J--Maintenance of Dictation System

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION FAR 6.302-1 - Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. 1. Identification of the Agency and the Contracting Activity: Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, 5000 W. National Ave. Bldg. 5, Milwaukee, WI 53295 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved: Maintenance and service of the Nuance Dictation System. 3. A Description of Supplies/Services required: The Nuance Corporation is the sole source provider of the maintenance and service to the products it manufactures. Nuance is the only Company that can provide maintenance and service for the upgrade for the Enterprise Express System; the Build 6.x to 7.x Voice/Text Software Version; and all future upgrades. This dictation and speech recognition system supports Enterprise-Wide Medical Transcription for the Medical Center, as well as the clinical staff at the CBOC's. The Dictaphone Enterprise Speech system has a wide range of speech-driven dictation options that match our diverse workflow and changing documentation needs, all on one single platform. 4. Statutory Authority permitting other than full and open competition: 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. (a) Authority. (1) Citations: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) or 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1). 5. Facilities Unique Qualifications: Nuance is the only Company that can provide maintenance and service for the upgrade for the Enterprise Express System; the Build 6.x to 7.x Voice/Text Software Version; and all future upgrades. The Nuance / Dictaphone software is integrated with the Milwaukee VA's Vista data base system. Nuance supports ongoing maintenance and servicing of the hardware and software of the dictation/transcription system which contains proprietary information. 6. Efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable: The Small Purchase Center and Contract Service Center conducted research and the facility concluded there were no viable GSA contracts for the product. Contracting Officer emailed 3 vendors from the GSA schedule. Two vendors did not respond and one responded that they cannot provide the level of service requested. 7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable: Price was compared and confirmed with the end user on past purchases for the same or similar type equipment and is comparable. 8. Market survey conducted: The facility was provided information of similar services available. The facility conducted further market research and indicated the services did not meet their minimum needs. Contracting Officer also emailed 3 vendors from the GSA schedule. Since this is a unique request, no further market research was conducted. 9. Other facts: None 10. Other sources expressing an interest: None 11. Actions to remove or overcome any barriers to competition: The enduser and contracting officer conducted market research. Contract Officer posted an intent to sole source on January 19th 2011 and received only one response. After further discussion, the company responded that they could not provide the level of services that was needed in the statement of work. 12. Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge. Ashley Johnson Contracting Officer