Purchase of Additional IBM Licenses and Maintenance Support

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid intends to modify an existing award with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), 800 N Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg MD 20879 on a Other than Full and Open Competition basis. Maintenance support is being procured for FSA applications CPS and NSLDS. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.253(c)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1 entitled, "Only One Responsible Source." This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 8.405-6(a)(2) provides the authority to restrict consideration of sources if it pertains "To an item peculiar to one manufacturer (e.g., a particular brand name, product, or a feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturer). A brand name item, whether available on one or more schedule contracts, is an item peculiar to one manufacturer. Brand name specifications shall not be used unless the particular brand name, product, or feature is essential to the Government's requirements, and market research indicates other companies' similar products, or products lacking the particular feature, do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet, the agency's needs".