OS COMET - License Renewal and Maint (№3851230)

1. This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

The Engineering directorate at Kennedy Space Center requires a sole source acquisition for OS/COMET software licenses and maintenance renewal from Peraton (formerly Harris IT Services Corporation). The software licenses and maintenance are required to provide continued support for the Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS).

This requirement has been procured in the past as a sole source requirement from the software manufacturer, Harris IT Services Corporation, as they are the sole distributor. This current action is for new licenses and renewal of the existing OS/COMET software maintenance agreement. Harris IT Services Corporation is now Peraton.

3. Description of the supplies or services required (including the estimated value):

These OS/COMET annual software maintenance renewals require Peraton to provide the Government with receiving patch version, minor point release versions, and e-mail and telephone technical support. This software is used in the development, testing, and production of next generation launch support and ground systems. Continued maintenance is required to provide the core command and telemetry processing capabilities, and new licenses and maintenance are required to expand the capabilities of the SCCS. This effort will include two, one-year options for annual software maintenance renewals of all licenses purchased and renewed under the base contract.

4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

Pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if the Contracting Officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name or industrial mobilization). In addition, in accordance with FAR 13.5, this acquisition will be conducted utilizing simplified acquisition procedures as it is below the $7 million threshold. This requirement meets the definition of a commercial item in accordance with FAR 2.101.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor"s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The requested licenses and maintenance are specifically designated to be compliant with the existing licensed software products, operating systems, and hardware platforms, and cannot be substituted with another manufacturer"s product. No other product is compatible with NASA"s current architecture. Purchasing a maintenance renewal is significantly less costly than replacing the OS/COMET software that has been integrated into, and is currently being used, in the SCCS. The purchase of new software would require the redevelopment of software efforts, including research, development, integration, verification and validation tasks performed over multiple years. Changing the underlying vendor software for such a vital piece of the system at this stage in the process would not be possible. Therefore, continued software maintenance from Peraton is necessary.

6. Description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable:

Market research was conducted to identify potential sources that could meet the requirements for this effort. However, as discussed in Item 8, Peraton is the sole distributor of the requested maintenance renewals. No other contractor has the capability to meet the requirements without substantial duplications of costs to the Government.

In accordance with FAR 5.203, KSC will post a synopsis of the proposed contract action through the Government-wide Point of Entry on the Federal Business Opportunities Web portal. Any information received in response to the synopsis will be evaluated to determine whether additional sources could meet the requirements of this effort within the required schedule and without substantial duplication of costs to the Government.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

It is anticipated that the Contracting Officer will find the final, agreed-to price fair and reasonable based upon comparison to historical prices paid pursuant to FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii).

8. Description of the market survey conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market survey was not conducted:

Market research was performed on a recent procurement for this effort in accordance with FAR Part 10. The Procurement office attempted to obtain competition through NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement, and through numerous Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) such as GSA Schedule 70, DoD Enterprise Software Initiative, and other GWACs on Acquisition.GOV. The results revealed that this acquisition cannot be procured through these methods. Additionally, Peraton provided the enclosed manufacturer letter stating that it is the sole distributor of the requested maintenance renewals and that no other contractor or contractor vehicle exists as an alternate method for procurement.

9. Other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition, such as:

Peraton is uniquely qualified to provide these services to the Government because the requirement is for maintenance of existing proprietary OS/COMET software, and it is the sole distributor of the requested maintenance renewal. No other contractor or contract vehicle exists as an alternate method for procurement as substantiated by the manufacturer"s enclosed letter.

10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed in writing an interest in the acquisition:

No sources have expressed an interest in this acquisition.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the Agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

Market research will continue to be conducted to determine if any other vendors have the capability to meet NASA KSC"s future requirements.