A -- Protected Software Adoption and Sustainment Reserarch

NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT FOR PROTECTED SOFTWARE ADOPTION AND SUSTAINMENT RESEARCH. The Air Force and Department of Defense (DoD) are determined to be more proactive in protecting DoD weapon systems and information systems that are critical enablers of U.S. military combat power. Due to known threat scenarios, critical national security software must be protected from inception through operational execution. Tools, technologies, and techniques must be developed to provide robust protection of software code during its entire life cycle: development and test; distribution to operational sites, and deployment in weapon systems and/or information systems. Development of such tools, technologies and techniques demands specialized and detailed knowledge, skills, and expertise in select high-target national security codes; currently deployed anti-tamper techniques and programs; and high-assurance system security principles, policies, and procedures. In addition to protecting critical DoD software, the AT-SPI office has a responsibility to study the impact that software protection has on system administrators, end users, distributors, and all parties who are in contact with that software. Two important components of the overall impact of software protection on the DoD are adoption and sustainment impacts. The AT-SPI office has protected several codes for the DoD, including the electromagnetic simulation code, Xpatch. Xpatch has an established user base, and is used at 165 DoD and contractor sites across the country, with more than 1000 licenses issued. Due to its wide use, Xpatch represents the primary source of data as the AT-SPI office studies these impacts. The objective of this effort is to study impact that software protection has on the adoption and sustainment of selected software applications. The parameters to be studied include, but are not limited to, time and effort, cost (both hard cost and labor cost), training requirements, documentation production, integration testing, and logistical issues. Through this effort, Science Applications International Corporation will develop metrics and schemes for their collection and measurement. Through the distribution of the Xpatch suite and other applications protected by the Software Protection Center, empirical data will be collected and distilled into adoption and sustainment data. From this data, Science Applications International Corporation will develop a framework, model or tool for predicting parameters, such as cost, associated with adoption and sustainment of software applications utilizing the Software Protection Center's software protection. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/SNT) intends to award on the basis of less than full-and-open competition a contract to Science Applications International Corporation, Champaign, IL, a large business. Vendors capable of providing the requirements stated above shall fully identify their interest and submit, in writing, information documenting their qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements stated above within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Responses received after 15 days or without the required information will be considered non-responsive to the synopsis, and will not be considered. Other business opportunities for the Air Force Research Laboratory are available at www.fedbizopps.gov. Direct questions to the Contracting point of contact identified in the announcement.