Request for Proposals for Enterprise Information Archive System

Transcription

1 Request for Proposals for Enterprise Information Archive System Gary R. Cavin, CIO

2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction SCOPE AND CLASSIFICATION Scope Classification Budget REQUIREMENTS General Requirements Bidder Requirements RFP Process Overview RFP Questions and Answers RFP Schedule of Events PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Section One: Transmittal Letter and Offer Section Two: Competence Section Three: Quality and Feasibility Section Four: Ability Section Five: Past Performance Section Six: Cost & Payment Terms EVALUATION CRITERIA AND PROCESS Step One of Evaluation Step Two of Evaluation Process appendices Appendix A: City of Columbus Technology environment...13

3 1 INTRODUCTION The City of Columbus is placing this Request for Proposals with the intention to enter into a contract with an experienced Vendor who will provide a complete solution for digital information archiving and retention, covering at a minimum shared file systems and systems. The City of Columbus does not have a dedicated solution for archiving digital information at this time. The City of Columbus, Department of Technology, (the City), would like to implement an Enterprise Information Archive solution in order to reduce the load on production systems and effectively manage aged data. The proposed solution should cover at a minimum file systems and systems. The City is placing this Request for Proposals with the intention to enter into a contract with a Vendor who will provide hardware, software, licenses, support services, training and any labor required to bring the System fully operational, and to train City personnel in its best use, in order to keep the System fully functional throughout its expected life span of at least five years ( The Solution ). This document serves as a guide for use by potential vendors as to the format and requirements of a successful proposal. 2 SCOPE AND CLASSIFICATION 2.1 Scope The City is seeking proposals from vendors that have extensive experience designing and implementing enterprise class information archive systems. The Solution provided must include any software, licenses, training (both end-user and systems administration), design, hardware recommendations, and custom programming required to make the system fully functional and useful to the City. Any third-party items required that are not listed under the City s standard platform, and that are not already existing as part of the City s infrastructure, must be provided as part of the contract and must be specified and quoted as part of the Proposal. The City anticipates the following benefits as a result of the implementation of this solution, including: Reduced load on backup system Reduced use of tier 1 production storage Reduction of liability by enforcement of retention policies Elimination of pst files Reduction in effort to fulfill public records requests The City requires the following deliverables from this project Design and installation The City requires that the vendor provide complete design and installation services for the proposed solution. The vendor shall provide specifications for any needed hardware or software in the proposal. The City may choose to utilize virtual servers or its own physical server hardware, therefore the vendor should break out server and third-party software cost separately. The solution should, at a minimum, include the following features: Archive of from Exchange 2007, 2010, and 2013 Page 1

4 Archive of common files (Word, Excel, Adobe PDF, etc.) from network file shares and Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices Search across multiple mailboxes, file shares, or archive locations based upon set permissions. Provide simple and effective methods for individual users to access archived content, including but not limited to access through native tools and environment such as Microsoft Outlook, OWA, and Windows Explorer. Flexible enforcement of retention policies based on metadata, including but not limited to individuals, groups, departments, or divisions The current City technology environment can be found in Section 7.1. Additional requirements and features are found in the Requirements Matrix (attached as an Excel workbook) Deployment to pilot group The City requires that the vendor provide services to fully deploy and configure up to 100 end users. Deployment includes packaging of software required on the workstations, archiving of mailboxes, ingesting and archiving of existing PST files, and instructions or training for those end users. Based on this pilot deployment, the City should be left with a simple deployment strategy and process to encompass the remaining users within the City of Columbus. The pilot group will consist of: Users with Outlook 2003 Users with Outlook 2010 Users with Outlook 2013 Users with Windows XP operating system Users with Windows 7 operating system Users with Windows 8 operating system People utilizing OWA Users accessing through smart phones Each of these scenarios must be able to be met by the proposed solution. Solutions incompatible with Outlook 2003 or Windows XP may be acceptable because the City is in the process of migrating off of these platforms. However, the vendor should clearly explain in the proposal any incompatibilities with any software version listed Training and knowledge transfer The vendor is required to provide administration training and knowledge transfer to as many as three (3) system administrators employed by the City. Alternatively, the vendor may provide cost estimates to provide a managed solution. Any managed solution should provide the City with the benefit of ongoing administration of the solution with little to no impact on existing City resources. Page 2

5 2.1.4 Documentation and reporting Based on deliverables in and 2.1.2, the vendor will be required to document the solution and create metrics and reports that will assist in the ongoing management and administration of the system. This includes but is not limited to: Document all system details, including software/hardware configurations details, rule sets created, and deployment processes in accordance with City standards Provide a list of standard processes, maintenance activities, scheduled tasks, etc., required for effective maintenance of the solution. Any item should be accompanied by detailed instructions of how to perform the task, frequency, etc. Provide access to, or create, standard reports to represent the ongoing health of the system to management and backup administrators. This may include, but is not limited to: o Storage capacity management o Aging reports o Error reports o Auditing reports for archive search, items archived, items removed from archive, etc. Provide best practice key performance indicators for system health. Provide knowledge transfer of best practices for future system expansion and system upgrades. This may include the following topics o Hardware expansion thresholds for disk, servers, etc. o Scale up vs. scale out 2.2 Classification Qualified vendors must submit (as described within the specifications) documentation of a minimum of three (3) archive system design and deployment engagements within the past three (3) years, equivalent to the size and complexity of the City s system. Qualified vendors must have experience providing the services described in this RFP. 2.3 Budget The estimated budget for this engagement is between $250,000 to $300,000. That said, the City is interested in lower cost proposals that meet the requirements detailed in this RFP, and will score lower cost proposals favorably. 3 REQUIREMENTS 3.1 General Requirements Term The proposed contract shall be for services delivered within one (1) year of a certified purchase order. The contract will not automatically renew, but can be extended for an additional four (4) years subject to mutual agreement, and approval from proper City authorities. Page 3

6 3.1.2 Pricing Respondents to this RFP are required to propose all-inclusive costs for the materials and services offered in their proposal. Costs must include out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses. Price proposals that do not offer all-inclusive costs (including all out-of-pocket and travel expenses) will not be considered City of Columbus Contract Compliance If you do not have a valid City of Columbus Contract Compliance Number, please see the City s procurement site to obtain one: While prospective vendors can respond to this RFP without a contract compliance number, the successful respondent to this RFP must obtain a contract compliance number as a condition of doing business with the City. The City is committed to equal business opportunity, and strongly encourages participation from minority/female business enterprises in this and all City procurement Work Hours Any work under this RFP that will be required to be performed, completed, and managed at City of Columbus premises shall be conducted during standard business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. EST, excepting City holidays) unless otherwise agreed upon in advance. The City will provide work space for the Vendor. At its sole discretion, the City may arrange remote connectivity at Vendor s request. 3.2 Bidder Requirements Company Experience Respondents to this RFP must submit documentation of at least three (3) archive system design and deployment engagements within the past three (3) years, equivalent to the size and complexity of the proposed archive system. Engagements must involve the proposed technology solutions. Respondents must briefly document capabilities and submit an outline of its experience including data describing the current corporate organizations date of incorporation, ownership, corporate office, number of years in business, total number of employees, services offered, and corporate ethics statement Staff Experience Respondents to this RFP must submit resumes for the staff proposed to deliver service to the City. Staff must have experience delivering the services described in this RFP. The winning respondent must guarantee that proposed staff will actually deliver services, or where necessary, be substituted for staff with equivalent experience References Respondents to this RFP must provide references to verify capabilities, experience, and work history in delivering the services described in this RFP. A minimum of three (3) references are required. References should consist of projects of a similar scope, complexity, and cost. The reference contact information shall include the customer name, start/end dates of the project, customer address, street address, telephone number, fax number, and a description of the services provided. 4 RFP PROCESS OVERVIEW Selection of the winning proposal shall be in accordance with Section of Columbus City Codes, Any agreement or contract entered into will be in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 329 Page 4

7 of Columbus City Codes, 1959, the standard agreements for professional services of the Department of Technology, and all other applicable rules and regulations. The Columbus City Codes can be found at RFP Questions and Answers In order to enable accurate communication with respect to this RFP, to provide Vendors the opportunity to seek clarification on matters pertaining to the RFP requirements, and to enhance the Vendors understanding of the City s needs, the City will accept questions from potential Vendors Question process Specific questions concerning the RFP requirements should be submitted in writing before 8:00AM Eastern on June 24, Written questions must be sent via to: vendorservices@columbus.gov and include this solicitation number in the subject line. Questions submitted to other addresses will be ignored Answer Process Written responses to all pertinent questions will be prepared by the City of Columbus and published as an addendum at Responses will be sent by June 28, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. This will ensure accurate, consistent responses are provided to all potential Vendors. 4.2 RFP Schedule of Events The following RFP schedule of events represents the City s best estimate of the schedule that will be followed. All times are Eastern Time. Event Date/Time (if applicable) RFP Issued June 18, 2013 Deadline for written questions June 24, 8:00 AM City response to questions issued June 28, 5:00 PM RFP Due July 11, 11:00 AM Notification of finalists Finalist Presentations (as needed) July 19, 2013 July 23-25, 2013 Final Award August 2, 2013 City Council Approval of Contract September 16, 2013 Project Commencement September 30, PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Vendor s response to this RFP should provide a clear and concise description of the Vendor s proposal and capabilities. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content. Vendor shall provide one (1) original and three (3) copies of their proposal. Proposal should be in clear and succinct language, and no longer than fifty (50) pages on twenty-five (25) double-sided sheets, not including samples and/or attachments. Plastic or ringed binders and non-recyclable paper are discouraged. An electronic copy of the proposal must also be submitted on a CD or equivalent storage device. Proposals shall be organized in the following sections: Page 5

8 5.1 Section One: Transmittal Letter and Offer A dated letter of transmittal on the Vendor s letterhead must be in each submittal and include, but need not be limited to, the following information: Offer Period Statement of proposal is valid for 180 days Signature The signature of a person authorized to legally bind the Vendor to the extent of a potential contract agreement with the City Identify Materials Identification of all material enclosures submitted in response to the RFP Contact Information The name, address, street address, and telephone number of the individuals to which inquiries relating to this RFP should be directed. 5.2 Section Two: Competence Vendor shall demonstrate through its background and qualifications that it is capable of providing the services described in this RFP by submitting the following information in its response: Company History/Facts Vendor should give a brief summary of the company s background. Please use this section to include any pertinent facts not otherwise requested Qualifications A brief descriptive statement indicating the Vendor s qualifications to deliver the services requested in this RFP Related experience Describe the Vendor s experience providing information archive solutions. Offerors must have completed at least three (3) similar engagements in the past three years that satisfy the requirements outlined in section Project staff information Vendors must propose specific staff to deliver the services requested in this RFP. For each staff person proposed, a resume must be included documenting education and experience that satisfy the requirements outlined in section Section Three: Quality and Feasibility Proposed Solution Describe at a high level the key benefits of the proposed system, and how it differs from competitive offerings. Include screenshots or other graphic images illustrating the administrative and end-user application interface. As part of its response to this RFP, Vendor shall provide information explaining whether the proposed solution is a cloud, hybrid or on-premise solution. Page 6

9 Cloud Solutions Proposals for cloud solutions must address the following information: System Availability: Describe any guarantees, or service level standards, for the percent of time that the system will be available to end-users. Provide statistical information demonstrating that service availability standards have been achieved for current clients. System Security: Describe capabilities for maintaining security in the vendor data center, and ensuring that application data is protected from unauthorized access. System Integration: Describe abilities to integrate the hosted system with existing City applications, using standards-based integration tools (e.g., APIs and/or Web Services). Application Configuration: Describe abilities to configure and personalize the system to meet the City s specific needs. Application Updates and Enhancements: Describe schedule for updating the hosted application, and protocols used to coordinate updates with customers. Application Support: Describe the training, phone, , and other application support provided to customers. Describe any guarantees, or service level standards, for support response times. Service Level Agreements: Describe the service level agreement associated with the price proposal. Describe any credits or refunds offered in the event that service levels are not achieved. Disaster Recovery: In the event of a major disaster, describe capabilities (failover and redundancy) for restoring end-user access to the system and expected time frames for restoration. Also describe the amount of data loss that can be expected in case of disaster. Service Termination: In the event the hosting agreement is terminated, describe procedures for the City to obtain its data On-Premise Solutions Proposals for on-premise solutions must address the following information: Technologies Employed: Summary of technologies used by the proposed systems as it relates to this RFP. Include the software (client and server-side) components and hardware components needed for System. Architecture: Provide a high-level diagram and accompanying description of the architecture of the System, which should include, but need not be limited to: user administration, profile management, metadata management, security management, data source configuration, ETL strategies, caching and performance optimization, task / batch scheduling (source and presentation layer refresh), and data quality management. Release versions: Comprehensive description of the proposed systems including: release and version, a list and description of the subsystems or modules, batch processes included in the system. A description of future technical directions, improvements, and features intended for the next release. Integration, Customization and Extension: A description of the types of integration, customization, and extension tools which are available for the proposed products. Documentation: A description of the documentation to be included with the proposed systems including the medium (i.e. CD ROM, hard copy, etc.) and number of copies. Training: A description of training programs available for the proposed systems and all training that is included in the proposal. This training should include both the required initial training to get the users functional on the system as well as technical training to enable ongoing support, maintenance and extension of the system. Page 7

10 System administration: A description of system administration software available with the proposal and any additional software recommended as a means of maintaining and running the systems. All such software shall be listed in the attached TCO Table. Software maintenance and support: A description of the annual maintenance and support service to be provided, providing the City access to technical support (help desk, online, etc.) and upgrades/patches to the software as they are released by the software manufacturer. Additional items: A description of any other items not specified in the above requests which are required to install, customize, maintain, and run the proposed system Service Delivery Plan Explain your service delivery plan and provide an example project plan with timelines (assuming the start date listed in section 4.2), milestones, and deliverables. Identify all necessary resources, both vendor-provided and City-provided to successfully produce the deliverables within the timeline proposed. Of particular interest is the amount of City-provided time and support you will need to complete the deliverables described in section 2.1. Proposals that fail to include a fully resourced example project plan with timelines will be considered non-responsive Satisfaction of Requirements A detailed list of requirements has been provided in the electronic attachment Requirements Matrix. A spreadsheet version of the requirements matrix is provided as part of the bid package for this RFP, and respondents must use this spreadsheet (or an equivalent Excel-compatible format) for purposes of responding to this RFP. For each requirement, the vendor must identify if the proposed solution Fully Meets, Partially Meets or Does Not Meet the requirement. Comments should be included for each requirement to fully explain the response provided. Responses to the requirements matrix should be provided based on the proposed solution (not future releases) assuming no customization. 5.4 Section Four: Ability Vendor must demonstrate the ability to complete the project as planned and on schedule Workload Vendor shall provide a calendar covering the proposed service delivery time frame indicating periods when the vendor has the resources available to work on the project, and periods when the vendor will not be available to work on the project. Previous commitments do not need to be disclosed specifically, but should be blocked out on the calendar. Preferred times to commence work on the project should be indicated Financial Responsibility Vendor shall provide documentation of financial responsibility, financial stability, and sufficient financial resources to provide the scope of services to the City in the volume projected and within the time frames required. This documentation may take the form of: a letter of credit or reference from a bank or other financial institution; an insurance policy or bond; audited cash flow and balance sheet statements; or a satisfactory credit rating from a reputable credit rating agency Disclosure Vendor shall provide a statement as to whether, in the last five (5) years, the Vendor has filed (or had filed against it) any bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, whether voluntary or involuntary, or Page 8

11 undergone the appointment of a receiver, trustee, or assignee for the benefit of creditors; and if so, an explanation providing relevant details. Vendor must also disclose any other relevant proceedings or factors that may threaten the Vendor s ability to complete the project, whether directed against the company directly or against its executives and/or officers. 5.5 Section Five: Past Performance Vendor must be able to demonstrate experience providing the services described in this RFP by submitting the contact information of three (3) Professional Reference(s). References should be associated with projects of similar scope, complexity and cost. The reference contact information shall include the name, address, street address, telephone number, fax number, and a description of the contract amount, solution deployed and service that was provided. 5.6 Section Six: Cost & Payment Terms Cost All proposals will be evaluated based on their total cost of ownership over a five-year period. This will include consideration not only of direct costs, payable to the Vendor, but also of indirect costs that must be borne by the City to implement and maintain the proposed solution, including the amount of time required to support the implementation. Please list any assumptions you have made in preparing your cost estimate, and any obstacles you foresee that may affect the cost and schedule. Indicated costs must include all products and services required to implement and support the solution, whatever their source. Please use the table in the electronic attachment TCO Table to list these costs. To ease comparison, this table must be submitted on electronic media as an Excel-compatible spreadsheet file. This media must be in a sealed envelope that will be opened only on the final day of the proposal period along with all other proposals City Provided Services and Infrastructure For proposed solutions that will be hosted in the City data center, the City will provide infrastructure such as servers, data center space, system administration and databases ( City-Provided Services and Infrastructure ). The City will also utilize staff (both IT and functional users) to implement the solution and provide ongoing application support. City average costs for each of these items is listed in the table. Indicate the total number of infrastructure items required by your proposed solution, and the table will automatically calculate the total dollar amounts for Year 1 to Year 5. Indicate the average annual hours of IT staff time estimated for ongoing application support, and the table will automatically calculate the dollar amounts for Year2 to Year 5. Indicate the average annual hours of functional user time required for ongoing application support, and the table will automatically calculate the dollar amounts for Year 2 to Year 5. Consistent with the example project plan (see section 5.3.2) indicate the hours of both IT and functional user staff time required to complete the implementation project, and the table will automatically calculate the dollar amount for Year Vendor Provided Services and Infrastructure For items that the Vendor is providing ( Vendor-Provided Services and Infrastructure ), whether as primary source or through a subcontractor, costs must be listed that will be incurred in each of the five one-year periods outlined. This will include one-time costs such as software licenses as well as recurring costs such as maintenance and support contracts or hosting fees (for SaaS proposals). As needed, insert Page 9

12 additional rows or comments in the spreadsheet to identify other costs that do not fit neatly into the pre-defined categories Payment Terms The City prefers a proposed project payment schedule based on milestone and deliverable achievement. Proposals must include an estimated project payment schedule based on the deliverables and/or milestones outlined in section The City s standard terms are Net 30 days, but will consider early payment incentives as part of its evaluation. Payment terms that include late payment penalties are not acceptable. 6 EVALUATION CRITERIA AND PROCESS Proposal responses shall be reviewed, judged, scored, and ranked by an evaluation committee consisting of City staff. Evaluation will be a multi-step process consisting first of a complete proposal submission by Vendor prior to the RFP deadline, a review of the proposals by the City evaluation committee, and then two (2) or more of the highest rated Vendors may be selected with which to hold additional discussions. 6.1 Step One of Evaluation Evaluation Committee will study the proposals and rate them according to the following: Vendor s Competence (Section 5.2) - 10 points total this section To receive points on this criterion, proposals must document completion of three (3) similar projects in the past three years. Up to five (5) points will be awarded based on the vendor s background and qualifications as described in the proposal. Higher points will be given to respondents demonstrating competence to perform the required service as indicated by its background and qualifications. Up to five (5) points will be awarded based on the qualifications and experience of proposed project staff. Particular focus will be paid to the work experience and any certifications of personnel to be assigned by the vendor to this project, in performing similar projects. Higher points will also be awarded to vendors who can guarantee that equivalent staff will be made available in the event that proposed staff are no longer available Quality and Feasibility (Section 5.3) 40 points total this section A maximum of five (5) points will be awarded based on the overall expected benefits of the system as described in section A maximum of ten (10) points will be awarded based on the quality and feasibility of the proposed project plan described in section Higher points will be awarded to proposals that minimize implementation time and clearly identify needed City staff hours and other resources necessary for a successful system implementation. A maximum of twenty-five (25) points will be awarded based on the satisfaction of requirements, as indicated by responses to the requirements matrix. The highest points will be awarded to proposals that satisfy the most must-have (rated 3 in the matrix) requirements. Individual responses to the requirements matrix are scored as shown in the following table. Overall requirements satisfaction is calculated as a percentage of maximum possible points. Page 10

13 Priority Level Fully Meets Partially Meets Does Not Meet 3-Must Have High Priority Nice to Have Ability (Section 5.4) 10 points this section Up to five (5) points will be awarded based on availability of proposed staff. Higher points will be awarded to proposals demonstrating that personnel can be made available to meet the City s needs at the time services are needed (section 5.4.1). Up to five (5) points will be awarded based on financial responsibility. Higher points will be awarded to proposals by vendors with demonstrated financial stability (section and 5.4.3) Past Performance (section 5.5) 15 points this section To receive points on this criterion, proposals must include contact information for at least three (3) professional references, as described in section 5.5. At least one professional reference will be contacted to evaluate such factors as quality of work, success in controlling costs, and success in meeting deadlines (vendors selected for step two evaluations will have all professional references contacted). Up to fifteen (15) points will be awarded to vendors with a proven track record of success in providing quality services on projects of a similar size and complexity Cost & Payment Terms (section 5.6) 25 points this section To receive points on this criterion, proposals must include a completed TCO Table as described in section Ten (10) points will be awarded to the proposal with the lowest five year total cost of ownership. Other proposals will be awarded proportionately fewer points. The highest cost proposal will be awarded the fewest points. Up to ten (10) points will be awarded based on the reasonability of the cost proposal, as indicated by completeness and consistency with other elements of the proposal. Higher points will be awarded to cost proposals that are internally consistent with other sections of the proposal, and are deemed reasonable based on the judgment of evaluation committee members. Also, points will also be awarded to proposals that can demonstrate a favorable environmental impact resulting from the system (e.g., reduced paper usage). The remaining five (5) points will be awarded based on the reasonability of proposed payment terms. Higher points will be awarded to proposals that closely tie payments to completion of project deliverables, as described in section Step Two of Evaluation Process Two (2) or more of the highest rated vendors may be selected for holding additional discussions to elaborate upon their qualifications and proposals by making presentations to the evaluation committee. Page 11

14 6.2.1 Presentation The presentations will include scripted scenarios, City specific information, and questions from the City. Presentations will be rated on: Demonstration Demonstration of available functionality Q&A Response to questions & answers from Evaluation Committee Revisions The committee may permit revisions of proposals so long as all vendors who are selected for additional discussions are given equal opportunity to revise their proposals References/Past performance All professional references will be contacted to evaluate such factors as quality of work, success in controlling costs, and success in meeting deadlines Site Visit(s) and Demonstrations The City reserves the right to request from Vendor a list of client sites where it may contact the client site and conduct a site visit to view an operational system. All costs associated with site visit shall be borne by the City. Where current clients are willing and able, finalists should be prepared to facilitate on-line demonstrations (e.g., through WebEx) of operational systems Selection Vendors selected for this phase will be re-evaluated using the same criteria outlined in section 6.1, incorporating additional information obtained in the second round of evaluation. Based on the scoring criteria outlined in this RFP, the evaluation committee will recommend an award to the Director of the Department of Technology. With the Director s concurrence, City Council will approve the final award through an authorizing ordinance. Page 12

15 7 APPENDICES 7.1 Appendix A: City of Columbus Technology environment The current system is a mix of Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Microsoft Exchange There are plans to migrate the Exchange 2007 environment to Microsoft Exchange 2013 by the end of the year. Current SharePoint versions range from 2003 to A separate project is planned to install SharePoint 2013 and migrate all SharePoint content to that platform. The timeframe for that project is not yet determined. A large majority of file shares are stored on the EMC VNX5700 Celerra platform, utilizing CIFS technology. Total mailboxes Approximately 7500 Total users in the City Approximately 8000 Total workstations in the City Approximately 6000 EMC VNX CIFS user file shares Approximately 20 TB. Exchange store size 1.2 TB SharePoint 800 GB Networked PST files 6,100 files utilizing 2.4 TB of space Local PST files Unknown, but estimated at approximately 200 files across various City computers Relevant standards include: o Virtualization - vsphere 5 o Server OS Windows 2008 R2 or higher, or Redhat Linux 6 or higher o Desktop OS Windows XP or higher o Storage EMC VNX production storage, HP P200 for backup storage Page 13