Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source - AVID Symphony Software & Hardware Maintenance

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. This is notice of intent to award sole source. The required item for this posting is AVID Symphony software (Part# 0541-03354-01) and hardware maintenance (Part# 0441-03369-01) that the government intends to award sole source under statutory authority 10 USC 2304(c)(1), set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. Note - No award will be issued from responses to this notice. Response to this notice does not legally bind the government in any manner. Your concerns will be considered if you respond to this posting with a similar product/service. United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), 7701 Tampa Point Blvd, Tampa, FL 33621, requires renewal of AVID Symphony software and hardware maintenance. The 6th Contracting Squadron intends to make an award to AVID TECHNOLOGY, 1101 PENN AVE NW STE 600, Washington, DC 20004-2514. Interested parties may e-mail joseph.sherwood@macdill.af.mil or fax 813-828-5111, SSgt Joseph Sherwood, not later than Wednesday 23 July 2008; 10:00 a.m. EST. Per FAR Part 5.207-13(e) Fed Biz Ops Numbered Note 22 applies. The reference of a 45-day response period is hereby changed to the match the response period for this notice. V. DEMONSTRATION THAT THE CONTRACTORS UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE (APPLICABILITY OF AUTHORITY) AVID Technology is the current manufacturer of the digital video editing equipment utilized by USSOCOM. USSOCOM requires this equipment to fulfill video editing requirements in support of the USSOCOM mission. Without this software there would be a major decrease in mission capability. Use of this software is instrumental in ensuring accuracy to critical Command and Control resources. USSOCOM believes award for another product would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition. The additional costs include duplication of effort, testing and operational readiness, certification and accreditation, operational compatibility and continuity with the current network architecture, and the risk associated to downtime and lack of coverage during a replacement phase of new technology. AVID Technology provided the following statement in writing to 6 CONS, "To best serve the particular needs of AVID's government customers, AVID's commercial resellers, which are generally unfamiliar with operative and administrative requirements of the federal procurement process, are contractually prohibited from selling AVID editing products and AVID assurance to the federal government." AVID Technology thus has proprietary rights and licensing rights to the required services and updates and no other vendors can provide the maintenance service and upgrades required on the AVID software.