Brand Name Justification for Microsoft Azure Licenses

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is procuring Microsoft Azure licenses through a sole-source justification under FAR 6.302-1 to support its enterprise cloud infrastructure, ensuring operational continuity, licensing compliance, and cost efficiency across its Azure tenant. The acquisition, issued under solicitation HUD-NOF-0001 and posted on June 2, 2026, is structured as a firm fixed-price contract with a 12-month performance period, funded by FY2026 IT appropriations and executed via the NASA SEWP Governmentwide Acquisition Contract. Approximately 7,950 Azure license units are required to enable secure hosting, data storage, and application modernization, with delivery and performance occurring at HUD’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The justification identifies Microsoft Azure as the only technically suitable and economically feasible platform, supported by market research that contacted 127 vendors but identified only three capable resellers—Four Points Technology, LLC and Minburn Technology Group—both designated as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. No competitive bidding is permitted, and no evaluation factors, scoring criteria, or trade-off methodology are outlined since the acquisition is non-competitive by authority of sole-source provisions. The procurement complies with FAR Subpart 13.5 and FAR 5.102(a)(6), but no security clearances, organizational conflict of interest clauses, or technical performance standards beyond licensing alignment are specified. The contracting officer and program office have certified the justification, authorizing the sole-source award up to $750,000 under simplified acquisition procedures, though the total contract value remains unreported. Point of contact for the acquisition is Xochitl G. Diaz, with Dwayne Gist serving as the contracting officer, while no Contracting Officer’s Representative has been designated. The contract does not include formal clauses, inspection criteria, packaging requirements, invoicing details, or payment office information beyond the agency’s general administrative details.