United Nations Nations Unies Procurement Division New York REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Title of the RFI: Contractual Services for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Services for UN Field Missions Date of this RFI: 5 February 2014 Closing Date for Receipt of RFI at PD: 24 March 2014 RFI Number: RFIMI40 E-mail Address: islam17@un.org Address RFI response by fax for the Attention of: Mohammad Islam Fax Number: UNCCS Code: 671210,742000 DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS Contractual Services for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Services for UN Field Missions* Table of Contents A. INTRODUCTION B. INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS B.1 PARTICIPATION TO PHONE CONFERENCE B.2 RFI SCHEDULE B.3 SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES TO RFI: B.4 RFI RESPONSE FORMAT AND INTERVIEW METHOD: C. TECHNICAL DETAILS: C.1 CURRENT SITUATION AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS RFI C.2 TYPES OF FUNCTIONS 4 C.3 PEACEKEEPING LOCATIONS ANNEX A: List of current Jobs ANNEX B: Tasks and Functions to be performed. ANNEX C: Response Template ANNEX D: Regions currently covered by the UN * Vendor registration is not required for responding to this RFI.
A. Introduction The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to provide the United Nations (UN) Department of Field Support (DFS) Information and Communications Technology Division (ICTD) with the latest knowledge and insights into the utilization of outsourced contractual services in the areas of Information Technology and Telecommunications. To be provisioned through a combination of different models of staff augmentation programs as well through the introduction of outcome and performance based programs. ICTD is responsible for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services to and within twentyseven peacekeeping and special political field missions, operating in more than twenty-five countries. ICT services are provided to field clients by about 2,500 UN staff members and contracted personnel, with an annual budget of about $300 million. To gain higher efficiency and flexibility, ICTD intends to incorporate different models of outsourcing tasks to of individual ICT experts or complete functions to expert-teams as outcome-/performance- models. If / when a decision is made, the UN expects to follow this RFI with a Request for Proposal (RFP) for contractual ICT services to meet the operational requirements of Peacekeeping missions worldwide. B. Instructions to Vendors: This is a Request for Information (RFI), not an order. No cost can be charged to the UN for any reason. This document shall not be construed as a request or authorization to perform work at the UN s expense. Any work performed by a vendor will be at the vendor's own discretion and expense. This RFI does not represent a commitment to purchase or lease. Submission of a response constitutes acknowledgement that the vendor has read and agrees to be bound by such terms. The UN intends to submit a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services described in this document. There is no guarantee that the UN will submit an RFP or, if an RFP is submitted, that it will occur in the time frame described in this RFI. If submitted, the RFP will be sent to vendors that express interest at a later stage and demonstrate adequate capabilities during the vendor registration process which shall take place after this RFI is concluded. The information in this RFI is accurate to the best of the author's knowledge but is not guaranteed to be constantly maintained without changes in the future. B.1 Participation to Phone Conference Vendors willing to participate should confirm to the UN their Intent to participate in the Phone Conference no later than 22 February 2014 by sending an email to the attention of: Mr. Mohammed Islam United Nations Procurement Division E-mail: islam17@un.org B.2 RFI schedule RFI key dates are the following: 6 February 2014 RFI issued to vendors 25 February 2014 Phone Conference with vendors who confirmed to attend (The time will be advised) 17 March 2014 Deadline for receiving Information from vendors (all material) Upon UN request Interviews (if necessary)
B.3 Submission of Responses to RFI: As the objective of this RFI is to both gather information on the latest trends/models and find potential vendors, your willingness and ability to reply will be of mutual benefit. (a) The response is to be received no later than 17 March, 2014. Please email your response to islam17@un.org, additional material can be delivered and addressed to: UN Procurement Division 1 United Nations Plaza 15th Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Attention: Mr. Mohammad Islam E-mail: islam17@un.org Marked: RFI for Contractual Services for ICT Services for UN Field Missions. (b) Responses must be submitted complete and in writing. All requests for information in all sections of this document must be answered as concisely as possible while providing all information necessary to understand the outsourcing process proposed. Any deviations from requirements, or requirements that cannot be satisfied by the vendor, must be clearly identified. (c) Responses must include a statement that indicates that the vendor understands the requirements of the RFI and accepts the terms and conditions under which the RFI was issued to the vendor. The original response and one copy must be signed under the corporate seal by an authorized officer. A full copy of the response must also be included in electronic media format (i.e CD-Rom). (d) Any information of a confidential or proprietary nature contained in a vendor response should be clearly marked CONFIDENTIAL by item or at the top of each page. Reasonable precautions will be taken to safeguard any part of the response identified by a vendor as being confidential. (e) This RFI remains the property of the UN at all times including the usage for future solicitation documents.. (f) All information included in the responses to the RFI, once delivered, becomes the property of the UN. (g) Please note that the information contained in the answer to the RFI may be used by the UN in order to elaborate its Request for Proposal. Therefore the UN explicitly request that the proposer grants the UN the intellectual property rights on solutions and wording provided in answering this RFI. B.4 RFI Response Format and Interview Method: 1.1. To keep response formats consistent, the responses must be typed into the provided MS Excel spreadsheet in Annex C. A document with additional information may be attached. The response form (Annex C) is available under the url http://www.un.org/depts/ptd/files/rfimi40_annex_c_rfi_response_form_contractual_services_v3.xls 1.2. The UN would appreciate the vendors to provide as much information as possible; nevertheless the financial part under Section 3.1 of Annex C is optional. 1.3. Subsequent to this RFI, the phone conference 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. The interview may be in-person or via VTC. 1.4. Any costs of attending such a follow-up interview must be covered by the vendor.
C. Technical Details: C.1 Current Situation and objectives of this RFI The United Nations uses a variety of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems, ranging from satellite, microwave links, two way radio systems, data centers, and provides centralized and locally provisioned IT services (i.e. ERP, content management, geospatial and geographic information systems) and service functions (i.e. Service Desks, Network Control Centers, Infrastructure management etc.) as well as application development and support. Major tasks to operate, manage, maintain, and support these IT-services and systems throughout the UN peacekeeping operations may be outsourced through different models of support, either through individual staff augmentation or through outcome oriented managed teams that provide complete functions or services. It is important to the UN to gain insight regarding the difference between capacity-based and outcomebased, performance based models and contracts. The UN is looking to into best practices to facilitate transitioning from capacity based staff augmentation into performance/outcome-based arrangements, and from individual staff augmentation to team/function-based approaches (and vice versa). The UN does not, however, aim for any outsourcing any technology services but capacity to install, maintain, develop, and support its standard services, applications and equipment. (a) provision of ICT experts, managers and technicians as individual staff augmentation and/or (b) provision of functional services by a dedicated external team using existing UN infrastructure and systems. (See Annex B). (c) A hybrid based solution based in a) and b). UN Headquarters and regional offices are not covered in this RFI, but will be addressed in a specific RFI issued separately. The objectives of this RFI are: (a) To allow vendors an opportunity to respond to questions in this RFI to assist the United Nations to gather information about the available sourcing strategies for the provision of different models of ICT services on a global scale. In particular in the areas of operation of the UN Peacekeeping missions. With the aim to improve the effectiveness of ICT operations and gain efficiencies. (b) To learn about models available for the transition from capacity based staff augmentation to outcome/ performance -based contracting. (c)to understand common approaches and practices for the measurement of performance, design of deliverables and alignment of these deliverables to certain KPIs, assumption of risk, pricing model and best practices for development of performance metrics etc. (d) To gain insights how best to manage ICT operations in a multi sourced environment based on a mix of capacity-based and performance based staff augmentation models. In particular the UN is interested in contractual options to maintain a certain required level of flexibility such as switching between these models or how to cope with peaks or unexpected workload and tasks, uncertainties in the political environment and staff and property safety concerns. C.2 Types of functions (a) A list of job specifications currently performed by individual staff augmentation is listed in Annex A. Here, the UN aims for experts, technicians and managers that perform specific tasks as individuals within the ICT structure in the field or headquarters, usually tasked by UN ICT staff and reporting also to UN ICT staff. The respective pricing model shall be determined primarily by capacity-based parameters, but may also incorporate some outcome-oriented (preferred) and performance related aspects. If possible, please provide information about your primary pricing schemes and possible options. List is indicative, not
necessarily complete. (b) A list of possible functions/services suitable for team-based or outcome/performance based services is attached as Annex B. List is indicative, not necessarily complete. These functions/services usually require a managed and coordinated team of experts, technicians and managers that fulfills the whole range of responsibilities and obligations of this function/service. The respective pricing model shall be determined by performance-based (preferred), outcome-based or capacity-based parameters and KPI s. If possible, please provide information about performance indicators and pricing schemes. If applicable, these functions shall be per4formed based on an ITIL methodology. C.3 Peacekeeping Locations The UN is looking to deploy these staff/services in the several regions worldwide, ref the list of regions in Annex D. Please indicate if you have a Point of Presence in or near these locations. If not, indicate existing arrangements you might have to cover these locations. Please also indicate if there are counties or regions not listed, you might not be able to provide the requested services. The Geographical region and composition of each region is defined here, http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm and represented in the table below, please indicate in the excel answering sheet your answers. Further reading, Peacekeeping Operations Factsheets: https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/resources/statistics/factsheet.shtml SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS / INFORMATION (IF ANY) NOTE Information on tendering for the UN Procurement System is available free of charge at the following address: http://www.ungm.org/notices/notices.aspx 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 http://www.ungm.org/registration/login.aspx
U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S PROCUREMENT DIVISION REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) Contractual Services for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Services for UN Field Missions Annexes OF RFI RFI_Annexes_6 Feb.docx Page 1 of 4
Annex A Job specifications suitable to be performed by individual experts: Telecommunications: Broadcasting Transmission Technician Broadcasting Studio Technician AASTRA (Ericsson) PABX Telephone Technician Video Conference Technician VSAT Technician Two way radio (VHF/UHF and HF) Communications Technician Tetra Trunking Radio Systems Technician Microwave Communications Technician Telecommunications Rigger Communications Logistics Assistant Communications Centre operator Alternative power technician Special equipment technician Spectrum manager Information Technology: Information Technology Technician Lotus Notes Administrator Microsoft Exchange Administrator Lotus Notes Developer Technician Local Area Network (LAN) Technician Wide Area Network (WAN) Technician Application Administrator Web designer Web developer LINUX/UNIX Systems Administrator Information Technology Infrastructure Technician Information Technology Budget and Administration Assistant Help Desk Technician User support trainer Regional IT coordinator System Analyst Business Analyst Systems Administrator Data Storage Administrator Software developer Software Quality Assurance Project Team leader Project Manager RFI_Annexes_6 Feb.docx Page 2 of 4
Service Desk Manager Contract Manager Incident Manager Problem Manager Change Manager Service portfolio and catalogue manager Technical documentation managers and experts Warehouse manager Geospatial Information Systems: Geospatial Information Systems Technician Data analyst Imagery analyst Annex B Tasks and functions to be performed by expert-teams (outcome-/performance based): Telecommunications: Telecommunications infrastructure management services (towers, antennas, masts, microwave & satellite equipment) Management of video conferencing services Mobile Communications (satellite phones, cellular phones, smartphone / tablets, Mi-Fi) Telephone (IPT) Network services (LAN, SSP (CCTV, Control Access), Broadcast LAN, Multicast Network, WAN, WiFi, VPN, Network Security) Network operations/control services Personal Computing: Computer hardware/systems management/support Management of Printing management/support Data Center and Hosting Services Data Center management/support Data Storage management/support Server hosting services (physical and virtual) Farm hosting services (database, web, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange) Application hosting management/support Application Services ERP (SAP R3) management/support Windows Exchange management/support Geospatial information management/support Application Development and suport RFI_Annexes_6 Feb.docx Page 3 of 4
IT Management/Support IT Security management/support IT Contract management Technical Planning & Documentation management/support Help Desk / End-user support Service Desk Annex C Response Form The response form (Annex C) is available under the url http://www.un.org/depts/ptd/files/rfimi40_annex_c_rfi_response_form_contractual_services_v3.xls Annex D List of Regions covered by the UN 100 Africa 200 Americas 300 Asia 400 Europe 500 Oceania 110 Eastern Africa *(South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Burund)i 120 Middle Africa *(Central African Republic, Gabon, Dem.Rep.of the Congo) 130 Northern Africa *(Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Western Sahara) 210 Caribbean *(Haiti) 310 Central Asia 410 Eastern Europe 220 Central America 320 Eastern Asia 420 Northern Europe 230 South America 330 Southern Asia *(Afghanistan, Pakistan) 430 Southern Europe *(Italy, Spain, Serbia, FYR Macedonia) 140 Southern Africa 340 South-East Asia 440 Western Europe 150 Western Africa 350 Western Asia *(Cote d Ivoire, *(Cyprus, Iraq, Israel, Liberia, Mali) Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria) *(Countries with Current UN Peacekeeping Operations) 510 Melanesia 520 Micronesia 530 Polynesia RFI_Annexes_6 Feb.docx Page 4 of 4