Redacted JEFO NetApp AFF A50.pdf

Source Selection Information – See FAR 2.101 and 3.104

Document # 26-244

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY - BRAND NAME (ABOVE SAT)

1. Identification of Requiring Activity and Contracting Activity.

The requiring activity is the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO); the contracting activity is the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk Contracting Department, Fleet Directorate.

2. Nature and description of contract action.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 3406(c)(5). This action is an exception to the fair opportunity process to be awarded as a new delivery order. The instant requirement of the services described below is an exception to the fair opportunity process to be awarded as a new contract action to authorized resellers of NetApp, Inc. (CAGE: 03MC8). The required services are available through various authorized resellers under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP), which is a multiple award Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) vehicle focused on Information Technology (IT) products and product-based services. The placement of a firm-fixed-price (FFP) delivery order is anticipated.

This is a new requirement.

3. Description of Required Supplies/Services to meet the agency’s needs.

The purpose of the instant requirement is to acquire two (2) NetApp AFF A50 (108TB Usable Capacity) Storage Systems. The product breakdown (inclusive of both systems) is as follows:

Part Number: Brief Description of Support: Support Term: Quantity:

AFF-A50 AFF A50,Model - Storage Enclosure - 2U 5-Year

AFF-A50-001 AFF A50 HA System 5-Year

AFF-A50A-100-C AFF A50 HA System,-C 5-Year

X4027A-2-A-C Drive Pack 2X7.6TB,NVMe4,SED,-C 5-Year

SW-ONTAPO-

FLASH-A50-C

SW,ONTAP One Package, Per TB,Flash,A50,-C 5-Year

X60130A-C IO Module - Wired - QSFP28 - 100 Gigabit Ethernet

5-Year

X60132A-C IO Module - Add-in Card - Wired - 25 Gigabit Ethernet - 4-port

5-Year

X66211A-05-N-C Cable,100GbE,QSFP28-QSFP28,Cu,0.5m,-C 5-Year

X66250-5-N-C Cable,LC-LC,OM4,5m,-C 5-Year

X65404-N-C NetAPP X65404 Compatible TAA 25GBase-SR SFP28 Transceiver (MMF, 850nm, 100m, LC, DOM)

5-Year

X5532A-N-C Rail,4-Post,Thin,Rnd/Sq-Hole,Sm,Adj,24-32,-C 5-Year

X800-42U-R6-C Power Cable,In-Cabinet,C13-C14,-C 5-Year

X97602A-C Power Supply,1600W,Titanium,-C 5-Year

DATA-AT-REST-

ENCRYPTION

DATA AT REST ENCRYPTION CAPABLE

OPERATING SYS

5-Year

CS-G1A-SE-

ADVISOR

Support Edge Advisor 5-Year

CS-NBD-

DELIVERY-INC-

A

Next Business Day Parts Delivery, included 5-Year

CS-NON-

RETURNABLE-

DRIVE-A

Non-returnable Drives (HDDs, SSDs) 5-Year

CS-NON-

RETURNABLE-

HW-A

Non-Returnable Hardware 5-Year

CS-PROTECT-

FOR-GOVT-A

Support Edge Protect for Government 5-Year

CS-ADVISOR-

PLUS-SYS-A

Network Accessory - Advisor Plus for System 5-Year

PS-DEPLOY-

STD-ONTAP-M

PS Deployment ONTAP, Standard, Medium 5-Year

SW-SMIRROR-

CLD-ONTAP-

ONE

SW-SMIRROR-CLD-ONTAP-ONE

5-Year

SW-S3-SM-

ONTAP-ONE

SW-S3-SM-ONTAP-ONE

5-Year

NOTE: The 5-year support term is the commercial standard for the above items.

Delivery Date: The resultant delivery will have a required delivery date of on or before ninety (90) days from date of award

Independent Government Estimate (IGE):

The resultant delivery order will be funded with fiscal year (FY) 2026 three-year appropriations (Other

Procurement, Navy – OPN)

4. Identification of the Exception to Fair Opportunity and Supporting Rationale - Including Demonstration of Contractor’s Unique Qualifications.

The statutory authority that permits not providing each awardee a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding the micro-purchase threshold issued under a multiple award contract is 10 U.S.C.§ 3406(c)(5), as implemented by FAR 16.507-6(b). The applicable exception to the fair opportunity process for this justification for the award of an order exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold is:

This is a justification for the use of services particular to one manufacturer, under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 3406(c)(5), as implemented by FAR 16.507-7, and the exception to the fair opportunity process is FAR 16.507- 6(b)(6) that allows for DoW, NASA, and Coast Guard to utilize an exception permitting the use of other than competitive procedures at 10 U.S.C.§ 3204(a). In this case, 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(1) applies as the services required are proprietary and only available from one or a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of services will satisfy agency requirements.

The NAVOCEANO Survey Operations Center (SOC) Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) delivers the vital compute, virtualization, and secure access required for remote survey operations, system monitoring, and product dissemination.

The NetApp AFF A50 all-flash storage system provides the high-performance, resilient, and scalable shared storage foundation required to support the SOC's VDI. By delivering low-latency access to virtual desktop workloads, high availability, and enterprise-class data protection, the AFF A50 helps ensure users have reliable access to mission-critical applications and data. This enables the SOC to maintain the compute, virtualization, and secure access capabilities necessary to support remote survey operations, continuous system monitoring, and timely product dissemination in support of its mission.

The Government requires a storage solution that is compatible with the existing enterprise storage environment based on NetApp Open Network Technology for Appliance Products (ONTAP) technology. The existing infrastructure utilizes NetApp storage systems to support production workloads, replication configurations, backup integrations, storage administration processes, and operational procedures. This established architecture provides a consistent storage framework that supports operational efficiency, predictable performance, and reduced administrative complexity.

Maintaining compatibility with the existing NetApp ONTAP environment is necessary to ensure continuity of operations and preserve established configurations, workflows, and security controls. The current environment incorporates NetApp-specific management capabilities, data protection processes, replication technologies, and integration points that would require significant engineering, testing, and validation to transition to an alternative storage platform. Introducing a different storage technology would increase operational complexity, require redesign of established processes, require additional administrator training, and introduce risk to mission continuity.

From a cybersecurity and compliance perspective, the existing NetApp ONTAP environment has been configured, hardened, and validated in accordance with applicable Department of War (DoW) cybersecurity requirements and established security processes. Continuing with a compatible NetApp solution allows the Government to maintain the existing security baseline, configuration standards, and compliance validation processes without introducing additional variability or requiring a separate security assessment and authorization effort for a new storage platform.

Additionally, maintaining a common storage platform reduces lifecycle sustainment complexity, minimizes interoperability risks, and supports more efficient troubleshooting, patch management, monitoring, and vendor support coordination. The Government’s technical workforce has established expertise with NetApp technologies, which reduces training requirements and enables more efficient management and resolution of operational issues.

For these reasons, a NetApp storage solution is required to meet the Government’s minimum operational and technical needs. Selecting an alternative storage platform would introduce unnecessary technical risk, require significant re-engineering and validation efforts, and could negatively impact the continuity, security, and performance of mission-critical storage services.

Therefore, it has been determined that no other manufacturer is capable of meeting the Government's requirement.

5. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

In accordance with FAR 16.507-6(d)(2)(v), the Contracting Officer has made the determination that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

This procurement uses a MAC and will be solicited and awarded in accordance with FAR Subpart 16.507.

The requiring activity, through their in-depth knowledge of the market, has determined that the only services that meet the Government’s minimum requirement are proprietary to NetApp, Inc., as previously identified. The requiring activity’s knowledge stems from first-hand knowledge of similar products available in the commercial marketplace, a thorough examination and testing of products and services currently being used throughout NAVOCEANO online research. The contracting office’s market research resulted in the same conclusion that the only services that meet the Government’s minimum requirement are proprietary to NetApp, Inc.

The requiring activity and contracting office analyzed various strategic sourcing vehicles – and the multiple contract holders for each to determine if any would be appropriate for the instant requirement. After a thorough evaluation, it was determined that the required services are available through the Department of Navy (DoN) NetApp Enterprise Software License (ESL) Agreement within the NASA SEWP GWAC. Based on the current market research and given the contracting office has identified the various authorized resellers there is a reasonable expectation of receiving a response (submission) from two (2) or more small businesses. As such, the contracting office intends to solicit the instant requirement as a total SBSA – in accordance with FAR 19.104 – through the DoN NetApp ESL within the NASA SEWP GWAC in accordance with FAR Subpart 16.5.

NOTE: Aside from fulfilling this acquisition, an award to any of the small business authorized resellers will help the contracting office meet their socioeconomic goals.

7. Actions Taken to Remove Barriers to Competition.

The potential likelihood for future competition for this procurement is based on the availability of authorized resellers and continued market research. Prior to the award of future contracts, efforts to identify potential sources will be made to ensure competition could be pursued. The services outlined in the instant requirement must be obtained from the DoN NetApp ESL within the NASA SEWP GWAC. As outlined in Section 1.0 “Purpose” of the ordering guide, “The DoN ESL Agreement for NetApp is a mandatory source of supply for NetApp hardware, software licenses, hardware/software maintenance, and professional services.”