DOCUMENT
D -- FY17 AtHoc PDIM Licenses - Attachment
- Notice Date
- 12/29/2016
- Notice Type
- Attachment
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veterans Affairs;Technology Acquisition Center;23 Christopher Way;Eatontown NJ 07724
- ZIP Code
- 07724
- Solicitation Number
- VA11817Q1803
- Archive Date
- 4/6/2017
- Point of Contact
- Amy Schmalzigan
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- NNG15SD22B VA118-17-F-1784
- Award Date
- 12/28/2016
- Awardee
- FOUR POINTS TECHNOLOGY, L.L.C.;14900 CONFERENCE CENTER DR STE 100;CHANTILLY;VA;20151
- Award Amount
- $582,771.04
- Description
- On December 28, 2016, the Technology Acquisition Center awarded Delivery Order VA118-17-F-1784 under the terms and conditions of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V contract NNG15SD22B with Four Points Technology, located at 14900 Conference Center Drive Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151. Four Points Technology will be providing enterprise-level AtHoc Personnel Directory Integration Module software licenses and maintenance support. The period of performance shall be December 27, 2016 through December 26, 2017, plus one 12-month option periods, if exercised, the total order value of $1,165,542.08. 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: This proposed action is for a firm-fixed-price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for the renewal of enterprise-level AtHoc Personnel Directory Integration Module (PDIM) software licenses and maintenance support. 3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA, Human Resources and Administration (HRA) has a requirement to renew 16 existing enterprise-level AtHoc PDIM software licenses with continued maintenance support from the Original Software Developer. HRA is responsible for managing the VA Notification System (VANS) that is currently supported by AtHoc s Interactive Warning System (IWS) Alert software in use by VA. During the 2009 National Level Exercise Eagle Horizon, it was revealed that VA was unable to fulfill the mission essential function to account for employees during an emergency. The Assistant Secretary for HRA, who has the responsibility for employee accountability, convened a Department-wide task force to develop recommendations to improve reporting procedures. This resulted in the development of the VA Personnel Accountability System (PAS). The proposed action is in support of PAS, which is the result of integration of the VANS application (AtHoc IWS software) with the U.S. Naval Space and Warfare (SPAWAR) Command PAS. The required AtHoc PDIM software license subscriptions support compliance with the National Response Framework to ensure delivery of notifications to VA employees and contractors during emergency and crisis situations and maintain continuity of operations at all times. The AtHoc PDIM software licenses are required to communicate with the Personnel Directory Information from SPAWAR, who hosts VA s accountability functionality to the VANS servers in Office of Information and Technology, Service Delivery and Engineering, Field Operations Regions 1 and 4. The procurement will also include maintenance support services that include 24 hour per day, 7 days per week technical support, telephone support and on-site technical support, in addition to all software patches and upgrades. Maintenance support services will ensure that AtHoc software remains operational. The period of performance consists of a 12 month base period beginning December 27, 2016 through December 26, 2017, and one 12-month option period for software licenses and maintenance support. 4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting this exception to fair opportunity is 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by 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 market research, as described in section eight of this justification, it was determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for the required brand name AtHoc PDIM software licenses and maintenance support. The renewal of these licenses and maintenance will provide VA the ability to continue the operation of the currently fielded VA PAS Helpdesk, VANS, and VA Integrated Operating Center (IOC) that all use AtHoc IWS Alert software to perform personnel emergency alerting and accountability. VA PAS, VANS and IOC manage and monitor the emergency alerting and accountability of VA employees, contractors, affiliates and associates. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veteran Benefits Administration (VBA), and National Cemetery Administration (NCA) all utilize AtHoc s IWS Alert software for emergency notification purposes. All employees and contractors in VA facilities use the system to alert and provide notification of safety. Each Administration has their own emergency coordinators that use the system for this purpose. Only the existing AtHoc IWS Alert software licenses supporting up to 640,000 users and the required AtHoc PDIM software licenses will insure interoperability and compatibility with the existing VA PAS, VANS and IOC infrastructures which consists of AtHoc IWS Alerting software. The PDIM licenses allow SPAWAR to communicate with the VANS systems in Region 1 and Region 4. No other vendor can provide the software that integrates with the VANS system. No other vendors can supply a PDIM license that will communicate with the existing AtHoc IWS Alert software due to the proprietary code of the AtHoc software. Furthermore, no other source other than an AtHoc authorized reseller can provide the required maintenance support requirements described herein, such as assistance via telephone support and on-site technical support, as well as all software patches and upgrades. Also, the proprietary code is required to ensure the services provided on the items are properly configured. Failure to obtain the aforementioned AtHoc license and maintenance support renewals will have a direct and significant negative impact for VA. Per VA Directive 0325 Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel Accountability and The National Security Presidential Directive 51, VA is required to maintain a state of readiness and provide accountability of and notification to employees during emergencies and times of crisis. Effective real-time communication is crucial to protection of life and property for VA employees, contractors, affiliates, and associates. Without the renewal of the existing AtHoc PDIM licenses and maintenance support, all transmissions and communication with VA staff will come to an immediate halt during a catastrophic emergency. VHA, VBA, and NCA will no longer be able to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to VA PAS and VANS networks to provide personnel notifications for alerting and accountability purposes. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in section eight of this justification. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government s requirements. The VA determined, however, that limited competition is viable among authorized resellers for the required AtHoc software license and maintenance support renewals. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b)(2)(ii)(D), the award notice for this action will be synopsized and this justification will be made publicly available on the Federal Business Opportunities Page within 14 days of award. Additionally, in accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(4)(iii)(A)(2), this justification will be provided with the Request for Quote to eligible NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government will continue to conduct market research to ascertain if there are changes in the market place that would enable future actions to be more widely competed. VA networking Subject Matter Experts regularly review industry trade publications and conduct internet research to ascertain if any other brand name software licenses and maintenance support are available to meet the requirements described herein. 8. Market Research: In August 2016, the Government s technical experts conducted market research to ascertain the ability of any other source, other than an AtHoc reseller, that can provide the aforementioned software licenses and maintenance support services. Specifically, the Government s technical experts conducted web-based research on other potential sources, including Desktop Alert, Inc.; Everbridge; MIR3, Inc.; and Send Word Now. The technical experts determined that none of these products can meet all of VA s interoperability and compatibility requirements with the existing VA PAS, VANS, and IOC infrastructures. Additionally, only AtHoc, or its authorized resellers can access the proprietary source code in order to provide the required maintenance support. Unauthorized providers do not have access to the proprietary data to be able to provide the required technical support, telephone support and on-site technical support, in addition to all software patches and upgrades. AtHoc PDIM licenses are the only licenses that are compatible and interoperable with the existing currently fielded VA PAS, VANS, and IOC infrastructures. Additional market research was conducted in September 2016 by utilizing the NASA SEWP Provider Lookup tool to determine whether the brand name AtHoc products are available from NASA SEWP V GWAC holders. The VA determined that there are several resellers of the brand name AtHoc products that hold current GWACs such that limited competition is anticipated. 9. Other Facts: None.
- Web Link
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- Document(s)
- Attachment
- File Name: NNG15SD22B VA118-17-F-1784 NNG15SD22B VA118-17-F-1784_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3185678&FileName=NNG15SD22B-053.docx)
- Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3185678&FileName=NNG15SD22B-053.docx
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- File Name: NNG15SD22B VA118-17-F-1784 NNG15SD22B VA118-17-F-1784_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3185678&FileName=NNG15SD22B-053.docx)
- Record
- SN04361266-W 20161231/161229234416-c29036fd971b94d7880a9005815fee13 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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