DOE OREM to award Cybersecurity Services contract to Epsilon

I. Contracting Activity
The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) – Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) plans to use a limited-source order to restrict consideration of schedule contractors to fewer than required under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Program and Multiple-Award Schedule Program to procure services.

II. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved
The DOE OREM proposes to issue an order on a firm-fixed price basis to Epsilon, Inc. for the Mission Information Protection Program Information System Continuous Monitoring (MIPP ISCM) assessments under the GSA FSS, Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) 47QTCH18D0014.

III. Description of the Supplies/Services Required To Meet the Agency’s Needs
The DOE OREM requires highly skilled Subject Matter Experts (SME) to provide support to OREM personnel in managing its cybersecurity program to perform MIPP ISCM assessments. This work is critical because OREM depends on these assessments to determine the health of its overall cybersecurity posture and to meet the requirements of DOE Order 205.1, Department of Energy Cybersecurity Program, and the Environmental Management Cybersecurity Program Plan. The additional cybersecurity work will begin during the current option year two period (January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024), with two additional option years should they be exercised (OY3: January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025; OY4: January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026).

IV. Identification of the Justification/Rationale for Limiting Sources and Demonstration of the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications to Provide the Required
Supply/Service OREM has an order currently in place for cybersecurity services with Epsilon under the GSA FSS, GWAC 47QTCH18D0014 for cybersecurity services. Epsilon is familiar with DOE and OREM requirements to perform these assessments and is knowledgeable of the OREM systems. Epsilon can efficiently and effectively perform the work with no delay to the required schedule. These services are of a nature such that the quality level is critical to the success of the work being performed at OREM, and Epsilon, Inc., is capable of providing the services at the level of quality required. In the interest of economy and efficiency, the new work is a logical follow-on to the original FSS order that was placed in accordance with applicable FSS ordering procedures. The original order was not previously issued under sole-source or limited-sources procedures.

V. Determination by the Ordering Activity Contracting Officer that the Order Represents the Best Value Consistent with FAR 8.404(d)

Epsilon, Inc. has a GSA VETS2 GWAC in place with published labor categories and rates. Services offered on the schedule are priced at hourly rates. GSA has already determined these hourly rates to be fair and reasonable. By placing this order against the current schedule contract using the procedures in 8.405, the ordering activity has concluded that the order represents the best value (as defined in FAR 2.101) and results in the lowest overall cost alternative (considering price, special features, administrative costs, etc.) to meet the Government’s needs. Although GSA has already negotiated fair and reasonable pricing, the Contracting Officer will seek additional discounts before placing the order. In order to meet the FAR 8.405-2(d) requirement, OREM will compare the current mix of labor and level of effort being used to perform the services to determine its appropriateness for the new work.
The Contracting Officer will then compare the rates as posted in the current Schedule to the rates proposed.

VI. Description of the Market Research Conducted Among Schedule Holders and the Results or a Statement of the Reason Market Research Was Not Conducted As the current contract holder, Epsilon is in position to not only continue the cybersecurity work they currently provide, but also seamlessly incorporate the new tasks into their workflow without interruption. Therefore, only one source, Epsilon, Inc., is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required in the timeframe required, so conducting market research at this time would be unproductive.

VII. Other Facts Supporting the Justification
Epsilon, Inc. is a service-disabled, veteran-owned information technology (IT) services company with broad experience for this work. Epsilon is ISO 9001, 20000-1, and 27001 registered

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