REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) RFI No. 16-0012 FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DISASTER RECOVERY AND COLOCATION DATA CENTER SOLUTIONS Refer ALL Inquiries to: Michael Talbot, Procurement Officer Purchasing Department Citizens Property Insurance Corporation 2101 Maryland Circle Tallahassee, Florida 32303 (850) 521-8310 Citizens.Purchasing@citizensfla.com This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation ( Citizens ). Citizens is seeking market information from providers of information technology disaster recovery and colocation data center services. This information is sought for planning purposes only. This RFI is not a solicitation and will not result in a contract, nor does it create any obligation on the part of Citizens. Citizens may use the information obtained through this RFI process in future solicitations. An RFI is used in circumstances including, but not limited to, determining whether or not to competitively procure a service, determining what solicitation process to use for a particular need, or researching general, special, and/or technical specifications for a solicitation. A Vendor s response to an RFI is not an offer and Citizens may not use the Vendor s submission to justify a contract with that Vendor without otherwise complying with Chapter 287.057 Florida Statutes. Vendors submitting a response to Citizens RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation. RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 1 of 6
I. COMPANY HISTORY In 2002, the Florida Legislature created Citizens, a not-for-profit governmental entity, whose public purpose is to provide insurance to applicants who are not able to purchase coverage in the private insurance market. Citizens is governed by Section 627.351(6) Florida Statutes and operates pursuant to a Plan of Operation that is approved by the Financial Services Commission of the State of Florida. Citizens operations are supervised by a Board of Governors whose members are appointed by the Governor, Chief Financial Officer, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House. Additional information about Citizens can be found at: https://www.citizensfla.com/web/public/about-us. II. PURPOSE Citizens Property Insurance seeks to ascertain options and offerings currently available in the business market for Disaster Recovery related services, with particular interest focused on colocation data center and colocation with cloud solutions. The intent of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information and better understand current industry practices and service options available to Citizens. Citizens has posed the questions below in an attempt to understand the services available and the level of maturity of the market. III. REQUESTED INFORMATION As you develop your responses, Citizens invites comments, suggestions, recommendations and creative ideas on what makes your firm and services unique. You are urged to submit white papers, market brochures, case studies and URL web links to information in response or to support your responses. Please provide detailed answers to the questions in each of the following sections. A. Company Information: 1. Name 2. Company Address 3. Company Point-of-Contact for RFI Response 4. Point-of-Contact Phone Number 5. Point-of-Contact Email Address 6. Company Area(s) of Expertise 7. Length of Time Company has been in existence including Company ownership details RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 2 of 6
B. Questions to Respondents: 1. Please provide some general information about your company. 2. Please explain the types of colocation services you offer and a general indication of where in the United States those services are provided? 3. Please provide an overview of Disaster Recovery oriented services that you offer. 4. Do you offer any services around hosted infrastructure or Cloud based services? If so, please provide an overview of those service offerings and documentation links for review. 5. How long has your company been providing colocation services as the primary product or service of the business? 6. Do you maintain any industry or regulatory certifications relative to data center colocation and organizational Disaster Recovery? If so, which certifications? 7. Are your colocation products and services available on a qualified federal, state or cooperative purchasing agreement/ contract? If so, which contracts? (Please provide a link to the contract or include a copy in your Response.) 8. What managed services and commodity services does your company provide to colocation clients, and are these services also available on a qualified federal, state or cooperative purchasing agreement/ contract? (Please provide a link to the contract or include a copy in your Response.) 9. Does your company offer any professional services (such as Project Management, Migration Assistance, Environment planning, etc.)? 10. Do you have any Service Organization Control (SOC) reports? (please provide listing and samples ) 11. Is your company able to maintain storage of customer data within the continental United States? 12. What security protocols does your company have in place to help protect our data? 13. In support of your colocation services, what communications (circuitry and bandwidth) services do you offer? Are these services available on a qualified federal, state or cooperative purchasing agreement/ contract? (Please provide a link to the contract or include a copy in your Response.) 14. What changes in the industry do you foresee in the near future that Citizens should take into consideration? 15. What are the five most important things Citizens should consider when planning a data center move to a new location? C. Additional Information/Documentation: Citizens requests that respondents please supplement answers to questions with product and service information necessary to accurately convey the capabilities and offerings of their business. Examples of information that may be provided are: Data sheets about the facilities; RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 3 of 6
Copies of service agreements; Copies of services marketing literature; Copies of or links to regulatory certifications applicable to this RFI; and Copies of or links to current contracts applicable to this RFI. IV. RESPONSE FORMAT AND INSTRUCTIONS This section describes the preferred format in which the Responses are to be submitted. A Response is defined as all materials submitted by the Vendor pursuant to this RFI. Form of Response: Vendors shall submit their complete Response on one (1) compact disc (CD). Hardcopy submission of Responses is not permitted and will not be accepted. The CD should be delivered in a sealed package that is also clearly marked with the Vendor name, RFI Number and RFI Title as follows: [VENDOR NAME] RFI No. 16-0012 IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Redacted Copy of Response: If Vendor claims trade secret protection from public record disclosure, they must submit with their Response one (1) Redacted electronic version of their response on CD. This CD should be labeled Redacted Response and be void of any information the Vendor deems exempt from Florida s public record law. By participating in this RFI process and submitting a Response, the Vendor acknowledges the requirements of the Florida Public Record laws found in Ch. 119, Florida Statutes and s. 24(a), Art. I of the Florida Constitution (the Public Record Laws ), and agrees to the provisions set forth in this section. Responses should reference RFI No. 16-0012, and should be delivered to: Michael Talbot, Procurement Officer Purchasing Department Citizens Property Insurance Corporation 2101 Maryland Circle Tallahassee, Florida 32303 V. CALENDAR OF EVENTS Listed below are the important actions and dates / times by which the actions must be taken or completed. All listed times are local time in Tallahassee, Florida. Any change or modification to this calendar, modifications to this solicitation, or other important notices will be accomplished by the posting of an addendum on the purchasing section of Citizens website, at https://www.citizensfla.com/web/public/solicitations. RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 4 of 6
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Date Time Action April 4, 2016 RFI Released April 25, 2016 2:00 P.M. E.T. Questions Due May 6, 2016 Answers posted May 23, 2016 2:00 P.M. E.T. Responses Due VI. AMENDMENTS TO THE RFI Citizens will post addenda, if any, to this RFI, including the Calendar of Events on the Citizens website, at https://www.citizensfla.com/web/public/solicitations under the posted RFI number. VII. RFI QUESTIONS AND CONTACT WITH CITIZENS Please submit questions about this RFI in writing by e-mail to the Procurement Officer, identified on the cover of this RFI, by the date and time specified in the timeline in Section V or as amended by Citizens. Questions should reference RFI No. 16-0012. Questions will not be answered via telephone. Please monitor Citizens website for new or changing information. VIII. CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY OR TRADE SECRET MATERIAL By participating in this RFI process and submitting a Response, a Vendor acknowledges the requirements of the Florida Public Record laws found in Ch. 119, Florida Statutes and s. 24(a), Art. I of the Florida Constitution (the Public Record Laws ), and agrees to the provisions set forth in this section. Citizens is a public entity subject to the Public Record Laws. All Vendor Responses and written communications regarding this solicitation become public records upon receipt by Citizens and therefore are subject to public disclosure. If a vendor asserts that any portion of its Response or written communication is exempt from disclosure under the Public Record Laws (a Protected Record ) then the Vendor MUST comply with the following process: Clearly identify each portion of its Protected Record(s) that it believes is statutorily protected from disclosure; Submit a separate electronic copy of Vendor s response or written communication with only protected portions redacted; and Submit a separate redaction log that provides a specific statutory citation justifying each redaction. If Vendor does not identify each portion of a Protected Record as specified herein, Citizens may produce Vendor s non-redacted copy in response to a public records request. If Vendor has complied with the provisions of this section by identifying certain documents are Vendor s Protected Record(s) and Citizens receives a public record request for a Protected Record, then Citizens will produce the redacted copy provided by Vendor in response to the public record request. In the event a party is seeking the non-redacted portion of Vendor s Response and Vendor continues to assert in good faith that Vendor s Protected Record(s) are confidential or RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 5 of 6
exempt from disclosure or production pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, then Vendor shall be solely responsible for defending its position, or seeking a judicial declaration. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, in accordance with Federal or State law, Citizens will comply with any court order or government agency directive to produce a Protected Record. Citizens will not accept any material that requires a non-disclosure agreement. RFI 16-0012, IT Disaster Recovery and Colocation Data Center Solutions Page 6 of 6