Cyberdata Technologies, LLC

B-417084 Feb 06, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights CyberData Technologies, Inc., of Herndon, Virginia, protests the issuance of a task order to Ace Info Solutions, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. EG-133W-17-RQ-1234, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for weather and climate computing infrastructure services. CyberData challenges the evaluation of its proposal and the best-value tradeoff decision. We sustain the protest in part and dismiss it in part. We sustain the protest in part and dismiss it in part. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Cyberdata Technologies, Inc. File:  B-417084 Date:  February 6, 2019 Edward J. Tolchin, Esq., Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law, for the protester. David B. Dixon, Esq., Meghan D. Doherty, Esq., Robert Starling, Esq., and Toghrul Shukurlu, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, for Ace Info Solutions, Inc., the intervenor. Florence N. Bridges, Esq., Department of Commerce, for the agency. Paula J. Haurilesko, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest that the agency failed to look behind the adjectival ratings in making its selection decision is sustained, where the evaluation record contained no explanation for why the proposals were determined to be technically equal. DECISION CyberData Technologies, Inc., of Herndon, Virginia, protests the issuance of a task order to Ace Info Solutions, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. EG-133W-17-RQ-1234, issued by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for weather and climate computing infrastructure services.  CyberData challenges the evaluation of its proposal and the best-value tradeoff decision. We sustain the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND The RFQ was issued as an 8(a) small business set-aside on July 11, 2017, to holders of the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center Chief Information Officer--Solutions and Partners 3 small business government-wide acquisition contracts.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, RFQ, at 3.  The RFQ contemplated the issuance of a task order with fixed-price and time-and-materials contract line item numbers for information technology support services for NOAA’s weather and climate computing infrastructure services program.  Id.  The RFQ provided that a task order would be issued to the vendor whose quotation represented the best value to the government, considering technical approach, corporate experience, and price.[1]  Id. at 6.  The non-price factors, when combined, were significantly more important than price.  Id.  The RFQ stated that price would be evaluated for reasonableness.  Id. NOAA received two quotations.  AR, Tab 2a, Technical Evaluation Team (TET) Consensus Report, at 5.  After the agency conducted discussions, amended the RFQ, and evaluated vendors’ revised quotations, the TET assigned the following adjectival ratings to the offerors’ quotations:     CyberData Ace Technical Approach Acceptable Acceptable Corporate Experience Good Good Overall Good Good Price $104,350,117 $102,053,881 AR, Tab 2b, Post Negotiation Business Case Memorandum, at 7. The selection official reviewed the findings of the TET and the price evaluation team, and noted that both vendors received an overall rating of good.  Id.