S03 REDACTED EFO erwin Data Modeler.pdf

erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition software licenses maintenance and support Control Number: VA-26-00069117

JUSTIFICATION

FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

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

Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a firm‑fixed‑price task order to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise‑Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government‑Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition software licenses maintenance and support.

3. Description of the Supplies or Services:

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office (EHRM‑IO) has a requirement for erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition software license maintenance for existing licenses currently in use. erwin Data Modeler is a data modeling software package used within VA for design and documentation of databases that support custom‑developed information systems. The required software maintenance and support will provide continued access to software updates, security patches, and vendor technical support for the installed erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition environment. VA requires a solution that is interoperable and compatible with the existing infrastructure.

The base period shall be for 12 months beginning August 28, 2026 through 27 August 2027, with two 12‑month option periods.

The total estimated price of the proposed action (inclusive of options) is $66,288.84.

4. Statutory Authority:

Pursuant to Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (RFO)16.507(a), 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 RFO 16.507-6(b)(2), 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”.

5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above:

The proposed source for this action is Quest Software Inc., 4 Polaris Way, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, as the original equipment manufacturer for erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition. Based on market research, as described in Section 8 of this justification, only erwin Data Modeler software licenses and maintenance will meet the Government’s requirements. Other vendors provide their own data modeling products, but they do not provide license maintenance or technical support for the existing erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition environment. Maintenance must be purchased from erwin or from an authorized reseller for the brand‑name product installed in the EHRM‑IO environment. If erwin license maintenance is not obtained, EHRM‑IO would lose access to updates, patches, and vendor support for the existing erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition licenses, which would increase security and operational risk and could negatively affect systems that rely on this approved tool.

The Government’s minimum requirement is to obtain continued maintenance and support for the existing erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition licenses deployed in the Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office (EHRM‑IO) enterprise environment. This includes ongoing access to software updates, security patches, and vendor technical support for approved production data models that support custom‑developed information systems.

Erwin Data Modeler is uniquely aligned with EHRM‑IO requirements because it is the approved data modeling tool within Department of Veterans Affairs technical standards, its engine and repositories are integrated with Department of Veterans Affairs transactional and analytic databases, and it maintains existing repositories of Department of Veterans Affairs conceptual, logical, and physical data models. These erwin‑specific repositories and integrations cannot be operated, maintained, or supported by other vendors without extensive re‑engineering of models, schemas, and related interfaces.

During market research, the Government considered other data modeling products, including ER/Studio, SAP PowerDesigner, Toad Data Modeler, Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler, and similar commercial and open‑source tools. These products can perform general data modeling functions, but none can assume maintenance or support responsibilities for the current erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition environment or its established Department of Veterans Affairs data model repositories. They cannot directly maintain the existing erwin‑authored models, repositories, and integrations without first converting and rebuilding them, and they do not provide license maintenance or technical support for the brand‑name erwin environment. As a result, these vendors cannot meet the Government’s specific need to preserve and support the installed erwin‑based infrastructure and the approved data modeling solution used by

EHRM‑IO.

Transitioning to a different product would require rebuilding existing data models, revising Extract, Transform, Load processes and Application Programming Interfaces, and retraining staff. This effort is estimated to require approximately 4,000 hours of Government staff time at an average General Schedule grade 12 pay rate for the Washington, DC locality, equating to roughly $220,000 in additional labor cost, in addition to vendor and infrastructure costs. Such a transition would result in significant duplication of cost and introduce unacceptable schedule and operational risk to Electronic Health Record modernization and Interagency Data Services operations.

Accordingly, erwin, through its original equipment manufacturer and authorized resellers, is the only solution capable of providing the required brand‑name maintenance and support at the level of quality necessary to sustain the approved data modeling functions and the existing erwin‑based infrastructure supporting EHRM‑IO.

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 provide license maintenance and support for erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition other than erwin and its authorized resellers. However, the EHRM‑IO technical representative determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for brand‑name erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition software license maintenance. Furthermore, in accordance with RFO 5.301, 16.507-6(f), and 16.507- 7(c)(1)(i), the award notice for this action will be synopsized on the Contract 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 monitor the marketplace and conduct market research to identify any emerging solutions or changes in vendor capabilities that could enable future competitive actions. This includes assessing alternative data modeling tools for compatibility with technical requirements and for the feasibility of migration without substantial duplication of cost or unacceptable delay.

8. Market Research: The Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office initiated a Market Research Request in the NASA SEWP quote tool specifically for erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition maintenance renewal for ten existing licenses, with a defined base period of performance starting 28 August 2026 and planned option years. Multiple NASA SEWP contract holders responded with budgetary quotes for the same manufacturer part number, AAE‑ERW‑TB‑247, describing erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition per concurrent user with 24x7 term license and maintenance, which established commercial availability, indicative pricing, and confirmation that small business resellers can support the requirement.

Separately, the Government reviewed the commercial marketplace and available contract vehicles, including NASA SEWP and the General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule, to verify that the erwin Data Modeler product is available through authorized resellers and to confirm that the required Workgroup Edition licenses and maintenance renewals are listed and available under existing Governmentwide contracts.

The market research also included assessment of alternative data modeling tools, specifically ER/Studio, SAP PowerDesigner, Toad Data Modeler, and Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler, using public product information and prior technical knowledge. This assessment focused on whether any alternative could meet the requirement without engineering existing erwin repositories and associated integrations.

The analysis concluded that none of these tools can satisfy the requirement without significant redevelopment, additional cost, and increased risk.

Replacing erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition with any of these alternatives would require extensive redevelopment of conceptual, logical, and physical data models;

re‑engineering of Extract, Transform, Load processes and related Application Programming Interfaces; and comprehensive revalidation of downstream analytics and reporting systems that depend on erwin‑authored schemas. These activities would impose significant additional cost and schedule and would introduce material risk to ongoing Electronic Health Record modernization operations that rely on the existing erwin‑based data environment.

Based on the results of this market research, the Government determined that erwin Data Modeler Workgroup Edition maintenance is available through multiple authorized sources of supply. Due to the proprietary nature of the software, its integration with existing enterprise data models, and the requirement to preserve continuity of Integration and Data Services operations, no alternative product can meet the Additional market research was performed by the Contract Specialist on July 2026 utilizing the NASA SEWP V GWAC Market Research Tool (MRT), which identified 7 Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB’s) who are authorized resellers of Quest brand name products (including Erwin). There is a reasonable expectation that competition exists on the NASA SEWP V GWAV amongst two or more SDVOSB concerns for the required ethernet and fiber optic patch cables.

9. Other Facts: None.

Technical/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.

Shavaughn Ross Date IT Program Manager and Regulatory Lead Control and Process Interagency and Data Services

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 anticipated competition, comparison to the Independent Government Cost Estimate, and comparison to competitive published price lists/catalogs. Additionally, NASA SEWP V determined that the catalog prices on its GWACs are fair and reasonable.

Wendella Baptiste Date Contracting Officer

Contracting Officer Certification/Approval I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Wendella Baptiste Date Contracting Officer