GenISIS Platform LSF- Software Warranty and Maintenance Support for HPC

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, New Jersey 07724



2. Description of Action: The proposed action is for a firm-fixed price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP) IV Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for renewal of brand name International Business Machines (IBM) Platform Load Sharing Facility (LSF) software subscriptions and to provide support for a high performance computational cluster for VA Office of Information and Technology and the Million Veterans Program. The software supports the existing Genomic Information System for Integrative Science (GenISIS) computing infrastructure located at the VA Pittsburgh HealthCare System, used by VA research personnel to process and analyze Veteran genetic data to identify alternative healthcare treatment.



3. Description of Supplies or Services: The proposed license renewals will provide for the sustainment of the current IBM Platform LSF computing environment. The renewal of subscriptions and support for the LSF infrastructure will provide:



o Access to new releases and versions of licensed IBM Platform LSF software



o Receipt of eNotifications to alert when new releases and versions and new technical support information become available for licensed products



o Cross-platform software technical support including Windows and Linux operating system



o 24x7 online technical support including enhanced self-help and search capabilities



o Voice support for new deployments, migration, and code-related questions



o Problem resolution within two hours by phone for all "Severity 1" situations 24X7



IBM Platform LSF licenses simplify the entire computer cluster management process from the initial deployment to final production, thus significantly improving the time for cluster readiness. The automated provisioning, maintenance, and monitoring capabilities of this software enables productivity to the information technology administrators in assigning and managing computing tasks for all cluster components and assets and helps improve overall system performance while optimizing the resource utilization. The period of performance for this action shall be May 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016. The total estimated price of this proposed action is



4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (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."



5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: This is a brand name justification in support of FAR 11.105, Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer. VA already owns and utilizes IBM Platform LSF software subscriptions. By renewing the subscription and support for existing IBM Platform LSF licenses, the Government will be able to continue to support the computational computing cluster of the GenISIS infrastructure located at the VA Pittsburgh HealthCare System, 1010 Delafield Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15215. VA has already invested significant time and resources to implement IBM Platform LSF software in the GenISIS infrastructure. If VA chooses another software product it would require complete replacement of the existing IBM Platform LSF software. In order to replace the IBM Platform LSF software it would require a 6-month full time development effort that VA would have to procure at an estimated cost of $300,000. This would cause significant delays in having the cluster available to VA research personnel and costs associated with replacement of the current software would not be recovered through subsequent competitions based upon the estimated IBM Platform LSF software subscription and renewal price of $20,363.66 for this effort. The Government requires subscription renewal and support of the existing IBM Platform LSF software infrastructure because of the proprietary nature of the product, no other vendor other than IBM or an authorized reseller of IBM Platform LSF software can access the proprietary code to provide the support required.



6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D) the resulting contract award will not be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities Page as this Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity's estimated value is less than $150,000. This Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity will be posted on the NASA SEWP IV website with the solicitation.



7. Actions to Increase Competition: In order to remove or overcome barriers to competition in future acquisitions for this requirement, the Government will continue to perform market research to determine if there are any software products available that will enable future requirements to be competed.



8. Market Research: The Government's technical experts performed market research from November 2014 through December 2014 which included web searches, NASA SEWP request for market research and discussions with resellers. Vendors such as Adaptive Computing, PBS Works, and Bright Cluster were researched to determine if they were able to satisfy all of VA's requirements. Each vendor offers only a proprietary system that will only operate with their approved hardware and software platform. This market research indicated that only IBM Platform LSF or their authorized resellers would be capable of providing the annual software subscription renewal and support for the existing IBM Platform LSF solution. Only IBM Platform LSF certified software is compatible and can be integrated into the existing proprietary Platform system.



Additional market research was conducted in January 2015 by the Contract Specialist utilizing the NASA SEWP IV GWAC Manufacturer Lookup tool that identified 35 prospective GWAC holders that are resellers of IBM Platform LSF software subscriptions and support that meet the requirements of this acquisition.



9. Other Facts: None.