September 4, 2012 1. What is the capacity in terms of the existing shared Infrastructure that you are utilizing? Current data usage by ABI is ~550GB with ~1.8TB allocated 2. Can we come and take a look at your existing infrastructure? nwesleysmith@atlbeltline.org. 3. Can you provide floor plans of the 2 nd and 3 rd floors that clarify office/desk arrangements, wiring closet(s), and server room locations? nwesleysmith@atlbeltline.org. 4. Can you provide an accurate number of offices, workstations/desks, conference rooms, and square footage per floor? nwesleysmith@atlbeltline.org 5. Are you looking for a similar shared Infrastructure or you would prefer a dedicated Infrastructure? The infrastructure does not need to mirror the current state. Please provide your best recommendation and suggested support model. We will evaluate your approach 6. Are you open to an Offsite Infrastructure or does the entire infrastructures have to be in house? 7. Is Hosting or Co-Location of services (and servers) an option? 8. Do you have any and if so how many technical resources do you have? We are currently sharing technical resources with Invest Atlanta (IA). We will not be sharing those services upon their departure. We do not have any other technical resources. 9. Are you open to a reduced configuration based on your actual requirements? 10. Does ABI support employees using their own devices, such as desktops, laptop, tablets and smart phone? Yes, we are currently supporting employees use of their personal computing devices, however we would like assistance in developing a best-practices policy around the use of personal equipment to mitigate virus and file corruption issues. 11. Does ABI own any software licenses, or will licenses be leaving the building with the other infrastructure? ABI owns end-user software licenses; we do not own any server application licenses. p. 1
12. Are the NAS devices leaving or staying (it reads as if they are staying)? They are leaving. 13. Is ESRI ArcGIS running locally or as SAAS (the developer offers both platforms)? What current versions is ABI running for the software? We are running ArcGIS 10.0, locally. We also have a current maintenance agreement with ESRI that is good through April 2013. 14. What software is applicable to all users, and what software is specific to certain users? All users - MS Office Specific users - Adobe CS5, Adobe Acrobat (versions vary by user), MS Visio, MS Project Standard & Pro, ArcGIS 15. The request is for an edge appliance that supports up to 20 VPN connections. Do some, many, most of their ABI telecommute at least part-time? Are all applications for remote users delivered via remote desktop or does ABI use locally installed software installed on laptops that access data from the server? All users, including those with laptops use RDP. We do not currently use VPN. All users are working remotely at various times. 16. Is SharePoint being utilized for intranet and extranet services? Are SharePoint repositories separate for ABI and IA? We will not continue to utilize SharePoint once Invest Atlanta moves. SharePoint will not be part of the implementation. 17. Does Microsoft Exchange need to be hosted locally? If so, what are requirements for local hosting? Is ABI open to hosted Microsoft Exchange, or other hosted email solutions? 18. Does the data storage set represent both ABI and AI? If so, what is estimated size of each? Is data set separate for ABI and AI? Current data usage by ABI is ~550GB with ~1.8TB allocated. 19. Can the use of IM be supplemented or replaced by another program? However, it is unlikely that we will continue the use of an IM application. It is rarely if ever used. 20. Can multiple roles be assigned to the same server? Why are servers/roles separated currently? 21. To what extent is there a need for the Blackberry Enterprise Server? We currently have 2-3 Blackberry users continued support of Blackberry users will be subject to Blackberry Enterprise Server costs. 22. What does complete backup of all systems mean? Are all desktops being backed up? Server-side email and data are backed up locally several times/day however there is currently only one offsite backup per month. Local disks are not currently backed up. p. 2
23. Can project work be performed after hours? 24. Is IA open to keeping circuits in place on a month-to-month basis until the completion of project (cost offset by ABI project)? We are operating under the assumption that IA will remove all hardware infrastructure when they move. 25. Is ABI open to managed services that include hardware as a service (vendor assumes full ongoing responsibly for all hardware, software and services)? 26. Is the project being funded through capital expenditures or through ABI s operating budget? The project is being funded through ABI s Operating budget in a category for capital expenditures. 27. What number (in years) should be used for useful life of the new technology infrastructure when calculating Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)? 4 years 28. Will the Atlanta BeltLine offer an extension on the due date? Unfortunately due to the tight timelines associated with the transition of our IT infrastructure, extensions cannot be granted 29. Are interior renovations scheduled for and limited to the 3 rd floor? Will labeling/re-labeling be required on the existing 2 nd floor cabling / ports? No interior renovations will occur. It is not anticipated that new cabling is need on the 2 nd floor 30. Will a third-party security vendor (to be determined by ABI) be providing the selection, installation, and ongoing management of a new security system, or are you requesting that we coordinate this entire effort on ABI s behalf? Security is currently out of scope on the RF 31. How many employees and/or contractors does ABI currently employ? Of those, how many work onsite and how many work remotely? All employees work onsite. We have 23 employees and ~10 rotating interns 32. Do you require that all virtual machines (servers) be configured with a dedicated physical NIC port? If yes, can you clarify the intent of this requirement (i.e., what is the desired outcome / benefit)? 33. For support requests sent via email, would an automated e-mail response that includes a case number and responsible support agent satisfy the initial response time requirement of less than 60 seconds? 34. Please expound on Guarantee that 95% or better to end user requests with be responded to in under a minute. An automated email would meet the requirement of a response time less than 60 seconds. p. 3
35. ABI requests 40 handsets, with one serving as a receptionist handset that can handle at least 50 extensions; to clarify, are you requesting that the receptionist phone be configured with an expansion module containing at least 50 hard extension buttons? 36. What are the operating system versions of the servers currently in use by IA / ABI? Appendix C of the RFP reflects the current state. Please reference Appendix C. 37. Of those servers currently in use, are any in use exclusively by ABI, and if so please specify? Current data usage by ABI is ~550GB with ~1.8TB allocated. Further evaluation of the current server allocation will be available to the selected vendor. 38. On page 9, Storage Information, it is stated that ABI maintains 1.8 TB of data within the current infrastructure. On page 23, Storage Information, it is stated that ABI maintains 550 GB of data within the current server infrastructure, excluding operating systems. Please clarify. Current data usage by ABI is ~550GB with ~1.8TB allocated. 39. Of the data that ABI maintains, can provide percentage estimates of its functional makeup? For example, 25% Email, 30% SQL, 30% File Storage, 15% Snapshots/Backup. Current data usage by ABI is ~550GB with ~1.8TB allocated. Further evaluation of the current server allocation will be available to the selected vendor. 40. Wanted to verify that consultant can be a MBE certified with Marta, GMSDC, or City of Atlanta. Correct. Any of these certifications is sufficient. 41. Wanted to verify If we are to utilize another MBE, FBE, of SBE they cannot be the of same certification category? They can be any combination of certifications. You are not limited to one in each category. 42. Wanted to verify that we can submit to this RFP without teaming with another category as long as we meet the qualifications set forth in the RFP. 43. The RFP mentions that 24X7 monitoring and maintenance of servers and infrastructure equipment is required and support hours of 830A to 5:30p however on page 13 you are requesting comments on 24x7 Help Desk Services. Does ABI need 830A-530A support or 24X7 Support? We expect 24x7 support with normal business/billing hours being 8:30 am- 5:30 pm. Please price support outside of normal business hours. 44. Is consultant expected to have an existing Help Desk Tracking & Reporting system for use by ABI or is ABI looking for consultant to recommend and implement a Help Desk T&R system onsite? Yes, the consultant is expected to have an existing Help Desk Tracking & Reporting System. We will not be purchasing or hosting a tracking solution. p. 4
45. Do you have a preference for the type of response you seek, meaning will you select best of breed within the segments requested or are you looking for a firm who can aggregate several vendors into one allencompassing response? We will be selecting one vendor who will support all services we have requested. You are able to present a sub-contractor model however you must disclose in your response which sub-contractors you will be contracting with to support your proposal. Please refer to the Company Overview Section on page 17 of the RFP. p. 5