Audio Visual Equipment
Bid Specifications
BCSC WAN
Specifications
Issued: 10/12/001
BCSC WAN RFP11/7/2014
Table of Contents
1Introduction
1.1Current Environment
1.2Desired Environment
2Scope of Services
2.1Network Requirements
2.2Hardware Requirements
2.3Service Requirements
2.3.1Major Outages
2.3.2Minor Outages
2.4Implementation Requirements
2.5Project Management
3Deliverables
3.1Success Metrics
3.2Ongoing Responsibilities
4Penalties
5Contractual Terms and Conditions
5.1Single Provider
5.2Length of Contract:
5.3Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) Plan
5.4All Cost Inclusive Pricing
5.5Indiana State Gross Retail and Use Tax
5.6Billing Cycle
5.7E-Rate Funding
5.8Modifications
5.9Examination of Documents
5.10Proof of Competency
5.11Execution of Agreement
6Proposal Requirements
7Evaluation and Award Process
7.1Selection Factors
7.1.1Initial Cost of Solution (25%)
7.1.2Total Cost of Ownership (20%)
7.1.3Extent to which the goods or services meet the district’s needs (15%)
7.1.4Reputation and Quality of the Service Provider and Service Provider’s Goods or Services (20%)
7.1.5Other Relevant Factors (20%)
8Timetable
9Communications
10Appendix I Service Locations
11Attachment 1 - Questionaire:
12Attachment 2 – Pricing Sheet
13Attachment 3 – Execution of Agreement
14Business References
1Introduction
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (BCSC) serves approximately 11,500students who live in Bartholomew County. The district serves most of the county, the exception being the part of the northwest corner of the county that is served by the Flatrock-Hawcreek School Corporation. The students are served by 18 instructional facilities including 2 high schools, 2 middle schools, 11 elementary schools, a stand-alone high school program, a preschool facility, and an alternative education facility.
In the fall of 2008, BCSC opened the Columbus Signature Academy, a standards-driven, project-based, instructional program featuring extensive technology in the classroom and a 1-to-1 laptop program for students in grades 3 through 12. An additional 500 students from surrounding counties are served through BCSC’s vocational education programs at Columbus North High School, Columbus East High School, and the McDowell Education Center.
The corporation provides administrative services through staff located at three (3) buildings. The Administration Building houses the Central Administration including Human Resources, the Business Office, Student Services, Special Education Services Division, Title One, Elementary and Secondary Curriculum, and Family School Partners. The Information Services Center houses the Technology Division, Student Records, and Bookstore Management. The Transportation and Maintenance Building houses transportation services personnel, building and grounds functions, and cafeteria services.
1.1Current Environment
BCSC’s current Wide Area Network consists of a combination of managed fiber services provided by Smithville Digital (incumbent provider) and private fiber owned by BCSC.
BCSC owned fiber connects Central Middle School to the Columbus Signature Academy – Lincoln Campus and a ring of fiber connects the Columbus North High School, Northside Middle School, and L.C. Schmitt Elementary School to the Information Services Center.
BCSC’s incumbent provider currently provides a pair of 1 gigabit fiber to 16 locations located throughout Bartholomew County. All connections link at an aggregate location, and are routed appropriately to the correct location using BCSC’s internal network schema. The incumbent also provides a 10 gigabit connection between BCSC’s Information Services Center (ISC) building and the aggregation point and a 10 gigabit connection between BCSC’s data center located at the Data Cave and the aggregation point. Please see AppendixI for the service locations.
1.2Desired Environment
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation would like to continue with managed Ethernet WAN services. Thismodel has served BCSC network well since 2006.
2Scope of Services
BCSC requires that the respondent fulfill the requirements outlined in this section in order to be considered for selection.
2.1Network Requirements
The selected WAN solution will comprise of 1gigabit connections to each location noted in Appendix II as well as 10 gigabit connections to the ISC building and Data Cave location. BCSC may need to upgrade connections at some point in the future, please indicate if the option is available and an estimate of cost. May also list as an additional to the RFP.
Each location must be able to support VLAN tagging of data.
All Ethernet protocols must be present on the network and conform to normal standards. Traffic must be routable to any point on the WAN.
All traffic, whether voice, video, or standard data must be transmittable as long as it is converted to TCP/IP format.
2.2Hardware Requirements
All hardware used must conform to common standards. Termination points must use existing building penetration points and data closets. Respondent is responsible for delivering the appropriate handoff for BCSC’s environment per location.
2.3Service Requirements
The proposed managed Ethernet services must operate at full capacity, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Outages must be immediately identified through an automated process and notification system. Remediation service issues must be acknowledged in one (1) hour with a maximum on-site response time of four (4) hours.
BCSC expects a service uptime of 99.999% during core service hours of 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM (EST). Any planned service downtime cannot occur during core service hours without the express written permission of BCSC. Service Provider must provide a copy of Service Provider’s service level agreement. The Service Level Agreement shall be included within the final negotiated contractual agreement.
The Service Provider must provide access to customer support on a 7 x 24 x 365 basis.
The Service Provider shall provide one customer representative and technical service representative to serve as Project Manager(s) during normal business hours (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM) during the first five days of Service operation to provide such assistance to the BCSC representative as may be required. The customer representative and technical service representative will be on call and immediately available for the remainder of the first month of operation without additional cost to BCSC.
2.3.1Major Outages
Service Provider must provide a definition of Major Outage and response time frames. BCSC requires a minimum of a 30 minute acknowledgement to a Major Outage, and a minimum of 1 hour for Service Provider to begin the trouble shooting process.
2.3.2Minor Outages
Service Provider must provide a definition of Minor Outage and response time frames. BCSC requires a minimum of a one hour acknowledgement to a Minor Outage, and a minimum of 2 hours for Service Provider to begin the trouble shooting process.
2.4Implementation Requirements
All services will use existing entrances into BCSC buildings.
2.5Project Management
On acceptance of the respondent’s proposal, the respondent will assign a project manager to BCSC as a single point of contact. The Project Manager will be responsible for ensuring BCSC’s needs are met in regards to the WAN service.
The Project Manager will report weekly until service has been fully implemented for BCSC.
3Deliverables
3.1Success Metrics
The service will be considered to have been successfully delivered when an end-to-end connection can be established with Internet sites.
3.2Ongoing Responsibilities
The Service Provider must provide BCSC with a quarterly report discussing performance levels, outages, and issues.
4Penalties
In the event that the proposed service is not available for testing and use by June 15, 2015, the Service Provider will be required to compensate BCSC for any costs incurred as a result of BCSC’s inability to discontinue the incumbent provider. Said costs shall include monthly charges from the incumbent and any E-Rate payments lost as a result of inability to use the proposed service as of July 1, 2015.
5Contractual Terms and Conditions
5.1Single Provider
This contract will be awarded to one Service Provider as determined to provide the best value to BCSC as determined by the district. BCSC reserves the right to negotiate with any or all respondents and accept or reject any and/or all proposals, to waive any formalities and/or irregularities and to award in the best interest of the school district.
5.2Length of Contract:
The term of this contract shall be five (5) years from July 1, 2015 THROUGH June 30, 2020. The agreement may be renewed for three (3) additional 1 year terms after the initial term agreement with the mutual consent of both parties.
5.3Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) Plan
For comparisons, the Respondent must submit the service provider’s lowest corresponding pricing plan on the service pricing sheets listed below based upon the district locations specified in Attachment II.
5.4All Cost Inclusive Pricing
Service provider must include any taxes, surcharges, fees, installation cost, and any other costs inclusive of construction charges on the pricing sheet.Service Providers which do not provide this information, even if the amount is an estimate based upon current applicable taxes, surcharges, or fees, may be disqualified, and/or BCSC will not be liable for these charges.
5.5Indiana State Gross Retail and Use Tax
This statement shall apply to all Service Providers submitting Proposals in anticipation of a direct contract with the School Corporation. For ease of reference such Service Provider shall be called a “Service Provider” and the School Corporation shall be called “Owner”.
All Proposals shall be submitted without inclusion in the prices for the amounts, if any, of Gross Retail and Use Tax (generally called the “Sales Tax” and adopted in the 1963 Special Session of Indiana General Assembly as House Enrolled Act 1226, Sections 1-20) due the State of Indiana for services performed or material furnished in connection with the work contemplated by the proposal. This provision shall apply both to transactions between the Owner and the Service Provider and to transactions between the Service Provider and any supplier furnishing service or material to the Service Provider. However, any tax on rented equipment and on material not incorporated in the work shall be paid by the Service Provider if assessed by the State of Indiana and shall not be paid by the Owner. The Owner shall pay the amount of such tax, if any, with the exceptions noted above, in addition to the contract price. Such amounts of tax shall be separately itemized in all statements. The Owner shall have the right to contest the tax with the State of Indiana. The Service Provider shall provide any exemption certificates permitted or required by such statute.
5.6Billing Cycle
Billing cycle will begin on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month. Bill will be received no later than seven (7) business days after the end of the month. Provider must include a breakdown with detailed charges of all items billed inclusive of any applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges.
5.7E-Rate Funding
A portion of the payment for this contract will be funded by the School and Libraries Program(SLD) administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). BCSC is eligible for a certain discount percentage to be verified by the SLD. BCSC has historically utilized the Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement (BEAR) Form (FORM 472) for reimbursement from the School and Libraries Program (SLD). The contracted service provider shall acknowledge acceptance of this process. The contracted service provider further agrees to provide BCSC with the signed and dated page 4 of the BEAR Form (or on-line certification) within 7 calendar days of submission to the designated individual and/or department responsible for signature thereof (or successful submission of the on-line BEAR form). Contracted service provider further agrees to fully cooperate with the district in the event the district elects to convert to the service provider invoice method during the term of the contract. Service Provider agrees to provide any service provider federal e-rate data gathering forms prepopulated with billed telephone numbers and working telephone numbers for the districts review and certification. Specifically, Service Provider acknowledges and will comply with paragraph 237 of the Seventh Report and Order, WC Docket No. 13-184.
The Universal Service Fund is administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This not-for-profit corporation was appointed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure that the benefits of telecommunications services reach students and communities across the country. Service providers responding to this RFP must be currently registered with the SLD and provide valid SPIN identification in the proposal response. For more information, visit the Schools and Libraries Division Website at:
Service Provider further agrees to submit the “Service Provider Annual Certification” Form for the forthcoming funding year prior to the beginning of the forthcoming funding year.
Service Provider shall provide the Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) as assigned by the SLD within the response to this RFP.
Service Provider agrees to resolve within 60 calendars days any formal written billing dispute provided either electronically, or via the United States Postal Service with return receipt requested. Service Provider shall provide the mailing address and/or e-mail address for formal billing disputes within the response. Service Provider shall provide an escalation list for the billing dispute resolution process. Escalation list shall at a minimum include the Vice-President of your organization responsible for billing disputes. In the event a formal billing dispute is not resolved within 60 days, Respondent agrees to issue a credit to service provider’s bill to BCSC’s. This credit must appear on the first billing cycle after the expiration of the 60 days allowed for the billing issue resolution process. In the event service provider does not provide the credit requested, BCSC shall subtract said credit from the next month’s bill. Service provider agrees and accepts that any late payment fees associated with this process shall be waived by service provider without demand.
5.8Modifications
No oral statement of any person shall modify or otherwise change, or affect the terms, conditions, or specifications incorporated within the resulting contract.
5.9Examination of Documents
Before submitting a Proposal, each Respondent shall carefully read all documents. Each Respondentshall fully inform himself prior to submitting a proposal as to all existing conditions and limitations under which the work is to be performed and he shall include in his proposal a sum to cover the cost of all items necessary to perform the work as set forth in the documents. No allowance will be made to any Respondentbecause of lack of such knowledge. Acceptance of any Proposal will be based on the assumption that the Respondentfully understands the specifications and conditions, and accepts them without reservation.
5.10Proof of Competency
Respondents will be required to furnish evidence satisfactory to the School Corporation that he and his proposed suppliers have sufficient means and experience in the type of work called for to assure completion of the contract in a satisfactory manner. The School Corporation reserves the right to inquire about each company’s qualifications such as size of the company, number of employees, whether it is a full or a part-time business and any other necessary factors that would qualify the company as a “Responsible Bidder” as defined under I.C. 36-1-9-2.
5.11Execution of Agreement
Copies of all applicable agreements or contracts shall be included with the proposal, and will be carefully examined by the School Corporation for compliance with the documents, and shall be considered part of the Proposal. These must be provided as Attachment #3, “Execution of Agreement”.
The Respondentto whom the contract is awarded by the School Corporation shall within ten (10) days after notice of award from the School Corporation, sign and deliver to the School Corporation all required copies of said agreements or contracts.
All bonds and agreements or contracts shall be approved by the School Corporation before the successful Respondentmay proceed with the work.
The School Corporation is willing to convert this Proposal Specification into a binding contract.
6Proposal Requirements
Respondents must submit 3 physical copies of their proposal on 8.5 x 11paper bound in a 3 ring binder or another standard binding method (no staples). Respondent must submit a digital copy in portable document format ( .PDF). Each physical copy must include
* Executive Summary and Signature Page
* Completed Questionnaire
* Cost Sheet
A Physical Diagram of your proposed service offering.
vide a Logical Diagram of your proposed service offering.
* Business References (per Section 7.1.4.2)
* Proposal and delivery breakdown
7Evaluation and Award Process
7.1Selection Factors
Proposals for the equipment will be evaluated as an entire package for all items included in the base proposals using the following criteria.
Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following:
7.1.1Initial Cost of Solution (25%)
This includes all costs associated with purchase, delivery, and installation of the network services proposed, including any items such as cables that must be supplied by the School Corporation to make the proposed solution operable.
7.1.2Total Cost of Ownership (20%)
Total Cost of Ownership will include any costs that the School Corporation will incur to install and support the on-going operation of the equipment such as cabling, annual maintenance, power, and licensing.
7.1.3Extent to which the goods or services meet the district’s needs (15%)
7.1.3.1Completeness
The completeness of the total proposal, the ability to fulfill all requirements contained in these specifications and the quality and thoroughness of the data provided in the proposal will be evaluated during the award process.
7.1.4Reputation and Quality of the Service Provider and Service Provider’s Goods or Services (20%)
7.1.4.1Supplier Qualifications & Capability
The ability of the Respondent to provide evidence of other successful installations similar to the proposed shall be reviewed prior to awarding the proposal.
Please provide a brief history of your company and copies of your company’s two most recent annual reports.
7.1.4.2References
Service Providers that do not already have an established sales and service relationship with the School Corporation must supply three or more references from K-12 public school corporations that are comparable in size to the School Corporation. Please provide the references on Attachment #2, “Business References”.
7.1.5Other Relevant Factors (20%)
Other relevant factors including, but not limited to:
-Service Level Agreement
-Proposed Implementation Plan
-Local Service and Support Team