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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 03, 2016 FBO #5398
DOCUMENT

D -- TAC-16-35940 NB_NB_Tech Refresh for IBM 850/870 Servers, IBM HMCs, SAN Storage (with HWM/SVM included) no installation. - Justification and Approval (J&A)

Notice Date

9/1/2016
 

Notice Type

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

NAICS

541519 — Other Computer Related Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Technology Acquisition Center;23 Christopher Way;Eatontown NJ 07724
 

ZIP Code

07724
 

Archive Date

12/2/2016
 

Point of Contact

Alma Aliaj, Contract Specialist
 

E-Mail Address

erdick,
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

NNG15SD31B VA118-16-F-1356
 

Award Date

8/25/2016
 

Description

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, NJ 07724 2.Description of Action: The proposed action is for a firm-fixed-priced delivery order, to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name International Business Machine, Inc. (IBM) equipment and maintenance. 3.Description of the Supplies or Services: This proposed action is for the following brand name IBM equipment: 1 Power System E850 server, 1E870 server, 4 Hardware Maintenance Console (HMC), 1 Storwize v7000 storage unit, 6 Power Distribution Unit (PDU) and related licenses, activation, operating and related system software; 3-year hardware warranty for the E850 and 1-year warranty for the E870 server, both with upgraded 24x7x4 response times; 1-year software maintenance support (SWMA); 1-year PDU warranty and IBM software account advocate support services; and one-time installation and configuration services for the Veterans Administration, Office of Information and Technology, Service Delivery and Engineering, Enterprise Operations, Quantico Information Technology Center (QITC). These requirements will be used to support disaster recovery back up and processing of National Cemetery Administration (NCA) burial memorial orders for Veterans. The period of performance shall consist of delivery with installation and configuration of the required equipment within 120 days after award, followed by 3-year hardware warranty for the E850 server and 1-year hardware warranty for the E870, PDUs, and 1-year software maintenance support and IBM advocate support services. The total estimated value of the proposed action is. 4.Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting an exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c) (2) as implemented by the 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: Based on the market research, as described in section 8 of this document, it was determined that limited competition is available among resellers of the required brand name IBM E850 and E870 servers, console, storage and other related equipment with hardware/software maintenance warranty. The purpose of this acquisition is to replace the aforementioned brand name IBM equipment that are end-of-life (EOL), end-of-support (EOS) and to provide capability to better support the NCA Memorial Benefits production data base and improve system security. The existing IBM EOL/EOS equipment, and its replacement, must maintain interoperability with existing infrastructure at both data centers. No other brand name equipment other than IBM equipment can work in the current infrastructure due to proprietary constraints that IBM has within its infrastructure. Specifically, no other brand name items would communicate or function in the current IBM based infrastructure. IBM servers and equipment comprise the platform used at the current data centers. This requirement is for IBM equipment that is interoperable and compatible with the existing IBM infrastructure located at the current data centers. There are 11 IBM servers and other IBM brand name items that are not being replaced under this action that support NCA's primary Memorial Benefits infrastructure, supporting over 10 million Veterans, which would need to be replaced if the current IBM infrastructure could not be technically refreshed. Specifically, VA requires servers that are compatible with IBM's p-series midrange servers currently in place and interoperable with IBM's server operating system, Advanced Interactive eXecutive (AIX). The AIX operating system software is IBM proprietary and no other Original Equipment Manufacturers' (OEM) are able to produce servers that use AIX. The required IBM hardware console is also proprietary and required for server configuration and future changes and monitoring, while the IBM PDU is required to power the IBM E850 server and must be compatible when installed in the existing IBM rack. The IBM storage is required to enable disaster recovery database duplication, and interoperability and compatibility between the primary and backup data center locations. No other equipment, other than the aforementioned IBM equipment can meet the Government's requirements because they are either not interoperable with the current IBM infrastructure, not capable of running AIX, or cannot reliably operate to backup data between the current data center sites currently using IBM infrastructure. In addition, changing the current architecture would require the replacement of the entire infrastructure at two data centers including servers, chassis, storage, network switches, recertification of applications, new licenses, maintenance and staff training. The duplicated cost would be high and in excess of $10 million in hardware alone; take a few years to accomplish due to system testing, approvals and obtaining system certifications; and increase the risk of losing Veteran data. As a result, any servers/storage replaced with anything other than IBM would not be interoperable with the existing IBM infrastructure, currently in use at the two data centers, and would not meet the Government's needs. Thus, the use of the IBM brand is essential to meet the Government's requirements. Additionally, the VA requires maintenance to include hardware and software maintenance support. Only IBM or an authorized reseller can provide the necessary maintenance support because of the propriety nature of the technology required to technically support and upgrade entitlements for the IBM server systems. Because of the proprietary nature of IBM systems, other manufacturers will not have access to the source code required to provide the maintenance support. Therefore, only the IBM hardware and related software maintenance support will meet the Government's needs. Without this procurement, the QITC will be using equipment that is more than 10 years old which no longer can be patched to secure server data, and which represents a security risk. Also, the equipment is at risk of failure that could lead to data loss, and replacement parts are no longer available or cannot be obtained quickly. In addition, QITC will be unable to provide the necessary virtual environments to support increased capacity and redundancy to adequately support NCA program requirements. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that could meet the Government's technical requirements. It was also determined, however, that limited competition is viable among authorized resellers for the required brand name and hardware and software support. In accordance with FAR 16.505(a) (4) (ii) (D), the action will be synopsized and this justification will be made publicly available on the Federal Business Opportunities Page within 14 days after the award. In addition, this justification will be posted with the solicitation to notify all the SEWP vendors. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to perform market research to ascertain if there are changes in the marketplace that would enable future actions to be fully competed. 8. Market Research: Market research was conducted by VA technical experts intermittently from May 2015 to April 2016, by reviewing other similar equipment and maintenance to include those provided by Hewlett Packard and Sun. Market research was conducted by a review of industry websites, discussions with third party contractors, and analysis of server and storage product offerings that demonstrated other OEMs do not provide servers and storage that are technically compatible with the existing QITC IBM infrastructure. As a result of the market research the Government's technical experts confirmed that these items do not meet all of VA's requirements as discussed in section five of this document and only brand name IBM products are interoperable with the QITC IBM infrastructure. Government's technical experts examined product availability on the NASA SEWP website and determined the brand name IBM products and maintenance are available from numerous third party vendors Group B(2)-service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses. 9.Other Facts: None. ? 10.Technical and Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Geoffrey PlaciousDate: IT Specialist, Systems AdministratorSignature: 11.Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable based upon comparison of the successful quote with Independent Government Cost Estimate. Additionally, pricing for the products awarded on NASA SEWP V GWAC have been determined to be fair and reasonable and more competitive pricing may result from competition. Jan OberdickDate: Procuring Contracting OfficerSignature: 12.Procuring Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Jan OberdickDate: Procuring Contracting OfficerSignature: 13. Legal Sufficiency Certification: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support an exception to fair opportunity and deem it legally sufficient. Ellen P. McArthur Date: ______________________ Legal Counsel Signature: ______________________ Approval In my role as Advocate for Competition, based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the acquisition for brand name IBM equipment and maintenance, on an other than fair opportunity basis pursuant to Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2), subject to availability of funds, and provided that the property and services herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition. Date: ____________ Signature:_________________________________ Ronald J. Bakay Advocate for Competition Technology Acquisition Center Office of Acquisition Operations
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/84d465527695dda47e12ff4eae8e87ba)
 

Document(s)

Justification and Approval (J&A)
 

File Name: NNG15SD31B VA118-16-F-1356 NNG15SD31B VA118-16-F-1356_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2982272&FileName=NNG15SD31B-014.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2982272&FileName=NNG15SD31B-014.docx

 

File Name: NNG15SD31B VA118-16-F-1356 P03-JA for IBM Brand Name.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2982273&FileName=NNG15SD31B-015.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=2982273&FileName=NNG15SD31B-015.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN04252081-W 20160903/160901235702-84d465527695dda47e12ff4eae8e87ba (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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