Sole Source: Terrasolid Software Maintenance award to Vertical Aspect LLC

NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, ON BEHALF OF NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY (NGS) OFFICE, NEGOTIATED, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 12.102(A), WITH VERTICAL ASPECT LLC OUT OF KANSAS CITY MO TO PROVIDE TERRASOLID SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE.

THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT THE TECHNOLOGIES USED BY NOAA’S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) FOR SHORELINE MAPPING ARE REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES SUCH AS ANALOG FILM, DIGITAL IMAGERY AND AIRBORNE TOPOGRAPHIC LIDAR. THESE TECHNOLOGIES PRODUCE EXTREMELY LARGE DATASETS AND EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED TO MANAGE, VISUALIZE, EDIT, AND ANALYZE THE OUTPUT.

MOST COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING SOFTWARE PACKAGES REQUIRE DATA TO BE SUBSET INTO SMALL SECTIONS FOR PROCESSING OR VISUALIZATION. TERRASOLID IS UNIQUE IN ITS ABILITY TO MANAGE WORKFLOWS, ALLOW FOR IMPORT OF LARGE LIDAR DATA SETS FOR VISUALIZATION, EDITING, AND ANALYSIS. TERRASOLID ALSO IS UNIQUE IN ITS CAPABILITY TO APPLY LIDAR STRIP AND CALIBRATION ERROR ADJUSTMENTS. VERTICAL ASPECT, LLC IS THE ONLY U.S. DISTRIBUTOR OF TERRASOLID SOFTWARE.

CURRENTLY, TERRASOLID SOFTWARE IS FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE LIDAR PROCESSING WORKFLOW MENTIONED ABOVE. VERTICAL ASPECT IS THE SOLE PROVIDER OF THE TERRASOLID SOFTWARE. TERRASOLID IS UNIQUE IN ITS ABILITY TO (1) MANAGE WORKFLOWS, ALLOW FOR IMPORT OF LARGE LIDAR DATA SETS FOR VISUALIZATION, EDITING, AND ANALYSIS, AND, (2) APPLY LIDAR STRIP AND CALIBRATION ERROR ADJUSTMENTS.

VERTICAL ASPECT IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY SOFTWARE VENDOR OF THESE LICENSES THAT NGS IS CURRENTLY UTILIZING TO QUALITY CONTROL AND PROCESS COASTAL MAPPING DATA. CURRENTLY TERRASOLID SOFTWARE IS FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE NOS/NGS LIDAR PROCESSING WORKFLOW. NOT PURCHASING THESE LICENSES WOULD CAUSE NOAA TO BE UNABLE TO REVIEW THE QUALITY OF THE DATA TO ENSURE ITS INTEGRITY AND ACCURACY.

FURTHERMORE, NOT PURCHASING THESE LICENSES WOULD PREVENT NGS FROM CONTINUING ITS PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION TO OTHERS WHO RELY ON THE DATA. THIS CONTRACT IS NECESSARY TO AVOID A BREAK IN SERVICE FOR THIS CRITICAL MISSION REQUIREMENT. TERRASOLID POSSESSES THE UNIQUE CAPABILITY TO IMPORT LARGE LIDAR DATA SETS FOR VISUALIZATION, EDITING, AND ANALYSIS REQUIRED TO PERFORM THIS REQUIREMENT. NO OTHER SOURCES CAN FURNISH THE REQUIREMENTS AS TERRASOLID IS A PROPRIETY PRODUCT.

NO ONE BUT VERTICAL ASPECT HAS THE SOURCE CODE TO PROVIDE THIS PRODUCT, LICENSE, OR MAINTENANCE SERVICES. SINCE THE SOURCE CODE IS PROPRIETARY, NO OTHER VENDOR CAN PROVIDE THIS. VERTICAL ASPECT IS THE ONLY SOURCE AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. WHO CAN PROVIDE THIS REQUIREMENT.