R--Sole Source Uptime Online Membership

Department of Veterans Affairs, Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) hereby provides a notice of intent to sole source to Uptime Institute Professional Services (TUI) located at 20 W 37th ST Floor 6, New York, NY 10018 for a period of five years. The contract will be awarded in accordance with FAR 13.106(b)(1)(i): soliciting from a single source . AITC requires an organizational-level associate Peer Group Membership. The membership provides AITC with access to information such as product reviews, focus groups, memberships in technical support groups, research paper development, key-note speakers at private seminars, defective product alerts, as well as the ability to provide customized technical services and Tier grading yearly certifications for a data Center. The results of the Governments market research, demonstrates there are at least four entities that can provide similar services but cannot provide Peer Group online membership and Tier Level certification to meet all of the Governments required specifications. However, TUI is the only source capable of providing the AITC with an industry-standard Data Center Tier Certification. This certification is required by VA in order for AITC to be documented at a specific level of data center equipment reliability. TUI owns the trademark for the industry-standard tier process of data center grading and the Data Center Tier Certification process, which is the intellectual property of TUI. This process grades data center performance, equipment investment, and return on that investment. Levels of certification are dependent upon various aspects, such as non-redundant and redundant capacity components, dual-powered equipment, multiple uplinks and fault-tolerance of uplinks, storage, chillers, heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, and servers. AITC s membership with TUI will ensure it receives the required Data Center Tier Grade. NOTE: THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement.. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. AITC will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this notice of intent. Only written responses will be considered. As a result of analyzing responses to this notice of intent, the Government shall determine whether a solicitation will be issued. Any prospective contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award. Information concerning SAM registered requirements may be viewed via the Internet at http://sam.gov. VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS: All interested parties shall submit clear and convincing documentation demonstrating their capabilities to satisfy the requirements listed above to [email protected] and [email protected] via email, no later than Thursday, March 2, 2017 11:00am EST. Fax inquiries will not be accepted. Please provide capability documentation that should at minimum, include general information and technical background describing in detail the prospective vendor(s) capabilities and experience that will show the ability to support this requirement.