Description
Control Number TAC-18-52216 JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Acquisition Operations Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724 Description of Action: This proposed action is for a firm-fixed price (FFP) delivery order to be issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) IV Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for brand name Cisco Enterprise Class networking hardware consisting of Sackable Network Access Switches , Class D Routers, Level 2 Wireless Access Points (WAPs) and Wireless Controller , as well as brand name Riverbed Wide Area Network (WAN) Accelerators. Description of the Suppli es or Services: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology (Ol&T), has a requirement for Enterprise Class networking hardware to support new networking operations at multiple sites in Veterans Integrated Service Network 23. The Enterprise Class networking hardware shall consist of thirty (30) Stackable Network Access Switches, one (1) Class D Routers, thirty-five (35) Level 2 WAPs, one (1) Wireless Controllers Level 1, and three (3) WAN accelerators . The equipment shall be delivered to four (4) locations (Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota, Iowa City, IA and Des Moines, IA) throughout the VA. This action represents an expansion of the wireless mobility technology currently in place at these locations. This is required to support Ol&T Unified Wireless networking operations. The VA shall perform all services associated to this effort therefore , no installation services are required from Contractor . VA currently has a national contract to provide maintenance on all Cisco equipment for all network ing infrastructure throughout VA networks, maintenance/support and warranties will be covered under enter rise contract. All e i ment shall be delivered w ithin 30 days after award. - Statutory Authority : The statutory authority permitting an exception to fa ir 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". · Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: Based on extensive market research, as described in paragraph 8 of this document, it was determined that limited competition is available among authorized resellers for these brand name Cisco and Riverbed items. Existing VA Ol&T networking operations infrastructure consists of both Cisco and Riverbed unified wireless networking equipment which act as an integrated solution that is designed to support existing systems and infrastructure. This effort will provide for additional Cisco and Riverbed networking components needed to expand VISN 23 LAN Gear Control Number TAC-18-52216 3 of 4 the existing Unified Wireless Network at multiple VA locations. The existing Unified Wireless Network is an enterprise class wireless system where centralized hierarchical hardware configuration, management, monitoring, and alerting occurs. This top down architecture provides a mechanism and methodology to provide FIPS 140-2 validated communications for the enterprise which is scalable, flexible, and secure. The Unified Wireless network utilizes a suite of integrated, proprietary Cisco and Riverbed product hardware, features, and licenses. The Cisco and Riverbed networking components to be delivered under this effort include switches, routers, WAPs, WANs and Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) which are integrated components of this unified hardware and software solution that enable the VA to wirelessly communicate information through the Office of Information Technology's enterprise network. Only brand name Cisco switches, routers, WAPs and WLCs and brand name Riverbed WANs are compatible and interoperable with the existing Unified Wireless network infrastructure, which is proprietary to Cisco and Riverbed. Due to the proprietary nature of the integrated Cisco and Riverbed design, no other manufacturer's switches, routers WAPs, WANs or WLCs are compatible and interoperable with the current infrastructure. Further, market research has determined that only the Cisco and Riverbed Unified Wireless network provides the end-to-end comprehensive FIPS 140-2 Validated configuration, management, monitoring, and capabilities that VA needs to perform its mission. VA requires hardware compatible with its existing infrastructure, protocols and functionality for continued operations to expand existing wireless platform. Therefore, only Cisco and Riverbed brand name technology can meet all of the Government's interoperability and compatibility requirements without replacing the current infrastructure. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. 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 the brand name Cisco hardware. In accordance with FAR 5.301 and 16.505(b){2)(ii)(D), this action will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities Page (FBO) and the justification will also be posted to the NASA SWEP V GWAC website along with the Request for Quotation. Actions to Increase Competition: In order to remove or overcome barriers to competition in future acquisitions for this requirement, the agency will work with the program office to continue to perform market research to consider and ascertain if any other sources can provide the required hardware in the future. Specifically, the Government's technical experts will continue to research other brand name hardware and their required infrastructure, their potential ability to integrate with the existing infrastructure and their ability to meet VA requirements Market Research: In March 2018, the Government's technical experts reviewed networking components available from other manufacturers including Aerohive, Ubiquiti and Hewlett Packard . Review of these products was based on research performed via web information lookup and interfacing with Cisco and Riverbed engineers. The review confirmed that no other manufacturer's networking components are compatible and interoperable with VA's existing Unified Wireless Network. Therefore, only Cisco and Riverbed brand name switches, routers, WAPs, WANs and WLCs can meet all of the Government's interoperability and compatibility requirements without replacing the current infrastructure. Additionally, the TAC conducted additional market research in August 2018 by utilizing the Provider Lookup Tool on the NASA SEWP V GWAC website, which found multiple contract holders that are resellers of both Cisco and Riverbed products, including multiple Vendor Information Page (VIP.gov) verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) GWAC contract holders. Additionally, NASA SEWP V GWAC has a dynamic catalog where line items can be added based on customer requests, therefore, as long as the required item or service is within scope of the NASA SEWP V GWACs, items and services can be added to a NASA SEWP V GWAC holder's catalog on a daily basis. Therefore, based on the results of the market research, there is reasonable expectation that sufficient competition exists among SDVOSBs in Group 8(2) of NASA SEWP V. Other Facts: None