FILE | R | NetApp Support - Attachment

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JULY 25, 2012 FBO #3896
DOCUMENT

R -- NetApp Support - Attachment

Notice Date: 7/23/2012
Notice Type: Attachment
NAICS: 541519 — Other Computer Related Services
Contracting Office: Department of Veterans Affairs;Technology Acquisition Center;260 Industrial Way West;Eatontown NJ 07724
ZIP Code: 07724
Solicitation Number: VA11812Q0442
Archive Date: 10/30/2012
Point of Contact: Joseph Pignataro
E-Mail Address: 8-5544<br
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Award Number: NNG07DA23B VA118-12-F-0311
Award Date: 7/23/2012
Awardee: MERLIN INTERNATIONAL, INC.;4 B INVERNESS CT E STE 100;ENGLEWOOD;CO;801125324
Award Amount: $93,591.23
Description: JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL DOCUMENT FOR EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY 1.Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Acquisition Operations Technology Acquisition Center 260 Industrial Way West Eatontown, New Jersey 07724 2.Description of Action: The proposed action is for a firm-fixed-price delivery order issued under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solutions for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP) IV, Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), for annual maintenance and support of existing NetApp Storage Array used by Enterprise Testing Services (ETS). The total period of performance for this effort will be a base year and two (2) option years. 3.Description of Supplies or Services: VA requires annual maintenance and support of existing NetApp Storage Array used by ETS. The maintenance agreement shall provide ongoing maintenance and support services for the existing ETS installation of the NetApp Storage Array product. This support and maintenance shall consist of any and all manufacturer-released software updates, patches and versions for the existing installation. In addition, the contractor shall provide replacement hardware components for any failed hardware component. The support and maintenance shall also include access to the manufacturer's approved support resources such as help-desk and consultation services for the purposes of resolving problems, issues, and questions concerning the existing installation of software. The maintenance and support will cover a NetApp Storage Array with two (2) controllers. In addition, the array has eight (8) disk drive shelves with each shelf containing 24 disks for a total of 192 disk drives. The Storage Array is currently installed in Austin, Texas. The total estimated price of the proposed action inclusive of the option years is 4.Statutory Authority: The statutory authority permitting this exception to fair opportunity is 41 U.S.C. 4106(c ) 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." 5.Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: ETS procured the NetApp storage array so that it could duplicate existing production systems in order to accurately test and measure new Information Technology (IT) products prior to their introduction into production environments. Part of the existing production HealtheVet architecture for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare systems uses a Storage Area Network (SAN) technology called Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) supplied by the manufacturer NetApp. ETS uses the iSCSI portion of the NetApp Storage Array in order to build duplicate systems for testing purposes. NetApp Storage Array is a proprietary system and the Storage Array consists of both hardware and software components that are specific to NetApp storage arrays. Due to the proprietary nature of this complex system, only NetApp or an authorized reseller of the product can provide the service being requested. No other brand will satisfy the Government's requirements. 6.Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. Limited competition is anticipated for the aforementioned brand NetApp maintenance and support. Furthermore, in accordance with FAR 5.3 and 16.505(b)(2), the contract award will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Page. In addition, this Justification and Approval (J&A) will be made publicly available on the FBO Page. 7.Actions to Increase Competition: Although the Government is limiting competition as a result of specifying a brand name, there are thirty two (32) authorized resellers of these products on the NASA SEWP IV contract. Competition for this requirement among these vendors is anticipated. In order to remove barrier to competition for future acquisitions, the agency will work with the program office to perform additional market research to consider alternate software solutions. 8.Market Research: The Government's technical experts conducted market research in May 2012 by contacting NetApp Corp due to the proprietary nature of both the hardware and software used by the NetApp storage array and requested a list of resellers that participate in the NASA's SEWP contract. Additional Market Research was conducted using the SEWP contract, utilizing the NASA SEWP IV Product Verification and Manufacturer Lookup tool. It was determined that there are thirty two (32) potential resellers as follows: five (5) Value-Added Reseller (VAR) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), six (6) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-aside (SDVOSB) VARs, 12 Small Business set-aside VARS, and nine (9) VARs. As a result, the research determined there is adequate competition among the resellers. Per the terms of the NASA SEWP IV contract, requirements for brand name specific equipment should be solicited to all four (4) contract groups (A, B, C and D) in order to fully notify all interested parties. However, since there is adequate competition among small businesses, quotes will only be accepted from Groups B and C. If no acceptable quote is received from either Group B or Group C, the Government reserves the right to increase competition and accept quotes from Group A and Group D. 9.Other Facts: N/A
Web Link: FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/49f374a18d18fdd75c50e3737368a51d)
Document(s): Attachment; File Name: NNG07DA23B VA118-12-F-0311 NNG07DA23B VA118-12-F-0311_1.doc (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=409787&FileName=NNG07DA23B-013.doc); Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=409787&FileName=NNG07DA23B-013.doc; Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
Record: SN02812255-W 20120725/120723235914-49f374a18d18fdd75c50e3737368a51d (fbodaily.com)
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R -- NetApp Support - Attachment