MODIFICATION
70 -- RECOVERY - COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR CHECKPOINT APPLIANCES
- Notice Date
- 8/3/2009
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- SB1341-09-RQ-0468
- Archive Date
- 8/25/2009
- Point of Contact
- Keith Bubar, Phone: 3019756324, Joseph L. Widdup, Phone: (301) 975-6324
- E-Mail Address
-
keith.bubar@nist.gov, joseph.widdup@nist.gov
(keith.bubar@nist.gov, joseph.widdup@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RECOVERY - COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR CHECKPOINT APPLIANCES This acquisition is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This acquisition will be conducted in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5. This solicitation is a request for quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-34. All offerors will be responsible for obtaining related amendments to this solicitation, if any, from www.fbo.gov. It is the responsibility of each potential quoter to monitor www.fbo.gov for any amendments or other information related to this solicitation. Any communications regarding this acquisition must be made in writing and forwarded via email to keith.bubar@nist.gov and shall identify the solicitation number, company name, company address, as well as point of contact email address and phone number. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ), to provide several CheckPoint brand name appliances and subscriptions, along with the value-added services that coincide with the items. The contractor shall provide all associated parts and subscription services for all line items stated and described in the attached Microsoft Excel list of items to be procured. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541519, with the exception provided for Information Technology Value Added Resellers with a size standard of 150 employees. This acquisition cannot be conducted as a small business set aside because there is no U.S. Small Business Administration waiver to the non-manufacturer rule for NAICS code 541519. This requirement is being competed as an unrestricted full and open competition whereby authorized resellers will be the potential offeror base. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended, does not apply to this acquisition because the items are located in an area only accessed infrequently by maintenance personnel. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES FOR THIS SOLICITATION: The Following FAR provisions and clauses apply to this solicitation: 52.212-1 52.212-3 52.212-4 52.212-5 Alternate II, including, 52.222-50, 52.233-3 and 52.233-4 in paragraph (a) (1) and the following fill-ins in paragraph (b): 52.203-15 (see full text below), 52.204-11 (see full text below), 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-36, and 52.232-33. 52.203-15 WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS UNDER THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 (MAR 2009) (a) The Contractor shall post notice of employees rights and remedies for whistleblower protections provided under section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5). (b) The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause including this paragraph (b) in all subcontracts. 52.204-11 AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT-REPORTING REQUIREMENTS (MAR 2009) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause- "Contract", as defined in FAR 2.101, means a mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of commitments that obligate the Government to an expenditure of appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts include (but are not limited to) awards and notices of awards; job orders or task letters issued under basic ordering agreements; letter contracts; orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance; and bilateral contract modifications. Contracts do not include grants and cooperative agreements covered by 31 U.S.C. 6301, et seq. For discussion of various types of contracts, see FAR Part 16. "First-tier subcontract" means a subcontract awarded directly by a Federal Government prime contractor whose contract is funded by the Recovery Act. "Jobs created" means an estimate of those new positions created and filled, or previously existing unfilled positions that are filled, as a result of funding by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This definition covers only prime contractor positions established in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). The number shall be expressed as "full-time equivalent" (FTE), calculated cumulatively as all hours worked divided by the total number of hours in a full-time schedule, as defined by the contractor. For instance, two full-time employees and one part-time employee working half days would be reported as 2.5 FTE in each calendar quarter. "Jobs retained" means an estimate of those previously existing filled positions that are retained as a result of funding by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This definition covers only prime contractor positions established in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). The number shall be expressed as "full-time equivalent" (FTE), calculated cumulatively as all hours worked divided by the total number of hours in a full-time schedule, as defined by the contractor. For instance, two full-time employees and one part-time employee working half days would be reported as 2.5 FTE in each calendar quarter. "Total compensation" means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the contractor's past fiscal year of the following (for more information see 17 CFR 229.402(c) (2)): (1) Salary and bonus. (2) Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments. (3) Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. Does not include group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried employees. (4) Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit and actuarial pension plans. (5) Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified. (6) Other compensation. For example, severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of the employee, perquisites or property if the value for the executive exceeds $10,000. (b) This contract requires the contractor to provide products and/or services that are funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Section 1512(c) of the Recovery Act requires each contractor to report on its use of Recovery Act funds under this contract. These reports will be made available to the public. (c) Reports from contractors for all work funded, in whole or in part, by the Recovery Act, and for which an invoice is submitted prior to June 30, 2009, are due no later than July 10, 2009. Thereafter, reports shall be submitted no later than the 10th day after the end of each calendar quarter. (d) The Contractor shall report the following information, using the online reporting tool available at www.FederalReporting.gov. (1) The Government contract and order number, as applicable. (2) The amount of Recovery Act funds invoiced by the contractor for the reporting period. A cumulative amount from all the reports submitted for this action will be maintained by the government's on-line reporting tool. (3) A list of all significant services performed or supplies delivered, including construction, for which the contractor invoiced in this calendar quarter. (4) Program or project title, if any. (5) A description of the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the contract, including significant deliverables and, if appropriate, associated units of measure. (6) An assessment of the contractor's progress towards the completion of the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the contract (i.e., not started, less than 50 percent completed, completed 50 percent or more, or fully completed). This covers the contract (or portion thereof) funded by the Recovery Act. (7) A narrative description of the employment impact of work funded by the Recovery Act. This narrative should be cumulative for each calendar quarter and only address the impact on the contractor's workforce. At a minimum, the contractor shall provide- (i) A brief description of the types of jobs created and jobs retained in the United States and outlying areas (see definition in FAR 2.101). This description may rely on job titles, broader labor categories, or the contractor's existing practice for describing jobs as long as the terms used are widely understood and describe the general nature of the work; and (ii) An estimate of the number of jobs created and jobs retained by the prime contractor, in the United States and outlying areas. A job cannot be reported as both created and retained. (8) Names and total compensation of each of the five most highly compensated officers of the Contractor for the calendar year in which the contract is awarded if- (i) In the Contractor's preceding fiscal year, the Contractor received- (A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements; and (B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements; and (ii) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (9) For subcontracts valued at less than $25,000 or any subcontracts awarded to an individual, or subcontracts awarded to a subcontractor that in the previous tax year had gross income under $300,000, the Contractor shall only report the aggregate number of such first tier subcontracts awarded in the quarter and their aggregate total dollar amount. (10) For any first-tier subcontract funded in whole or in part under the Recovery Act, that is over $25,000 and not subject to reporting under paragraph 9, the contractor shall require the subcontractor to provide the information described in (i), (ix), (x), and (xi) below to the contractor for the purposes of the quarterly report. The contractor shall advise the subcontractor that the information will be made available to the public as required by section 1512 of the Recovery Act. The contractor shall provide detailed information on these first-tier subcontracts as follows: (i) Unique identifier (DUNS Number) for the subcontractor receiving the award and for the subcontractor's parent company, if the subcontractor has a parent company. (ii) Name of the subcontractor. (iii) Amount of the subcontract award. (iv) Date of the subcontract award. (v) The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. (vi) Funding agency. (vii) A description of the products or services (including construction) being provided under the subcontract, including the overall purpose and expected outcomes or results of the subcontract. (viii) Subcontract number (the contract number assigned by the prime contractor). (ix) Subcontractor's physical address including street address, city, state, and country. Also include the nine-digit zip code and congressional district if applicable. (x) Subcontract primary performance location including street address, city, state, and country. Also include the nine-digit zip code and congressional district if applicable. (xi) Names and total compensation of each of the subcontractor's five most highly compensated officers, for the calendar year in which the subcontract is awarded if- (A) In the subcontractor's preceding fiscal year, the subcontractor received- (1) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues in Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and (2) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants), and cooperative agreements; and (B) The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As indicated in clause 52.212-5, Alternate II: (d)(1) The Comptroller General of the United States, an appropriate Inspector General appointed under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), or an authorized representative of either of the foregoing officials shall have access to and right to- (i) Examine any of the Contractor's or any subcontractors' records that pertain to, and involve transactions relating to, this contract; and (ii) Interview any officer or employee regarding such transactions. (e)(1) Notwithstanding the requirements of the clauses in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), of this clause, the Contractor is not required to flow down any FAR clause in a subcontract for commercial items, other than- (i) Paragraph (d) of this clause. This paragraph flows down to all subcontracts, except the authority of the Inspector General under paragraph (d)(1)(ii) does not flow down; and (ii) Those clauses listed in this paragraph (e) (1). Unless otherwise indicated below, the extent of the flow down shall be as required by the clause- (A) 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (Dec 2008) (Pub. L. 110-252, Title VI, Chapter 1 (41 U.S.C. 251 note)). (B) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (May 2009) (Section 1553 of Pub. L. 111-5). (C) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (May 2004) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)), in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities. If the subcontract (except subcontracts to small business concerns) exceeds $550,000 ($1,000,000 for construction of any public facility), the subcontractor must include 52.219-8 in lower tier subcontracts that offer subcontracting opportunities. (D) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246). (E) 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). (F) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (June 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). (G) 52.222-39, Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees (Dec 2004) (E.O. 13201). (H) 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965 (Nov 2007) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.). (I) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)). (J) 52.222-51, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Requirements (Nov 2007) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.). (K) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (Feb 2009) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.). (L) 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (Jan 2009). (M) 52.226-6, Promoting Excess Food Donation to Nonprofit Organizations. (Mar 2009) (Pub. L. 110-247). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (e) of FAR clause 52.226-6. (N) 52.247-64, Preference for Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels (Feb 2006) (46 U.S.C. Appx. 1241(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2631). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (d) of FAR clause 52.247-64. 52.217-6, Option for Increased Quantity (Mar 1989) The Government may increase the quantity of supplies called for in the Schedule at the unit price specified. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 60 days of date of purchase order acceptance by the Contractor. Delivery of the added items shall continue at the same rate as the like items called for under the contract, unless the parties otherwise agree. BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION: The CheckPoint items required by NIST are proprietary and available from only CheckPoint authorized resellers and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The manufacturer, CheckPoint, is the only manufacturer of products that will meet the agency's needs. This procurement is for eight pairs of CheckPoint firewall appliances and three CheckPoint manager appliances. These appliances will be used within the NIST IT network security infrastructure to upgrade six of the existing firewall pairs, upgrade three of the firewall managers, and extend the infrastructure by adding two new pairs of firewalls. This network security infrastructure includes both the NIST Gaithersburg, MD and Boulder, CO campuses. Firewalls are highly customized devices that are integrated into a network infrastructure with extensive security policies defined for each pair. Replacing some of the existing firewall appliances with another vendor's appliances would add significant costs and complexity to the existing infrastructure and be disruptive to productivity during the transition process. Specifically: - Firewall policies, once defined by NIST staff and authorized by NIST management, are translated from descriptive text into CheckPoint firewall objects, services, and rules prior to being deployed to the corresponding firewall(s). To date, the firewall team has over 1,900 policies deployed across all firewalls. These firewall policies are defined and deployed using integrated firewall policy managers. NIST has two policy managers which are synchronized and, due to their critical nature, are located at both NIST sites and an additional backup manager. The procurement of another vendor's firewall appliances would result in a major firewall conversion process for the appliances being replaced, a complex and extensive redeployment of the corresponding firewall policies, ongoing complexity with NIST having to maintain multiple independent firewall policy managers (disrupting the integrate policy management environment in place today), a requirement for multiple policy managers located at each site, and a more complex and costly environment to maintain in the future. NIST also has nearly 1,000 users of the CheckPoint remote access application known as SecureClient which is integrated with the CheckPoint firewalls. These users have installed the SecureClient software on their remote computers and use it to access NIST when off-site. Any other firewall vendor's product would have a different remote access application that would need to be configured, tested, and provided to these users who would then need to uninstall SecureClient and install the replacement product. This change could not be done gradually due to the need for the hardware change. NIST has several site-to-site Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with other government agencies based on CheckPoint firewalls at both the NIST and other agency end of the VPN. The impact of replacing some of the NIST firewall appliances with another vendor's firewall appliances on these established VPNs is unknown. NIST staff is trained and certified on CheckPoint firewalls and has extensive experience with its deployment, operation, and maintenance. Having consistent firewall hardware and software is essential to the efficient and effective management of the NIST Network Security Service. In addition, having like hardware and software enhances NIST's ability to provide Continuation of Operations (COOP) and Disaster Recovery in a consistent and cost-effective manner across both campuses. This item is particular to one manufacturer, CheckPoint. The specifications of CheckPoint's products are essential to the Government's requirements, and recent market research indicates that other companies with similar products do not meet the agency's needs. CheckPoint products, maintenance, and support are available through CheckPoint authorized resellers only. According to the CheckPoint website, there are 686 resellers in the United States. All authorized, responsible resellers of CheckPoint products are encouraged to provide a quotation for the requested items, and all quotes received from CheckPoint authorized, responsible resellers will be considered. ADDENDUM TO PROVISION 52.212-1 - QUOTATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (b) Submission of quotations. Submit signed and dated quotations to the office specified in this solicitation at or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Quotations may be submitted on the SF 1449, letterhead stationery, or as otherwise specified in the solicitation. As a minimum, quotations must include- (1) The solicitation number; (2) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror; (3) Terms of any expressed warranty; (4) FOB Destination-based firm-fixed-price for each item in the attached Microsoft Excel document and discount terms; (5) Evidence that the Offeror is authorized by CheckPoint to sell CheckPoint products; and (6) If the quotation is not submitted on the SF 1449, include a statement specifying the extent of agreement with all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. Quotations that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. (c)Period of acceptance of Offers. The offeror agrees to hold the price in its offer firm for 30 calendar days from the dates specified for receipt of offers. All quotes shall be received not later than 3:00 PM Eastern Time on August 10, 2009 at keith.bubar@nist.gov. Faxed quotes will not be accepted. EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD: The Government intends to award a purchase order to the responsible, and CheckPoint authorized offeror whose technically acceptable quotation represents the lowest price to the Government. Only quotations that fully address and meet the technical requirements of all required contract line items in the attached Microsoft Excel document will be considered for award. The following clauses will be included in the resultant purchase order: 52.212-4 52.212-5 Alternate II, including 52.222-50, 52.233-3 and 52.233-4 in paragraph (a) (1) and the following fill-ins in paragraph (b): 52.203-15 (see full text above), 52.204-11 (see full text above), 52.222-3, 52.222-19, 52.222-21, 52.222-26, 52.222-36, and 52.232-33.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/SB1341-09-RQ-0468/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive Stop 1810, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN01897757-W 20090805/090804000517-8add9dec56a9ed61009ffa09250ad333 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |