SOLE SOURCE AWARD: ERDAS IMAGINE SOFTWARE LICENSES

NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, ON BEHALF OF NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY (NGS), REMOTE SENSING DIVISION, NEGOTIATED, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 12.102(A), WITH HEXAGON US FEDERAL INC. OUT OF HUNTSVILLE, AL TO PROVIDE ERDAS IMAGINE SOFTWARE LICENSES.

THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT FOR ERDAS SOFTWARE LICENSES AND MAINTENANCE. THE REQUIREMENT IS TO PROVIDE LICENSES FOR ERDAS SOFTWARE FOR NGS. THIS WILL ALLOW NGS TO CONTINUE TO PROCESS DATA THEREBY ALLOWING THE NGS TO ACCOMPLISH ITS MISSION OF PROCESSING RAW LIDAR DATA INTO MODELS. THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) IS CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED TO SURVEY THE NATIONAL SHORELINE.

CURRENTLY, THE TECHNOLOGIES USED BY NOS FOR SHORELINE MAPPING ARE REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES SUCH AS ANALOG FILM, DIGITAL IMAGERY, HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGERY, AND AIRBORNE TOPOGRAPHIC LIDAR. THESE TECHNOLOGIES PRODUCE EXTREMELY LARGE DATASETS AND SOFTWARE IS NEEDED TO MANAGE, PROCESS, VISUALIZE, AND ANALYZE THE OUTPUT. THE ERDAS SOFTWARE SUPPORTS THE EXPLOITATION OF THESE TYPES OF REMOTELY SENSED DATA COLLECTED BY NGS/RSD IN A RESEARCH MODE.

THIS SOFTWARE ALSO ALLOWS FOR THE AUTOMATIC EXTRACTION OF FEATURES IN THE CLASSIFIED ARENA IN AN AUTOMATED FASHION. THE ERDAS SOFTWARE HAS BEEN CITED AS AN INTEGRAL AND POWERFUL COMPONENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF COASTAL MAPPING AND AIRPORT SURVEY PROGRAMS DELIVERABLES. CURRENTLY, THE ERDAS SOFTWARE IS FULLY INTEGRATED INTO NGS’S AIRBORNE TOPOGRAPHIC LIDAR PROCESSING WORKFLOW.

NOT PURCHASING THESE LICENSES WOULD CAUSE NOAA TO NOT BE ABLE TO VISUALIZE, PROCESS AND QUALITY CONTROL THE DATA TO ENSURE ITS INTEGRITY AND ACCURACY, AND WOULD HINDER THE PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION TO OTHER CONTRACTS RELYING ON THIS DATA.

THE ERDAS SOFTWARE DEVELOPED BY HEXAGON US FEDERAL, INC. THEREFORE, THE LICENSING OF THE NEEDED SOFTWARE USED TO PROCESS, VISUALIZE, ANALYZE, AND OUTPUT THE ACQUIRED DATA IS AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH HEXAGON US FEDERAL, INC. THE COMPANY DOES NOT SELL OR RESELL ANY PRODUCTS TO DISTRIBUTORS OR DISTRIBUTORS AND IT THE SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER FOR ALL OF ITS PRODUCTS. HEXAGON FEDERAL IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE SOFTWARE BEING REQUIRED.