D--Electronic Email Archiving System

The Government intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, a time-and-materials (T&M) acquisition with the ZANTAZ, Inc. This non-competitive action is being issued by the Department of the Interior - National Business Center on behalf of the Office of the Secretary / Office of the Chief Information Officer. This action is being processed in accordance with FAR 6.302-3, Expert Services?for any current or anticipated litigation or dispute, and solicited in accordance with FAR 15 Contracting by Negotiation. The Government has a requirement for continued email capture, archiving, storage, search and retrieval. These requirements are necessary to satisfy rulings and Court orders in regard to Civil Action No. 1:96 CV 01285 (RCL) Cobell v. Kempthorne in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. This litigation is ongoing, and is expected to continue indefinitely. The e-mail project has three major components. First: to process e-mail backup tapes on as as-needed basis to ensure all e-mails and related information are in the repository and available for retrieval of material potentially responsive to outstanding discovery requests and document requests. Second: to maintain real-time capture of all e-mail on a going forward basis for inclusion in a searchable and retrievable e-mail repository. Third: to assess whether existing policies and current practices are in compliance with Court obligations and industry best practices. The Zantaz software currently in use is proprietary, and has been designed and modified for the special needs and requirements to satisfy various legal requirements and Court orders. Recent experience with IT issues in Cobell v. Kempthorne suggests that only Zantaz currently has the very specific knowledge and expertise to comply with standards established by the Court regarding e-mail capture, restoration, retention and search, because the e-mail project is carried out pursuant to Court order. A Court order filed on May 26, 2005, orders and requires DOI to award a contract which will capture, archive, and produce certain Court specified Interior e-mails. As proposed by DOI and agreed to by the Court, the vendor to provide these services is Zantaz. Due to the very specific knowledge, expertise and experience gained by Zantaz performing under this ongoing litigation, it would be an unacceptable legal risk for DOI to attempt a transition of duties and services in any reasonable time and avoid potentially adverse discontinued services, evidentiary rulings, possible contempt allegations, and increased costs in the form of sanctions and the need to defend against new or renewed allegations relating to e-mail non-compliance. The period of performance for this effort is for one base year from date of award, with four option years. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities by April 29, 2008 via email to [email protected]. This is NOT a request for competitive proposals. However, all information received will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this action based on 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.