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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF AUGUST 20, 2017 FBO #5749
DOCUMENT

D -- Aternity Software Maintenance - Attachment

Notice Date

8/18/2017
 

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

VA11817Q2051
 

Archive Date

10/17/2017
 

Point of Contact

Joseph.Pignataro@va.gov
 

E-Mail Address

joseph.pignataro@va.gov
(joseph.pignataro@va.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

NNG15SD26B VA118-17-F-2139
 

Award Date

8/18/2017
 

Awardee

THUNDERCAT TECHNOLOGY, LLC;1925 ISAAC NEWTON SQ STE 180;RESTON;VA;20190
 

Award Amount

$367,686.28
 

Description

Maintenance for Aternity FPI Platform Software Control Number TAC-17-41889 2 of 2 Control Number TAC-17-41889 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, New Jersey 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 Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for the procurement of software maintenance and technical support for 10,000 Aternity Frontline Performance Intelligence (FPI) Platform software licenses. 3. Description of the Supplies or Services: VA Information Technology Operations and Services (ITOPS) requires software maintenance and technical support on 10,000 existing Aternity FPI Platform software licenses. The Aternity FPI Platform software, now a registered product of Riverbed Technology (Riverbed), features a desktop agent approach to Real End User Experience management. This approach is achieved by uniquely monitoring, aggregating, analyzing, and correlating all metrics associated with three components (Application, Desktop, and User Performance) that constantly interact to both define and impact the end user experience. The existing Aternity FPI Platform software provides VA with precise insights into how its applications are used, enabling VA to understand the usage trends and trails of its users, the number of business processes executed, and the details of any usability issues. The software maintenance and technical support required will ensure the 10,000 perpetual software licenses remain up-to-date and operational by providing technical assistance, product updates and bug fixes. The period of performance for the software maintenance and technical support is August 22, 2017 through August 31, 2018, with one 12-month option period. The total estimated price of the proposed action inclusive of the option period is 4. Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting this exception to fair opportunity is Section 41 U.S.C. 4106(c)(2) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 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 8 of this document, it has been determined that limited competition for Aternity FPI software maintenance and technical support is viable among authorized resellers of these products. ITOPS currently owns and utilizes 10,000 Aternity FPI Platform software licenses, and requires maintenance and technical support compatible with the existing infrastructure protocols and functionality for continued operational availability. Only Riverbed, or an authorized reseller, has the proprietary rights and access to the proprietary source code that is necessary to provide the required software maintenance and technical support for the existing licenses. No other firm has the capability of developing and issuing software updates and fixes for Aternity FPI Platform software due to the proprietary nature of the souce code. Any other source would need access to this code to ensure all services provided are properly configured. Therefore, only Aternity brand software maintenance and technical support can meet the Government s 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 can meet the Government s requirements. It was determined, however, that limited competition is viable among authorized resellers for Aternity FPI Platform software maintenance and technical support. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b)(2)(D)(1)(i), this action will be synopsized at award on the Federal Business Opportunities Page (FBO) and the justification will be made publicly available. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: In order to remove or overcome barriers to competition in future acquisitions for this requirement, the Government will continue to perform market research to determine if there are any new products or maintenance services available that will fulfill the Government s need. 8. Market Research: In February 2017, the Government's technical experts reviewed similar software products, software maintenance, and technical support to ascertain if they could meet VA's requirements. The Government's technical experts utilized numerous publications, to include Forrester Research and Gartner Research, and conducted Web-based research on technical monitoring websites and forums related to desktop side monitoring to identify potential maintenance providers for the Aternity FPI Platform software. This market research identified only two products and services in the desktop monitoring space, Aternity and KNOA. However, it was conclusively determined that KNOA could not provide software maintenance and technical support for Aternity FPI Platform software due to the proprietary constraints discussed above. In addition, Riverbed was contacted on March 16, 2017, and confirmed that the software is proprietary, and as such, only Riverbed or its authorized resellers have the intellectual property rights to access the proprietary source code, which is necessary to maintain the existing software. In March 2017, the Contract Specialist conducted market research to ascertain the extent of limited competition among resellers. Through the use of the Provider Look-up tool on the NASA SEWP V GWAC website, six Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) were identified as resellers of the required Aternity software maintenance and technical support. Therefore, limited competition is anticipated. 9. Other Facts: Riverbed Technology, Inc. announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Aternity, Inc. and its affiliates on July 28, 2016.  The acquisition was completed in August 2016.  The companies began delivering technical support as an integrated entity effective January 30, 2017.
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/66de0b677002bbd452db640ae02db350)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: NNG15SD26B VA118-17-F-2139 NNG15SD26B VA118-17-F-2139_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3741962&FileName=NNG15SD26B-102.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=3741962&FileName=NNG15SD26B-102.docx

 

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

Record

SN04636959-W 20170820/170818232339-66de0b677002bbd452db640ae02db350 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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