Sole Source/Notice of Intent

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) agency proposes to enter into a contract on a basis other than full and open competition, negotiate a sole source, firm fixed-price contract with Softech & Associates in support of the Financial Document Imaging System (FDIS) using simplified acquisition procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13.5.

Financial Document Imaging System (FDIS) is an automation system accessed and used internally by USDA personnel to permanently index and store specific financial documents related to USDA Farmers, ranchers, and others (classified as producers). The FDIS system consists of a hybrid collection of interacting servers, storage devices, software, special programs, and services.

Multiple teams within the USDA provide infrastructure (servers, servers OS, storage appliances, networks, networking equipment, security appliances, datacenter, and facility), operational personnel, and other necessary structural support to host the FDIS application for multiple software environments (Development, Certification Test, Production and Disaster Recovery).

The required services need to cover routine maintenance and enhancements to a component of the FDIS, specifically known as IBM P8 FILENET Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) software. The FILENET software stores claims and debt documentation used for a variety of business functions. The stored images are maintained as official proof for Farm Services Agency (FSA)’s claims, retention of correspondence with debtors and legal counsel, corrections of IRS forms, and supporting audit documentation.

The USDA version of FILENET is comprised of customized software coding and applications tailored to meet USDA - Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) business needs for inputting, storing, and retrieving images specifically related to Program Financial Services (PFS).

The only official IBM Primary Support Provider (PSP) with ownership of rights to entitlements for customized coding and applications required to provide the services and support unique to IBM P8 FILENET and its customized software parts is Softech & Associates. The intended procurement will be classified under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services with a Small Business Size standard of $34 million. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation documents exist for this requirement.