REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Transcription

1 United Nations Nations Unies Procurement Division New York REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Title of the RFI: Multimedia Files Distribution Date of this RFI: 12 August 2015 Closing Date for Receipt of RFI at PD: 3 September 2015 RFI Number: RFIID363 Address: duran2@un.org Address RFI response by fax for the Attention of: Isidro Duran Fax Number: duran2@un.org UNCCS Code: , , , , , , , DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to obtain a list of vendors who have the capabilities and expertise to provide the UN with a specialised service that will include, web hosting services for web applications and multimedia files distribution services, including capability to support open source web content management based websites (Drupal and WordPress) on a software as a service (cloud computing) basis and proprietary custom web applications on a platform as a service basis and web enabled storage of multimedia files distribution for a UN worldwide audiences. On 24 March 2015 the United Nations Procurement Division issued the Expression of Interest EOIID for Multimedia Files Distribution. The UN is considering expanding the requirements for web hosting solutions that are available in the market based on a model that provides both software as a service (that can support Drupal and Wordpress) and Platform as a service, elastic cloud based storage, and multimedia file distribution services. Please see enclosed Annex A from this Request for Information for more details.

2 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS / INFORMATION (IF ANY) Please note that you must complete the questionnaire from the RFI document attached as Annex A and send it to Isidro Duran - duran2@un.org NOTE Information on tendering for the UN Procurement System is available free of charge at the following address: Only the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) has been authorized to collect a nominal fee from vendors that wish to receive automatically Procurement Notices or Expression Of Interest. Please subscribe to

3 VEND ORS RESPONSE FORM VENDOR RESPONSE FORM TO: Id3 RFI Number: RFIID363 FAX: FROM: SUBJECT: Multimedia Files Distribution To be filled by the Vendor (All fields marked with an * are mandatory) COMPANY INFORMATION UN Vendor ID Number**: UNGM Vendor ID Number*: Company Name *: Company Contact *: Address *: City *: Country *: Telephone Number *: Fax Number *: Address: Company Website: We declare that our company fully meets the prerequisites A, B, C, D and E, for eligibility to register with the United Nations as outlined in the paragraph 1 of the RFI INSTRUCTIONS page. Signature: Date: Name and Title: ** If not already registered with UN Procurement Division, please use the following URL to register at United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM): Registration at UNGM is mandatory for responding to this EOI. The following information is available about the registration process.

4 RFI INSTRUCTIONS 1) Registering as a Vendor with the United Nations Vendors interested in fulfilli ng the requirement described a bove must be registered with UN in order to be eligible to participate in any f uture solicitation. Information on t he registration process can be found at Prerequisites for Eligibility In order to be eligible for UN registration, you must declare that: A. Your company (both parent and/or subsidiaries, if applicable) is not on, or associated with a company or individual on The 1267 List website ( and is not on the IIC Oil for Food List website ( B. Your company (b oth parent and/or subsid iaries, if applicable) is not currently removed, invalidated or suspend ed by the UN Headq uarters, field missions or other UN organizations (including the World Bank) and is not under investigation by a government or UN Member State. C. You have no outstanding bankruptcy, judgment or pending legal action that could impair operating as a going concern. D. You currently do not employ, or anticipate employing, any person(s) who is or was recently employed by the UN (in accordance with ST/SGB/2006/15, post-employment restrictions ( E. Your subsidiaries, agents, intermediaries and principals agree to cooperate with the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Service during any investigative processes undertaken by them, either before during or after execution of a contract, including providing all required documents, company records, access to employees, officers and staff, as well as financial information. For Registered Vendors: Vendors already registered must ensure that the information and documentation (e.g. fina ncial statements, address, contact name, etc.) provided in connection with their registration are up to date in UNGM. For Vendors Interested in Registration: Vendors not yet registered should apply for registration on the United Nations Global Marketplace ( information on the registra tion process can be found at Vendors must complet e the regist ration process within 90 days of the date of this REOI. Vendors who have not initiated and completed the formal registration process with the Procurement Di vision within the 90 day-period will be automatically re moved from the vendor roster and will have to start again a new registration for consideration in future EOI and tendering exercises. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any false, incomplete or defective vendor registration may result in the rejection of the application or cancellation of an already existing registration. 2) RFI Process Vendors interested in responding should forward their information (as requested in the RFI) to the United Nations Procurement Division (UNPD) by the closing date set forth in this RFI. Due to the high volume of communications, UNPD is not in a position to issue confirmation of receipt of RFIs. Please note that no further details of the planned solicitation can be made available to the vendors prior to issuance of the solicitation documents. This RFI is issued subject to the conditions contained in the RFI introductory page on the UNPD Website indicated above.

5 ANNEX A Table of Contents INTRODUCTION USE OF INFORMATION RFI RESPONSE DELIVERY RFI RESPONSE FORMAT AND INTERVIEW METHOD CURRENT SITUATION AND GOALS YOUR ORGANIZATION EXPERIENCE/CAPABILITIES ENGAGEMENT MODEL AND TIME FRAMES IMPORTANT - REGISTRATION AS A UNITED NATIONS VENDOR... 6 Page 1 of 6

6 Introduction The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to obtain a list of vendors who have the capabilities and expertise to provide the UN with a specialised service that will include, web hosting services for web applications and multimedia files distribution services, including capability to support open source web content management based websites (Drupal and WordPress) on a software as a service (cloud computing) basis and proprietary custom web applications on a platform as a service basis and web enabled storage of multimedia files distribution for a UN worldwide audiences. On 24 March 2015 the United Nations Procurement Division issued the Expression of Interest EOIID for Multimedia Files Distribution. The UN is considering expanding the requirements for web hosting solutions that are available in the market based on a model that provides both software as a service (that can support Drupal and Wordpress) and Platform as a service, elastic cloud based storage, and multimedia file distribution services. For planning purposes of the future tender (s), the UN wishes to obtain a list of vendors who have the capabilities and expertise to provide the UN with these updated web hosting requirements. The gathered information will be used to determine the project s feasibility, scope, timeframe, and resources required by the UN. If/when a decision is made, the UN expects to follow this RFI with a Request for Proposal (RFP) for web hosting applications and multimedia files distribution services that will be able to meet the requirements. Should the information obtained from the responses to this RFI result in different types of solutions and availability of vendors, the UN expects to issue two (2) separate Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for each type of service. 1. Use of Information 1.1. All costs for preparing a response for the RFI must be covered by the vendor This RFI is a separate and independent process The requested information will only be used by the UN for internal planning purposes, be kept strictly confidential and only authorized personnel will have access to it The response to this RFI will not be used to pre-qualify vendors. The UN wishes to obtain information from the market that can be used to identify available or potential methods for fulfilling the identified need rather than seeking a direct response from the web hosting market The provided information will not be contractually binding to the vendor Any information or documents acquired or developed in the course of the RFI shall not be used for any other purpose than authorised by the United Nations. Written documents provided by the United Nations shall not be copied or disclosed without written authorization from the United Nations. Page 2 of 6

7 2. RFI Response Delivery 2.1. As the objective of this RFI is to both gather information on web hosting solutions that are available in the market for a model that provides both software as a service (that can support Drupal and Wordpress) and Platform as a service, elastic cloud based storage, and multimedia file distribution services, and find potential service providers, your willingness and ability to reply will be of mutual benefit Please your response to Mr. Isidro Duran (duran2@un.org), additional material can be delivered and addressed to: Mr. Isidro Duran UN Procurement Division 1 United Nations Plaza, 15th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Marked: RFI for Web Hosting Applications and 3. RFI Response Format and Interview Method 3.1. To keep response formats consistent, the responses must be typed into this Word document Subsequent to this RFI and the submissions received, the UN may request an interview to ask further questions to have a better understanding of the information submitted by your organization Please confirm whether your organization is willing to conduct such an interview Please specify the preferred interview method (In-person, Video Conference, or phone) Also provide contact information for the interview Any costs of attending such a follow-up interview must be covered by the vendor. 4. Current Situation and Goals. The United Nations Department of Public Information News and Media Division creates and broadcasts multimedia products on the work of the United Nations at Headquarters and around the world and provides support services for journalists and monitors media coverage of UN issues in a variety of formats and languages. The Department designs, develops and maintains multimedia web sites, web applications and services. As a result, the Department needs highly reliable, available, fault-tolerant, and secure web hosting services to deliver UN multimedia content over the Internet to its broadcast partners and the broader global audience. The solution must be easily scalable to accommodate future needs in terms of computing resources, storage, and bandwidth demands. Page 3 of 6

8 DPI News and Media Division is currently using a combination of external hosting solution based on Platform as a Service (PaaS), Cloud Distribution Services for multimedia files (photograph, audio, video, graphics and text) in a variety of formats, codecs, and files sizes, as well as internal hosting solutions, with a mix of open source CMSs and in-house applications The goal of this RFI is to obtain information on most up to date solutions available in the market, in form of professional services that could support the Department in its mission to provide public information services 24/7 to its worldwide audience. Hence, some of the key aspects of this project are: 4.1. Supports managed Unix-based web server(s)/cluster for custom web applications for production and development of web sites and web applications Supports managed services Supports managed Windows-based database server with RDBMS (Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL) accessible by the web server and its applications (ODBC) Supports online cloud-based file storage solution for high-volume image, audio and video files distribution. Online storage for multimedia files could be via integration with third party web services platforms such as Amazon S3, Social Media platforms, among others Supports the migration of existing web sites, applications from current hosting solutions to the proposed one; 4.6. Supports dedicated static IP address for each server; 4.7. Supports back-up and recovery, multiple connections to major internet backbones, highly secure, and highly redundant and fault tolerant Supports Drupal and WordPress web content management platforms as software as a service (cloud computing) that provides the associated tooling and services to manage the complete website lifecycle from development to staging and finally scalable production hosting of multiple websites. 5. Your Organization Please provide the following information on your organization: 5.1. A brief general description of your company, its structure, years in business, and focus Provide a brief description of your company s experience in providing web hosting services for web applications and multimedia files distribution services, 5.3. What makes your company stand out as a provider of web hosting services for custom web applications and multimedia files distribution services? 5.4. Provide a brief description of your company s ability to provide specialized hosting services for Drupal and WordPress. Page 4 of 6

9 6. Experience/Capabilities To ensure an understanding by the UN of what web hosting services for web applications and multimedia files distribution services are available in the market to implement efficient solution, please answer/elaborate on the questions listed below: Solution Architecture 6.1. Provide a brief description of the solution(s) functionality How would the solution associate two different hosting models: Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) together? 6.3. What web search engine does your solution include and supports? 6.4. What level of disaster recovery and high availability solutions can you offer for highly trafficked websites? How are these implemented, for both the PaaS, and the SaaS offerings? 6.5. What level of protection do you provide against website Denial of Service (DoS) and hacking attacks that seek to compromise the integrity of the websites in both the PaaS and SaaS offerings? 6.6. Does your SaaS solution support secure access for legitimate users to access the site administration screens of the CMS s? What security control methods are available? 6.7. What technologies does your SaaS platform provide to increase the responsiveness of hosted websites? 6.8. Does your SaaS platform provide an integrated Content Delivery Network service? Do you charge for it separately based on usage? 6.9. How does your SaaS solution support multiple developers? Do you provide 24/7 emergency technical support services? Does your SaaS solution provide integrated code and data workflows between environments such as Test, Quality Assurance, Acceptance Testing, and Production? Is this done via an online interface and is it supported using code versioning tools, such as Git? Does you SaaS solution provide tools to apply security patches to core Drupal and WordPress in an automated manner? Does your solution support integration with online service providers at the API level, such as Amazon S3, Brightcove, YouTube.com, Youku.com etc. and different social media platforms Do you work with the Drupal and WordPress Open Source community and how? 7. Engagement model and Time Frames 7.1. DPI may desire long term assistance including migration of current environments, technical support and maintenance as well as troubleshooting and future implementations. Please describe on the typical engagement model that your corporation would follow with customers during an initial implementation or other models that your corporation would offer for repeatable implementations and support. Page 5 of 6

10 7.2. What would be the response time for repeatable implementations and support? 8. Important - Registration as a United Nations vendor Please note that companies willing to participate in a potential RFP solicitation will have to be a registered vendor with the UN. Please access the Vendor Registration Application Forms and follow instructions at the website: Please submit applications as soon as possible. Page 6 of 6