Sole Source Justification Symphony32320 (1).doc

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1) Identification of the Agency and Contracting Activity:

Contracting Activity:

General Services Administration

FEDSIM

819 Taylor St.

Ft. Worth, TX 76102 2) Nature and Description of Action Being Approved:

The General Services Administration – FEDSIM intends to award a sole source purchase order for the Symphony Software Licenses to support solicitation and Task Order Management activities for the ASTRO IDIQ vehicle. The Contracting Officer has determined a HUBZone sole source to Apex Logic, Inc. for Symphony software in accordance with FAR 19.1306 to be the procurement approach that will best satisfy the Agency's requirement.

3) Description of Supplies and/or Services Required to Meet the Agency's Needs

(Including the Estimated Value):

The FEDSIM ASTRO IDIQ contract program requires Symphony software licenses in order to conduct the procurements, allow for proposal submission, conduct evaluations, and perform administrative functions and on-ramping after initial awards. For the first 12 months (divided into two six month periods), development licenses are required to tailor the software to the ASTRO solicitation. After the first 12 months, standard licenses are required to perform administrative tasks. The Government has included options to upgrade these standard licenses to the development level as needed for further customization and potential tool development.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, GSA AAS Express was authorized to start a pilot program to evaluate the automation of task and delivery order processing under various GSA operated Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) and Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) using the Symphony Procurement Suite (Symphony) as a cloud-based application. Symphony allows for collaborative workflow between ordering agency, client agency, and industry partners to create, compete, evaluate and administer task order requirements. As part of the pilot program, additional Symphony license packages were required to support the Express team through the acquisition process in order continue piloting the application for broader use.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 GSA OASIS utilized the symphony platform to process the largest onramp in history. Symphony greatly streamlined the processes and significantly reduced evaluation time. Use of the Symphony platform was widely embraced by industry partners

COST:

The current requirement is a GSA internal procurement and is a non-fee acquisition.

Base: 6 months Development License and Support (6 months @ $36,000/month)

$216,000.00

Base Travel:

$6,000.00

Base Period Total:

$222,000.00

6 Month Option: Development License and Support (6months @ $36,000/month)

$216,000.00

Option Travel:

$6,000.00

Option Period Total:

$222,000.00

TOTAL

$444,000.00 The Independent Government Estimate for the initial 6 month use period is based on fixed-price commercial pricing of $36,000 per month for development licenses plus travel, for a total of $222,000. The subsequent 6 month period is identically priced to the initial period and will be necessary if the procurement continues into proposal submission and evaluation.

The estimated total cost, including all Optional CLINs is $444,000. This will be a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract.

The immediate procurement is for fixed price commercial software licenses and support, and as such, life-cycle cost, design-to-cost, and should- cost are not applicable.

4) Identification of Statutory Authority:

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of FAR 6.205 and 6.302-5(b)(5). Sole source awards under the HUBZone Act of 1997. Authority for use of Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Commercial Items is 41 USC 1901 and FAR 13.501(a)(ii).

5) Demonstration That the Proposed Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited:

The required capabilities and performance characteristics for full functionality to meet the Government's need include:

• Telephone support on 24 hour basis, five days a week

• Web enabled support portal, with no more than four-hour response time

• Software updates

• Complete contract vehicle set up

• Training

• Two-week agile periods

• Onboarding for IDIQ, including customized templates

• Data upload and migration

• Progress dashboard

• Reports set up System availability log The Contracting Officer has determined a HUBZone sole source to Apex Logic, Inc. for Symphony software in accordance with FAR 19.1306 to be the procurement approach that will best satisfy the Agency's requirement.

6) A Description Of The Efforts to Solicit as Many Offerors as Practicable:

Far 19.201 outlines the general policy of the government to provide maximum practicable opportunities to small businesses. Further, FAR 19.1306 instructs the Contracting Officer to consider award to a HUBZone small business concern on a sole source basis (up to $4 million for non-manufacturing NAICS codes) before considering a small business set aside.

As such, full and open competition is not contemplated for the immediate acquisition as a technically capable HUBZone was identified during market research (Apex Logic, Inc.). Apex Logic's Symphony software platform is technically capable of fulfilling the Government's need. The contractor was verified as a HUBZone small business via SBA Small Business Dynamic Search on March 1, 2019.

Through market research, it was determined that the Apex Logic does not have any authorized re-sellers, nor are the licenses currently available on any existing GWAC or IDIQ contracts. Offers were not solicited from any other source due to the unique nature of the requirement described above.

7) A Determination that the Anticipated Cost to the Government Will be Fair and Reasonable:

The cost to the Government is expected to be fair and reasonable as pricing is in accordance with Apex Logic’s publicly published pricing.

8) A Description Of The Market Research Conducted:

Based on market research conducted in accordance with GSAM 510, FAR 8.002, and FAR 10, no Symphony software licenses were found to be available from mandatory or preferred sources of supply.

Required sources of supply such as Federal Prison Industries and Ability One were considered, along with preferred sources including GSA MAS contracts. Government-Wide Acquisition Vehicles, and IDIQ's were also sought through review of the Interagency Contract Directory Database (ICD), as mandated in GSA Acquisition Alert 2013-03, dated December 12, 2012. See Market Research Memorandum dated March 1, 2019.

In accordance with FAR 19, small businesses were given first consideration for award. The Government identified a technically capable SBA verified Woman Owned Small Business, Apex Logic, Inc.

Best Procurement Approach, IAW FAR 17.502-1: The immediate procurement is for an internal GSA purchase, and as such, no best procurement approach evaluation is required.

9) Any Other Facts Supporting the Justification:

The Symphony Procurement Suite (Symphony) is a cloud-based application. Symphony allows for collaborative workflow between GSA and industry partners to create, compete, evaluate and administer multiple award, IDIQ contract requirements.

10) Actions Taken to Remove or Overcome Barriers to Competition:

Through market research, it was determined that the Apex Logic does not have any authorized re-sellers, nor are the licenses currently available on any existing GWAC or IDIQ contracts.

In order to promote future competition among small businesses, the justification for other than full and open competition will be made publicly available within 14 days after contract award, as required by FAR 6.303-1 and 41 U.S.C. 3304(f).

11) Contracting Officer Certification:

I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Valerie Bindel

3/23/2020 Contracting Officer

Date

Valerie Bindel, GSA FEDSIM

12. Competition Advocate Concurrence:

Pete Burr

03/24/202 Peter Burr

Date

Deputy Director, GSA FEDSIM