Notice of Intent to Sole Source – Soft Computer Corporation (SCC)
Pre-Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- NOI-OD-26-003941
- Agency
-
Office of Logisitics and Acquisition Operations
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services
- Responses due
- Not on record
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 513210 Software Publishers
- Place of performance
- Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, operating under the Department of Health and Human Services, is seeking to procure software and hardware license and maintenance services for its Laboratory Information System (LIS), which operates on IBM hardware and AIX operating systems. The procurement encompasses ongoing maintenance and support for proprietary Soft Computer Corporation (SCC) software modules, including SoftPathDX, SoftBank, SoftLab, SoftMic, SoftTotalQC, SoftReports, SoftWebPlus, SoftMedia, SoftID, SoftFlowCytometry, SoftBI, SoftBiobank, and SoftMolecular. The contractor must maintain a 99.5% system availability level and provide 24/7/365 operational support, database administration for Oracle and DB_VISTA systems, hardware support through OEM channels, and interface maintenance with laboratory equipment. Service level agreements must specify one-hour response times for production system problems affecting patient safety and two-hour resolution timelines for critical issues. The Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on March 10, 2026, with a comment deadline of March 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST, and inquiries should be directed to Contract Specialist Ryssa Nix at Ryssa.nix@nih.gov.
This procurement is not subject to any set-aside designation and is being conducted as a sole source award to Soft Computer Corporation, the incumbent contractor since the system's initial installation in August 1996. The contract period runs for 60 months, from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2029, consisting of a base year plus four optional years. The most recent contract award to SCC (75N90020D00001) obligated $15,000,000 for the period October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024, providing a reference point for budget expectations. The sole source justification is based on FAR 6.302-1 (only one responsible source) due to the proprietary nature of the LIS software, SCC's refusal to permit third-party maintenance or release source code, and the mission-critical classification of the system for patient diagnosis, care activities, and research documentation across the Clinical Center's three departments. The procurement is categorized under NAICS Code 513210 (Software Publishers) and PSC Code 7B20 (IT and Telecom - High Performance Compute).
Notice text
This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.
This procurement is acquisition is to continue to obtain Soft software and hardware license and maintenance services for the IBM hardware and AIX operating system for servers that support the existing Laboratory Information System (LIS). Soft Computer Corporation (SCC) has been the incumbent since the initial install of the software and due to its proprietary nature they have performed the ongoing maintenance and support on the system. The current LIS software system is proprietary to SCC who developed it. SCC does not permit 3rd party maintenance and will not release their source code to other entities.
As the LIS modules in the Clinical Center are currently handling large volumes of patient data and test and diagnostic results, it is absolutely imperative that there be no interruption in the ongoing operation/functioning of the existing system. Patient safety is of great concern if there is a system failure or interruption in service. Therefore it is critical that the system continues to be maintained by SCC who is the only source capable of providing the necessary maintenance, including making revisions to the source code as circumstances may dictate.
Because the LIS helps support patient diagnosis and care activities, it is deemed a mission critical system for the Clinical Center. The proprietary status of the system to SCC clearly demonstrates that they are the only firm qualified to perform the required maintenance services.
This acquisition is being conducted using policies unique to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 –Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1), For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstance of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements.
Comments to this announcement, referencing this posting number, may be submitted to the NIH, Clinical Center, Office of Purchasing and Contracts, prior to the closing date specified in this announcement, to the attention of Ryssa Nix, Contract Specialist via email to Ryssa.nix@nih.gov by close date.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 1. JOFOC SCC.doc | DOC document | |
| SCC SOW 3-4-2026.docx | DOCX document | |
| NOI to sole source.docx | DOCX document |
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