S02 - Redacted Brand Name Justification_Revised - Cisco Wireless 8821 Phones.pdf

Control Number VA-20-00038017

JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

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

Office of Procurement, Acquisition, and Logistics Technology Acquisition Center 1701 Directors Blvd

Austin, TX 78744

2. Description of Action: This proposed action is for the award of brand name firm-fixed-price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phone 8821 and peripherals.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA Office of Information and Technology, IT Operations and Services (ITOPS) Unified Communications Infrastructure Support (UCIS) section has a requirement to refresh existing Cisco Wireless Phones with 3,875 Cisco 8821 phones and peripherals (to include power cords, lanyards, and chargers) across 29 Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals and Medical Centers. The currently fielded Cisco model 7925 phones are End of Life and reached the End of Support, effective 10/31/2019. All warranties for brand name Cisco equipment will be covered under VA’s National Enterprise Service Agreement (ESA). This effort will also include optional tasks to procure up to an additional 1,500 Cisco 8821 phones and peripherals for sites to be determined to support COVID-19 efforts. While VA's principal role is serving the health needs of military veterans and the dependents of veterans, in accordance with the Agency’s directive and contingency operations plan, the Agency must also be prepared when directed to treat civilians in the event of a crisis. This is called VA's "fourth mission." To support this mission, the inclusion of these optional tasks will ensure VA has an adequate supply of Cisco Wireless Phones to support surge of personnel that may be necessary to provide support to both veterans, the dependents of veterans, and civilans in VA Medical Centers as cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus grow. The 1,500 rapidly deployable devices will be used, if needed, to support surge staff at Medical Center sites to deal with the increased need for healthcare and staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The period of performance for this action is 30 days after receipt of the order for the 3,875 Cisco 8821 phones and peripherals. The optional tasks may be exercised within 12 months from date of original award. This action is for the procurement of hardware only. No software will be renewed or acquired as a result of this action. The total estimated value of this acquisition is inclusive of all optional tasks.

4. Statutory Authority: Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(a)(4), the following brand name requirement is being justified and approved as an exception to fair opportunity under the statutory authority of Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), entitled “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized”.

Lifecycle Refresh – Cisco Wireless Phones Control Number VA-20-00038017

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The facilities need to upgrade from the Cisco model 7925 due to end of life and no form of support has been offered after 10/31/2019. No other solution is capable of providing the required Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hardware that meets VA’s unique functional and technical requirements as well as integrating with the existing VA infrastructure. Specifically, only brand name Cisco hardware will allow the use of Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), which is a Cisco Protocol, that allows the call manager clusters to interact with the phones, routers, and voice gateways. Telephony devices, which are multi-functional, as an industry practice, are proprietary to each original equipment manufacturer (OEM). OEM telephony devices communicate through proprietary source code and utilizes hardware interfaces based on their respective proprietary design.

While market research indicates that there are other VoIP providers, as discussed in section 8, no other brand hardware will be able to integrate or be compatible and interoperable with the existing Cisco Voice System and function properly. Additionally, the devices listed in the optional Task section of this effort, being Cisco OEM devices, meet all the functional and technical requirements of wireless VoIP devices utilized by the VA to date and for the forseeable future, specifically for the optional period of performance of the contract.

While solutions from alternative manufacturers exist, they do not meet VA’s functional requirements such as being able to enter digits during call to a voicemail or automated attendant system. Additionally, Cisco Wireless VoIP phones are the only phones with a FIPS 140.2 certification, which is a requirement of the VA for these devices to connect to its network. No other OEM’s wireless VoIP phone currently holds this certification and requirement to operate on VA’s wireless network. Furthermore, no other OEM’s product is forseeable to becoming FIPS 140.2 certified during the optional task’s period of performance. No other source is capable of providing the required wireless phone systems and peripherals that meets VA’s unique functional requirements. Therefore, only Cisco or an authorized reseller can provide the necessary products for the expansion of the existing Cisco VoIP, hardware components currently deployed throughout the VA’s voice network.

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 sources that can meet the Government's requirements. However, the undersigned VA technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for brand name Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phone 8821 and peripherals. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(1), this justification will be provided with the solicitation to all appropriate NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.301, 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), and 16.505(a)(4)(iii), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website and this justification will be made publicly available within 14 days of award.

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

Lifecycle Refresh – Cisco Wireless Phones Control Number VA-20-00038017

8. Market Research: The Government’s technical experts conducted market research in January 2020 by reviewing similar hardware and voice management solutions to ascertain if other brands could meet VA’s functional and technical requirements, which consisted of a review of similar solutions as provided by Vocera and Ascom. While solutions from alternative manufacturers exist, they do not meet VA’s requirements such as being able to enter digits during call to a voicemail or automated attendant system (Vocera). Additionally, neither of the two the alternative Vocera or Ascom solutions meet VA’s requirements for FIPS 140.2 encryption certification to connect to the VA’s wireless network. Therefore, at present, there is no other solution available in the marketplace that can meet this requirement. Also, Subject Matter Experts regularly review industry trade publications and conduct internet research to ascertain if any other brand name hardware is available. Based on the above market research efforts, the Government’s technical experts have determined that only the aforementioned Cisco brand name hardware and software can meet all of the VA’s needs.

The Contract Specialist (CS) conducted market research in January 2020 by issuing National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V GWAC Provider Look-up and Market Research tools to determine what vendors are capable of providing the full requirement. Based on this market research, the CS found multiple Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) capable of meeting the full requirement.

9. Other Facts: None.