eLease This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) Part 12 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation is issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 511210 with a small business size standard of $21,000,000 annual gross receipts for a period of three years. General Services Administration (GSA), Public Buildings Service (PBS), Physical Capital Asset Management Division (PGE), is requesting services for the Software Tool Evaluation for eLease Present Value Calculation. eLease is designed to help Realty Specialists (RS) perform their work electronically. An important part of the leasing process is to receive and process offers of space available for leasing. In order to accomplish these tasks, the RS has to enter data about each offer into the eLease application, which will then perform calculations and return the Present Value (PV), a value important to the decision-making process. Currently, the RS uses Excel spreadsheets with formulas to calculate the PV. The formulas in these spreadsheets change over time, so at any time it is possible that an RS is working with an outdated version of the PV spreadsheet. In addition, the uninitiated Excel spreadsheet user could commit basic mistakes such as erasing or changing a formula, which could unintentionally lead to the wrong PV Analysis. Also, it is expected that the PV Analysis formulas will change frequently, at minimum on an annual basis. As a solution, eLease was requested to provide the RS with data entry screens to collect offer data and to perform the PV Analysis calculation. The technology identified to leverage the solution involves a server-side Excel spreadsheet calculation tool. This tool will minimize end-user errors. Furthermore, the server-side Excel spreadsheet calculation tool is a far more maintainable solution since any changes to the formulas are done in one place on the server and all eLease users will have immediate access to the new formula. Since the eLease server is run on UNIX, the server-side spreadsheet calculation is required to run on this platform. Unfortunately, our research has resulted in only two companies that have this type of product that can be used in the eLease implementation. There are several product-neutral requirements for the Present Value Analysis module of eLease. The product must be able to: - Run on the UNIX platform, because eLease servers run on UNIX - Run on any server (be Java-based) - Remain threadsafe, because eLease is a multi-threaded application - Read data from the eLease database and populate a spreadsheet template (stored on the server) with the data - Perform numerous calculations, embedded in the spreadsheet template, on the imported data - Store the calculated results back into the eLease database - Handle as many Excel functions as are feasible given the server-side nature of the implementation, because the formulas change regularly The Formula One e.Spreadsheet Engine is a unique match for the needs of eLease. It is Java-based, threadsafe, and runs on UNIX. It can read data from a database or from a Web form, perform calculations, and send the results back to the server for database storage. Formula One can handle 326 of the 329 Excel functions; the three that are not implemented are deemed impractical to be run on server-side. Formula One is easy to use and has a small footprint of 6MB. It is also highly likely that Formula One will be able to remain up-to-date with new releases of Microsoft Excel, because it is a market leader. It offers excellent maintenance and support. Pricing for Formula One is on a per-server basis, not a per-CPU basis, and so if eLease servers are ever upgraded, additional license fees will not apply. Formula One’s robust functionality also could be extremely useful for other modules in eLease, and even perhaps other applications yet to be designed, developed, and eventually run on the eLease servers. Finally, Formula One has the ability to dynamically generate and deliver fully editable Excel files as reports such as outlining and charts files. Formula One also provides a spreadsheet-like interface that can be embedded in an application. This interface functions like Excel and in addition, changes in the interface’s grid can be saved as a real Excel file. These features are unique to Formula One. The Contractor shall submit their proposals for the following items: A total of three (3) servers will require licenses – one for development, one for testing (IV&V), and one for production. Formula One’s pricing does not take into account the number of CPUs in the servers; therefore we will require three server licenses and three server support packages. In addition, there will be two people working simultaneously at any given time with the software: either two developers or a developer and a tester, depending on the stage of development. Therefore, we also need two developer licenses and developer support packages. 01 Formula One e.Spreadsheet Engine Service (Qty: 3) 02 Server Support and Maintenance (Qty: 3) 03 Formula One e.Spreadsheet Engine Developer (Qty: 2) 04 Developer Support and Maintenance (Qty: 2) (Delivery must be made within 7 days.) Submission of Proposals: The contractor shall submit their proposal on or before 12:00p, June 29, 2005. All questions are due on or before 12:00p, June 27, 2005. The NAICS code for this requirement is 511210 ($21M annual gross receipts for three years). Proposals will be evaluated based on the lowest price to the government. Offerors must submit their final proposals for evaluation. Proposals must be submitted (hard copies) to 1800 F Street, NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20405. The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions are hereby applicable and incorporated by reference: 1) The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items; and 3) The provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the Online Offeror Representations and Certifications Application. Please refer to http://www.orca.bpn.gov. A completed copy of the Representations and Certifications should be included with the offer. The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses are hereby applicable and incorporated by reference: 1) The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items; and 2) The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items; 3) The clause at 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases; and 3) The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items (ALT I). The following General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) clauses are hereby incorporated by reference: 1) The clause at 552.212-71, Contract Terms and Conditions Applicable to GSA Acquisition of Commercial Items (MAR 1998) is hereby incorporated by reference; clauses, 552.215-70, 552.228-70, 552.229-70, 552.232-70, apply to this solicitation and any resultant contract. This acquisition is set-aside for small business concerns. The government anticipates a Firm-fixed price contract. All offerors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) before being considered for award. Information concerning CCR requirements may be viewed via Internet at www.ccr.gov or by calling 1-888-227-2423. Offerors must submit their proposal to Ms. Paris N. Marshall by mail, email (
[email protected]) or fax (202-501-3836). For more information, please contact Ms. Paris N. Marshall on 202-219-1368.