NOTICE OF INTENT

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE - THIS IS A NOTICE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENT TO ISSUE A SOLE SOURCE AWARD TO APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC. (AIS) FOR CONTINUATION OF EXISTING MISSION ESSENTIAL WORK FOR THE OSD COMMUNITY. Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Acquisition Directorate intends to extend the performance period on task order W74V8H-04-D-0079-0027 issued to Applied Information Sciences, Inc. the incumbent contractor, on a sole source basis under authority of FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), only one responsible source and no other services will satisfy the agency's requirements. This task order extension will provide for an approximate 30-day transition phase with performance currently projected to commence June 1, 2011 under the follow-on competitive task orders that are projected to be awarded in late May 2011 after award of the basic multiple award contracts that are scheduled to be awarded the week by mid-April 2011, resulting from Net-Centric Integrated Enterprise Information Technology Solutions (NIEITS) RFP HQ0034-10-R-0046. The delay in issuing the awards for the follow-on acquisition is due to the efficiency initiatives of the Secretary of Defense to reduce overhead costs, and eliminate redundant functions. As part of the Secretary of Defense initiatives, WHS and Information Technology Management Directorate have been consolidated, with a planned Initial Operational Capability (IOC) date of May 1, 2011. As a result of the consolidation, the Government's intent to award task orders concurrent with the award of basic contracts under the above RFP is no longer possible because the Government's requirements have changed. The Government intends to compete new task order requirements under fair opportunity procedures after the award of the Basic Contracts. The existing task order with Applied Information Sciences, Inc. will be extended for three (3) months from April 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011, and will include three (3) one-month option periods. The options are only being included to allow the Government to extend the performance period on a month-to-month basis in the event award and/or performance under the follow-on competitive awards is delayed. This action is necessary in order to maintain continuity of vital mission essential recurring services for IT systems and business applications, affecting operations within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Pentagon, and National Capital Region. Operations services include IT Helpdesk and Application Support, Security Support, Project Management and Coordination, and Engineering Support. Both the Operations and Engineering services provide support to a customer base of approximately 1,000+ users. The user base is located predominately in the Pentagon and at several alternate sites in the National Capital Region. Applied Information Sciences, Inc. is the only source that can provide uninterrupted service with no degradation in support as they hold critical knowledge and expertise which are vital to the continued operations of the IT infrastructure, business applications, and processes, while the Government completes the awards for the follow-on acquisition. If this requirement is awarded to a new contractor, major disruptions will occur as the new contractor learns to operate and maintain the numerous unique and specialized applications within a very short period of time and for a very short period of time. Award to any other source during this interim period would result in a lapse in service which would result in mission failure. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition pending award of the follow-on contract would be advantageous to the Government. If no affirmative written response is received, the award will be issued without further notice. Interested parties may identify their capabilities with respect to this requirement by Thursday, March 17, 2011. However, all information received will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this action based on this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541513 with a size standard of $25.0 million.