The notice entitled, Requirement for Panasonic Toughbook Computers, is cancelled and re-issued as follows: This notice is posted as an intent to award contract for commercial items. The items required under this contract will be deemed brand name in nature in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.211-6 - Brand Name or Equal. This notice is n ot a request for competitive quotations, but a notice of the US Army Intelligence and Security Commands (INSCOM) intent to procure the following items: Toughbook Ruggedized Notebook Computer Part Number: CF-Y4HWPZZBM (Quantity: 20); Panasonic 51 2MB Memory Centrino Part Number: CF-WMBAV0512 (Quantity: 20) JUSTIFCATION FOR PROCUREMENT OF BRAND NAME OR EQUAL items listed above: a. Maintenance Cost: 3 Year On-Site Next Business Day Maintenance Service included. HQ INSCOM and the majority of INSCOM Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs) maintain existing maintenance contracts with Panasonic for extended service of Panasonic Toughbook ruggedized notebooks employed on DoD Command and Control networks. The incorporation of other Brand Name ruggedized notebooks would require additional maintenance contracts at additional cost. b. Compatibility: HQ INSCOM and the INSCOM MSCs have expended significant resources over many years to establish industry-standard, state-of-the-art, high performance, optimized, manageable, reliable and secure system infrastructures by continuously rese arching the market and consistently selecting best of breed products. Panasonic Toughbooks are the original ruggedized notebook, represent the industry standard for semi-rugged and fully-ruggedized (mil-spec) notebooks, and consistently account for greater market share of their market segment than all others combined. Standardization on a single ruggedized notebook manufacturer maximizes efficiency of system administration, management & maintenance, and promotes confidentiality, integrity and availability o f mission critical data on DoD command and control networks. Standardization on Panasonic Toughbooks provides the following benefits: industry standard, state of the art capabilities; consistent technical design; compatibility, integration & interoperabili ty with existing systems infrastructure; consistent interface for ease of administration & training; standardized management, optimization & troubleshooting tools & procedures; compatibility with third-party tools & applications; ease of administration via standardized system images & software baselines for various Panasonic Toughbook models; consistent security administration for systems & data; standardization of patch management and Information Assurance Vulnerability Assessment (IAVA) compliance and imp lementation via Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS); consolidation of maintenance via single cost-effective maintenance contract and stockage of standard replacement parts inventory. The incorporation of non-Panasonic Toughbook ruggedized notebooks into the INSCOM standardized environment, while possibly providing a minor cost savings initially, would over the long run significantly increase system administration & management requireme nts, potentially reduce system & data security, and increase IT support manpower and funding requirements. Both INSCOM CIO/G6 and the MSCs will continue to conduct due dilligence researching emerging technologies & products from all vendors to ensure that systems infrastructure maintains superior performance, reliability and security. This requirement is being accomplished via the Army Small Computer Program (ASCP) as mandated by the Department of the Army as the primary source for commercial IT equipment. Written questions concerning this requirement may be submitted via e-mail to:
[email protected] or fax (703) 428-4914.