Digital Communication Services, Software, Maintenance and Support

Justification to Restrict Competition under FAR Part 8 Over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Identification Number: 12314426Q0077 This Justification & Approval authorizes and approves the award of a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) commercial single-source Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) as a Blank Purchase Agreement (BPA) with Carahsoft Technology Corp for Granicus Communications formally GovDelivery Digital Communication Platform to support a department-wide effort for the Granicus Communications Cloud. TheUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Client Technology Services (CTS) is leading a department-wide initiative to establish an enterprise agreement for a cloud based Digital Communication solution, including software, maintenance, and support. This Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) will allow USDA to standardize pricing across all agencies, streamline procurement for new orders and annual software renewals, and ensure consistent access to a secure scalable Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorized environment, and compliant digital communications platform Under this agreement, USDA agencies or Mission Areas will have access to the Granicus Communications Cloud. USDA seeks to continue leveraging its existing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to effectively communicate with diverse internal and external audiences. These services are commercial in nature and will be procured utilizing the procedures listed in FAR Part 8 and GSAM 538.71. This solution supports USDA’s mission to deliver timely, accurate, and accessible information to stakeholders while maintaining compliance with federal security and accessibility standards. The current platform enables agencies to expand outreach through multiple channels, including:

• Email marketing and notifications

• Short Message Service (SMS)/text messaging

• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds

• Social media integration

• Mobile Messaging