unified communications request for proposal (rfp) finance/rfp - unified...evergreen school division...

Evergreen School Division Request For Proposal - Unified Communications

Confidential EKB Consulting Inc. Document 1 | P a g e

Unified Communications Request For Proposal (RFP) The Evergreen School Division (ESD) This Request for Proposal is hereby made to supply and install unified communications within Evergreen School Division as indicated on the attached sheets, in accordance with the general conditions and detailed specifications there for. I/We have read the Proposal documents, understand them and intend to be bound by them. BIDDING ORGANIZATION NAME: ADDRESS: CITY: PROVINCE: POSTAL CODE: SIGNING OFFICER (Signature): __________________________________ NAME OF SIGNING OFFICER (Please Print): POSITION: TELEPHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: EMAIL ADDRESS: WEBSITE ADDRESS: BID FORM FOR: _______ 120 DAYS_______ DATE:



Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 3

Background......................................................................................................... 3

Current Environment ........................................................................................... 3

Project Description .............................................................................................. 4

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS .................................................................................. 5

General Conditions/Requirements: ........................................................................ 5

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: ................................................................................... 11

Technical .......................................................................................................... 11

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................... 14

VALIDATION TESTING .......................................................................................... 15

PROOF OF CONCEPT (POC) ................................................................................... 15

FINANCIAL ........................................................................................................... 15

MANAGERIAL ....................................................................................................... 17

WARRANTY/PARTNERSHIP SERVICE ...................................................................... 18

TRAINING ............................................................................................................ 18

EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................................ 19

TOTAL COST OF PROJECT ..................................................................................... 19

VALUE ADD OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................................ 19

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION .................................................................................... 20

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................... 20

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 20

LICENSING OF FEATURES ..................................................................................... 21

Additional Costs ................................................................................................ 21

Proprietary Equipment ....................................................................................... 21

FEATURES ............................................................................................................ 22



INTRODUCTION

Background The Evergreen School Division (ESD) is one of the largest rural school divisions in the Province of Manitoba. Evergreen School Division is located in the Interlake region of Manitoba, bordering the shores of Lake Winnipeg from Chalet Beach north to Hecla Island. Our school community is culturally diverse and provides quality learning opportunities to approximately 1550 students in eight schools (12 Sites) located in four communities (Winnipeg Beach, Gimli, Arborg, and Riverton). The school division offers a variety of educational programs and is characterized by a dedicated and caring staff, safe schools and transportation, exemplary student services, state of the art information and communication technologies and outstanding curriculum and professional learning supports.

Current Environment ESD currently has 112 telephones in 12 locations. Location

ACI

AEMS

ESC

GHS

GJMS

RCI

REMS

SSES

TEC

WBS

GBG

MAINT

TOTAL

Phone 12 8 14 18 10 8 10 12 5 13 1 1 112 Current State Notes Approximately a total of 20 Centrex lines at the tech centre, admin board office, school bus garage & maintenance building

Each has a DID phone number and voicemail

10 schools with their own MTS PBX phone system. Each having approx. 5 analogue 1B lines; rotary line system and fax line.

Not sure if the schools have an voicemail

Some other analogue lines may be also be in existence for intrusion, fire dialer etc.

No elevator phone lines Just Handicap elevators ICT Data Centres are located in Gimli Technology Centre. The ESD has a student absence auto-dialing system, Synrevoice, placing calls to a student’s parent/guardian to report a student absence, and broadcasting important school messages to parent/guardians. The server for this system is hosted by the vendor off site and does not impact this solicitation.



The network is Optical Fiber running at 1 gbps to all sites, terminating at the data centre. The network is a Windows Network running Server 2012 and a single Active Directory. Storage is centralized with HP SAN devices. Security is delivered through a Palo Alto firewall. The ESD’s email is a Microsoft Exchange 2013 environment hosted by ESD from the current internally. Switches are HP with QOS and POE running. WiFi within sites is Enterprise MERU Wifi. The ESD’s building security systems, fire alarm systems, temperature alarms and duress alarms in all sites use a dialer and land line with a back-up radio transmission system to communicate alarm signals to the alarm company. Emergency telephones in those sites with an elevator use a dialer and land line to communicate directly with the alarm company.

Project Description The ESD wishes to migrate to a Unified Communication based voice system with improved functionality utilizing the current data network infrastructure. The vendor will install a Unified Communication system that seamlessly blends technologies into a reliable and manageable system that grows with user needs. All proposed equipment should be able to integrate with existing network infrastructures to form a complete telecommunications system that accommodates current and emerging requirements. The ESD wishes to update outdated communications technologies to better enhance the services by: Allowing the ESD to better serve the community in a fiscally responsible, effective, and efficient manner. By combining voice, data and eventually video onto an end to end network infrastructure, the ESD will find significant cost savings to give a positive return on investment. Improve the speed, mobility and communication functionality of our systems to better service our staff and citizens. The selected vendor may, at the discretion of the ESD, be the primary source for: Converged Unified Communications telephony hardware, software and voice mail equipment Installation and configuration services Training of key users Maintenance and support of purchased equipment and software Bidders should use their knowledge and experience to recommend a creative solution(s) that will meet or exceed the requirements. Based on financial requirements to implement this project, installation/implementation may be completed in stages within the whole of the ESD over a period of one to three years, or all at once, at the sole discretion of the ESD. ESD will consider additional features including SIP Trunking and SIP Paging.



INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

General Conditions/Requirements:

1. Bidders are required to submit five (5) copies of the Proposal in three (3) parts – Technical, Managerial, and Financial, including the Bid Form provided with this document, in a “SEALED”ENVELOPE clearly marked “UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS” up to 12:00:00 Noon SHARP(prevailing Manitoba time), November 26, 2014, and sent to:

Charlie Grieve, CMA Secretary-Treasurer Evergreen School Division 140 Centre Avenue West Box 1200, Gimli Manitoba R0C 1B0

2. Bids must be received at the location specified above, before the specified time.

Bids received after this time will not be considered regardless of the reason for their being late and will be returned to the bidder unopened.

3. Questions regarding this Request for Proposal may be directed in writing to

[email protected], prior to the closing time indicated above.

4. If addenda are issued, or if there are any changes to this document, all reasonable efforts will be made to inform all bidders prior to the close of the proposal period. It is the sole responsibility of the proposer/ bidder to check regularly before the deadline for any updates or changes to this document. All addenda become part of the contract documents and receipt of addenda should be acknowledged by the bidder on the Bid Form.

5. Erasures and/or corrections shall be initialed by the person(s) authorized to sign

the proposal.

6. All proposals must be clearly legible. Bids that are illegible will be disqualified. Prices quoted are to be defined within a two decimal point amount, i.e. not three or more decimal points.

7. State guarantees and warranties, terms and conditions.

8. ESD need not accept the lowest, the highest ranked, or any bid, and reserves the

right to accept or reject any bid.

9. No bid faxed or emailed to ESD will be considered. Sealed bids are required; however, where a formal bid has been received before the specified date and



time of bid closing, amendments to the bid by facsimile (204) 642-7273, to the attention of the above, are acceptable provided such amendments are also received, and receipt confirmed, at the location specified prior to the specified closing time.

10. Any items omitted, or any special conditions or qualifications added to the bid,

may cause the bid to be rejected, and may affect the evaluation of the bid. Any bid offered on forms other than the one provided, or with alterations, may be rejected.

11. Failure to comply with any instruction contained in this proposal document may

be deemed sufficient cause for the rejection of all or part of the bid.

12. If a bid contains a minor defect or fails in some way to comply with any requirements of this proposal document that, in the opinion of the ESD, can be remedied without providing an unfair advantage with respect to other bidders, the ESD may request clarification from the bidder. Upon receipt of appropriate clarification, the ESD may waive the minor defect, or any irregularity, and accept the bid. Any failure by the bidder to provide a written response that, in the opinion of the ESD properly clarifies its bid, within the time specified by the ESD, may result in rejection of the bid.

13. Bids should outline how the specific proposal would be implemented within the

ESD. In addition, the ESD reserves the right to request selected suppliers to provide the necessary follow-up information or to make a presentation to the proper officers of the ESD. The ESD reserves the right to test selected solutions at any time during the Request for Proposals process.

14. Submissions must meet all aspects outlined with regard to the technical

proposal.

15. Bidders are encouraged to submit any and all additional information that may be in the best interest of ESD.

16. The Vendor shall state all pricing in Canadian funds. Prices to be all inclusive

(delivery, disposal of packaging, and all other charges to any building in the ESD), and ‘not’ include Goods and Services Tax and Manitoba Retail Sales Tax (also known as PST). Taxes are to be shown separately and individually. Secretary-Treasurers of other school divisions within the Province of Manitoba may be informed of the successful vendor and may utilize that information to initiate formal discussions with the vendor.

17. All costs are the responsibility of the Vendor and must be included in the bid

price. This includes any provision for travel and or disbursements. Such



allowances must be included in the bid price so that the total costs of all bids can be evaluated equally.

18. All proposals submitted to the ESD become the property of the ESD. All

submissions will be treated in confidence.

19. The proposal and all forms/sheets must show the name of the firm and must be signed by a person duly authorized to sign on behalf of the bidder. The name and title of that authorized person so signing must be clearly printed or typed under that signature.

20. The ESD reserves the right to accept in whole or in part or reject any proposal or

any part thereof, and to annul the process and reject all proposals at any time, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidders or any obligation to inform the affected bidders of the grounds for the ESD’s action.

21. No employee of the ESD shall act as an agent for any vendor bidding on this

proposal, or receive any remuneration or other compensation related to this proposal.

22. All prices are to be firm for acceptance for the minimum period of (120) days

from the closing date of the Request for Proposal.

23. All equipment supplied shall comply with the Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg Electrical By-Laws.

24. Sustainable development products are preferred and will be considered.

25. All items must be new or clearly identified and discounted as used.

26. Indicate, in your bid response, certification of material and equipment supplied.

27. The performance under this Contract is to be carried out to the complete

satisfaction of the ESD.

28. This Contract will be deemed to have been made in and will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws in force in Manitoba.

29. The Vendor will comply with all laws and regulations applicable to the place of

work, whether Federal, Territorial, or municipal, including the Fair Wage Schedule of the Employment Standards Act, and will pay for all permits and certificates required in respect of the Contract, where applicable.



30. All required inspections by regulating agencies will be the responsibility of the bidder. All permits must be posted at the jobsite.

31. Contractors are required to follow the duties and specifications of the Workplace

Safety and Health Act of the Province of Manitoba and of the ESD.

32. As well, prime contractors must be able to demonstrate that they are capable of meeting their responsibilities under regulation 189/85 of The Workplace Safety and Health Act (W210) including their requirement for: setting up an effective system to ensure everyone involved in work on the project meets their legal safety and health obligations co-ordinating, organizing and monitoring work on the project to ensure responsible and practical precautions are in place to effectively control safety and health hazards co-ordinating safety and health programs of subcontractors

33. The Vendor may be required to provide proof that it has a business license

appropriate for the purpose of the work under the Contract.

34. Where, in the opinion of the ESD, it is in the public interest to obtain security to ensure the due performance of this Contract, the ESD may require security.

35. The Vendor shall forever protect and defend the ESD, in the full and free use and

enjoyment of any and all rights to any invention, machine or device, against the demands of all persons whatsoever.

36. The Vendor will, for the stated contract price, provide all necessary services and

will carry out in a careful and professional manner, to the satisfaction of the authorized representative of the ESD, the work set out under description of the work and more particularly described in the specifications.

37. Without the prior written consent of the ESD, the Vendor will not assign or sublet

this Contract or any of the Vendor’s rights, benefits or monies accruing hereunder, and any purported assignment without such consent will be void.

38. Changes to the Contract will only be made on receipt of written instructions from

the ESD. Any resulting adjustment of the Contract price will be agreed upon by the ESD and the Vendor, and will represent the reasonable and proper costs incurred by or savings accruing to the Vendor.

39. No payment will be made for any extension of the completion date for the

Contract given to the Vendor due to delay encountered during the execution of the Contract, unless such delay was caused by the ESD.



40. The ESD may, at any time upon written notice to the Vendor, suspend or terminate the Contract for reasonable cause. The ESD’s obligation to make payment to the Vendor will cease when payment for work satisfactorily performed has been made.

41. The Vendor will perform services under the Contract with minimum disturbance

to personnel, students, and the public to ensure that the health and safety of persons occupying adjacent or contiguous parts of the building are protected. The Vendor will obtain the approval of the ESD for the hours during which the work will be performed and will provide a work schedule for approval by the ESD.

42. Vendor/contractor is responsible for protecting areas and systems of the school

from dust, fumes or other hazardous conditions.

43. Work to be done in one continuous operation per stage of project, or as directed by the ESD.

44. Vendor to provide all items, articles, materials, operations or methods listed as

shown or required, including labor, materials, equipment, and incidentals necessary for the completion of work.

45. Vendor to be responsible for scheduling delivery of materials and

storage/protection of same. If materials are to be stored inside the building, arrangements are to be made with the ESD prior to delivery. Storage and protection of the bidder/contractor’s tools and materials to be their responsibility.

46. Vendor is responsible for providing proof of $2 million liability insurance inclusive

per occurrence for bodily injury (including death), and damage to property including loss of use thereof. Such insurance shall include coverage for broad form property damage, contractual liability, completed operations and product liability. Evergreen School Division shall be named as an additional insured on the policy, but only with respect to the operations of the Contractor in the performance of this contract. Proof of liability insurance is required once contract has been awarded and prior to commencement of work involved.

47. The successful bidder will indemnify and save harmless the ESD, its employees

and agents from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, actions, causes of action, suits, costs and expenses that the ESD may sustain, incur, suffer or be put to at any time either before or after the expiration of termination of the Contract, where the same or any of them are based upon, arise out of, or occur, directly or indirectly, by reason of any act or omission of the bidder or any agent, employee, officer, director or subcontractor of the bidder pursuant to this



Contract, excepting always liability arising out of the independent negligent acts of the ESD.

48. The Vendor will be liable to the ESD for any loss or damage of any property

and/or grounds of the ESD arising out of the performance of the Contract.

49. Upon award of the proposal, no substitutions are to be made without consent of the ESD.

50. When the job is complete, the bidder shall, where appropriate, instruct the ESD’s

personnel in the proper operation and maintenance of equipment/system/facility.

51. Bidder to notify the ESD upon completion of the job in order to arrange for inspection of the work by ESD personnel and subsequent payment and processing.

52. All bids must be firm from the time of quoting until delivery/setup and invoicing

procedures are complete.

53. Subject to verification by the ESD, payment of the Vendor’s invoice for work (submitted and payable in Canadian currency) satisfactorily completed will be made not later than 30 days after receipt thereof.

54. The Vendor will pay all valid claims for wages and other expenses it incurs in

respect of the Contract, as and when such claims become due. If the Vendor fails to do so, the ESD may do so and deduct from monies owing to the Vendor such sums including: any outstanding wages owing to persons employed to perform the Contract; any assessments of the Manitoba Worker Compensation Health and Safety Board of Employment Insurance Commission relating to the Contract; and any other claims, charges or encumbrances arising in any manner whatsoever from the operations of the Vendor which the ESD determines to be valid and enforceable. The ESD may also set off against amounts owing to the Vendor any sums owing by the Vendor to the ESD.

55. The ESD is the sole owner of any material produced under this Contract. Any

material produced under this Contract cannot be used or disclosed for any other use without prior written consent of the ESD. “Material” includes both tangible and intangible (including intellectual) property.

56. This Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties in respect of

the subject matter of this Contract and supersedes all previous negotiations, communications and other agreements in respect of it unless they are specifically incorporated by reference into this Contract.



57. The failure by the ESD to exercise or enforce any of the terms or conditions of this Contract will not constitute or be deemed a waiver of the ESD’s rights to enforce each and every term of this Contract. The failure by the ESD to insist upon strict performance of any of the terms or conditions of this Contract will not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default in the terms or provisions herein.

58. Upon award of a bid proposal, the selected Vendor will enter into a Contract with

the ESD by way of Purchase Order which will form part of this Contract. In the event of a conflict between terms and conditions of this proposal document and the Purchase Order, the term and conditions of this proposal document will prevail.

59. Unit pricing will not be disclosed upon award of this proposal.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

Technical The technical proposal should be concise and should address, but not necessarily be limited to, the following points:

1. All hardware must be C.S.A. certified, meet or exceed industry standards, and support the principles of the Province of Manitoba’s Sustainable Development Act. Part of the proposal evaluation will be based on the selection of environmentally preferable products.

2. ESD must be notified, to the attention of the Purchasing Manager, prior to

delivery of any changes to product makeup that affect hardware or software configuration.

3. The vendor must be able to provide ESD with Tier III Service Desk support for

hardware and software forming part of the proposed products. If Tiers of support are offered, the Vendor should enumerate including 24x7 supports. Are different support levels available by site?

4. ESD requires the vendor to track delivery and service performance metrics that

will be used to evaluate the success of the relationship.

5. A design approach allowing the solution to accommodate industry trends that would be essential in maximizing forward compatibility, extensibility and availability of industry support.



6. The proposed system should be committed to supporting open system industry standards.

7. Equipment must be SIP compliant.

8. Any server-based software must be proven to operate in VMware.

9. The proposed system should be scalable and expandable for future video

applications without major modification to the network infrastructure.

10. It must be compatible with the ESD’s current building security, network security and fire alarm systems.

11. The proposed solution must support an IP-based FAX service from the current

network copier fleet and from workstations.

12. The proposed system must have a scalable, cost-effective voice messaging system that supports open industry standards for both telephone and desktop access and supports unified messaging with Microsoft Exchange 2013 with Outlook clients and Outlook Web Access.

13. The proposed system must have the ability to incorporate future requirements

and technological advances in an educational setting. The ESD may choose to migrate in the future to one or more services, for example, video conferencing, instant messaging, support for cell phones or wi-fi phones over this infrastructure. What options are there to turn on or off any of these features? What costs in your response may be associated with each of the features?

14. The proposed system must be quality voice that meets or exceeds the voice

quality of a typical traditional PBX installed line with minimal voice latency.

15. The proposed system must be serviceable remotely via VPN.

16. The proposed system must integrate with the current Microsoft Active Directory and utilize current Storage Area Networks.

17. The proposed system must include support for e911 services at each site. The

proposed system should allow users to login to different phones or desktop access on their laptop. Identify if it can provide accurate location information to e911 operators.

18. Outage of services to perform system or software updates must be minimal and

advised well in advance. Identify what types, if any, of activities require an



outage of service. Identify how updates, hot fixes or patches are applied to any software. Identify the notification process.

19. All emails produced by the system must use TLS and authentication.

20. The proposed solution must support Quality of Service (IP-QOS) using industry

standards.

21. The proposed solution must provide over-the-wire security (e.g. SSL) using an industry standard protocol between the messaging system, call–control system and the IP-based endpoints.

22. Identify the tools for provisioning handsets and degree of automation. It must

have ability to track handsets and features assigned to each user.

23. Describe the features that are provided on the proposed phone sets (for example, call display, call forward, adjustable audio volume on speaker, handset, cordless headset, call hold, call transfer, full duplex, conference with multiple people participating in a room or across locations, etc). Not all phone sets will require the same set of features.

24. The vendors should recommend specific manufacturer and models of phones

available with pricing for specific locations. For example classroom phones, specialist phones, small office phones, multiline phones, administrator phones etc.

25. Describe features available for disabled persons.

26. Describe the features of the attendant console.

27. Describe the features of the automated call attendant.

28. Is there an option for voice recognition?

29. Describe the features of the system administration component (is it web based

accessible from any workstation in the WAN? What diagnostic tools, reports, system alarm and notifications are available)?

30. Describe the features of the voice mail system (such as, alternative greetings,

auto attendant, etc).

31. The system must support an employee (such as, receptionist) with extensions on the station that enable additional lines to be monitored and managed.



32. The proposed system must provide very high reliability for core call switching and voice mail functionality. Phones must retain all core features in the event of a WAN outage. Describe the redundancy options for each component and their reliability. A fail-over redundancy control mechanism should be fully automatic on an interruption of service. Identify the availability of remote sites and the proposal for their survivability.

33. Describe the types of switches, UPS and power required wherever the proposed

equipment is located.

34. Provide details on services offered to help optimize the performance and reliability of the voice network following completion of the installation.

35. Logging of call details and accounting for long-distance in readable reports

should be available.

36. Identify the maximum number of simultaneous conversations supported.

37. Identify the power requirements of the IP phones and whether local wall outlet or PoE (Power over Ethernet) is required.

38. Identify any impact on the existing IP naming structure.

39. Identify the back-up process for the systems and/or voice mail.

40. Identify options for trade-in of current routers, switches, PBX and/or handsets.

41. Describe features for broadcasting to multiple Voicemail Inboxes.

SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 1. The ESD anticipates most employees in a long term position eventually having an

individual number and voice mail box. However, staff with short assignments, such as substitutes, may not. The system should be able to accommodate a growth from 112 phones to approximately 200 over 5 years including 15 % soft phones.

2. The proposed system should scale to handle expansions or reduction of

employee numbers for a site with no or very limited system administration. The equipment must be re-deployable at any site. The solution must be scalable in terms of the variability of size of sites and the number of increases in users per site.



3. We are open to an option of an outsourced managed solution for service-level monitoring, diagnostics and trouble-shooting and change management of equipment, software and accounts. If not an option, identify the training requirements and skill level of staff required to maintain the equipment, software and accounts.

4. The proposed solution must be easy to administer from the end user and

administrator’s perspective. Describe the diagnostic and monitoring tools available for local and central administration.

VALIDATION TESTING Product evaluation samples, if requested, are to be delivered at no cost to a location in the ESD and/or our Technology Centre, Gimli, Manitoba. Bidders will provide the hardware configurations for evaluation for a specified period of time (no less than 30 days) and will be given at least 5 working days to provide the requested hardware.

PROOF OF CONCEPT (POC) The bidder that has been provisionally accepted by the ESD will be invited to participate in a limited POC at: Riverton Collegiate, Riverton Early Middle School and the ESD Tech Centre/Division Office.

1. This POC will be of three months’ duration with at least 60 days of actual production operation of the new system to validate there are no issues. All equipment and software for this Pilot Project will be provided by the vendor on a “Try and Buy” basis where if the system meets the requirements mutually agreed upon by the ESD and the bidder, in writing, the ESD will remit payment for an invoice for the total amount of products used in the POC and place an order for additional products to begin staged implementation within the ESD.

2. “Services” provided within the Proof of Concept (POC) will NOT be invoiced to

the ESD irrespective of successful completion of the POC. Should ESD decide to go ahead with implementation the POC will already be included in the costs listed in the RFP response.

3. Returned equipment will carry NO restocking or service charges of any type.

Should the Proof of Concept fail ESD will NOT be charged for services or returned equipment.

FINANCIAL



1. The ESD requires that all proposals include a review, of the submitted unified communications specifications and associated costs, for negotiation with the proper officers of the ESD prior to the elapse of six months from the initial date of the agreement. The intent is that the awarded proposal would be reviewed with the proper officers of the ESD to negotiate changes to the initial specifications in accordance with the ongoing technology advancements and future changes within the industry. The proper officers of the ESD may cancel this agreement at any time during the contract period by giving thirty (30) days written notice. a) The ESD may purchase equipment and/or configurations other than those in the Request for Proposal. Actual configurations may be upgraded by the ESD following bid award to meet specific implementation requirements.

2. The ESD will only consider current technology, not end-of-life (EOL) products,

factory seconds or close out products or used or refurbished equipment. Product pricing may be only one of the components to be considered in the overall evaluation of environmentally preferred products.

3. Bidder(s) will be expected to offer the ESD an option to trade in older

technology. The successful bidder(s) will be expected to indicate an ability and willingness to make provisions for exchange or credit.

4. Bidder(s) should offer the ESD options for the removal and disposal of network

or telephone equipment, identified as such, and in an environmentally friendly manner.

5. Successful bidder(s) must certify that the prices quoted in their Proposal will

remain in effect for the initial six (6) months of the agreement. Any reduction in manufacturer's prices during this period must be reflected as a price reduction to the ESD.

6. The ESD may choose to lease the equipment in the Request for Proposal.

Bidder(s) must offer the services of an in-house leasing company to provide various financing options and value- add services, including asset management and recovery services, etc. Please include lease factors in your proposal cost.

7. The ESD may require special delivery services such as scheduled delivery on a

specific date, weekend delivery, and delivery to a specific area in our facility, re-packaging and transportation of legacy systems, etc. Bidder(s) must offer special delivery services as an option.

8. The bidder(s) should have strategic alliances in place with major software and

hardware companies in order to source third party product and peripheral products to the ESD.



9. ALL costs, including lodging, transportation, meals etc. must be included and clearly illustrated in the RFP response.

MANAGERIAL

1. Each proposal must address all areas of responsibility related to how the company would supply quality equipment, systems support and service to the ESD. You are encouraged to supply information on new and/or innovative processes that would be beneficial to the ESD in meeting its unified communications requirements. Proposals must provide full and complete pricing of all equipment, upgrades, downgrades and related services associated with your submission.

2. Successful bidder(s) will identify dedicated account manager(s) who will be

responsible as a liaison to the ESD consultants and technical staff, in order to ensure that all the ESD specified job requirements are fulfilled.

3. The account manager(s) shall be the prime contact(s) for the ESD for any issues

or concerns that may arise during the course of the contract.

4. The successful bidder(s) must provide quarterly roadmap presentations detailing product life cycles to assist the ESD with product transitions. In addition, the successful bidder must provide notification six to twelve months prior to changes impacting manufacturer hardware, peripherals and software. To assist in transitions, all bidder(s) must provide an evaluation system upon request, accompanied by a technical advisor, to explain technical specification and answer questions. Any fees associated with any of the services detailed above must be at no cost to the ESD.

5. The ESD will require the services of a Vendor assigned Project Manager to

ensure compliance to mutually agreed upon project parameters and schedules, and provide the planning, scheduling and management of all assigned resources during project implementation.

6. Proposers must provide a turnkey solution in those cases where sub-contracting

is proposed. The ESD reserves the right to review and reject any proposed sub-contractor(s).

7. Implementation is expected to be on a staged basis dependant on costs and

available funding. The selected bidder(s) will be required to document and submit a project implementation schedule to the appropriate officials of the ESD for each facility project. No work may be commenced until the Vendor has obtained written acceptance from the proper officers of the ESD. The schedule



must clearly define during what working hours the work will be performed, the conditions that work areas will be left during non-working hours and how cut-over of existing services will be accomplished without any or minimal operational impact on the site.

WARRANTY/PARTNERSHIP SERVICE

1. All systems quoted in your proposal should include an onsite next business day service option. Upgrades to 4 hour onsite service should be available as an option. Onsite response constitutes a certified technician, onsite with parts, within 4 hours of call placement. Include warranty upgrade costs in your proposal cost.

2. Vendor must specify all conditions regarding warranty support for the duration of

the agreement.

3. All equipment which is received non-serviceable at time of purchased shall be replaced immediately by the vendor, not repaired.

TRAINING

1. Training is to be tailored to our environment, and done on the ESD premises or electronically as agreed upon with ESD.

2. Describe the training required by end-users, attendants’ system administrators,

network administrators.

3. Is training for System Administrators included in the price? If not what is the price? Per Hour? Per Day? Please include and detail all associated costs.

4. Are the following included in the proposal: Regular technical seminars for

support staff?

5. Regular service notices and bulletins.

6. Access to technical databases - service notices, configuration information, known problems and fixes.

7. Toll free access for technical support.

8. Advance notice of model changes.



9. Any configuration/networking/system software concerns addressed at no charge; this includes training, warranty and upgrade costs.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria outlined below. Selection will be based upon technical quality, managerial, financial costs and systems solutions. The ESD will ensure the company's compliance with the requirements of this request. The ESD reserves the right to seek clarification of any or all suppliers in order to assist in the evaluation process. To assist the ESD, the award evaluation criteria is based on, but not limited to, the following:

2. Corporate Strength, References, reputation, appropriately and legally registered

for intended service, completeness and clarity of response, prior experience on comparable projects or services in the educational environment, submission quality, demonstrated innovation in management approach, size of contracts, number of staff or size of registry, ability to meet service requirements on less than 24 hours’ notice, ability to meet or qualify for all Categories. Responsive and correct management of issues and incident management is a requirement.

TOTAL COST OF PROJECT Demonstrated success in providing product at a similar cost to other educational institutions. Total cost considered to include hardware, software, upgrades/downgrades, peripherals, installation, support, training, lease options, warranty support. Please include and detail all associated costs. Specifications/Scope of Work/Service/Quality/Suitability Demonstrated expertise with current equipment. Ability to meet and comply with required specifications, installation requirements and warranty/servicing of equipment with respect to the ESD’s needs and objectives as determined by ESD. Hardware/Software Product Quality Demonstrated proof/success of product hardware/software/peripheral durability, product life, performance, integration, serviceability, etc., meeting or exceeding industry standards and fulfillment of criteria specified in this RFP, in writing from the vendor/manufacturer, and previous customers.

VALUE ADD OPPORTUNITIES Innovative ideas, cost reduction initiatives, methods of leveraging the installation, software, hardware or services to enhance existing services or deliver new services.



Vendors should include associated services that might be derived using Unified Communications as a foundation or core. For example Public Address Systems, Security Cameras, Wireless Communications. Please include and detail all associated costs..

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION The ESD reserves the right to negotiate with any company/supplier submitting a bid to alter, clarify or further enhance the company's proposals and/or any contract arising out of the acceptance of the bid.

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

1. Provide examples of similar size and/or projects/partnerships in the educational field that your company has been involved with in the past three to 5 years.

2. Briefly describe your organization's educational support team as it exists today.

3. Current financial profile and any other relevant information regarding your

company’s ability to fulfill the ESD requirements.

REFERENCES

1. The ESD reserves the right to fully investigate the qualifications of any bidder(s) based on references supplied. Bidder(s) are required to supply evidence of experience on projects of similar nature and/or magnitude listing: customer name, address, contact names and telephone/fax numbers as well as the value of work.

2. Your proposal must include three references and examples of successful

partnerships with other customers similar in size and scope for which your company has supplied similar services. Education organization references are preferred. The type and scope of services proposed must be included within your submission. Contact information for each reference must accompany the RFP response.



LICENSING OF FEATURES All licensing, maintenance and licensing costs associated with the solution proposed and potential services which are not included, but may be deemed necessary or included in future upgrades or updates or maintenance of the proposed solution must be included in this response. Additional fees, costs or services associated with the implementation or maintenance of the proposed solution, or which may become necessary to implement or support the solution must be included in the response to this RFP.

Additional Costs List ANY features that are licensed individually or require a separate licence or annual maintenance license or will incur any other costs, fees or require additional equipment, software, service or support in addition to a One-Time Individual User License. For example: Feature Billed per: User,

Group etc. Billing Frequency: per month, per year etc.

Cost

Voice Mail Per user Annual $49 Call Forward Per Phone Monthly $2 E911 Gateway Per site One time hardware $150

Proprietary Equipment List ANY proprietary equipment necessary for the installation, operation, maintenance or up scaling of the solution proposed in an Appendix to your bid.



FEATURES Comment regarding the availability, cost and any distinguishing ability or reservation regarding the features listed below.

FEATURE Available Cost Comment Feature name Yes $1.00 Per phone/yr Abbreviated Dialing Add Held* Answer Detection ARS – Automatic Route Selection Attendant Access Auto-answer* Automated Attendant Call detailed Records Call Forwarding Call Forwarding – Always Call Forwarding – Busy Call Forwarding – No Answer Call Forwarding – Off Network* Call Hold* Call Hold Reminder* Call Park and Pickup Call Transfer – Blind* Call Transfer – Supervised* Call Transfer – Trunk to Trunk Call Waiting* Call Waiting – Caller ID Presentation Call Waiting – Swap* Call Waiting – Warning Tones* Caller ID Blocking* Caller ID Presentation* Conference* Conference – Add Held Party* Conference – Drop Last Party* Conference Bridge Dial Plans Uniform Dial Plan Conflict Dialing Feature Access Codes Distinctive ringing*



Do not disturb* Hotline* Hunt Group – Overflow Hunt Groups – Ring Groups Hunt Groups – Sequential Last Number Redial* Message Waiting* Music on Hold Hotline* Night Service Switching Paging – Overhead PA System Route Selection – General Route Selection – Least Cost Routing Toll Control Standards: RFC 3261 SIP: Session Initiation Protocol and companion RFCs

RFC 2833 RTP Payload for DTMF digits, telephony tones and telephony signals

Codecs: G.711 G.729a*, G723.1* and other compressed codecs*

T.38* fax Night Service Switching Paging – Overhead PA System Route Selection – General Route Selection – Least Cost Routing

Please add any features that your submission offers that have been omitted in this chart.

unified communications request for proposal (rfp) finance/rfp - unified...evergreen school division...

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