Intent to award sole source - SAS

The South Carolina Department of Corrections has issued an Intent to Award Sole Source procurement for SAS Institute, Inc. software and services, specifically targeting system software license renewal and support. The procurement encompasses software essential for generating information reports across multiple departmental databases, including financial, personnel, inmate management, and jail management systems. The software must maintain compatibility with the Department's existing mainframe environment and State CIO requirements. Vendors responding must be authorized to provide products and services for current client and server configurations, including upgraded equipment within the Education Division. The procurement requires responses to be submitted by July 6, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., either physically to the SC Department of Corrections Purchasing Branch at 4420 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, or via email to purchasing@doc.sc.gov with a specific subject line. Without this SAS software, the Department indicates that hundreds of production reports would cease functioning, necessitating complete rewriting in alternative programming languages and statistical packages.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations were explicitly detailed in the document. The procurement appears open to vendors capable of providing equivalent software and services. While no specific award value was mentioned, the sole source nature suggests the contract is critical to the Department of Corrections' operational continuity. The existing technology infrastructure includes mainframe, AIX, and Windows systems that require seamless software integration. Potential vendors are invited to submit responses demonstrating their capability to provide equivalent products and services during the specified response period. Protest procedures are outlined, requiring written submissions to the Chief Procurement Officer at the Materials Management Office within five business days for notice of intent to protest, and within fifteen days for actual protests. The notice was posted in the South Carolina Business Opportunities portal for a minimum of ten business days, in compliance with state procurement statutes.