CSIOS Corporation ()

B-419779,B-419779.2 Jul 27, 2021 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights CSIOS Corporation, of Rockville, Maryland, protests the issuance of task order No. W912HZ-21-F-0082 to Bowhead Total Enterprise Solutions, LLC (BTES), of Springfield, Virginia, pursuant to indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract No. W912HZ-20-D-0001. The Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract in May 2020 to BTES for various scientific and technical services for the agency's Engineering Research and Development Center. The protester asserts that the activities being performed under the task order are beyond the scope of the IDIQ contract. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. The entire decision has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  CSIOS Corporation File:  B-419779; B-419779.2 Date:  July 27, 2021 Edward J. Tolchin, Esq., Offit Kurman Attorneys-at-Law, for the protester. Robert K. Tompkins, Esq., Hillary J. Freund, Esq., and Kelsey M. Hayes, Esq., Holland & Knight, LLP, for Bowhead Total Enterprise Solutions, LLC, the intervenor. Walker D. Moller, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. April Y. Shields, Esq., and Christina Sklarew, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest asserting that task order requirements are beyond the scope of the underlying indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract is denied where the protester has not shown that the task order is materially different from what could reasonably be expected under the original contract. DECISION CSIOS Corporation, of Rockville, Maryland, protests the issuance of task order No. W912HZ-21-F-0082 to Bowhead Total Enterprise Solutions, LLC (BTES), of Springfield, Virginia, pursuant to indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract No. W912HZ-20-D-0001.  The Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract in May 2020 to BTES for various scientific and technical services for the agency’s Engineering Research and Development Center.  The protester asserts that the activities being performed under the task order are beyond the scope of the IDIQ contract. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The protest concerns the agency’s award of an IDIQ contract and subsequent issuance of a task order to BTES for various scientific and technical services for the agency’s Engineering Research and Development Center, which manages the Department of Defense’s High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP).[1]  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4, Contract No. W912HZ-20-D-0001 (“BTES Contract”), at 174;[2] AR, Tab 9, Task Order No. W912HZ-21-F-0082 (“BTES Task Order”), at 584.  The HPCMP is responsible for maintaining continuous defensive cybersecurity operations to defend the agency’s Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) from cyberattacks.  The agency explains DREN, and the significance of the HPCMP, as follows: The work performed on DREN involves unclassified, secret, and top-secret missions, many of which are vital for national security.  For obvious reasons, the DREN is an attractive hacking target for adversarial nation states and other hostile entities.  It is therefore critical, and mandated by various statutes and regulations, that certain cybersecurity functions be continuously maintained (24/7/365) on the DREN.  In order for the DREN to maintain its certifications to operate, there can be no lapse in cybersecurity services.  The Agency procures many of these services. MOL at 2. On May 22, 2020, the agency awarded IDIQ contract No. W912HZ-20-D-0001[3] on a direct sole-source basis to BTES, an Alaska Native Corporation under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) program,[4] in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation section 19.811-1.  The contract is under North American Industry Classification System code 541512, computer systems design services.  The contract has a 5-year ordering period and a maximum value of $20,000,000.  BTES Contract at 174.  The contract includes a performance work statement (PWS), which includes requirements such as “systems engineering services,” as well as various labor categories and completion of specific agency training requirements.  BTES Contract at 180-182, 206-208. Under the BTES IDIQ contract, the agency has issued two task orders to BTES, both for HPCMP systems engineering services, with cybersecurity components.  The agency issued the first task order on September 27, 2020; performance concluded on March 31, 2021.  AR, Tab 8, Task Order No. W912HZ-20-F-0231 at 515.  The agency issued the second task order (No.