SOLICITATION NOTICE
70 -- Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification - Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification
- Notice Date
- 9/19/2019
- Notice Type
- Justification and Approval (J&A)
- NAICS
- 511210
— Software Publishers
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, ACC - APG (W911QX) Adelphi, 2800 Powder Mill Road, Building 601, Adelphi, Maryland, 20783-1197, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20783-1197
- Archive Date
- 10/11/2019
- Point of Contact
- Douglas Dennard, Phone: 3013943371
- E-Mail Address
-
douglas.c.dennard.civ@mail.mil
(douglas.c.dennard.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- W911QX19P0162
- Award Date
- 9/11/2019
- Description
- Redacted Simplified Acquisition Sole Source Justification Control No: JA-19-Adel-375 Contractor: Semandex Networks, Inc. Supply/Service: SALSA licenses JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS Twenty-six (26) Semandex Analysis and Linking for Situational FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION Programs/Equipment: Twenty-six (26) Semandex Analysis and Linking for Situational Awareness (SALSA) Software Licenses Authority:41 U.S.C. 1901 (e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.Amount: Prepared by: Contracting Officer: Joseph Dellinger DSN: 290-0769 Contracting Officer Date: 5/17/2019 Email: joseph.m.dellinger2.civ@mail.milTechnical: Requirements: Reviews: I have reviewed this hustification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition. Program Manager: Legal Counsel:X Legal Counsel Signed by: Signed by: FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION 1. Contracting Activity: United States (U.S) Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Adelphi Contracting Division (ACD), 2800 Powder Mill Rd., Adelphi, MD 20783. 2. Description of Action: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory - Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate (ARL-SEDD) requests a new firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract with Semandex Networks, Inc., 101 College Road East, Princeton, NJ 08540. The Government projects award for September 2019 and fiscal year 2018/2019 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) funds will be used. _X_ An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement either does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Government requires twenty-six (26) SALSA software licenses, product number SL-PE+DB-VM416150-VIP, capable of simultaneously processing hundreds of camera feeds that require special analytical capabilities. This software will be included in a system of systems (multitude of smaller systems intertwined with each other to create a larger system) approach employed by ARL. The software must handle a minimum of 400 imaging sensor feeds (full motion video) simultaneously which will in turn fuse all information in real-time. Delivery Date: 1. 16 Licenses: 2. 8 Licenses: 3. 2 Licenses: Total Value: 4. Authority Cited: 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. 5. Reason for Authority Cited: ARL-SEDD have been developing and integrating SALSA with other ARL developed software as part of a larger system for the past two (2) years. The larger system includes sensor systems which been integrated into the system of systems to work with the SALSA software and due to the complexities surrounding integration, no other software can substitute SALSA. Additionally, the other sensor systems are ISA compliant including the systems of systems. The required situational awareness software must be capable of integrating into an existing system infrastructure comprised of numerous separate systems that work with each other to produce one (1) large system capable of processing data/information on a much larger scale than if each system was utilized separately. Integrated Sensor Architecture (ISA) compliance is the feature allowing the software to work with our system-of-systems. Below, we list those two concepts as separate from each other (i.e., "compatible with existing system of systems" and "ISA-compliant"). The requested software has the ability to semantically organize data in a flexible way based on the following; event models, natural language processing, machine-learning algorithms. SALSA software has user-defined tags such as rapid discover associations between persons, locations, organizations, and activities. SALSA software also provides image sensor correlation, image sensor cross-queuing focused on detecting, identifying, and tracking moving objects across an area of interest (AOI). SALSA software allows additional non-image sensors as inputs to software frameworks for correlation of information in fusion architecture. SALSA software provides sensor correlation and sensor cross-queuing focused on detecting, identifying, and tracking moving objects of interest (MOI) across an AOI. SALSA software applies automated analytics and calculates a probability identification index value to all objects of interest within the AOI. SALSA is the only ISA compliant and sensor (air and ground) agnostic analytical software, which is the feature that allows this software to be included into the system of systems and appropriately work with the other programs within it. SALSA is the only ISA compliant software that can meet the timelines for operational testing. ARL and Army ISA have been working together to support various military requirements. ISA is becoming an Army standard for future sensors and integration. Currently, there are no software sources performing fusion and data analytics who are ISA complaint. Semandex Networks Inc., was invited by the Army ISA group as the only software vendor performing data fusion and analytics to participate in experimental ISA integration and compliance for military standards. In the future, ISA is planning to open ISA integration and compliance to the US military market. ISA is not a commercial product and is solely intended for military use. If another software is used, re-development of the system of systems and re-training of the program stakeholders would be required which would ultimately delay ARL research, testing, and calibration efforts. In addition, templates were developed for the current system. Templates are records of information that have been collected and stored using SALSA. The templates represent results of filtered sets and customized data visualizations. The data visualization includes interactive link analysis diagrams, timelines, maps and tables. Templates (or records) are used by SALSA to discover patterns using algorithms to determine links between objects that are not obvious. Additionally, increased integration has occurred with SALSA and other systems, such as Humble Oracle (HO). HO is a multi-sensor roadside system designed to identify passing vehicles in real time by collecting data from multiple sensors and matching against a database. This is a system of systems approach, which is already occurring. Rewriting templates would take approximately one (1) year for implementing a software switch of this complexity and magnitude. The following are the ARL requirements that can only be met by Semandex Networks, Inc. SALSA software: 1. Compatible with existing system of systems used by ARL 2. Fuse hundreds of video images together simultaneously to determine unique identification and tracking of objects in a complex environment 3. ISA-compliant 4. Capable of conducting sensor (air and ground) agnostic analysis SALSA is the only data fusion analytic software that is ISA compliant, and no other commercial software has been modified to be ISA compliant to date. ARL has an absolute requirement to use data fusion analytical software that is ISA compliant due to customer driven Army requirements. Therefore, it has been determined that Semandex Networks, Inc. is the only capable source of providing the required software licenses which are compatible with an existing Government system of systems. Attempting to utilize another software would result in rewriting the templates used for the current system of systems in order to use a non-SALSA solution. Ultimately this would result in an unnecessary duplication of cost to the Government at approximately (the number is based on contractor cost to date for integration and development cost for the system) and takes approximately one (1) year to fully implement a software switch of this complexity and magnitude. These twenty-six (26) licenses are essential to the government's requirements. To date there are no other authorized resellers of the SALSA Software. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: On 18 June 2019 a Synopsis was posted to FBO to see if there were other vendors who might provide software with the exact capabilities needed for this requirement. The FBO posting closed on 25 June 2019 and there were no responses to this posting. It was determined that there are no vendors who can provide these specific software capabilities due to the lack of responses from the published notice in Fed Biz Ops per FAR 5.201 (see Section 9 below). Due to the period of time between the previous SALSA effort awarded in January 2019 and the time period ARL received the new SALSA requirement in May 2019; the government did not explore the market through attending conferences/exhibitions, examining trade journals, conducting Internet searches, and holding open discussions with industry experts (referenced W911Q-X-19-P-0020 //JA-19-Adel-048). As a result of the foregoing information there is no expectation of competition for obtaining SALSA software licensing except from the manufacturer themselves, Semandex Networks, Inc. as they are the only authorized source that can provide the software because there are currently no other resellers available in the marketplace. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: Competition is not possible as the individual components of the requirement are not feasible due to the proprietary nature of the SALSA software and licenses. 8. Market Research: Market Research was conducted via Internet and General Supply Schedule (GSA) searches, as well as a review of the Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) website, per AFARS 5139.101-90(a)(1), in January 2019 by for the ____ for the _____. Currently, this software is not available via the CHESS program; per AFARS 5139.101-90(a)(2) an Information Technology Approval System (ITAS) Waiver, obtained on 07 March 2019, and a CHESS Statement of Non-Availability, obtained on 23 January 2019, and both documents are uploaded into the Paperless Contract Files (PCF) cabinet. To date, no other companies have been found that can provide this type of software that is capable of integrating with other software programs included in a system of systems program architecture. Through market research ARL discovered other vendors that offer similar products, see the following: 1. Dfuse 360 made by ISS Global (https://issglobal.eu) 2. Surveillance Fusion made by Siemens (https://siemens.com) 3. Surveillance Viewpoint made by Siemens (https://siemens.com) However, none of these products are ISA compliant and therefore do not meet government requirements. Surveillance Fusion and ViewPoint do not offer the analytical capability necessary to meet ARL's requirements. Although Dfuse 360 meets many of ARL's requirements, they lack ISA compliance which is needed for ARL for compatibility purposes. Dfuse 360 is produced by an overseas vendor and ISA source software is classified as For Official Use Only (FOUO) software and is not allowed to be shared with foreign nationals. Additionally, classification issues could potentially be challenging to overcome, the timeframe for meeting test and evaluation schedules, ongoing operational implementation, and cost make any other solution other than SALSA not feasible. There are also no resellers that can provide the required SALSA software licenses. Therefore, Semandex Networks, Inc.'s SALSA is the only software firm capable of meeting the Government's minimum requirements. In the future, the Government will periodically seek to explore the market to by attending conferences/exhibitions, examining trade journals, conducting Internet research, and holding open discussions with industry experts. To date, no vendor has been identified that can meet the Government's minimum requirement for this software suite's capabilities that would not require significant retraining of personnel and not result in disruption of current programs. Before future acquisitions, the market will be surveyed to determine whether another manufacturer has emerged that could meet the Army's requirements, thus justifying the need for full and open competition. In the future, the Government will revisit re-posting notifications to FBO to ensure no other vendors have the potential to fulfill this requirement. Ultimately market research determined that other companies with similar software and features are still lacking the particular components that are required for this procurement effort and do not meet, cannot be modified to meet, the agency's needs (Ref FAR 11.105). SALSA software features are essential to the Government's requirements. 9. Interested Sources: A sole source pre-solicitation synopsis providing notification of the Government's intent to issue a sole source contract to Semandex Networks, Inc. was published to the FedBizOpps (FBO) website on 18 June 2019. The notification closed on 25 June 2019 and to date, no sources have challenged the sole source or expressed interest in fulfilling the requirement. 10. Other Facts: a. Procurement History Contract: W911QX19P0020 Contractor: Semandex Networks, Inc. Award Date: 18 January 2019 Dollar Value: Competitive Status: Sole Source Authority: FAR authority "of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. (1)Contract numbers and dates of the last several contracts for these same requirements: W911QX19P0020 (2) The competitive status of these actions: Sole Source (3) Authority previously cited if less than full and open cometition was used: FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. (4) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, a summary of the contents of paragraph 7 of the justification for that procurement and an explanation of the results: In April of 2019 the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) discovered that he would need twenty-six (26) additional SALSA Software licenses. No additional market research was done at the time between award up until April of 2019 due to the TPOC's knowledge that SALSA software is the only compatible software with ARL's current systems. Attempting to utilize a newer software would be detrimental to the current research, testing, calibration efforts, and ultimately would be a duplication of costs to the Government. In the future, the Government will periodically explore the market to ensure competition is sought out by attending conferences/exhibitions, examining trade journals, conducting Internet research, and holding open discussions with industry experts. To date, no other vendor has been identified that can meet the Government's minimum requirement for this software suite's capabilities, which would not require significant retraining of personnel and not result in disruption of current programs. If the Government becomes aware of other sources with the capability to meet the Government's requirements, then a determination will be made for suitable competition. (5) If any prior contract for this requirement was accomplished using full and open competition, include a detailed explanation of the changed circumstances causing this action to now limit the sources: Not applicable (6) An explanation of any unusual patterns that may be revealed by the history, e.g., several consecutive, urgent buys: No unusual patterns, not applicable. (7) If a justification was prepared to support the procurement made before this one, briefly describe the circumstances justifying the procurement and whether there have been any significant changes: The justification used for the previous purchase of these software licenses is identical to the justification being used for the subject procurement. The previous purchase occurred in January 2019 and to date there are still no resellers or other manufacturers of SALSA software capable of meeting the Government's requirement which was confirmed via the Market Research conducted for this effort. 11. Technical Certification : I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signer's Title: Research Engineer Technical Certifier (Tech) Signed by: 12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signer's Title: Team Lead Requirements Certifier Signed by: 13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination will be made using the following: _ Cost analysis _X_ Price analysis __Should-cost __IGCE __Audit: __Other: As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data: __ will be required. X_ will not be required and the following exception applies (FAR 15.403): __Prices that will be agreed upon are based on adequate price competition. __Prices that will be agreed upon are based on prices set by law or regulation. X_ A commercial item is being acquired. __ A waiver has been granted by the head of the contracting activity (HCA) in accordance with DFARS PGI 215.403-1. __ The contract action is a modification to a contract or subcontract for commercial item(s). __ The estimated cost of the contract action is less than the threshold for certified cost or pricing data. Contracting Officer (KO) Signed by: DELLINGER.JOSEPH.M.1456820650 8/15/2019 14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Contracting Officer (KO) Signed by: DELLINGER.JOSEPH.M.1456820650 8/15/2019 Approval Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of 26 SALSA software licenses, for an estimate of ___ to be delivered on ____ on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901(e)(2), implemented by FAR 13.501(a) -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/f5e19987e30bbee532ddf737c4ddc180)
- Place of Performance
- Address: U.S. Army Research Laboratory, 2800 Powder Mill Rd, Adelphi, Maryland, 20783, United States
- Zip Code: 20783
- Zip Code: 20783
- Record
- SN05451063-W 20190921/190919230917-f5e19987e30bbee532ddf737c4ddc180 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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