AASHTO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION & INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING SERVICES RFP AMENDMENT #1 - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 1. General Environment Information - In order to better understand the magnitude of the scope being proposed, will you please provide the following information: a. How many servers will need to be migrated and hosted? There are 23 servers which currently host AASHTO s web environment. b. How many systems are currently in place which will need to be migrated and hosted? All 23. c. How many SharePoint sites are currently in use and will need to be migrated and hosted? There are 68 MOSS sites currently in use. d. How many AASHTO web sites are currently in use and will need to be migrated and hosted? There are 40 non-moss sites currently in use. e. How many AASHTO applications are currently in use and will need to be migrated and hosted? 10-15 applications. f. How much data is currently stored within AASHTO systems? Approximately 4-6 TB. g. How many files are currently stored within AASHTO systems? Unknown. 2. Usage Statistics a. How many users currently access the AASHTO systems daily? Weekly? Monthly? Users there are approximately 1000 users, including public site content owners, private portal contributors, and private portal readers. Site visitors approximately 1100 per day across all AASHTO public web properties. We do not track private portal usage. b. Are there specific times that you see an increased traffic to particular areas? Is so, can you elaborate on what time frames/occurrences lead to them, where the increased traffic is focused and what the expected access rate you expect to see at
those times based on history? We see the usual sine wave of visits Monday Friday, with peak visits occurring on Monday and tapering off during the week. If there are particular news items or postings of items of interest, there might be a spike on that day or for that week. 3. Applications a. The RFP mentioned applications in place at AASHTO that will be part of the services to be provided (e.g., the E-Ballot System, AMIMS, etc.) Is there a defined list of applications that will be expected to be hosted in the new environment? Dedicated Server Applications (MOSS) MOSS 2010 Front End (2 servers) MOSS Application SQL Primary and mirror Custom Dedicated Server Applications (non-moss) AASHTO Bookstore DB AASHTO Bookstore IIS AASHTO Bookstore SMTP Google Search Appliance Custom Shared Environment Applications (MOSS) AASHTO Membership Information Management System AASHTO e-ballot System AASHTO Materials /Design Library Custom Shared Environment Applications (non-moss) Wordpress Instance (ajdaily.org) AASHTO HR Toolkit AASHTO FTP AASHTO IIS (2 servers) This list is not comprehensive, but gives a good idea of scope of applications. 4. Do you have system requirements captured for each of these applications that we could see to ensure that we provide the proper environment in our response? Generally, AASHTO deploys Windows.NET and SQL based applications, with very few exceptions. 5. Server Environment Details a. What is your current server environment? Windows,.NET, SQL with a few exceptions (one Linux server) b. Do you operate in a physical, virtual or mixed server environment? Please describe
Mixed. We are in the middle of transition to a complete virtual environment, but still maintain some physical infrastructure. c. Are there existing compatibility concerns that a hosting provider should be aware of (e.g., proprietary software)? No. d. What are your requirements for a server environment to host your applications as they exist today? See above. e. Are their limitations that you currently operate under in regards to software versions, hardware requirements, etc. that we need to be aware of and ensure we are able to meet? No. f. What is your current average bandwidth usage? Are there specific times of day, days of the week/month/etc. that consistently require the handling of heavier traffic flows? If so, what level of bandwidth would naturally be expected at those times? 10-12 Mbps per month. Most bandwidth is consumed in a sine wave pattern, with Tuesday and Wednesday being peak usage periods. g. Do you have stated minimal system user requirements for your online environment that users are supposed to adhere to (e.g., specific browsers, plugins, etc.)? If so, please provide those details. We do not specify minimum system requirements for the online environment, but strongly suggest using Internet Explorer for SharePoint editing. 6. SharePoint Details a. What version of SharePoint are you currently using? Who owns the licenses? SharePoint 2010. AASHTO owns the licenses. b. What SharePoint add-ons, web-parts are you currently using? Who owns the licenses for those items? We employ a number of third party add-ons. AASHTO owns the licenses. 7. Publications Customer and Web Infrastructure Help Desk/Support Details a. What level of technical expertise is expected from help desk personnel? Related what level of service is expected from help desk personnel? To clarify these questions, are you looking for simple technical support e.g., login help, site access assistance or more advanced assistance e.g., application usage and unique issue problem solving? The latter. The latter. b. What daily call volume have you experience/ can be expected? 5-10 calls/e-mails per day, with most days near the low end of that range. Web infrastructure support typically does not require call-in capability. However,
follow-up call-in support may be required for urgent or advanced ticket resolution. c. How many Full-time Equivalents (FTEs) currently provide Help Desk services in your current environment? Total staff time expended on support is expected to be in the range of 1-2 hours/day, in increments of 5-15 minutes at a time (usually at the low end of the scale). However, to ensure continuous coverage, two staff members are assigned to monitor the support phone line/e-mail address, although both have other duties to occupy the time that they are not spending on support. 3-4 hours per day (so, 0.5 FTE) for Web Infrastructure support. d. Are there required set hours you expect to have live coverage? Minimum would be 9 am 5 pm Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, with a lunch break from 12-1. Ideal would be 8 am 6 pm Eastern Time Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, with staggered lunches to ensure continuous coverage. Any time range between those two options would also be acceptable. As above. e. Do you have specific response approaches you require/would like to see? For example, live phone support vs. email responses vs. online chat support where each might be appropriate given a particular situation/time of day Customers have the option of contacting us by phone or e-mail and we prefer responses be in whatever medium the customer prefers. If the customer does not express a preference, response medium is at your discretion. Only phone and e- mail support are required. If you prefer, in cases where response medium is at your discretion, to provide support through another medium, such as live chat, we have no objection; however, we will not pay extra for additional response media (i.e., no fixed fees for adding such support, and per-minute or per-incident fees for these media should be no higher than the per-minute or per-incident fees for the lower of the two required support media). Web Infrastructure typically operates on a ticket system to aid in tracking issues, though phone support for follow-up or advanced support is required. f. What is your average current response time for requests? If appropriate, can you share your existing rules for required/desired response time by response approach in place? For phone calls, we expect the phone support line to be monitored during the hours of operation noted above, except in emergencies (see below). However, it is acceptable for calls to go to voice mail if a single support person is on duty and is already assisting another customer. Voice mails and e-mails should be returned within 1 operating hour unless time zone considerations dictate a later callback. (For example, the normal help desk
hours are 9 am 5 pm Eastern Time, then we would normally expect any messages left after hours to be returned by 10:00 am the next morning. However, if the customer was calling from California, then it would make more sense to wait for Pacific Time business hours to return the call.) Note that the above times are for initial response only, not final problem resolution. In some cases, the customer will be unavailable when called back and may delay responding to a voice mail or e-mail left for them. Such delays are, obviously, not the responsibility of the support staff. AASHTO is also aware that, because of the low volume of calls, it will not be cost-effective to assign one or more personnel exclusively to customer support and that support personnel will have additional tasks. In the event of an emergency situation (hardware failure, web site outage, etc.) that requires their full attention to another task, gaps in continuous phone coverage and initial response times of up to 4 hours are acceptable. Such emergency situations, however, should be rare. As above. g. Is there an existing knowledge base of standard responses that we will have access to in order to shorten the ramp up speed of our technical support/help desk staff to AASHTO s existing business approach? To some extent. There is no formal knowledge base. However, there are some boilerplate e-mails available for specific circumstances, and AASHTO personnel will be available to go over common questions and, where possible, preferred responses with support staff. As above. 8. Current SLA a. Is there a current Service Level Agreement in place for hosting services? Yes, with Amazon Web Services. b. Do you have a specific minimal level of SLA that you would like to see adhered to by your selected hosting service provider? No. 9. Time Frame a. The stated start date is January 01, 2013. What is the expected cut over date for when all servers and applications are expected to be cutover and fully hosted in the new environment? We will expect as smooth and quick a cut over as possible, and are flexible on the date. 10. Online Bookstore/eReader/Handheld Access a. What file type is currently being used for your ereader service? e.g.,.mobi,.pdf, etc. 1. The Desktop service uses.pdf format.
2. The Handheld service is currently under development. Once completed, the intention is for it to provide files in.epub and.mobi formats. b. What handheld devices do you require support for from your environment? e.g., ipad, iphone, Android tablet, Android phone, Nook, Kindle? Others? All listed. Emphasis is on the larger screen-size devices tablets and ereaders however, some users will, inevitably, want to use our publications on their phones. Content need not be optimized for phone screen sizes; however, access and support should be provided. 11. Encryption Services for CD-ROMS a. What type of encryption services are currently in place at AASHTO? 1. CD-ROMs: FileOpen 2. Downloads for Desktop: FileOpen 3. Downloads for Handheld: Being developed for Adobe Digital Editions b. What encryption services are currently being utilized/support by AASHTO s help desk? FileOpen and Adobe Digital Editions. Note that support is provided for some FileOpen-based CD-ROMs distributed as long ago as 2002. 12. Washington, D.C.-based Support a. Does AASHTO envision the availability of full-time, Washington, D.C.-based support staff, or are they open to remote support for the majority of items enhanced by on-site visits as needed? Remote support is preferable as AASHTO does not have office space for full-time support staff. 13. Intellectual Property a. While AASHTO will retain all IP developed on their behalf, will the selected vendor have the ability to re-purpose methodologies, approaches, and logic used to develop AASHTO solutions on future work? Yes. 14. AASHTO is currently using Microsoft SharePoint 2010 for its web hosting platform. Microsoft is planning to release Microsoft SharePoint 2013 early next year. Is there any plan to migrate/upgrade the web hosting platform to SharePoint 2013 in the next three years. If so, should we plan to include estimated cost for this migration in NTE budget or this will be handled outside of NTE as needed? It would be preferable to migrate/upgrade within the next three years. An estimated cost for this migration should be provided in the NTE budget. 15. Part of AASHTO s Internet infrastructures is located at a colocation facility. Are there plans to migrate all colocation infrastructure to the cloud? If so, should we plan to include estimated cost for this migration in the NTE budget or it will be handled outside
of NTE on a case-by-case basis? Please note that some of the infrastructure services will require colocation irrespective of cloud migration. Migration of collocated infrastructure should be handled outside of NTE on a case-bycase basis? 16. AASHTO uses other services such as Google Search Appliance to provide an end-to-end Internet infrastructure that are not identified in the RFP. Should we plan to include cost to provide an end-to-end Internet infrastructure to support AASHTO web applications in the cost proposal or only include the services requested in the RFP? The cost proposal will likely not cover all possible properties of AASHTO s infrastructure as requested in the RFP. However, a full end-to-end review of the infrastructure on contract award will place certain coverage outside of the NTE budget and on a case-by-case basis. 17. Some of the existing AASHTO infrastructure provisioning and management services are provided as fixed fee services. Most of these services including providing and supporting hardware and software as a service. If these services are transitioned to a time and material contract, then should we include initial cost to procure required hardware and software in the NTE budget? Also, recurring cost for hardware warranty/replacement and software licenses will need to be included. Yes, please include initial cost to procure hardware and software as a service in the NTE budget. 18. Some of the existing AASHTO application support and maintenance and end-user support services are provided on fixed recurring cost basis. Most of these services require ongoing management of development infrastructure, code base, and domain knowledge to deliver needed support and maintenance. Should we plan to include ongoing cost for this support and maintenance for AASHTO applications or everything will be on as requested basis? All support and maintenance and end-user support service costs should be included in the NTE budget. 19. With respect to future as directed work not specified in the RFP, do you want it to be broken down by service or should we just create a cost pool for each task that can be used for future work as needed as approved by AASHTO? An estimate for each service may not be accurate until specific scope of service for future work is established. Your best estimate for each service will suffice for the RFP.