Cognos software maintenance and support

Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and

Open Competition Justification Sole Source

31 Oct 2011

•1.    Contracting Activity:

NGB-ZC-AQ

1411 Jefferson Davis Hwy

Arlington, VA 22202-3231

•2.    Description of Action:

•a.    Requirement: Recurring

•b.    Contract Type: Firm Fixed Price

•c.    Contractor: IBM COGNOS

•3.    Description of Suppliers/Services: This effort is to procure IBM COGNOS Software Maintenance Support for existing IBM COGNOS Software.  Cognos is a suite of software that provides both the development environment and end user environment for data warehousing and business intelligence services.  The development tools are used to design, construct and administer the data warehouse asset, and to create multidimensional data cubes, reports and other products which can be accessed by the end user.  The end user tools allow for data mining, text and graphical reporting, dash boarding, and ad hoc querying of data.  The ARNG deployed Cognos Version 8 in 2006 as part of its IT transformation strategy and it is currently being use by numerous users within NGB and in the 54 states and territories to support analysis and reporting within the ARNG Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and other applications including Integrated Materiel Automation Program (IMAP).  Initially the COGNOS program was provided by COGNOS the company who was later acquired by IBM.  IBM has provided the Government with a Flexible Contract Type (FCT) as a result of the IBM takeover of COGNOS.

•4.      Authority Cited: The applicable FAR reference is 6.302-2, unusual and compeling urgency, when the agency need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals.  Although the COGNOS software is thought to be provided by only one source (IBM), determining if other sources are available would cause delay in award of a contract and result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government; (a) Authority. (1) Citations: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (2) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2). (2) When the agency's need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to limit the number of sources from which it solicits bids or proposals, full and open competition need not be provided for.

•5.    Reason for Authority Cited: Without this software, standardized business intelligence tools are not available for use with the Enterprise Data Warehouse and other applications.  Business decisions critical to the operations and readiness of the ARNG will not be possible.

•6.    Efforts to Obtain Competition: IBM was contacted to discuss if other sources were available to provide the COGNOS software services. 

•7.    Actions to increase Competition: Additional market research will be conducted prior to any additional awards to IBM as the sole source provider with regard to the COGNOS software.  IAW Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, interim rule issued 15 Jan 09, implementing Section 844, "Public Disclosure of Justification and Approval (J&A) Documents for Noncompetitive Contracts" the J&A document will be posted on FEDBIZ Ops within 14 days of contract award.

•8.    Market Research: Based on fact finding with IBM, it was discovered that currenty only one source is capable of providing software maintenance on their proprietary software and software backup agents.  Currently, IBM has provided preliminary data that may indicate that the COGNOS software maintenance may be provided by other sources in the near future.

•9.    Historically this support has been provided to ARNG via a software license agreement with IBM.  As previously stated the COGNOS contract was purchased by SMF Technology Group in 2006 and resold to the Army National Guard (ARNG)  under the GSA schedule # GS-35F-4331G between SMF and the GSA.  On January 31, 2008, Cognos was officially acquired by IBM.  The Cognos name continues to be applied to IBM's line of business intelligence and performance management products. 

•10. Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express an interest.

•11. Other Facts: Due to the nature of the deliverables under this requirement, IBM is the only source that has demonstrated the capability of satisfying the government's requirement. To change software maintenance would require vetting a new software tool for approval, which would be more appropriate when the current equipment infrastructure throughout ARNG and 54 States JFHQs.

At this time vetting new software would involve additional cost for the software, training of new personnel, implementing the software, along with months of testing, certification and approval.  The time to certify, test and approval another solution would leave ARNG without the National Guard wide business intelligence tool which would be detrimental to all of ARNG customers resulting in a loss of reporting and other data management capabilities.  The loss of this software tool could cause an eventual stoppage of direct mission support of wartime or contingency operations.