SOLICITATION NOTICE
70 -- Business Objects Software
- Notice Date
- 5/27/2008
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- Contracting Office
- Department of State, FedBid.com -- for Department of State procurements only., FedBid.com, 1701 North Ft Myer Drive, Rosslyn, VA 22209
- ZIP Code
- 22209
- Solicitation Number
- businessobjects
- Response Due
- 5/30/2008
- Archive Date
- 11/26/2008
- Point of Contact
- Name: Adrienne Bell, Title: Contract Specialist, Phone: 7035161667, Fax:
- E-Mail Address
-
jonesam@state.gov;
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Bids are being solicited under solicitation number businessobjects. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; bids are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation is issued as an invitation for bids (IFB), unless otherwise indicated herein. If your company can provide the product/services listed on the solicitation and comply with all of the solicitation instructions, please respond to this notice. To view the specifications, please go to www.FedBid.com and reference Buy No. 69425. GSA Schedule Bids Only: Sellers bidding on this opportunity MUST have the items requested on an existing GSA Schedule. The Schedule must either be in the Seller's name or the Seller must be able to document its ability to act as an agent of a partner's Schedule. Sellers may offer Open Market items only in accordance with the approved Terms and Conditions of their respective GSA Schedule AND upon approval from the soliciting Contracting Officer. Information regarding GSA Schedules can be found at www.GSA.gov. This requirement is unrestricted and only qualified sellers may submit bids. The solicitation pricing on www.FedBid.com will start on the date this solicitation is posted and will end on 2008-05-30 14:30:00.0 Eastern Time or as otherwise displayed at www.FedBid.com. FOB Destination shall be Multiple shipping information. The Department of State requires the following items, Exact Match Only, to the following: LI 001, Web Intelligence Business Objects Premium Bundle (Named User Licenses) (Production), 50, EA; LI 002, Business Objects Xcelsius Viewer (Named User Licenses) (Production), 50, EA; LI 003, Web Intelligence Business Objects Premium Bundle (Named User Licenses) (Dev/Test), 10, EA; LI 004, Business Objects Xcelsius Viewer (Named User Licenses) (Dev/Test), 10, EA; LI 005, Crystal Reports XI Professional, 3, EA; LI 006, Business Objects Xcelsius Designer, 3, EA; LI 007, Business Intelligence Tool Licenses Annual Support Update Rights & Technical Support (for Line 0001 Line 0006), 1, YR; For this solicitation, Department of State intends to conduct an online competitive reverse auction to be facilitated by the third-party reverse auction provider, FedBid, Inc. FedBid has developed an online, anonymous, browser based application to conduct the reverse auction. A Seller may submit a series of pricing bids, which descend in price during the specified period of time for the aforementioned reverse auction. Department of State is taking this action in an effort to improve both seller access and awareness of requests and the agency's ability to gather multiple, completed, real-time bids. All responsible Sellers that respond to this solicitation MUST submit the pricing portion of their bid using the online exchange located at www.FedBid.com. There is no cost to register, review procurement data or make a bid on www.FedBid.com. Sellers that are not currently registered to use www.FedBid.com should proceed to www.FedBid.com to complete their free registration. Sellers that require special considerations or assistance may contact the FedBid Helpdesk at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or via email at clientservices@fedbid.com. Sellers may not artificially manipulate the price of a transaction on www.FedBid.com by any means. It is unacceptable to place bad faith bids, to use decoys in the www.FedBid.com process or to collude with the intent or effect of hampering the competitive www.FedBid.com process. Should Sellers require additional clarification, contact FedBid at 877-9FEDBID (877-933-3243) or clientservices@fedbid.com. Use of FedBid: Buyers and Sellers agree to conduct this transaction through FedBid in compliance with the FedBid Terms of Use. Buyers and Sellers understand that FedBid ranks all bids by price; however, pursuant to applicable acquisition regulations and/or departmental guidelines, Buyers may use criteria other than price to evaluate offers. Accordingly, please note that, unless otherwise specified herein below, to the extent required by applicable regulations and/or guidelines, award will be made to the responsible Seller whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Buyer on the basis of price, technical capability, delivery, and past performance. Contact ClientServices@FedBid.com or call 877-933-3243 to address any questions or comments New equipment ONLY, NO remanufactured products, and NO "gray market" Bid MUST be good for 30 calendar days after submission FOB Destination CONUS (CONtinental U.S.) No partial shipments unless otherwise specified Agencies may require registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) or to receipt of order. Information can be found at www.ccr.gov (a) The provider of information technology shall certify applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC). This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista). For the Windows XP settings, see http://csrc.nist.gov/itsec/guidance_WinXP.html and for the Windows Vista settings, see: http://csrc.nist.gov/itsec/guidance_vista.html.(b) The standard installation, operation, maintenance, update, and/or patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the approved FDCC configuration. The information technology should also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default program files directory and should be able to silently install and uninstall.(c) Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges.(d) The Department of State currently intends to use Vista in Protected Mode in the future when all devices at all worldwide locations have sufficient capacity to permit an upgrade from the XP operating system. A) The offeror shall provide the government, with its offer submission, written verification from the GSA schedule holder that an agreement exists that validates the offeror's right to offer the GSA schedule items on behalf of the GSA schedule holder, if other than the offeror; and, B) By proactively complying with this offer term, sellers accept that the government will make award to the GSA schedule holder only, as the sole awardee. Further, the sole awardee and only the sole awardee shall submit its invoice to the government and receive payment from the government. The Contractor and its employees shall exercise the utmost discretion in regard to all matters relating to their duties and functions. They shall not communicate to any person any information known to them by reason of their performance of services under this contract which has not been made public, except in the necessary performance of their duties or upon written authorization of the Contracting Officer. All documents and records (including photographs) generated during the performance of work under this contract shall be for the sole use and become the exclusive property of the U.S Government. Furthermore, no article, book, pamphlet, email, recording, broadcast, speech television appearance, film or photograph concerning any aspect of work performed under this contract shall be published or disseminated through any media without the prior written authorization of the Contracting Officer. These obligations do no cease upon the expiration or termination of this contract. The Contractor shall include the substance of this provision in all contracts of employment and in all subcontracts hereunder. DOS A/LM/AQM Memorandum dated 04/23/08: GSA schedule orders may include "open market" items, i.e., items not on the awardee's list of GSA schedule items, only in compliance with FAR 8.402(f). Offerors should verify in writing which items are listed on their GSA schedule contracts and which items are "open market" items. For an offer to qualify as an offer based on a GSA schedule contract, the value of "open market" items included in the offer may not exceed the applicable micro-purchase threshold as defined in FAR 2.101. NO SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED. Sellers shall provide the items requested in the line item descriptions (exact make, model, part number and description). Offerors that are not able to deliver the line items as requested, shall NOT SUBMIT BIDS. Licenses shall be delivered within 3 calendar days of the receipt of a funded delivery order. Delivery shall be made to: U.S. Department of StateBureau of Information Resource Management (IRM/OPS/SIO)2201 C St, SWRoom 12B63Washington, DC 20520Attn: Cindy Cassil Support is annual and will be performed for the 12-month period beginning with the award date of the delivery order. 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS--COMMERCIAL ITEMS (FEB 2008) (a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items: (1) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (Aug 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553). (2) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) (Pub. L. 108-77, 108-78) (b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items: (16) 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755). (17) 52.222-19, Child Labor -- Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Feb 2008)(E.O. 13126). (18) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999). (19) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246). (20) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sept 2006) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (21) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). (22) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sept 2006) (38 U.S.C. 4212). (26) FAR 52.223-15, Energy Efficiency in Energy-Consuming Products (DEC 2007) (42 U.S.C. 8259b). (28) 52.225-1, Buy American Act--Supplies (June 2003) (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d). (29)(i) 52.225-3, Buy American Act--Free Trade Agreements--Israeli Trade Act (Aug 2007) (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d, 19 U.S.C. 3301 note, 19 U.S.C. 2112 note, Pub. L. 108-77, (31) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Feb 2006) (E.o.s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury). (37) 52.232-34, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer Other than Central Contractor Registration (May 1999) (31 U.S.C. 3332). Offerors shall submit a copy of the software license agreement for the Business Intelligence Tools with their proposal. The Software License Agreement (SLA) will be reviewed to determine that all products specified in the pricing table are included in the SLA, and the support will extend to the Development, Test, and Production environments. Additionally, the SLA will be reviewed to determine that support around software issues will be reviewed in a timely manner and that a 24 hour a day help desk will be made available. Furthermore, the issue escalation path that is implemented when issues are not resolved by the initial support representative should be outlined in the SLA. Lastly, a description of the type of software upgrades, and support for the upgrades, should be defined within the SLA. The Agreement will also be evaluated to determine that is not in conflict with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The Office of Acquisition Management (A/LM/AQM), Department of State (DoS), is processing this acquisition at the request of the Bureau of Information Resource Management (IRM/OPS/SIO). This Justification and Approval (J&A) is for the acquisition of the Business Objects software products and support identified in Paragraph (3) on a brand name only basis: Pursuant to FAR 8.405-6 (a)(2) for a limited source acquisition, the use of a brand name description is essential to the Governments requirements, thereby precluding consideration of other business intelligence software products manufactured by another company. The Departments Bureau of Information Resource Management requires the purchase of licenses for the Business Objects Business Intelligence suite and first year support that are listed in paragraph (3). These licenses and support are required to design, develop, and implement a pilot for the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) by November 2008. This J&A supports the purchase of the Business Objects Business Intelligence suite on a brand name only basis. The requirement will be competed among Business Objects resellers that have GSA Federal Schedule contracts for these software products. The Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) is one of eight management reform initiatives reported to the Secretary that the U.S. Department of State (DoS) is currently executing. The goal of EDW is to greatly diminish many of the challenges currently impacting the use of the Departments historical data, and to provide greater analytical ability to the end users. This will first be accomplished by giving authorized users of the system desktop access to near real-time data. The data warehouse will also have a Business Intelligence (BI) component integrated with it. The BI component will present capability to run standard and ad hoc reports and will also provide tools to perform cross-cutting data analysis along with embedded user-friendly display ability. By providing these capabilities, the EDW will turn raw data into shared knowledge thereby promoting information sharing throughout the Department. This knowledge will in turn enhance the decision-making process, boost operating efficiency, and lower operating costs. In essence EDW will increase the value of the Departments data set and allow the Department to have a forward and backward view of their data so that they may know what has happened, what is happening, and what is likely to happen. The business intelligence software products and support listed below are required by IRM/OPS/SIO and are developed by Business Objects. These business intelligence software products/support are available for purchase from Business Objects and Business Objects resellers. Business Objects was recently acquired by SAP. 50 Named User Licenses (NUL) Web Intelligence Business Objects (BO) Premium Bundle (Production Environment)50 Named User Licenses (NUL) Business Objects Xcelsius Viewer (Production Environment)10 Named User Licenses (NUL) - Web Intelligence Business Objects Enterprise Premium Bundle (Dev/Test Environment)10 Named User Licenses (NUL) Business Objects Xcelsius Viewer (Dev/Test Environment)3 Named User Licenses (NUL) - Crystal Reports XI Professional3 Named User Licenses (NUL) Business Objects Xcelsius DesignerFirst Year Standard Technical SupportFinal Deliverable to include Installation of a Functioning Product suiteProcurement of the Business Objects Business Intelligence software products and support by limiting sources to the Business Objects resellers that have GSA FSS No. 70 contracts is justified pursuant to FAR Part 8.405-6(a)(2) as follows:(a)(2) an item peculiar to one manufacturer (e.g., a particular brand name, product or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer). As this is a brand name only justification, no one contractors unique qualifications are cited as the basis for this justification. Rather, the products/support identified by brand name herein have been determined to be the only items that maximize the Government's existing investment. These Business Objects products are essential for meeting the aggressive schedule of this critical Department initiative. A/LM/AQM intends to compete IRMs requirements among Business Objects resellers possessing a GSA FSS No. 70 contract. The Office of Acquisition Management has identified at least 15 such firms, some of which are small businesses. Potentially, the largest benefit to utilizing Business Objects as the business intelligence tool for EDW is the fact that Business Objects already has a presence at DoS and area already in use with the systems with which IRM is integrating. Therefore, there are areas within the Department that possess institutional knowledge around the tools, and Business Objects supports their software running on VMware virtualization software, which is a large piece of the office infrastructure. To date, the DoS has invested significantly in Business Objects as its business intelligence technology to support multiple business applications, such as the Human Resource Knowledge Center, Global Financial Management System, Diplomatic Security and Consular Affairs applications. The DoS Information Technology Change Control Boards (ITCCB) change management has already approved addition of the Business Objects Business Intelligence products to the DoS baseline. Furthermore, Business Objects approved IT CCB software suite will enable IRM/OPS/SIO to start using the new software right away without going through the difficult process of adding the software to the baseline. However, IRM/OPS/SIO is aware that ITCCB approval for use within the Department does not constitute an official endorsement of the product by the Department nor does it mean that it is mandated as the business intelligence product to be used. This approval is not to be confused with standardization of a product as an authorized exception to full and open competition pursuant to FAR 6.302-1(b)(4). DoS users have been trained in the use of Business Objects with other system implementations. Therefore, not only is the knowledge and skillset to use the tool already present in the Department, but training materials are present as well, thereby achieving a cost savings. Additionally, as Business Objects licenses are already owned by the Department, there is potential to benefit from reduced license costs later when the same personnel who currently use Business Objects will also utilize the EDW. From a development standpoint, there is potential to reuse the Business Objects code that has already been developed as part of the pre-existing DoS implementations. The requirement will be competed among Business Objects resellers that have GSA FSS contracts. GSA has already determined the schedule prices to be fair and reasonable. However, the Government intends to competitively award a delivery order to the offeror that represents the overall the best value to the Department. Although the requirement is justified on a limited source basis, AQM will post the requirement on FedBid and will include the brand name justification with the posting as required by FAR 8.405-6(d). The requirement will be competed on FedBid among Federal Supply Schedule No. 70 contractors in compliance with FAR 8.405-6 and AQM Memorandum 08-05. The Department is prepared to provide the RFQ to additional firms that request copies (reference FAR 8.405-2(c)(4)).
- Web Link
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FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=2b08b7c83c678e824c7a2d9a1f6eebf3&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Multiple shipping information.
- Zip Code: Multiple
- Zip Code: Multiple
- Record
- SN01581089-W 20080529/080527215729-2b08b7c83c678e824c7a2d9a1f6eebf3 (fbodaily.com)
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