InfoReliance Corporation

B-413298 Sep 19, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights InfoReliance Corporation, of Fairfax, Virginia, a large business concern, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. RFQP0700NAS160879A, issued by the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), to holders of General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts for Amazon Web Services. InfoReliance argues that the agency's decision to set aside the procurement for small business concerns was unreasonable because no small business will be able to comply with the limitation on subcontracting for the required services. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  InfoReliance Corporation File:  B-413298 Date:  September 19, 2016 William A. Shook, Esq., Law Offices of William A. Shook PLLC, for the protester. William D. Robinson, Esq., and Sarah Bloom, Esq., Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons; Sam Q. Le, Esq., and John W. Klein, Esq., Small Business Administration; and Michael D. Tully, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agencies. Louis A. Chiarella, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging an agency’s small business set-aside decision under a procurement conducted pursuant to the Federal Supply Schedule procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 8.4 is denied where the protester does not show that the agency violated any law or regulation; the decision whether to set aside such an order is within the discretion of the contracting agency. DECISION InfoReliance Corporation, of Fairfax, Virginia, a large business concern, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. RFQP0700NAS160879A, issued by the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), to holders of General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts for Amazon Web Services.  InfoReliance argues that the agency’s decision to set aside the procurement for small business concerns was unreasonable because no small business will be able to comply with the limitation on subcontracting for the required services. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFQ, issued under the FSS procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4 as a small business set-aside, sought Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing services for maintaining the bop.gov website.[1]  In general terms, the RFQ’s statement of work requires the contractors to:  (1) provide a mechanism for billing pass-through via CloudWatch; (2) provide real-time billing access; (3) configure complete administrator access and privileges to enable the agency to monitor its AWS environment; and (4) provide as needed miscellaneous technical support for cloud computing assessments, technical architecture design, and migration and maintenance support of cloud solutions.[2]  RFQ at 18-19; Contracting Officer’s Statement, July 21, 2016, at 2. The RFQ provided for the issuance of multiple blanket purchase agreements (BPA), with fixed unit prices, for a base year and four 1-year options.[3]  RFQ at 17.  Vendors were informed that BPA award would be made on a low-price, technically acceptable basis, considering technical capability, past performance, and price.  RFQ at 26-27. In determining to set aside the RFQ for small businesses, the BOP conducted market research and identified the small business concerns holding FSS contracts that could provide AWS cloud computing services.[4]  The contracting officer’s initial research found three eligible small businesses.  Contracting Officer’s Statement, July 21, 2016, at 3.  However, the contracting officer subsequently determined that within FSS Schedule 70 (General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services), two special item numbers (SIN) covered cloud computing services--SIN 132-40 (Cloud Computing Services) and SIN 132-52 (Electronic Commerce and Subscription Services).  Based on this expanded search, the contracting officer identified at least eight small businesses that were authorized resellers of AWS cloud services.  Id.; AR, Tab 4, Small Business Set-Aside Determination, May 31, 2016, at 1.  The contracting officer thereafter concluded that there was a reasonable expectation that two or more small businesses would respond to the solicitation.  AR, Tab 4, Small Business Set-Aside Determination, May 31, 2016, at 1. The agency issued the RFQ on May 31, 2016, to FSS Schedule 70 small business concerns, and subsequently received one quotation in response thereto.  BOP Email to GAO, Sept.