70 -- Brand Name Justification for Cisco Router Products

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) plans to procure “brand name” Cisco router products to support existing Cisco hardware infrastructure that is installed and in production for the USPTO’s automated information systems (AISs). This announcement is considered a “brand name” justification. This acquisition will be conducted utilizing Part 13 of the FAR, Simplified Acquisition procedures, and the test program authorized in FAR subpart 13.5, and the Patent and Trademark Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG). The acquisition will be conducted utilizing existing Blanket Purchase Agreements for Information Technology products within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Cisco networks hardware is the USPTO’s established standard based commercial product for its AISs in accordance with the USPTO’s Technical Reference Model (TRM). It is essential that the USPTO acquire Cisco router products to maintain the continuity of the network traffic and business processes and maintain compatibility. In addition, purchase of the same Cisco hardware will reduce and/or share the cost of spares with other network projects, and reduce the maintenance cost by not having to maintain different similar functioning products. Purchase of different hardware will require additional engineering design and training, component testing, system testing, etc. to ensure reliability and compatibility testing which will delay the mission critical project time and increase the costs beyond the budget limits. If you have questions regarding this notice, they may be addressed by email to Sylvia Van Dyke at [email protected].