Description
JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL (J&A) FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION - FAR PART 13 The proposed contract action, as detailed below, is pursuant to FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) - soliciting from a single source, for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. Although there is no requirement for a formal J&A under FAR PART 13, this documentation functions as a justification for the restriction of consideration to a single source and utilizes the format listed at FAR Subpart 6.303-2 as a guideline only. The following facts and rationale are as follows: 1. Agency and Contracting Activity: Department of Defense (DOD) Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Acquisition Directorate (AD) 1225 S Clark Street, Suite 1202 Arlington, VA 22202 2. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved: Estimated Contract Value: $120,000.00 Proposed Contract Type: Firm Fixed Period of Performance: 48 Months from the Date of Contract Award Proposed Contractor: Google, Inc. This J&A is initiated, on behalf of the DOD Defense Digital Service to a award contract, on a sole-source basis, to Google, Inc. (1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043) for up to 250 user licenses of its proprietary software. 3. Description of Supplies/Service: The Defense Digital Service (DDS) works on fast tempo, high stakes requirements utilizing a small highly specialized team of technology experts who require equally specialized and nimble tools to meet its mission. DDS Mission DDS was launched in November 2015 and formally codified under DoDD 5105.87 on January 5, 2017. DDS applies private sector best practices, talent, and technology to transform the way software products are built and delivered within DoD. The team is comprised of over 30 Digital Service Experts that come from top private sector technology companies (e.g., Palantir, Amazon) to serve two-year tours of duty as full-time federal employees working on some of the Pentagon's hardest software problems. To fulfill this mission, DDS focuses on: 1. Transforming critical services: We are dedicated to measurably improving DoD's most important software efforts. We help to manage technology projects relying on (1) a user-centered design framework to prioritize a user-centered design framework to prioritize software development work; and (2) modern software development practices to enable iterative development and the ability to rapidly respond to change and feedback. 2. Bringing top technical talent into public service: In support of these goals, we recruit top technologists for term-limited tours of duty with DoD. We will encourage a tradition of public service in the technology industry that will support the ongoing improvement of DoD digital services. 3. Technology policy: Where applicable, we intend to inform and reform DoD technology policy to leverage lessons learned from private sector innovation. The DDS Approach To maximize the usefulness of resources and manage the team in a sustainable way, DDS fully supports a smaller number of projects, rather than partially supporting a large number. DDS focuses on projects that advance DoD's most important initiatives - those that are critical to the well-being of Service members, civilian employees, and core operations of the Department. In addition to those focus areas, DDS engages in tangential issues that arise (e.g., supporting back-end infrastructure, policy considerations, and legal implications). DDS engages with each project during a scoped timeframe, and establishes clear exit criteria for each project in concurrence with the relevant DoD senior and project-level leadership. DDS role may be in the development of new code, product management, advising on code development processes and releases, and hacking or rewriting existing policies or processes that are antiquated, unnecessary, and/or redundant. DDS engagements typically start with a "micro-sprint" through which a team of 2-3 DDS Digital Service Experts spends 1-2 days evaluating a problem set to determine whether it meets DDS project criteria. If the project meets the aforementioned criteria, DDS will send a team of 4-6 DDS Digital Service Experts to conduct an on-site "discovery sprint" study (typically 2 weeks) of the problem. The discovery sprint findings are then shared with DoD Leadership and the relevant stakeholders and, if there is a fit and opportunity for impact, DDS will launch a longer 3-6 month engagement to implement some, or all, of the recommendations presented. For more on the overall DDS approach to projects and software development best practice, please reference the Digital Service Playbook (https://playbook.cio.gov/). DDS involvement in each of these projects is expected to save substantial resources for the Department and have a significant impact on the Department's ability to serve the warfighter and contribute to security across the globe. The Requirement In order for DDS to fulfill its mission, it requires access to cloud-based tools and products that are considered best-in-class in the private sector. Specifically, DDS requires the ability to procure up to 250 user licenses of Google, Inc.'s ("Google") "G Suite for Business" product for the next four years. G Suite meets DDS's requirement of an unrestricted cloud-based team email, storage, productivity, and collaboration tool. All DDS team members require unique user accounts that are secured using leading private sector practices like two-factor authentication. Given the vast number of its projects, DDS requires the ability to work instantaneously across multiple platforms and sort projects through G Suite's unique share settings and integration with a easy-to-navigate email client that is centred around collaboration and communication to maximise team cohesion and adherence to leading private sector practices both in work and in culture The total estimated dollar value of this procurement is approximately $30,000 per year, for a total of $120,000. DDS has FY17 to FY20 Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funding to support this requirement. Line Item Description Number of Licenses Estimated Unit Price Subtotal Line Item G Suite - Year 1 250 $120.00 $30,000.00 G Suite - Year 2 250 $120.00 $30,000.00 G Suite - Year 3 250 $120.00 $30,000.00 G Suite - Year 4 250 $120.00 $30,000.00 Grand Total $120,000.00 4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition: The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 253(g)(1)(A) as implemented by FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) - soliciting from a single source, for purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. 5. Demonstration that the Contractor's Unique Qualifications or the Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited: Based on the Government's current market research, including input from numerous technical advisors, G Suite meets the aforementioned requirements. G Suite is a leading private-sector cloud-based app portfolio with recognizable components including Google Drive and Gmail. The service provides unlimited cloud storage on its plans for government and business, and allows for a collaborative work style that suits DDS's needs. When working on projects, DDS teams require and intimate understanding of others' progress and due to the intensity of their tasks, necessitate a method to obtain up-to-date information about their co-workers' progress. Google's online and cloud functionality allows simultaneous collaboration and instant syncing, preventing the time drain resulting from constant updates. The industry consensus is that G Suite's collaboration focus and features are unrivaled, due to this being the central focus during the development of the portfolio. Not only are the advantages collaborative, but they G Suite is on net a better investment, providing unlimited storage with its Business plan as opposed to Microsoft 365's charges to upgrade storage. Especially given DDS's continuing expansion and rapid onboarding, any data limitations, while currently not a significant hindrance, would be magnified in coming years. G Suite also boasts significant third-party app integration, more so than Microsoft 365. Slack, another app used by the team and essential to communication and collaboration, is already G Suite-integrated and is not as equally compatible with Microsoft 365. In addition, DDS's previous use of GSuite over the previous year means that a data transition to any other service would cost significant time and effort and hinder productivity for an undetermined amount of time. Emails, specifically, would be unable to be recovered. This cost is especially harmful given DDS's rapidfire work-style which focuses on high-impact short-term projects, in which even several days are crucial to project exploration micro-sprints, discovery sprints, and even a several month-long project, in which a single week can account for anywhere from 5% to 10% of all work time. For obvious reasons, the transfer cost alone should be heavily weighed. To the consideration of other alternatives, Apple's iWork is the closest to G Suite and Microsoft 356 and is yet another tool structured for both online and offline cooperation. Apple's suite of products includes 3 services, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, with paid iCloud storage and online access with an iCloud account. However, these products do not include an email account, which not only presents the issue of either securing a new email account or purchasing yet another subscription service like Microsoft 365's low-level plan or reverting back to the DoD's Microsoft Outlook, which in DDS's experience has hampered productivity, undermined its culture-change objectives in introducing private sector practices to DoD issues, and also limited accessibility due to the lack of mobile access to DoD emails. In addition, the transfer cost would still exist. Thus, to carry out its mission, DDS requires a quick, rapid, and collaborative environment that maximizes productivity in its work; internal and external research shows that G Suite's tools most closely align with those priorities. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source will be posted to Federal Business Opportunities website in accordance with FAR 5.207(c)(16). Per the Notice of Intent, WHS/AD requested any responsible sources may submit a capability statement which shall be considered by the agency for future procurements. If any responsible sources submit capability statements, WHS/AD and DDS will evaluate these submitted capabilities to help determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for future procurements. 7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government Will be Fair and Reasonable: The Contracting Officer will ensure that the resulting contract is fair and reasonable per FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(ii). The price will be determined fair and reasonable via the comparison of proposed price to historical prices paid, whether by the Government or other than the Government, for the same or similar items. 8. Description of Market Research Conducted. DDS conducted in-depth market research to determine whether G Suite meets its requirements. DDS vetted several tools through their websites, brief demos, and spoke with industry leading Digital Service Experts. 9. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition. N/A 10. 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. WHS/AD and DDS will continue to take action to remove or overcome any barriers to competition by evaluating any capability statements submitted in response to the Notice of Intent and continue to conduct market research to discover any emerging technology companies that can meet the salient characteristics of the Google Apps for Government. 11. TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. CHRIS LYNCH Director for Defense Digital Service OSD/DDS 12. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief (FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and 41 U.S.C. 253(f)(1)(A): CHANDA R. BROOKS Contracting Officer WHS/AD