storage Hardware Remote Maintenance and Support Renewal for multiple appliances and serial numbers on the CBC Defense Research Enterprise Network (DREN). Staying in active maintenance provides CBC with immediate access to the latest software versions, new features/functionality, bug fixes, major enhancements and 24/7 technical support. The new period of performance is for base year 8/5/2025-8/4/2026. The projected award is on or before 04 August 2025.

Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE 2040) funds will be used for this procurement. The estimated procurement value for Pure Storage Hardware Remote Maintenance Renewal is The applicable North American, Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 334112 - Computer Storage Device Manufacturing. The size standard is 1,250 employees. Original Manufacturer Information:

2555 Augustine Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054.

The total performance period is one year with no options. Contractor information will be provided upon final selection.

4. Description of Supplies/Services: The Government’s requirement is for Pure Storage Hardware Remote Maintenance and Support Renewal for multiple appliances and serial numbers on the DREN. Data storage, management, security, and sustainability is required for CBCs equipment in laboratories, Common Internet File System shares, secondary arrays used for local COOP replication and storage of both unclassified and classified VMware.

The Government’s minimum capabilities are:

• Access to the latest software updates, security patches, and hardware upgrades

• 24/7/365 technical support via web portal, email and phone

• 4- hour response time for critical issues

• Next-business day (NBD) delivery for replacement parts

• Proactive monitoring

• Must meet FedRAMP standards and comply with export controls

• Forever controller and flash media upgrades

• Forever hardware component replacement

• Non-Disruptive hardware upgrades with zero downtime

• An on-site health check evaluation and post-evaluation check completed by a

Pure Storage engineer who is U.S. Security Cleared and possesses a DD254.

Pure Storage specializes in all-flash data storage solutions, delivering high-performance, scalable, and secure storage systems. It provides a unified data storage platform that supports block, file, and object storage across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments. Pure Storage emphasizes simplicity, energy efficiency (up to 85% less power than disk-based systems), and cyber resiliency, with features like SafeMode for ransomware protection and NIST-compliant encryption. The Evergreen//Forever subscription includes a comprehensive technical support package for traditional storage purchases with 24/7 technical support that gives CBC the flexibility needed to keep IT infrastructures agile and up to date, virtually forever. The subscription includes:

• All-inclusive array software subscription, including future software features.

• Full hardware subscription, with included and on-demand controller/blade and flash media upgrades, and forever hardware component replacement.

• A world-class customer experience, with satisfaction and storage capacity guarantees, proactive and predictive support, and flat and fair subscription renewals.

• Guaranteed promising power & space efficiency, zero data loss, and no data migration. Key components, like controllers in FlashArray and blades in FlashBlade//S, can be modularly replaced and upgraded to the latest-generation and/or next-model hardware over time, without disruptions or degradations in performance. New controllers and blades work with your existing flash media.

• 24/7/365 technical support via web portal, email and phone.

The Evergreen Orange Site Offering provides proactive risk identification for sites that are isolated from networks to minimize downtime and decrease the risk of potential catastrophic failures and security breaches. Included in this offering are US Federal

Government cleared resources to provide on-site Health Check Evaluations and Purity Upgrades.

With Evergreen//Forever, CBC’s data storage stays agile, efficient, and modern, virtually forever. CBC can non-disruptively upgrade to the latest controllers or blades, external host and internal array connectivity, flash media, and other components, independently of each other. Pure Storage eliminates traditional risks associated with forklift upgrades through its Evergreen architecture, which is designed to deliver non-disruptive, seamless upgrades and expansions. Eliminating the need to repurchase hardware or relicense storage software simplifying CBCs IT infrastructure.

The list of the requirements being procured for this effort is listed below:

Part Number/Assets Quantity PoP Est. Unit Cost Est. Total Cost

FA-X50R3-90TB ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7

ADV,GOLD

PCHFL18440249, PCHFL19140102,

PMZFJ213100D0, PMZFJ213200D8,

PMZFJ2046015D, PMZFJ2046015E,

PSPFT19300GMW, PSPFT19300GMY,

SPA2500420, SPA2500489

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PCHFL18440249, PCHFL19140102,

PMZFJ213100D0, PMZFJ213200D8,

PMZFJ2046015D, PMZFJ2046015E,

PSPFT19300GMW, PSPFT19300GMY,

SPA2500420, SPA2500489

1080 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

DFM-SHELF-DP-63TB

ORANGESITE,1MO,ADV,GOLD

PSPFT21281GXF

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT21281GXF

756 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 27TB DFM (6x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT21301HL4

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT21301HL4

324 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

127TB DFM X50R3 to X70R4 UPG, ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7 ADV,FVR

PSPFT241512W5, PCHFJ24160018

11 9/7/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT241512W5

1397 9/7/2025- 8/4/2026

SS-DFM-SHELF

ORANGESITE,1MO,ADV,GOLD

PCHFL18440249

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 27TB DFM (6x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT20361405

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT20361405

324 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-X50R3-90TB ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7

ADV,GOLD

PCHFL191400FD, PMZFJ2046015F,

PMZFJ2134002C PMZFJ20460163

PMZFJ21340021, PSPFT19300GN3,

PSPFT19300GN4,

SPA2500551, SPA2500628

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PCHFL191400FD, PMZFJ2046015F,

PMZFJ2134002C, PMZFJ20460163,

PMZFJ21340021, PSPFT19300GN3,

PSPFT19300GN4,

SPA2500551, SPA2500628

1080 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 27TB DFM (6x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT23170825

35 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT23170825

945 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

127TB DFM X50R3 to X70R4 UPG, ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7 ADV, FVR

PSPFT241512W6, PCHFJ24160004

11 9/7/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT241512W6, PCHFJ24160004

1397 9/7/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 18TB DFM (4x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT231607L3

35 9/12/2025-

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT231607L3

630 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 27TB DFM (6x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT2317082L

35 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT2317082L

945 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 27TB DFM (6x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT2317082J

35 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT2317082J

945 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

CONVERSION KIT 18TB DFM (4x4.5TB)

ORANGESITE,1MO 24/7ADVGOLD

PSPFT2314073X

35 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO

PSPFT2314073X

630 9/12/2025- 8/4/2026

SS-DFM-SHELF

ORANGESITE,1MO,ADV,GOLD

PCHFL1844025E

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-X20R2-57.2TB

ORANGESITE,1MO,ADV,GOLD

PCHFL19100269, PCHFL19100269,

PMZFJ2046001D, PMZFJ2046015C,

PPSPFG19292B7A, PPSPFG19292BAB,

PMZFJ22350389, PMZFJ2234010F

12 8/5/2025- 8/4/2026

FA-NRSSD $/TB/MO PCHFL19100269,

PMZFJ2046001D, PMZFJ2046015C,

PPSPFG19292B7A, PPSPFG19292BAB

684 8/5/2025-

FA-X20R2-57.2TB

ORANGESITE,1MO,ADV,GOLD

PCHFL1921005D, PCHFL1921005D,

PPSPFG19292B75, PPSPFG19292BB3,

PMZFJ223400F8, PMZFJ22260017

12 8/5/2025-

6. Reason for Authority Cited: DEVCOM CBC G6 requires the use of Pure Storage as a brand-name solution, as it currently hosts all SIPRNet and DREN services provided by CBC G6. Following extensive testing and evaluation against other leading storage platforms, Pure Storage was determined to be the optimal solution to meet the operational and regulatory requirements of both SIPR and DREN networks. It fully complies with all applicable Army network regulations.

a. Background: CBC G6 is responsible for managing the DREN infrastructure for CBC and its associated customers. The CBC DREN environment supports multiple Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) laboratories, which require up-to-date equipment and software to maintain readiness and support the warfighter effectively. Having built the DREN network from the ground up, CBC G6 has found Pure Storage to deliver the necessary storage capacity and performance to support mission-critical operations. In 2020, CBC migrated its Common Internet File System (CIFS) shares from NetApp—due to its end-of-life status—to Pure Storage, which proved to be the most effective replacement.

Additionally, Pure Storage supports CBC’s secondary array used for local Continuity of Operations (COOP) replication. COOP involves duplicating data across multiple systems or locations to ensure redundancy, fault tolerance, and accessibility. Given that Pure Storage hardware is proprietary, only Pure Storage-branded remote maintenance services are compatible and acceptable. Therefore, no alternative hardware or specifications can be considered.

Pure Storage is the backend storage for both unclassified and classified VMware infrastructure within the CBC enterprise. The products and support significantly impact the entire organization because all services are reliant on those virtual machines (VMs) for storage, access, and performance. Hundreds of servers, the virtual desktop infrastructure, websites, applications, databases and file storage. The high performance of Pure Storage enables quicker access to data which is crucial for analytics and workloads where access to large datasets such as CBC’ G6 service desk and laboratories is vital. The majority of CBC services, including mission-critical applications, rely on these VMs for their functionality. If Pure Storage fails or experiences issues, those services would be impacted, leading to service disruptions, security vulnerabilities and performance delays.

Unique features of Pure Storage:

• All-Flash Storage Architecture: Pure Storage specializes in enterprise-grade, all-flash block, file, and object storage, offering superior speed and reliability compared to traditional hard-disk drives (HDDs) or hybrid systems. Their solutions, such as FlashArray and FlashBlade, are optimized for high-performance workloads, including AI, analytics, and virtualization. FlashArray models can achieve up to 3 million IOP (input/output operations per second).

• Ultra-Fast File and Object (UFFO) storage with FlashBlade powers modern applications, analytics pipelines, and AI workloads, providing scalability and performance for data-intensive tasks.

• The Evergreen Storage subscription model eliminates the need for disruptive "forklift upgrades," which involve replacing entire systems every few years.

• Purity Operating Environment: Pure Storage’s proprietary operating system, Purity, is designed specifically for flash storage, optimizing performance and reducing configuration overhead found in legacy storage systems. It supports enterprise features like deduplication, compression, asynchronous/synchronous replication, secure multi-tenancy, and quality-of-service controls to prevent performance bottlenecks.

• Sustainability Focus: Pure Storage emphasizes energy-efficient all-flash solutions, reducing data center power consumption and carbon footprint compared to HDD-based systems.

• Cyber Resiliency: Purity includes features like safe mode and indelible snapshots for cyber resiliency, ensuring data protection against ransomware and other threats. These features require minimal maintenance overhead while enhancing security.

b. Alternatives: Pure Storage Evergreen//Forever is an all-inclusive software subscription, guaranteed Non-disruptive Hardware (HW) and Software (SW) upgrades across generations, includes controller upgrades to latest generation, no-limit, on-demand controller/blade upgrades with up to 20% trade-in credit, anytime media upgrade/trade-in with up to 50% trade-in credit, guaranteed effective capacity and 10,000+ controller upgrades, without disruption or re-buy. The closest comparables are Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE. All three competitors have limited subscription features, limited or no controller and media upgrades, and /or forklift upgrades which do not fit the needs of CBC. A forklift upgrade is a complete overhaul of an IT infrastructure. Old and outdated storage systems are ripped out and replaced with newly purchased technology. The process is complex, wasteful, and time-consuming.

Forklift upgrades are driven by architectural incompatibilities between storage generations or by limitations in scale-out architectures that can’t add new nodes to existing arrays or clusters.

Dell EMC: Less consistency latency an 0-20x for latency sensitive applications. Upgrades require the purchasing of new hardware or controllers, requiring downtime and data migration. Deduplication and compression are 2.6x less than Pure Storage. Dell EMC’s solutions, such as Unity or PowerStore, often require additional software licenses for advanced features (e.g., SRDF/Metro for replication) and professional services, increasing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Dell EMC’s PowerStore and Unity XT, while supporting NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) and all-flash configurations, are built on architectures initially designed for hybrid hard disk drives and solid state drive (HDD/SSD) setups. This can introduce inefficiencies, such as reliance on commodity SSDs, which may require more power (39% to 54% more watts per terabyte than Pure’s DirectFlash Modules (DFMs) and larger rack space due to supply chain constraints and fixed drive sizes

NetApp: All-flash hybrid systems lag by 5-10ms, and hardware refreshes require migration and downtime. Also, NetApp achieves up to 8:1 data reduction compared to Pure Storage’s 10:1 and maintenance fees rise annually. NetApp is reliant on commodity SSDs and more complex upgrades limits it in density, power savings, and seamless scalability. It’s SSD firmware limits global optimization where Pure Storage’s reliability and endurance is 2-5x better via array-level wear leveling; 3x less e-waste.

HPE: Low latency for hybrid systems lag significantly by 5-10ms compared to Pure Storage’s ultra-low latency of 150-250us. Deduplication and compression ratios up to 4:1 or 5:1 for all flash systems compared to Pure Storage’s 10:1. Also, HPE uses 50% higher energy/space where Pure Storage all-flash systems use up to 85% less energy and 95% less space. Pure Storage outperforms HPE for flash-centric needs, offering 2- 3x density, 39-54% power savings, and Evergreen upgrades that cut TCO by 40%+ long-term.

To replace Pure Storage, CBC would require time to create a data mitigation strategy, testing and validation, cost of new licenses, support and hardware which would negatively impact CBC and its users and cost approximately or more. The breakdown cost of rebase lining as soon as follows:

c. Impact if not approved: Failure to procure Pure Storage would pose significant operational risks to the CBC. CBC would face immediate and widespread consequences, including:

• Service Disruptions: Mission-critical applications and services would be at risk of downtime, affecting internal operations and external support functions.

• Security Vulnerabilities: Classified systems reliant on secure storage would be exposed to potential risks due to unsupported or incompatible infrastructure.

• Performance Degradation: The loss of high-speed data access would hinder analytics and workloads, particularly in environments requiring rapid access to large datasets, such as the CBC G6 service desk and RDT&E laboratories.

• Loss of COOP Capability: Inability to replicate data effectively would jeopardize CBC’s disaster recovery and continuity planning.

Given CBC G6’s responsibility for managing the DREN infrastructure and its customers, the absence of Pure Storage would undermine the stability and resilience of the entire network. Therefore, continued procurement of Pure Storage is essential to maintain operational continuity, regulatory compliance, and mission readiness.

7. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market Research was performed by DEVCOM CBC from May 2025 to Sep 2025 with the intent to increase competition by finding alternative products, by increasing the number of authorized distributors, by increasing participation by small businesses, small disadvantaged small business, HUBZONE, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, and Woman Owned Small Businesses and or to find companies that could provide Pure Storage software maintenance or an alternate product.

The Contracting Officer will post the required notice in accordance with FAR 5.203 and any responses received will be considered.

a. Effective competition. Pure Storage maintains exclusive rights as the original developer and proprietary of the Pure Storage Remote Maintenance that meets the Government requirements. This is a Brand Name requirement. Competition is limited to Pure Storage and authorized resellers who can provide name brand Pure Storage products.

b. Subcontracting competition. The Government possesses only a commercial purchase description for the software. Subcontracting opportunities are not feasible as the technical data, source code, and engineering specifications are exclusively owned by Pure Storage. The commercial purchase description does not provide enough technical information to allow other companies to create the functionality of this product.

Pure Storage chooses to keep the work in house to protect its intellectual property.

Since the intellectual property is maintained in-house, subcontractors would not be able to provide the maintenance or support.

8. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if changes occur in the marketplace that would enable future requirements to be procured outside of the mandated government contracting vehicles. Ongoing market research may include posting of sources, sought announcements, reviewing trade journals, and attending industry symposiums to stay current on the latest software license requirements to determine if any additional contractors develop products that meet the Government’s needs. Market research will be conducted annually and on all new requirements to verify on the current baseline to determine if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable greater competition, and if there are alternate sources for the COTS products.

9. Market Research: Market research was conducted from May through September 2025 to identify all qualified sources capable of satisfying the agency’s requirements with the intent to identify the authorized distributor and authorized resellers, by increasing participation by small businesses and to request current budgetary pricing information for name brand Pure Storage Remote Maintenance or alternative software solutions.

Pure Storage initially was unable to determine which system requirements belonged to CBC, as assets were listed under both AMSSA and CCDC systems. To resolve this, Pure Storage collaborated closely with CBC’s technical systems point of contact to execute diagnostic commands and identify appliances and serial numbers. However, due to the complexity of the infrastructure—where larger components include

Control Number: JA-25-Inst & Tech-0712 Pure Storage Remote Maintenance Renewal

CUI//SP-PROCURE//FEDCON

subcomponents with individual serial numbers and conversion kits from past upgrades and expansions—accurately identifying CBC-owned assets proved difficult.

Further complicating the renewal, certain expansions acquired in previous years had not been renewed, resulting in changes to the current renewal scope. Additionally, some arrays had been renamed within the environment, requiring scripts to be run to verify serial numbers and ensure proper identification.

Because the renewal date had already lapsed, Pure Storage informed CBC that only a one-year renewal would be permitted, rather than the originally intended base year plus two option years. Moreover, site designations previously labeled as "Orange Site" and "Dark Site" were modified by the OEM, contributing to further confusion and a lack of response to Requests for Information (RFIs) from authorized resellers.

Based on the results of the above research, the following potential sources were identified:

10. Other Facts: