1 Request for Proposals (RFP)
Managed Services, Help Desk and Engineering Support for Safer Foundation
www.saferfoundation.org
IMPORTANT NOTICE
All proposal question and inquiries must be sent by email to [email protected]. The subject line of the email must state the following: RFP Managed Services, Help Desk, and
Engineering Support.
RFP Data
Commodity Title: Managed and Help Desk Services
Contact: Tracey Hollingsworth
Phone: 312-913-5797
Email: [email protected]
Date Issued: March 5, 2015
RFP Proposal Deadline for Receipt by Safer Foundation
Day/Date: Friday, April 3, 2015
Time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
Via: Email to: [email protected]
Overview
Safer Foundation is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of services designed exclusively for people with criminal records. We focus on helping our clients secure and maintain jobs because we understand that employment offers the best chance at successful re-entry.
Our mission is to reduce recidivism by supporting, through a full spectrum of services, the efforts of people with criminal records to become employed law-abiding members of the community.
Safer has approximately 350 employees and runs a variety of programs from 11 sites located in Chicago, IL (7), Harvey, IL (1), Rock Island, IL (1), and Davenport , IA (2).
Contract Term
2 Schedule of Events
These dates are for reference only, we may change at Safer’s discretion. Any changes will be communicated via email.
Issue RFP to potential vendors March 6, 2015
Vendor inquiries due by March 27, 2015
Proposals due (by 3:00 p.m.) April 3, 2015
Vendor On-Site Presentations/Demos April 16-17, 2015
(Finalists Only)
Intent to Award May 30, 2015
Anticipated date of contract execution July 2015
Safer Foundation is seeking Managed Services, Help Desk and Engineering Support. Support will be provided through a partnership between Safer and the selected vendor. Based on current services received we have the following:
Managed Services (7x24) Help Desk (onsite 2 days/week)
Engineering Support (onsite 2 days/week)
Currently services are provided during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) . On occasion, the support hours may be shifted slightly to accommodate business requirements. *See Attachments B & C for more detail on current scope of service.
In some instances, the vendor will provide an “overflow” type of service. Overflow service is defined as:
System outages, local disaster or other circumstances overloading or limiting Managed Services and/or Help Desk response times.
Equipment Summary
Element Description Coverage Scope
3 Instructions to Vendors
Right to Reject: Safer Foundation reserves the right to cancel or reject this procurement, RFP and any
or all Proposals received as a result of this RFP at its sole discretion.
Preparation Costs: Safer Foundation shall not be liable for any costs incurred by vendors in the
preparation of proposals to this RFP, including any meetings and demonstrations that may be required or requested. All costs incurred are at vendor’s expense.
Questions or Requests for Clarification/Change: All requests for changes or clarifications regarding
technical information, procedural requirements, contractual requirements, or other issues should be submitted via email to: [email protected] and received no later than March 27, 2015 at 12:00 noon CDT.
Proposal Preparation and Submission: Proposals to the RFP shall be of sufficient length and detail to
demonstrate that the vendor has a thorough understanding of Safer’s environment.
Proposals must be submitted in the format outlined in the Request for Proposal. Respondents must submit an electronic copy of the complete Proposal in a PDF format and should include a pricing proposal (see sample format in Attachment D).
Vendors must include a cover sheet that identifies the company name, address, primary and secondary contact person for the proposal, and corresponding email, phone, and fax numbers. Please also include your company’s web address.
Vendors must complete all applicable information and provide all information requested in the RFP. Failure to comply may be grounds for proposal rejection. A copy of the proposal will be kept by Safer Foundation.
Information Submitted: It is the vendor’s sole responsibility to submit information related to the
evaluation categories. Safer is under no obligation to solicit such information if it is not included in the proposal.
.Evaluation Process: All proposals received by the due date and time will be reviewed. Proposals which are not received by the deadline may not be reviewed. The proposals will be:
1. Evaluated for completeness and compliance with the requirements of this RFP. Proposals considered complete will be evaluated to determine if they comply with the administrative, contractual, and technical requirements of the RFP. If the proposal is unclear, vendors may be asked to provide written clarification if it is in the best interest of Safer to do so.
2. Vendors may be invited to make a presentation in support of their proposal. Such presentations will be made to the evaluation committee.
References: Vendor should include a listing of at least three (3) references, two (2) should be
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performance of any vendor with respect to its successful performance of similar projects, compliance with specifications and contractual obligations, its completion or delivery of a project on schedule , and its timely payment of suppliers, and workers.
Evaluation Criteria: Any contract resulting from this RFP will be awarded based upon the evaluation
criteria given in this RFP.
Scope of Proposal
Proposals submitted in response to this RFP will be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria: 1. Proposal Summary: Provide a brief summary of your proposed solution
2. Company Profile/History 3. Solution Requirements 4. Implementation Plan
5. Call Center System Support (if applicable) 6. Data and System Security
Summary of Evaluation Criteria:
Summary/Profile/History of Company
Provide a brief summary of your proposed solution.
Provide a brief history of your company. If you are a partner of a larger firm please include that information.
Describe the number of years that your firm has been in business and please provide number of clients and any awards you deem relevant.
Please provide a copy of most recent annual report. Along with any annual filings with the state of Illinois or Federal government.
Solution Requirements
Describe your proactive approach to system enhancements. Please provide scope of coverage. (i.e. 24/7/365, etc.)
Do you provide coverage for commonly used Enterprise applications? (i.e. Microsoft Office, etc.)
Are you flexible to adjust support options as they relate to emerging technologies and call volume?
Is there staff available for contact outside of normal Help Desk hours if needed? Is there regular, detailed reporting available?
Provide sample image of tracking/ticket report system. Implementation Plan
Describe your plan for implementing your solution at Safer Foundation. Include approximate time lines, roles, vendor responsibilities and resources/time commitments Safer is expected to provide. This includes:
o Transition Plan
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o Who is the vendor project manager?
o What will be the dedicated staffing assignments? o What are the defined tiers/levels of service? o Do you have a case study of a similar conversion?
o Sample of Project plan with tasks, durations, dependencies for deployment. o Approach to handling potential associated risks.
System Support
State the different user options and the hours that support is available.
Sample of vendor response in case of an emergency (Who would we call/Who would be able to respond?)
Do you have standards in place for: o Customer Satisfaction o Trouble ticket resolution o Closing trouble tickets o Trouble ticket status Data and System Security
Describe your security architecture What are the system capabilities? References
Provide at least three references that we may contact of similar size and operation. At least two (2) of these should be not-for-profit references.
Please provide number of years your company has been providing service to this agency. Price Proposal
Provide a price proposal (see Attachment D for details) Define criteria for pricing changes.
What is your not-for-profit pricing?
6 ATTACHMENT A
VENDOR COVER SHEET
Vendors must include a fully completed cover sheet.
Company Name: Address:
Company Website:
Primary Contact Name:
Phone: Fax: Email:
Secondary Contact Name: Phone: Fax: Email:
Check list:
Cover sheet (above)
Scope of Proposal
Price Proposal (Attachment D)
References7 ATTACHMENT B
CURRENT SCOPE OF SUPPORT HELP DESK AND ENGINEERING Help Desk Support
Provide hands on engineering support for server and network infrastructure at Safer’s main and remote locations.
Enable users to more effectively perform their job functions by providing onsite help desk support.
Better utilize the onsite engineers and help desk resources by offloading the desktop imaging and configuration process to remote service desk team.
Service Characterization
Onsite IT Engineering Support
Follow-up and resolve alerts generated from Support Center. Troubleshoot and resolve application issues (i.e. Exchange). Perform maintenance on hardware, network, equipment, etc. Back-up jobs troubleshooting and remediation.
Active Directory and Group Policy management. Miscellaneous projects.
Escalations from the Help Desk.
Vendor management – Coordinate incidents, troubleshoot issues, etc. Work on special projects as defined by management.
Based on current scope, additional engineering or design support from subject matter experts is required for certain projects to resolve incidents.
Onsite Help Desk
Receive, resolve and close inbound break/fix, support, and maintenance service requests generated through the Help Desk system.
Attempt to resolve issues through client interaction or using support tools onsite or remotely for Safer’s remote locations.
Triage to determine appropriate escalation and follow through to a successful resolution. Identify appropriate solution point for hardware, software, and network issues.
Administer user privileges, password resets, etc. Review of tickets, escalations, priorities, for the week.
Coordinate the hardware and software installation of new or replacement computers (leveraging the remote team).
Work on special projects as defined by management.
Define and manage standard desktop software and hardware configuration. Liaison between vendor and Safer for hardware purchases.
Handle printer installations and desktop software updates.
Create hardware and software inventory list for Safer which will enable better planning and forecasting for future hardware/software purchases.
Build relationships with users by responding to support service requests. Work through technical problems by phone or in person.
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Install new software programs and patching existing systems.
Work with software vendors and Contract Administration and Compliance team members to resolve problems.
Assist in system conversions and software rollouts. Remote Desktop Imaging and Configuration
Coordinating with the onsite team, manage the imaging and configuration of new computers.
Work through process for generating Purchase Orders for the acquisition of new PCs and any associated services for imaging and deployment.
Based on the current agreement it is expected that the vendor and Safer will define the process for providing additional details associated with the IT support work being performed, including:
Itemization of projects that take more than 3 hours.
9 ATTACHMENT C
CURRENT SCOPE OF SUPPORT MANAGED SERVICES Managed Service Care consists of:
Monitor Data collection on a 24x7 basis.
Measurement of metrics including service availability, predictive hardware status, and thresholds for various measures such as disk space, CPU utilization, and memory usage.
Regular scans of the environment to capture any changes or additions to the environment and document them accordingly.
Alert Diagnose the issue, assign security level, and alert key contacts as
defined in the Alert Response Procedures.
Back up Check - Check job status and alert Safer and vendor contact of any failures. Remediation of issues handled by the onsite support team.
Event Log Check – Review event logs daily for client. Logs are triaged and treated in the same as detected by monitoring. Patch
Identify current patch levels and Windows update process during onboarding.
Configure servers to utilize update server. Release patches from Microsoft each month.
Review the patches and provide list of those that will be deployed during the next mutually agreed upon maintenance window. Review list with Safer personnel.
Engineering Support Infrastructure engineers provide system, production, and project
support. Support may include:
Infrastructure Project Design and Support Escalations to Subject Matter Experts Advisory Services
Report The following information is reviewed:
Management Analysis – Includes Executive Summary and Infrastructure Roadmap
Management Reporting – List of patches, upgrades, project and budget status. Also includes Best Practice recommendations and incident reporting.
10 ATTACHMENT D
PRICE PROPOSAL
Managed Services Help Desk Engineering Support
Start-up costs
Ongoing yearly costs
Software costs
(Provide base cost including software licensing fees and itemized prices for any required or optional add-on
modules/interfaces, miscellaneous fees such as shipping and handling.)
Total cost of
interface/integration with our current system
(i.e. Tracking system)
Hourly rates
(Which may include rates at different tiers based on skill-set of employee. Used to provide basis for add-on development.)
Other
Total
