[SOLUTION PROVIDER LOGO]
DISTRICT 2 PUBLIC HEALTH
WIC PROGRAM
Request for Proposals
For a
Voice Over IP Phone System Call Center
RFP # WCC.2011-04
Revision 1
Revised date
3/17/2011
Response by:
[Solution Provider]
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
1.1.1Company Background
1.1.2Summary of the Requirement
1.2RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1.2.1Definition of Terms
1.2.2Confidentiality
1.2.3Proposal Preparation Costs
1.2.4Marketing References
1.2.5Proposal Validity
1.2.6Acceptance or Rejection of Submissions
1.2.7Contract Negotiation and Execution
1.3RFP AMENDMENTS AND CLARIFICATIONS
1.3.1Question Period
1.3.2Submission of Questions
1.3.3Clarifications and Amendments
1.4PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
1.4.1Submission of Proposals
1.4.2Date and Hour of Submission
1.4.3Number of Proposal Copies
1.4.4Presentations
1.4.5HCHD Questions
1.4.6Withdrawal
1.4.7Financial Proposal Instructions
1.5EVALUATION CRITERIA
1.5.1Evaluation Timeframe
1.5.2Review Criteria
2VENDOR INFORMATION
2.1EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
2.2COMPANY BACKGROUND
2.3COMPANY STRUCTURE
2.4INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
2.5CUSTOMER REFERENCES
3IP Telephony Solution
3.1System Overview
3.2Software Release of the Proposed Solution
3.3System Design Platform
3.4Call Processing O/S
3.5Database Integrity
3.6Database Information Loss
3.7Power Supply
3.7.1Power Safeguards
3.8Redundant system design elements
3.9Local Survivability
3.9.1Survivable IPTS Features/Services
3.10Network Failover Resiliency
3.11Security
3.11.1Authentication
3.11.2Disruption of Services
3.11.3Confidentiality and Privacy (Packet Sniffing)
3.11.4Physical Interfaces
3.12ISDN PRI Services
3.13Traffic Handling
3.14IP Station QoS
3.15Multi-Party Conference Calls
3.17IP Telephones (including softphones) & Audio Conferencing Units
3.18Analog Telephones
3.19Facsimile Terminal
3.20Modem
3.21Power Failure Transfer Station (PFTS)
3.22Voice Terminal Instruments – Regulation Requirements
3.24Other IP Telephone Instruments
3.25Additional Desktop Options and Accessories
3.26Station User Features
3.27Systems Management
3.28System / Port Capacity
3.29Terminal Capacity
3.30Support of Open Standards
3.31Security Features
3.32Administration Functions
3.34Stations
3.35Threshold Alarms
3.36VoIP Monitoring
3.37Optional Reports
3.38Call Detail Recording
3.39Maintenance
3.40Alarm Conditions
3.41Maintenance Reports
3.42Remote Maintenance
3.44Call Recording24
4Integrated Messaging System
4.1Security Features
4.2Voice Mail Features
4.2.1Forwarding
4.2.2Disconnect Detection
4.2.3Station Dialing
4.2.4Answer Announcement
4.2.5DTMF Signaling
4.2.6Greeting
4.2.7Trunk Access
4.2.8Distribution Lists
4.2.9Message Forwarding
4.2.10Audit Trail
4.2.11Message Indication
4.2.12Identification Code
4.2.13Message Recovery
4.2.14Message Reply
4.2.15Message Review
4.2.16User Controls
4.2.17Other User Features / Controls
4.2.18System Management Console
4.2.19System Changeability
4.2.20AMIS
4.2.21Digital IP Networking
5SERVICES
5.1MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT
5.2WARRANTY AND REPAIR
5.3PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
5.4PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
5.5SUBCONTRACTORS
5.6CUTOVER
5.7ACCEPTANCE
5.8TRAINING
5.9BILLING
5.10PRICING
5.10.1Vendor Pricing and Cost Information
5.11Prefered Service Options...... 34
5.12Additional Parts and Labor...... 36
[SOLUTION PROVIDER NAME HERE]Page1 of 39
Rev 1Revised 03/17/2011
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1INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The purpose of this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is to acquire the services of a qualified vendor who will provide and install a next-generation IP-based voice solution for District 2 Public Health WIC Program (D2PHWIC).
1.1.1Company Background
District 2 Public Health WIC Program is part of District 2 Public Health which serves 13 Counties in North Georgia. District 2 Public Health WIC Program has 15 sites in Northeast Georgia;three (3) of them in Gainesville, Georgia. District 2 Public Health WIC Program is a Federal, State and County Program and must abide by federal, state and county policies and procedures.
District 2 Public Health WIC Program may eventually convert all of our existing phones systems to a VoIP phone system as funds permit. All of the systems should to be the same for ease of management and support. Two of the sites in our district currently have Mitel VoIP Phone systems. Any system that is proposed must be able to integrate with those systems.
Our business deals with patient information (HIPPA) related material and content. Thus, any provider should have experience with dealing with similar organizations and/or HIPPA.
In Hall County there are two (2) main sites and a secondary site. The main sites (District Office and Hall County Health Department) share a parking lot and are linked by 20+ strands of fiber that we own. The third site is Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NEGMC) which is approximately 3 miles away. For a more detailed list of sites, sizes, locations and phone information for the three affected sites, see our website, This RFP is also posted there.
1.1.2Summary of the Requirement
District 2 Public Health WIC Program seeks to implement a high volume call center using a scalable IP solution that makes best use of today’s leading-edge technology.
This solution must contain the capabilities for addition of common contact center solutions such as ACD, e-Mail, detailed call reporting and WEB Chat solutions. It should be an integrated, turnkey, common off the shelf (COTS) solution, which is low in cost and easy to maintain. There should be minimal customization of the solution in order to fulfill the business needs of D2PHWIC. The system should be easy to administer on a day-to-day basis by non-technical contact center supervisors and managers. The system must work with the current e-mail system, Novell Groupwise. Active directory is not currently used.
We(D2PHWIC) will acquire our own voice and data services. Voice services will be delivered via PRI and will serve District Office and Hall County Health Department. DID’s and caller ID will be utilized; the quantity will be determined. All of the data cables in the buildings are CAT 5 or CAT 5E. We plan to independently acquire new POE switches for this project.
The primary solution proposed will be located at the District Office (refer to Site List at We want a solution that we own rather than one that will be hosted offsite.
1.2RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By responding to this RFP the Supplier signifies agreement with and is bound by the following Terms and Conditions.
1.2.1Definition of Terms
Participating Vendor: A company that has submitted a proposal in response to this Request for Proposals
Proposal: A response to this RFP submitted by a Participating Vendor.
RFP: Request for Proposals.
Supplier: Any company or individual that has received a copy of this Request for Proposals.
Client: District 2 Public Health WIC (D2PHWIC)
1.2.2Confidentiality
D2PHWIC expects the Supplier to respect the confidentiality of D2PHWIC’s information. As a result of its participation in relation to this RFP, the Supplier may gain access to information regarding D2PHWIC business or on the use, development, and acquisition of other services by D2PHWIC. The Supplier shall treat all information as confidential and shall not use or disclose the information beyond the intended purpose, being the Supplier’s preparation and response to this RFP; and shall not disclose the information to any third party, except where the information exists in the public domain and/or is exempt from protection under applicable law. Any other distribution, copying or disclosure is strictly prohibited.
If the supplier is required to release any of the information to a third party for the purposes of preparing for its proposal, the Supplier is required to solicit at least the same confidentiality obligations from this third party prior to releasing the information.
Should the supplier or third party be unable or unwilling to comply with D2PHWIC’s confidentiality requirements they must return all RFP material received and withdraw from this RFP process.
D2PHWIC will consider proposals submitted by suppliers as confidential. All materials submitted by the Supplier will become the property of D2PHWICand will not be returned.
1.2.3Proposal Preparation Costs
All costs incurred in the preparation and submission of proposals and related documentation, including participating vendor presentation to D2PHWIC shall be borne by the participating vendor.
1.2.4Marketing References
All Suppliers responding to this RFP shall be prohibited from making any reference to D2PHWIC in any literature, promotional material, brochures or sales presentations.
1.2.5Proposal Validity
Proposals must be valid for 90 days from the Proposal Due Date.
1.2.6Acceptance or Rejection of Submissions
D2PHWIC is not obligated to accept the lowest cost or any proposal.
D2PHWIC reserves the right to:
- Reject any or all proposals;
- Waive technicalities or irregularities;
- Issue no contract for any of the services described within this RFP;
- Award all services to one vendor;
- Accept any proposals it determines to be in the corporation's best interest;
- Negotiate any or all of the scope and terms of any contract that flows, directly or indirectly, from this RFP;
- Add or remove scope into the contract negotiation process;
- Issue contract awards for any combination of services and vendors, either all or part of the business as D2PHWIC sees fit.
D2PHWIC has no obligation to reveal the basis for contract award or to provide any information to suppliers regarding the evaluation or negotiation processes.
All participating vendors will be notified promptly of bid acceptance or rejection.
1.2.7Contract Negotiation and Execution
It is the intent of D2PHWIC that, after the successful vendor has been selected, D2PHWIC and the selected vendor will enter into contract negotiations containing all terms and conditions of the proposed service. Any acceptance of a proposal is contingent upon the execution of a written contract and D2PHWIC shall not be contractually bound to any vendor prior to the execution of such written contractual agreement.
1.3RFP AMENDMENTS AND CLARIFICATIONS
All inquiries, questions, and requests for clarification of the contents of the RFP must be in writing, and addressed to the D2PHWIC Contact identified in this RFP. It is the Supplier’s responsibility to clarify their interpretation of any item in the RFP of which they are not certain.
1.3.1Question Period
The deadline for all questions is 4/7/2011. No questions submitted after this date will be answered.
D2PHWIC will answer all questions by 04/12/2011.
1.3.2Submission of Questions
All inquiries, questions, and requests for clarification of the contents of the RFP must be in writing, (email is preferred) and addressed to the D2PHWIC Contact identified below.
Questions submitted to other than the specified D2PHWIC Contact will not be answered. D2PHWIC cannot be responsible for the accuracy of answers, clarifications or other information received from other than the means described herein.
Multiple questions per RFP section are permitted. However, each question must be identified by the section number of the RFP to which it pertains, and an alphanumeric identifier if there are multiple questions per RFP section.
A listing of Supplier inquiries (without identifying the source of the inquiry) andD2PHWIC responses thereto will be published on the D2PHWICwebsite.
All inquiries must include:
- The supplier company's name, address and phone number;
- A clear and concise question;
- References to specific sections and paragraphs within this RFP.
Questions shall be submitted by e-mail (preferred) or fax, referencing the RFP number on all correspondence.
For questions regarding this Request for Proposal please contact:
James York
District 2 Public Health
1280 Athens Street
Gainesville, GA 30507
Telephone: 770-535-6935
Fax: 770-535-5958
Email:
1.3.3Clarifications and Amendments
Any clarifications or amendments to this Request for Proposalswill be published on the District 2 Public Healthwebsite at:
1.4PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
All responses must be submitted to the Contact specified by the proposal due date and time.
1.4.1Submission of Proposals
Proposals must be submitted to:
Charlene Thompson, NSD
District 2 Public Health – WIC Program
1280 Athens Street
Gainesville, GA 30507
Telephone: 770-535-5865
Fax:770-531-4544
Email:
1.4.2Date and Hour of Submission
Responses must be submitted by April 14, 2011 at 9:59 AM. Proposals that are late may be rejected. Proposals will be opened and publicly read aloud on April 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM.
1.4.3Number of Proposal Copies
- Four(4) printed copies and one electronic copy.
- In the event of any discrepancies between the original printed version and any duplications, the original printed version will be assumed to be accurate.
- Please submit financial/cost proposals separately in a sealed envelope with “Sealed Bid” on the outside. See Invitation cover letter on our website for details.
1.4.4Presentations
D2PHWIC may request Supplier presentations from time to time. D2PHWIC will notify Suppliers if any presentations are required.
1.4.5D2PHWIC Questions
D2PHWIC may, at its sole discretion, seek clarification from any or all participating vendors regarding proposal information and may do so without notification to other responders.
Any and all clarifications required by D2PHWIC shall be sent through the D2PHWIC Contact to the Supplier.
The following process shall be employed by D2PHWICif clarification is required regarding any Supplier responses:
D2PHWIC will issue questions to any or all Supplier(s) as deemed necessary by D2PHWIC. The D2PHWIC Contact will issue these questions by e-mail.
The Supplier is to send responses by e-mail to the D2PHWIC Contact by the response due date and time referenced on the question e-mail. Upon D2PHWIC’s reasonable request, if the new information provided in response to D2PHWIC’s questions represents significant changes to the Supplier’s original response, then the Supplier may be asked to re-issue their original response with the updated information included.
1.4.6Withdrawal
A Supplier may, without prejudice to itself, modify or withdraw its response by written request, provided that the request is received by the D2PHWIC Primary Contact prior to the proposal due date. In the case of an electronically delivered request, a written confirmation thereof bearing the authorized signature of the Supplier shall be received by the D2PHWIC contact within three (3) business days of issuance of the request.
Following withdrawal of a response prior to the due date, the Supplier may submit a new response providing delivery is prior to the due date.
1.4.7Financial Proposal Instructions
Pricing shall be provided for all functionality included in the Supplier’s response.
Pricing shall be broken down by each solution element covered in the Supplier’s response. An overall aggregated price for the entire response with no breakdown shall not be accepted.
Supplier shall state all assumptions used for pricing.
Please submit financial/cost proposals in a sealed envelope with “Sealed Bid” on the outside. See Invitation cover letter on our website for details.
1.5EVALUATION CRITERIA
D2PHWIC will evaluate participating vendor proposals on all elements of each response including costs, technology, solution’s flexibility and capability, scope of the services provided, compatibility with D2PHWIC’s environment and other factors as described below.
1.5.1Evaluation Timeframe
Evaluation for the responses by D2PHWIC shall not commence before the Due Date.
The evaluation is expected to be complete within 30 days and a contract is expected to be awarded within 30 days of the evaluation.
1.5.2Review Criteria
D2PHWIC will review the information provided in response to this RFP to develop a solution for D2PHWIC’s telephony needs. Detailed evaluation criteria will not be shared with Suppliers; however, a high-level overview of important evaluation criteria follows:
Financial: D2PHWIC will evaluate each of the Supplier responses considering the overall value (costs and savings) to D2PHWIC to implement aVoice Telephony solution.
Technical Capability: D2PHWICwill analyze the responses to determine how completely the solutions proposed meet the requirements as documented in this RFP. Specifically, the proposed solution will be evaluated in terms of:
- Service availability and resiliency;
- Scalability, capacity and performance;
- Capability
- Compatibility with existing infrastructure, systems and processes;
- Capability to accommodate a phased implementation;
- Delivery / Time to implement and deploy;
- Manageability;
- Comprehensive security;
- Longevity of the proposed service(s);
- Service and support;
- Product quality.
Innovation: D2PHWICwill value innovative recommendations and proposed solutions for D2PHWIC telephony technology, especially innovation that allows for cost effective initial implementations with the flexibility of phased growth based on need or business case justification. The ability of the solution to leverage D2PHWIC’s existing LAN & WAN infrastructure to reduce the overall cost of the solution will be important.
Value Add: If the Supplier has services or offerings relevant to D2PHWIC that set them above other Suppliers, please identify these services and/or offerings (be specific).
Additional Information: D2PHWIC is interested in obtaining the best possible solution. If there is anything else you would like to add about your company or the requested services, please do.
2VENDOR INFORMATION
2.1EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Provide an executive summary of the system being proposed.
Response:
2.2COMPANY BACKGROUND
Provide an overview of your company, number of years in business, core solution offering, and five-year growth and development plans.
Response:
2.3COMPANY STRUCTURE
Provide your company ownership structure.
Response:
2.4INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Describe your experience with Voice over IP solutions. Include market share, industry recognition, awards, etc.
Response:
2.5CUSTOMER REFERENCES
Please submit references from the last five (5) customers for whom you have implemented a similar solution over the past five years including individual contact information. Please include at least one reference that is similar in scope and size of what is being proposed.
Response:
3IP Telephony Solution
3.1System Overview
Using a simple diagram, illustrate your proposed IP network design.
Response:
3.2Software Release of the Proposed Solution
Identify the software release for each product/model proposed.
Response:
3.3System Design Platform
Describe the proposed IP solution’s architecture and design elements.
Response:
3.4Call Processing O/S
What will be the primary operating system of the common control call processor?
Response:
3.5Database Integrity
How will the proposed IP solution preserve and protect the customer database between backups?
Response:
3.6Database Information Loss
Under what circumstances can customer database information (configuration, messages, logs, etc.) be lost during backups?
Response:
3.7Power Supply
What power sources will be required for common controls as well as those in distributed areas? Indicate if this solution will be dependent on an AC or DC current.
Response:
3.7.1Power Safeguards
What safeguards are included in the IP design to protect system operation? What would happen to system operation during a power failure?
Response:
3.8Redundant system design elements
Indicate the degree of redundancy, e.g., full duplicated back-up or standby load sharing, for each of the following common control elements.
tone generators
main system memory
RJ-45 Ethernet uplinks to network
I/O interfaces
DTMF receivers
power supply
primary call processor
call classifiers
customer database memory
registers
Response:
3.9Local Survivability
The system needs to be redundant in one of two ways. 1. Internally redundant, where all of the major components have a spare/backup. Example: Mirrored hard drives and dual power supplies. 2. Second Controller, where a totally separate controller, can pickup and run everything the primary controller does with minimal interruptions to service. Please define what interruptions occur when a fail over occurs. Please explain how your survivability solution meets the above requirements.
Response:
3.9.1Survivable IPTS Features/Services
- What generic software features need to be in place when the survivability solution is activated?
Response: