Specification and Conditions
for
Network Hardware Refresh
One hard copy marked ‘Network Hardware Refresh’ to be returned complete with all the requisite supporting information to:
The Finance Officer
St Mary’s University College
NO LATER than 12 NOON on FRIDAY 1stAUGUST 2014
Dear Sir or Madam,
Network Hardware Refresh – St Mary’s University College
The College invites you to submit an offer for the supply of the above equipment, for which a budget of £93,000 (inclusive of VAT) has been agreed by the College Finance Committee.
This document, detailing the required specification and associated conditions, consists of the following sections:
1BACKGROUND INFORMATION
2INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS
3EVALUATION CRITERIA
4FORMS AND DECLARATIONS
5EQUIPMENT COSTINGS
6CHECKLIST
Two other documents must be considered in conjunction with this one, the spreadsheet
SMUCB_Network_Refresh_DR_scoresheet.xlsx
and the College’s standard Terms and Conditions for equipment purchase. The documentation is all available at
Please note that you must return a signed hard copy of each form within Part 4 ‘FORMS AND DECLARATIONS’, return a signed hard copy of the completed equipment costings at Part 5, and return a signed hard copy of the appropriate column of the spreadsheet (see 3.1), along with an electronic copy of the spreadsheet. Please note the Notification of Intent to Tender to be returned by Friday 18th July 2014.
The closing date for return of tenders is Friday 1st August 2014 at 12noon to:
The Finance Officer
St Mary’s University College
191 Falls Road
Belfast
BT12 6FE
Under no circumstances will late tenders be considered.
The College is not obliged to accept the lowest or any tender.
Yours sincerely
Dr David Maley
Computing Services Manager
1BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1.1ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
St Mary’s University College (subsequently referred to as “the College”) has roughly 1000 students and 160 staff on its single campus on the Falls Road in Belfast. The Mission of the College is to make a distinctive contribution of service and excellence, in the Catholic tradition, to higher education in Northern Ireland.
The website gives further background details of the College.
The College maintains an IT infrastructure to support its learning, teaching, assessment, administration, management and quality improvement. The College recognises the strategic importance of this infrastructureto fulfilling its objectives, and is committed to making a commensurate long-term investment in maintaining and developing this infrastructure in accordance with its requirements. Investment in the previous two years involved firstly the replacement of the main server farm, and secondly the SAN. Funding is now available to replace the network infrastructure, which currently has capacity for the connection of around 800 hard-wired devices.
1.2OBJECTIVES BEHIND THE INVITIATION TO TENDER (ITT)
The proposed project involves a technology refresh of the College’s network infrastructure, at the heart of which is an Ethernet switching fabric that is now mostly over 10 years old (although there have been periodic additions of new switches as need has dictated). The existing Cisco network equipment has proved very reliable in operation and much of the College business is now carried over it, but the majority of switches are well past the date up to which they were supported by the manufacturer.
The main objectives for the refresh are to significantly improve the following:
Resilience. Although the existing equipment has been very reliable, the network design has a single point of failure which can now be mitigated by technologies introduced since it was installed in 2002.
Support. The majority of switches are well past the date up to which they were supported by the manufacturer; the College considers unsupported IT equipment to be an unacceptable risk, especially since some companies now sell switches with lifetime warranties.
Speed. Currently desktop connections are 100MB/s, and edge switches and servers are connected to the core at 1GB/s. It is anticipated that both of these connection speeds will be improved by a factor of ten.
Future-proofing. Demand for bandwidth by media-intensive applications and new teaching technologies mean that the present switching architecture is likely to limit teaching and learning activity. The replacement equipment will cater for teaching and learning needs for the foreseeable future.
1.3EXISTING ARCHITECTURE
Edge switches are currently positioned at nine locations, all in the main building. They are all connected back to the core switch via 1GB fibre links. The existing complement of edge switches is detailed below.
switch_location / switch_id / GB / Model (Cisco) / portsAdmin / 28 / No / 3500 / 48
Library / 25 / No / 3500 / 48
36 / No / 3500 / 48
Finance / 32 / Yes / 2960G / 48
Gaeilge / 26 / Yes / 2950G / 48
Humanities / 22 / No / 3500 / 48
21 / No / 3500 / 24
ICT / 34 / Yes / 2960G / 48
31 / No / 3500 / 48
29 / No / 3500 / 48
Resources / 23 / No / 3500 / 48
Science / 27 / No / 3500 / 48
Technology / 24 / No / 3500 / 48
Switches in Humanities and the Library are currently connected together, whereas all three switches in ICT have individual fibre connections to the core. Other configurations in these locations that provide the required capacity will be considered.
Equivalent port capacity to the existing provision is required at each location, except in Humanitiesand Finance, where 96 ports will be required in each location. With the exception of ports used for uplinks, all ports must be capable of delivering GB to the desktop via copper, and each location is to be capable of connecting at 10GB back to the core layer. Pricing of SFPs should include alternatives for both 1GB and 10GB SFPs.
It is required that client devices no longer connect directly to the core layer, and therefore a tenth edge location is to be added in the main server room where the present core is located. This location will require a port capacity of 144.
There are currently OM2 fibre connections from each internal edge site back to the main comms room. However, the existing radial design is no longer considered appropriate and it is expected that solutions will eliminate the current single point of failure at the core that is inherent in this design. The successful solution is therefore expected to require the installation of a substantial number of new fibre runs. The cost of these will be borne by the College, although the cost will be taken into account when assessing proposals.
A suggested design is provided (Appendix 1), and suppliers are free to suggest their own designs, although the cost impact of any design in terms of additional fibre installation will be taken into account.
The core switch currently comprises the following components:
1 x Cisco Catalyst 4506 Series Chassis
2 x Power Supply
1 x Cisco 4500 Series V Supervisor
2 x 6 x 1GB Cisco fibre port blade
2 x 48-port 100MB blade
1 x 48-port 1GB blade
As stated above, it is no longer desirable to have client devices connecting directly to the core layer. Therefore the new core layer will only be required to provide 1GB/10GB connectivity over fibre to each edge device location. The ports connecting to edge locations should ideally be capable of accommodating a mixture of 1GB and 10GB SFPs in any combination.
It is expected that the successful solution will include a significantly-improved degree of resilience over the existing configuration, and that this will include a substantial degree of redundancy in the core layer. The proposed design in Appendix 1 provides this.
2INSTRUCTIONS TO TENDERERS
2.1Completion and Submission of Tender Documentation
The documents completed as directed should be returned as hard copy responses as follows:
A hard copy of your Tender must be hand delivered to the address below before 12 noon on the closing date. An electronic copy of the spreadsheet must also be returned by that date.
Envelopes or packages should not bear any marks indicating the identity of the Tenderer, it should however clearly identify the Tender reference, ‘Network Hardware Refresh’ and should be returned to
The Finance Officer
St Mary’s University College
191 Falls Road
Belfast
BT12 6FE
To arrive no later than 12 noon on Friday 1st August 2014
Tenderers are advised that hand delivered Tenders can only be accepted during normal office hours, that is between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
Late Tenders will not be considered.
All submissions must be in the English Language
Tenders must be fully compliant with the requirements detailed in the Tender documentation.
Tenderers may also be rejected if the required information is not given at the time of tendering.
2.2Costs and Expenses
Tenderers will not be entitled to claim from the College any costs or expenses which may be incurred in preparing their Tender whether or not it is successful.
2.3Terms & Conditions
The College’s standard terms and conditions for the purchase of goods will apply. These are included as part of the tender documentation.
2.4Period of Validity
Tenderers are required to keep their Tenders valid for acceptance for a period of thirty days from the closing date.
2.5Confidentiality
All information provided by the Tenderer is confidential and the College will not divulge information to third parties without the prior written consent of the Tenderer subject to the Freedom of Information Declaration below (2.10).
2.6Official Amendments
If it is necessary for the College to amend the Tender documentation in any way, prior to receipt of Tenders, all Tenderers that have submitted their Notification of Intent to Tender will be advised simultaneously. If deemed appropriate, the deadline for receipt of tenders will be extended.
2.7Canvassing
Any tenderer who directly or indirectly canvasses any official of the College concerning the award of contract or who directly or indirectly obtains or attempts to obtain information from such an official concerning the proposed or any other Tender will be disqualified. This should not deter any Tenderer seeking clarification in relation to the Tender.
2.8Assumptions
Tenderers must not make assumptions that the College has experience of their organisation or their service provision even if on a current or previous contract. Tenderers will only be evaluated on the information provided in their response.
2.9Compliance
Tenders must be submitted in accordance with these instructions. Failure to comply may result in a Tender being rejected by the College.
2.10Freedom of Information Act
The Tenderer should treat the Tender documents as private and confidential between themselves and the College. However, tenderers are advised that the College as a public body will be obliged to disclose information in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
2.11Conflict of Interest
Tenderers must confirm in their proposals that there would be no conflict or perceived conflict of interest in relation to their servicing this contract. Tenderers must complete the “Conflict of Interest Declaration” contained in Part 4 ‘FORMS AND DECLARATIONS’ identifying any potential conflicts of interest.
2.12Clarification
Any clarification questions to be submitted to:
before 5pm on Friday25thJuly 2014. Answers will be posted on the SMUCB website:
Please ensure that you monitor this webpage regularly for answers to clarifications.
Answers will also be e-mailed to Tenderers that have submitted their Notification of Intent to Tender.
3EVALUATION CRITERIA
3.1METHODOLOGY
St Mary’s University College is committed to following procurement processes which achieve value for money and at the same time are equitable and transparent.
Within the following sections, requirements are listed as either Mandatory (MR), Informational (IR) or Desirable (DR). No importance should be attached to the order in which the requirements are listed.
MR is a mandatory requirement. A solution that does not meet all mandatory requirements will not be acceptable. Suppliers must indicate that their solution(s)meet all mandatory requirements, and the College may ask for further information on how any given requirement is satisfied by the proposed solution.
Failure in a tender to provide relevant information in answer to DRs and IRs will prevent the evaluation from being conducted properly, and hence lead to the exclusion of the tender. Assessment of the quality of the tender will be based on the responses to these requirements, and will strongly influence the selection process.
The College will undertake to treat all information provided by the supplier in reply to this ITT as “Commercial in Confidence” and will not disclose it to a third party.
The College will evaluate all responses to this ITT and reserves the right to seek clarification if necessary from either of the contacts nominated by the supplier under the general requirements in Section 3.2.
Achieving value for money involves evaluating on both price and quality. Tenders will be evaluated to ascertain the most economically advantageous using the following criteria:
- The estimated total cost of ownership of the equipment over our expected lifetime of 10 years
- The degree to which the proposed solution meets the current and the projected future needs of the College
The College has identified four options for the specification of the kit supplied. These four permutations result from two aspects of the specification:
- Interswitch connectivity at 10GB or 1GB
- Switches do or do not have PoE
Ideally the College would like the first of these options in each case, but is aware that this may not be possible within the given budget. Therefore suppliers may provide a cost for any of these four options:
Option 1. Switches have PoE and connectivity is at 10GB.
Option 2. Switches have no PoE and connectivity is at 10GB.
Option 3. Switches have PoE and connectivity is at 1GB.
Option 4. Switches have no PoE and connectivity is at 1GB.
The College will look first at the prices provided for Option 1. If one or more prices come within the budget, the competition will be run based on those prices and that option. Suppliers who have not made an offer for that option will be excluded. If no price for Option 1 falls within the budget, the prices for Option 2 will be considered and the same process applied. This will continue through the options in ascending order until a price falls within the budget. If no price for any option falls within the budget then the exercise will be deemed void.
If one of the options is triggered, evaluation will be based on these weightings:
Criteria / WeightingModel that is the most economically advantageous to the College. Total cost of ownership will be calculated as the sum of the purchase price, the estimated lifetime maintenance cost and the estimated fibre installation cost (this last figure will only be included if any supplier proposes a solution that requires additional cabling installation). / 55
The range and quality of the technical solution as regards to meeting the College’s current and future needs (assessed on the basis of the DR responses). / 45
Points for TCO will be awarded as follows: denote the price of the lowest TCO quotation for the withinbudget option by L. The points awarded to a TCO quotation of price N will be
55 * L/N
Points for quality and future-proofing will be awarded as indicated in the accompanying spreadsheet, based on the explanation below.
Individual Desirable Requirements can be designated Proportional or Outright. Outright DRs are allornothing – the question is answered yes or no, and full points or no points are awarded. Proportional DRs by contrast have some fraction of the points available awarded to each supplier.
Desirable Requirements that are scored proportionally are scored on a relative basis.For example, there are five points available for the number of 10GB uplinks on each core deviceabove the MR of 12. Denote the highest number of 1/10GB uplinks by H, and the lowest number of 1/10GB uplinks by L (L will be at least 12 due to the MR). The points awarded to a quotation offering N 1/10GB uplinks in total will be
5 * (N – L)/(H – L)
In the case of some quality attributes, a lower value indicates a more desirable switch. For example, “What is the power consumption of the switch with ten ports powered?” In this case the formula used will be
5 * (H – N)/(H – L)
The accompanying spreadsheet “SMUCB_Network_Refresh_DR_scoresheet.xlsx” indicates whether a lower value or higher value is more desirable in column E “assessment basis” of the sheet “Scoring Basis for Quality”. The figure in parentheses following each DR in column B indicates the maximum points available, i.e. the relative desirability.
The total points for DRs will be adjusted by a factor of 45/[maximum possible DR score].
Suppliers must complete column E (headed “Your Response”) of the sheet “Evaluation” in the “DR_scoresheet.xlsx”spreadsheet i.e. the range Evaluation!E4:E29.
The values provided by each supplier will be pasted directly into a sheet constructed like the example provided, “Evaluation Example”. In the example, five suppliers have tendered and the best quality is offered by Supplier E, who scored 27.1 out of 45.
The College reserves the right not to make an award if it judges that no tender meets the requirements at an acceptable cost.
Our current timetable for this procurement is:
Return of responses by / Noon on Friday 1st August 2014Notification of selected supplier / Monday 4th August 2014
Equipment delivered by / Monday 15th September 2014
3.2GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
3.2.1MR
/ The supplier must provide the name, email and fax number of a contact person with their organisation:-a)In the sales division, authorised to discuss and provide clarification regarding such items as level of maintenance contracts, spares holdings etc. and the costings associated with them.
b)In the technical division, authorised to provide answers to technical queries which may arise e.g. due to College personnel unfamiliarity with the equipment etc.
3.2.2MR
/ The supplier must provide details of two reference sites, to which the supplier is providing a similar service. Contact details must be provided, together with indication of whether the College may approach the contact directly or through the supplier.3.2.3MR
/ The supplier must state the level of manufacturer’s accreditation obtained. This statement should also include a reference to the number of certified engineers within the company and their level of certification.3.2.4MR
/ All active components specified as part of the solution must have a product life expectancy of a minimum of 6 years from the date of supply. To this end the original product(s) release date(s) and their time scale of availability for both purchase and repair etc. must be stated by the supplier and the statement warranted in writing by the manufacturer. This warranty must accompany the supplier's response to this tender.3.2.5DR (5)
/ In what year was the equipment first sold?3.2.6MR
/ All costs must be quoted in GB pounds sterling,excluding VAT, and presented in a set of tables in the format below. If a supplier offers more than one design (i.e. different from that in Appendix 1), a set of tables should be completed for each design.3.2.7MR
/ The supplier must quote realistic and achievable delivery times in working days from receipt of the order.3.2.8MR
/ The supplier must accept the standard College Terms and Conditions for the supply of goods.3.2.9MR
/ The supplier agrees that the College has the right to purchase additional modules at similar or better percentage discount to those quoted by the supplier in replying to this ITT for future phases of this project. While the list price of the equipment will undoubtedly vary as time progress, the level of discount must remain at or be better than that quoted in the ITT.3.3OVERALL REQUIREMENTS