40-36100-24-05893_40-361-24-05893 - Telephony Equipment and Related Services.docx.DOCX

PAGE

STATE PURCHASING DIVISION

OF THE

GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

AND

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services

RFP# 40-36100-24-05893

RFP Release Date: June 13, 2024

Proposal Due Date: July 15, 2024

ELECTRONIC-ONLY PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

A. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The purpose of the Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit sealed proposals to establish multiple Department of Information Technology (DoIT) Price Agreements through competitive negotiations for the procurement of Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services as defined and outlined in the terms and requirements of this proposal. The Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services proposed as part of this proposal must include at least one of the following manufacturer types: 1) Avaya, and/or 2) any other equipment manufacturers. As a result of this procurement, the DoIT expects to establish multiple price agreements by manufacturer type to provide enterprise level Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services for New Mexico State government.

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Pursuant to the Department of Information Technology Act, executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and other governmental entities, except those that are exempt by law, must obtain any telephony services from DoIT, or shall request written approval from DoIT requesting an exemption. For any telephony services needed, a written request must be submitted through DoIT’s helpdesk.

DoIT is seeking Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services to support an existing enterprise level communication environment for the State of New Mexico. The State’s existing communication environment is comprised of some of the following products:

1. Avaya Aura

2. Cisco Unified Communications Manager

3. Fujitsu F9600

4. Mitel

Currently, DoIT provisions more than 20,000 devices statewide. This includes three (3) different platforms that include Cisco of at least 500 core active license/ports, Avaya of at least 12,000 core license/ports and Fujitsu of at least 10,000 core licenses/ports and Mitel of at least 1400 standalone license/ports statewide. At least 98% of the call volume originates and terminates in the following metropolitan calling areas within New Mexico: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, Las Cruces, Farmington, Clovis, Gallup, Hobbs, and Carlsbad to include the 24-hour sites listed in Item C. of Appendix N.

The Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services requested by DoIT are to support the enterprise operations of telephony services for state government.

C. SUMMARY SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work for this request for proposals will include the mandatory and desired requirements for Telephony Equipment, Software and Related Services found in Section IV. The mandatory requirements MUST be responded to by the submitting Offeror to result in a responsive proposal, reference Section IV of the RFP. The desirable requirements do not mandate a response and it is at the discretion of the proposing Offeror to submit a response to those requirements, reference Section IV.

D. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT

The scope of the procurement is intended to provide DoIT available options at the best value for Telephony Equipment, Software, and any Related Service purchases and to provide continued telephony maintenance and support to the State of New Mexico.

Pursuant to the Department of Information Technology Act, executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and other governmental entities, except those that are exempt by law, must obtain any telephony services from DoIT, or must request written approval from DoIT requesting an exemption. For any telephony services needed, a request must be submitted through the DoIT’s helpdesk. For the governmental entities that receive an approved written DoIT exemption, DoIT will NOT be responsible for any transactions with that Procuring Agency. As a result of the DoIT written approved exemption, DoIT will require from the Procuring Agency the fully executed contract between the Procuring Agency and the Contractor. The awarded Contractors must not fully execute any binding contracts for services awarded in this Agreement without the DoIT written approved exemption allowing the governmental entity to contract directly with the Contractor. If the Contractor contracts their services to a governmental entity that does not have an approved written exemption from DoIT, DoIT may terminate the Agreement for cause.

This RFP is intended to result in multiple DoIT price agreement awards by manufacturer type. There are no volume or purchase commitments by the Agency or the State of New Mexico for the equipment and related services awarded from this procurement. However, the equipment with software and related services included in the awarded Agreements must be available to the Agency if the Agency elects to make any purchases. The Procuring Agency shall retain ownership of all equipment purchased pursuant to this Agreement.

The price agreement shall be for two calendar years in duration with options to renew. The State reserves the right to renew the Agreement on an annual basis or any portion thereof. In no case will the Agreement, including all renewals, exceed a total of ten (10) years in duration. The State reserves the option to contract with any of the awarded Contractor(s) for all or part, or none of the services and/or products that are included in the awarded Agency price agreements. The Agency reserves the right to request quotes for purposes of contracting for services from any of the Contractor(s) during the term of the awarded Agreements.

The price listings of the awarded price agreements will not increase for the initial term of the agreement, unless there are mutually agreeable reasons by all parties that would require renegotiation of existing service contracts and/or agreements as a result of adding new equipment or removing any discontinued, or outdated equipment. Any changes to the Agency agreement(s) to include pricing reductions shall be submitted to DoIT and SPD for review, and approval may be negotiated at any point throughout the duration of the Agreement. The Contractor shall not charge the Agency for inactive licenses and/or inactive ports. The Contractor shall provide Agency with a monthly license and/or inactive port count. The proposed pricing submitted by the Offeror for this procurement for Telephony Equipment, Software, and Related Services must not include New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax (NMGRT) or other additional taxes and/or surcharges mandated by law. However, the purchase of the products and support services are subject to NMGRT, and the current NMGRT rate is applicable for the period in which the services are performed. The NMGRT on the equipment proposed for this RFP is deductible to the awarded Contractor as long as the awarded Contractor retains a Type 9 nontaxable transaction certificate (NTTC). The NTTC will be issued by DoIT upon request by the awarded Contractor and upon the Contractor’s provision of a valid BTIN number that is issued by the New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue.

During the term of the agreement(s), the awarded Contractor(s) may submit a request to update the awarded equipment and related services as new technology is introduced, updated, or removed from the market. DoIT will evaluate requests and coordinate with the SPD procurement specialist to update the agreement through a written amendment. The awarded Contractor shall update any dedicated websites, price lists, catalogs, or other written forms documented in the Agreement to reflect the agreed upon changes by DoIT and the awarded Contractor. Any pricing changes shall use the same pricing format that was used for the Telephony Equipment, Software and Related Services in this procurement.

This RFP may result in multiple awards.

E. PROCUREMENT MANAGER

The State has designated a Procurement Manager who is responsible for the conduct of this procurement and whose name, address, and telephone number are listed below:

1. Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement MUST BE submitted, in writing, to the Procurement Manager. Offerors may contact ONLY the Procurement Manager regarding this procurement. Other state employees or Evaluation Committee members DO NOT have the authority to respond on behalf of DoIT.

2. Protests of the solicitation or award must be submitted in writing to the Protest Manager identified in Section II.B.13. As a Protest Manager has been named in this Request for Proposals, pursuant to §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and 1.4.1.82 NMAC, ONLY timely, written protests delivered directly to the Protest Manager will be considered to have been submitted properly and in accordance with statute, rule, and this Request for Proposals. Protests submitted or delivered to the Procurement Manager will NOT be considered properly submitted.

F. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Submissions of all proposals must be accomplished via SPD’s eProNM electronic procurement system. Refer to Section III.B.1 for instructions.

G. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY

This section contains definitions of terms used throughout this procurement document, including appropriate abbreviations.

1. “Administrative Training” means a basic standard training for any new system installs that at minimum must cover the following:

a. Basic system configuration and its components

b. Implementing Moves, Adds, Changes or Disconnects on telephone sets, adding and disconnecting telephones

c. Implementing telephone set features, including adding and deleting features

d. Configure voicemail, add/delete, to include password rests and name changes

e. Ability to generate telephone set report with feature/functionality

f. Include any documentation that correlates with this training

2. “Agency” means the State Purchasing Division of the General Services Department or the State Agency sponsoring this Procurement.

3. “Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)” means a telephony feature that analyzes incoming calls and distributes them based on instructions that define how the calls are to be handled.

4. “Automated Attendant (AD)” means a telephony feature that answers callers with a recording and allows callers to route themselves to an extension through touch tone input, in response to a voice prompt.

5. “Award” means the final execution of the contract document.

6. “Business Hours” means weekdays (Monday – Friday) 8:00 AM thru 5:00 PM MST/MDT, whichever is in effect on the date given unless otherwise stated.

7. “Call Recording” means a feature whereby telephone conversations can be recorded.

8. “Chief Information Officer (“CIO”)” shall mean the Secretary/CIO of the State of New Mexico Department of Information Technology or the Secretary’s/CIO’s designated representative.

9. “Close of Business” means weekdays (Monday – Friday) 5:00 PM MST/MDT, whichever is in effect on the date given.

10. “Confidential” means confidential financial information concerning Offeror’s organization and data that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act §§57-3A-1 through 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978; see also NMAC 1.4.1.45. The following items may not be labelled as confidential: Offeror’s submitted Cost response, Staff/Personnel Resumes/Bios (excluding personal information such as personal telephone numbers and/or home addresses), and other submitted data that is not confidential financial information or that does not qualify under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

11. “Contract” means any agreement for the procurement of items of tangible personal property, services or construction.

12. “Contractor” means any business having a contract with a state agency or local public body.

13. “Deliverable” means the verifiable outcomes, results of the Services, or products that Contractor will develop, perform, and/or produce and deliver to Procuring Agency according to the Scope of Work.

14. “Determination” means the written documentation of a decision of a procurement officer including findings of fact required to support a decision. A determination becomes part of the procurement file to which it pertains.

15. “Desirable” – the terms “may,” “can,” “must,” “preferably,” or “prefers” identify a desirable or discretionary item or factor.

16. “DFA” means the State of New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.

17. “Direct Inward Dialing ("DID")” is a feature offered by the telephone companies for use with their customers’ private branch exchange ("PBX") systems, whereby the telephone company allocates a range of numbers associated with one or more phone lines.

18. “DoIT” means the State of New Mexico Department of Information Technology.

19. “Electronic Submission” means a successful submittal of Offeror’s proposal in the eProNM system.

20. “Electronic Version/Copy” means a digital format consisting of text, images or both, readable on computers or other electronic devices, which includes all content that the Original document contains. The electronic version/copy CANNOT be emailed.

21. “Evaluation Committee” means a body appointed to perform the evaluation of Offerors’ proposals.

22. “Evaluation Committee Report” means a report prepared by the Procurement Manager and the Evaluation Committee to support the Committee’s recommendation for contract award. It will contain scores and written evaluations of all responsive Offeror proposals.

23. “Failure Prioritization Schedule” means the following failure priority levels which shall be used during the installation period, warranty period, and with the maintenance and support of services provided to the Procuring Agency and the Procuring Agency:

a. Priority One/Emergency MAC: means a major system or network outage which renders the system 50% unusable and/or inoperable for the “24 Hour Sites” listed in Appendix N. The Contractor’s turnaround time for acknowledging the outage is up to 30 minutes. The time to resolve the outage is up to four (4) hours from the start of acknowledgement. The Contractor shall respond by email and/or by phone, email to DoIT-VoiceTeam@doit.nm.gov and/or call the DoIT Enterprise Help Desk (505) 827-2121 option 3.

b. Priority Two/Major MAC: means major and minor failures which render the system or the network less than 50% unusable or inoperable. The Contractor’s turnaround time for acknowledging the outage is up to one (1) hour. The time to resolve the failure is up to twenty-four (24) hours from the start of acknowledgement. The Contractor shall respond by email and/or by phone, email to DoIT-VoiceTeam@doit.nm.gov and/or call the DoIT Enterprise Help Desk (505) 827-2121 option 3.

c. Priority Three/Minor MAC: means in situations where telephone service is functioning but degraded, or where failure is threatened, response must be the next business day. The Contractor’s turnaround time for acknowledging the outage is up to two (2) hours. The time to resolve the failure is up to twenty-four (24) hours from the start of acknowledgement. The Contractor shall respond by email and/or by phone, email to DoIT-VoiceTeam@doit.nm.gov and/or call the DoIT Enterprise Help Desk (505) 827-2121 option 3.

24. “Final Award” means, in the context of this Request for Proposals and all its attendant documents, that point at which the final required signature on the contract(s) resulting from the procurement has been affixed to the contract(s) thus making it fully executed.

25. “Finalist” means an Offeror who meets all the mandatory specifications of this Request for Proposals and whose score on evaluation factors is sufficiently high to merit further consideration by the Evaluation Committee, as explained in Section II.B.8.

26. “Fully Certified Reseller” means an entity known as a reseller that is certified and authorized by the manufacturer to sell Telephony Equipment for only the manufacturer types.

27. “GSD” means the State of New Mexico General Services Department.

28. “Hourly Rate” means the proposed fully loaded maximum hourly rates that include travel, per diem, fringe benefits and any overhead costs for contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor personnel if appropriate.

29. “Installation” means the physical hook-up and diagnostic testing of any purchased Telephony Equipment and/or software proposed by the Contractor.

30. “Interactive Voice Response ("IVR")” means a telephony feature that allows a computer to interact with humans through use of voice and uses remote touchtone telephones.

31. “IT” means Information Technology.

32. “License” or “Port” means a registered active port (assigned to a telephone number and actively being used) that includes but not limited to Trunk port, Voicemail port, Call Center/IVR, SIP/IP, Station (analog/digital) license, and any hardware and/or devices/user.

33. “Local Public Body” pursuant to Section 13-1-99 NMSA 1978, means every political subdivision of the state and the agencies, instrumentalities and institutions thereof, including two-year post-secondary educational institutions, school districts and local school boards and municipalities, except as exempted pursuant to the Procurement Code [Sections 13-1-28 through 13-1-199 NMSA 1978].

34. “MACs” means the moves, adds, and changes to include disconnects to telephony equipment, software, and related services requested by the Procuring Agency.

35. “Mandatory” – the terms “must,” ”shall” ”will,” ”is required,” or ”are required,” identify a mandatory item or factor. Failure to meet a mandatory item or factor may result in the rejection of the Offeror’s proposal.

36. “Maintenance and Support” means all work needed after the one (1) year warranty is expired to keep the existing and any purchased telephony equipment, any related battery and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) maintenance, related software proposed by the Offeror operating properly. This includes software patches and any labor related to software patches, and related services listed on the manufacturer’s product schedule/catalog. The maintenance and support provided by the Contractor includes connectivity for remote maintenance, DoIT will ONLY provide line or network access. The Contractor will provide any necessary hardware.

37. “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price ("MSRP")” means the advertised price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product.

38. “Manufacturer Type” means the Offeror’s proposed type of equipment, software, and related services required by this procurement for either Avaya, or any other equipment manufacturers.

39. “Mileage” means ONLY the mileage from the dispatch to the customer site for MAC orders (excludes maintenance and support services) that the Contractor will be paid only in accordance with the provisions of this section for any travel within the State of New Mexico or as approved by the Agency and as outlined below:

1) 80% of the internal revenue service standard mileage rate set for each mile traveled by vehicle as referenced in https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/standard-mileage-rates/ at the travel rate for that period/year travel was performed. This is pursuant to the Contractor providing work pursuant to a DoIT approved work order containing the following information:

a. actual mileage reading that is certified as true and correct by the traveler based on the destination mileage chart of the official state map published by the Rand McNally Mileage Calculator referenced below,

i. Reference Rand McNally mileage calculator https://www.google.com/maps

b. If the actual mileage reading is not available on the Rand McNally mileage calculator, the Agency may authorize by memorandum reimbursement for mileage from the dispatch to the customer site.

40. “Minor Irregularities” means anything in the proposal that does not affect the price, quality and/or quantity, or any other mandatory requirement.

41. “Multiple Source Award” means an award of a contract for one or more items of tangible personal property, services or construction to more than one Offeror.

42. “Non-Recurring Charge” or “NRC” or “Non-Recurring Cost” refers to a onetime fee, charge, or cost in the delivery of Telephony services.

43. “New Mexico State Purchasing Agent “or “NMSPA” or “SPA” means the State of New Mexico Purchasing Agent or the Purchasing Agent’s designated representative.

44. “Offeror” is any person, corporation, or partnership who chooses to submit a proposal.

45. “Other Manufacturer Types” means manufacturer types other than Avaya,.

46. “Price Agreement” means a definite quantity contract or indefinite quantity contract which requires the contractor to furnish items of tangible personal property, services or construction to a state agency or a local public body which issues a purchase order, if the purchase order is within the quantity limitations of the contract, if any.

47. “Prime Contractor” means the Contractor solely responsible for the fulfillment of the contract with the State. The State will make contract payments only to the prime contractor.

48. “Procurement Manager” means any person or designee authorized by a state agency or local public body with the responsibility, authority, and resources to conduct the RFP , make written determinations regarding the RFP , and/or enter into or administer contracts as a result of the RFP .

49. “Procuring Agency" means the New Mexico Department of Information Technology.

50. “Professional Services” means services of architects, archeologists, engineers, technical specialists, scientists, management and system analysts, certified public accountants, registered public accountants, lawyers, planners, researchers, construction managers and other persons or businesses providing similar professional services in support of telephony related services for this RFP.

51. “Project” means a temporary process undertaken to solve a well-defined goal or objective with clearly defined start and end times, a set of clearly defined tasks, and a budget. The project terminates once the project scope is achieved, and project acceptance is given by the project executive sponsor.

52. “Proposal” means the complete response of the Offeror(s) submitted on the approved form and setting forth in the Offeror(s) prices for performing the work or supplying the material or software described in the specifications.

53. “Purchase Order” means an electronic or paper document issued by the Procuring Agency that directs the Contractor to deliver Products or Services pursuant to a Price Agreement

54. “Redacted” means a version/copy of the Offeror’s proposal with the information considered proprietary or confidential (as defined by §§57-3A-1 to 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978 and NMAC 1.4.1.45 and summarized herein and outlined in Section II.C.8 of this RFP) blacked-out BUT NOT omitted or removed.

55. “Related Services” means the installation, maintenance, and support, including maintenance and support of remote access and training which support the telephony equipment proposed for this procurement. In addition, this may include any professional services in support of Telephony equipment and/or services. The maintenance and support provided by the Contractor includes connectivity for remote maintenance, DoIT will ONLY provide line or network access. The Contractor will provide any necessary hardware.

56. “Request for Proposals ("RFP")” means all documents, including those attached or incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals.

57. “Responsible Offeror" means an Offeror who submits a responsive proposal and who has furnished, when required, information and data to prove that his financial resources, production or service facilities, personnel, service reputation and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery of the services, or items of tangible personal property described in the proposal.

58. “Responsive Offer” or means an offer which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the RFP. Material respects of a request for proposals include, but are not limited to price, quality, quantity or delivery requirements.

59. “Sealed” means, in terms of electronic submission, an Offeror’s proposal and all accompanying documents has been completely and successfully uploaded into SPD’s eProNM system prior to the submission deadline stated in the RFP.

60. “Single Source Award” means an award of contract for items of tangible personal property, services or construction to only one Offeror.

61. “SPD” means State of New Mexico General Services Department's State Purchasing Division.

62. “Short List” refers to all responsible Offerors who submit acceptable responsive proposals, and whose proposal scores fall at or above the cut-off point established by the Procurement Manager.

63. “Software” means machine-readable object code instructions that may be embedded and/or preloaded on Equipment related to Telephony. The term “Software” applies to all parts of software and documentation, including new releases, updates, and modifications of software. For Software, the term “purchase” means “license”. Contractor shall deliver applicable licenses with the Software.

64. “Software patches” means to (1) correct bugs or problems within the software that makes it perform less than optimal and (2) add new compatible hardware support since the launch of their software. All patches are free or at no added cost to the monthly cost of maintenance and support services.

65. “Software upgrades and support” means the labor and support for any software upgrades.

66. “Software upgrades” means to take the standard software that was bundled with some hardware purchased or standard version is taken to the next level/version by adding more features to the program.

67. “Staff” means any individual who is a full-time, part-time, or an independently contracted employee with the Offerors’ company.

68. “State ” means the State of New Mexico.

69. “State Agency” means any department, commission, council, board, committee, institution, legislative body, agency, government corporation, educational institution or official of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the government of this state. “State agency” includes the Purchasing Division of the General Services Department and the State Purchasing Agent but does not include local public bodies.

70. “State Purchasing Agent” means the Director of the Purchasing Division of the General Services Department.

71. “Statement of Concurrence” means an affirmative statement from the Offeror indicating its response to a required Section IV specification agreeing to comply and concur with the stated requirement(s). This statement shall be included in Offerors proposal, pursuant to Section III.C.1. (E.g. “We concur,” “Understands and Complies,” “Comply,” “Will Comply if Applicable,” etc.)

72. “Subscription Services” means a license to an onsite and/or offsite service made available to users for standard basic phone services to include but not limited to software and equipment/hardware free patches and upgrades with any related standard and/or optional features related to VoIP Telephony. Standard features means features at no added cost to the basic subscription service. Optional features that are not part of the standard basic phone service.

73. “Telephony Equipment” means any telephony equipment, related software, and/or products that enables voice, data, and video collaboration over existing systems including traditional and IP-based systems but not limited to.

74. “Training” means any formal classes that are designed to deliver the training needed on the telephony equipment and related services proposed by the Offeror.

75. “Unredacted” means a version/copy of the proposal containing all complete information; including any that the Offeror would otherwise consider confidential, such copy for use only for the purposes of evaluation.

76. “Voice Mail” means a feature that allows users to exchange voice messages, to select and deliver voice information, and to process transactions using a telephone.

77. “Written” means typed in standard 8 ½ x 11-inch document format, by common electronic means (such as Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, etc.). A larger size document is permissible for charts, spreadsheets, etc.

H. PROCUREMENT LIBRARY

The Procurement Manager has established a Procurement Library. Offerors are encouraged to review the material contained in the Procurement Library by selecting the link provided in this document through your own internet connection. The library will contain information listed below:

RFP, Questions & Answers, RFP Amendments, etc. https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing/active-procurements.aspx

II. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PROCUREMENT

This section of the RFP contains the schedule of events, the descriptions of each event, and the conditions governing this procurement.

A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

The Procurement Manager will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

4. Deadline to submit Written Questions

5. Response to Written Questions

*Dates indicated in Events 7 through 13 are estimates only and may be subject to change without necessitating an amendment to the RFP.

B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS

The following paragraphs describe the activities listed in the Sequence of Events shown in Section II.A., above.

1. Issue RFP This RFP is being issued on behalf of the State of New Mexico Department of Information Technology on the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events.

2. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form Potential Offerors may e-mail the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form (APPENDIX A), to the DoIT Procurement Manager to have their organization placed on the procurement Distribution List. The form must also be returned to the SPD Buyer by 3:00 pm MDT on the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events.

The procurement distribution list will be used for the distribution of written responses to questions, and/or any amendments to the RFP. Failure to return the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form does not prohibit potential Offerors from submitting a response to this RFP. However, by not returning the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form, the potential Offeror’s representative shall not be included on the distribution list and will be solely responsible for obtaining from the Procurement Library (Section I.G.) responses to written questions and any amendments to the RFP.

3. Pre-Proposal Conference A pre-proposal conference will be held as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, beginning at 10:00 a.m. MDT at, Oso Grande Technologies, Oso Grande Board Room, 725 6th street Albuquerque NM, 87102.

Potential Offeror(s) are encouraged to submit written questions in advance of the conference to the Procurement Manager (see Section I.D). The identity of the organization submitting the question(s) will not be revealed. Additional written questions may be submitted at the conference. All questions answered during the Pre-Proposal Conference will be considered unofficial until they are posted in writing. All written questions will be addressed in writing on the date listed in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. A public log will be kept of the names of potential Offeror(s) that attended the pre-proposal conference.

Attendance at the pre-proposal conference is highly recommended, but not a prerequisite for submission of a proposal.

4. Deadline to Submit Written Questions Potential Offerors may submit written questions to the Procurement Manager as to the intent or clarity of this RFP until 3:00 p.m. MDT as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. All written questions must be addressed to the Procurement Manager as declared in Section I.D. Questions shall be clearly labeled and shall cite the Section(s) in the RFP or other document which form the basis of the question.

5. Response to Written Questions Written responses to the written questions will be provided via e-mail, on or before the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events by 3:00 p.m. MDT, to all potential Offerors who timely submitted an Acknowledgement of Receipt Form (Section II.B.2 and APPENDIX A).

The Questions and Answers will be posted to: https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing/active-procurements.aspx

6. Submission of Proposal At this time, only electronic proposal submission is allowed. Do not submit hard copies until further notice.

ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE PROCUREMENT MANAGER OR DESIGNEE VIA THE eProNM SYSTEM NO LATER THAN 3:00 PM MST/MDT ON THE DATE INDICATED IN SECTION II.A, SEQUENCE OF EVENTS. NO LATE PROPOSAL CAN BE ACCEPTED. The date and time of receipt will be recorded on each proposal. Proposals will be time-stamped in the system when the Offeror clicks “OK” after “Review and Submit.” Such electronic submissions will be considered sealed in accordance with statute.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure all documents are completely uploaded and submitted electronically via the eProNM system by the deadline set forth in this RFP. The eProNM system will automatically cease uploading data at the date and time of the deadline. Please ensure that you, as the Offeror, allow adequate time for large uploads and to fully complete your submittal by the deadline. A submission that is not both: (1) fully complete; and (2) received, via the eProNM system by the deadline, will be deemed late. Further, a submission that is not fully complete and received via the eProNM system by the deadline because the response was captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined or otherwise prevented from reaching the proper destination server by any anti-virus or other security software will be deemed late. In accordance with statute and rule, NO LATE PROPOSAL CAN BE ACCEPTED.

Proposals must be submitted electronically through SPD’s eProNM electronic procurement system. Refer to Section III.B.1 for instructions. Proposals submitted by facsimile, or other electronic means other than through the SPD electronic e-procurement system, will not be accepted.

A log will be kept of the names of all Offeror organizations that submitted proposals. Pursuant to §13-1-116 NMSA 1978, the contents of proposals shall not be disclosed to competing potential Offerors during the negotiation process. The negotiation process is deemed to be in effect until the contract is awarded pursuant to this Request for Proposals. Awarded in this context means the final required state agency signature on the contract(s) resulting from the procurement has been obtained.

7. Proposal Evaluation An Evaluation Committee will perform the evaluation of proposals. This process will take place as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, depending upon the number of proposals received. During this time, the Procurement Manager may initiate discussions with Offerors who submit responsive or potentially responsive proposals for the purpose of clarifying aspects of the proposals. However, proposals may be accepted and evaluated without such discussion. Discussions SHALL NOT be initiated by the Offerors.

8. Selection of Finalists The Evaluation Committee will select and the Procurement Manager will notify the finalist Offerors as per schedule Section II.A, Sequence of Events or as soon as possible thereafter. A schedule for Oral Presentation, if any, will be determined at this time. Finalists receiving the highest cumulative scores in the following Sections: Section IV.B.1 Organizational Experience, Section IV.B.3 Mandatory Specifications and Section IV.B.4 Desirable Specifications.

9. Oral Presentations Finalist Offerors, as selected per Section II.B.8 above, may be required to conduct an oral presentation at a venue to be determined as per schedule Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter. If Oral Presentations are held, Finalist Offerors may be required to make their presentations through electronic means (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc). The Agency will provide Finalist Offerors with an agenda and applicable details, including an invitation to the event. Whether or not Oral Presentations will be held is at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Committee.

10. Best and Final Offers Finalist Offerors may be asked to submit revisions to their proposals for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers by as per schedule Section II. A., Sequence of Events or as soon as possible. Best and final offers may also be clarified and amended at finalist Offeror’s oral presentation.

11. Finalize Contractual Agreements After approval of the Evaluation Committee Report, any contractual agreement(s) resulting from this RFP will be finalized with the most advantageous Offeror(s), taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP, as per Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter. The most advantageous proposal may or may not have received the most points. In the event mutually agreeable terms cannot be reached with the apparent most advantageous Offeror in the timeframe specified, the State reserves the right to finalize a contractual agreement with the next most advantageous Offeror(s) without undertaking a new procurement process.

12. Contract Awards Upon receipt of the signed contractual agreement, the Agency Procurement office will award as per Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter. The award is subject to appropriate Department and State approval.

13. Protest Deadline Any protest by an Offeror must be timely submitted and in conformance with §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and applicable procurement regulations. As a Protest Manager has been named in this Request for Proposals, pursuant to §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and 1.4.1.82 NMAC, ONLY protests delivered directly to the Protest Manager in writing and in a timely fashion will be considered to have been submitted properly and in accordance with statute, rule, and this Request for Proposals. The 15-calendar day protest period shall begin on the day following the notice of award of contract(s) and will end at 5:00 pm MDT on the 15th day. Protests must be written and must include the name and address of the protestor and the request for proposal number. It must also contain a statement of the grounds for protest including appropriate supporting exhibits and it must specify the ruling requested from the party listed below. The protest must be directed to:

Dorothy Mendonca, State Purchasing Agent dorothy.mendonca@gsd.nm.gov

PROTESTS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Acceptance of Conditions Governing the Procurement Offerors must indicate their acceptance to be bound by the Conditions Governing the Procurement, Section II.C, and Evaluation, Section V, by completing and signing the Letter of Transmittal form, pursuant to the requirements in Section II.C.30, located in APPENDIX F.

2. Incurring Cost Any cost incurred by the potential Offeror in preparation, transmittal, and/or presentation of any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP shall be borne solely by the Offeror. Any cost incurred by the Offeror for set up and demonstration of the proposed equipment and/or system shall be borne solely by the Offeror.

3. Prime Contractor Responsibility Any contractual agreement that may result from this RFP shall specify that the prime contractor is solely responsible for fulfillment of all requirements of the contractual agreement which may derive from this RFP. Payments due under any contractual agreement that results from this RFP will be made only to the prime contractor.

4. Subcontractors/Consent The use of subcontractors is allowed. The prime contractor shall be wholly responsible for the entire performance of the contractual agreement whether or not subcontractors are used. Additionally, the prime contractor must receive approval, in writing, from the Procuring Agency awarding any resultant contract, before any subcontractor is used during the term of the Agreement.

5. Amended Proposals An Offeror may submit an amended proposal before the deadline for receipt of proposals. Such amended proposals must be complete replacements for a previously submitted proposal and must be clearly identified as such in the transmittal letter. Agency personnel will not merge, collate, or assemble proposal materials.

6. Offeror’s Rights to Withdraw Proposal Offerors will be allowed to withdraw their proposals at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals. The Offeror must submit a written withdrawal request addressed to the Procurement Manager and signed by the Offeror’s duly authorized representative.

The approval or denial of withdrawal requests received after the deadline for receipt of the proposals is governed by the applicable procurement regulations, 1.4.1.5 & 1.4.1.36 NMAC.

7. Proposal Offer Firm Responses to this RFP, including proposal prices for services, will be considered firm for one-hundred eighty (180) days after the due date for receipt of proposals or ninety (90) days after the due date for the receipt of a best and final offer, if the Offeror is invited or required to submit one.

8. Disclosure of Proposal Contents The contents of all submitted proposals will be kept confidential until the final award has been completed by the Agency. At that time, all proposals and documents pertaining to the proposals will be available for public inspection, except for proprietary or confidential material as follows:

a. Proprietary and Confidential information is restricted to:

1. confidential financial information concerning the Offeror’s organization; and

2. information that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, §§57-3A-1 through 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978.

b. An additional but separate redacted version of Offeror’s proposal, as outlined and identified in Section III.B.2.a, shall be submitted containing the blacked-out proprietary or confidential information, in order to facilitate eventual public inspection of the non-confidential version of Offeror’s proposal.

IMPORTANT: The price of products offered or the cost of services proposed SHALL NOT be designated as proprietary or confidential information.

If a request is received for disclosure of proprietary or confidential materials, the Agency shall examine the request and make a written determination that specifies which portions of the proposal must be disclosed. Unless the Offeror takes legal action to prevent the disclosure, the proposal will be so disclosed. The proposal shall be open to public inspection subject to any continuing prohibition on the disclosure of proprietary or confidential information.

9. No Obligation This RFP in no manner obligates the State of New Mexico or any of its Agencies to the use of any Offeror’s services until a valid written contract is awarded and approved by appropriate authorities.

10. Termination This RFP may be canceled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part when the Agency determines such action to be in the best interest of the State of New Mexico.

11. Sufficient Appropriation Any contract awarded as a result of this RFP process may be terminated if sufficient appropriations or authorizations do not exist. Such terminations will be affected by sending written notice to the contractor. The Agency’s decision as to whether sufficient appropriations and authorizations are available will be accepted by the contractor as final.

12. Legal Review The Agency requires that all Offerors agree to be bound by the General Requirements contained in this RFP. Any Offeror’s concerns must be promptly submitted in writing to the attention of the Procurement Manager.

13. Governing Law This RFP and any agreement with an Offeror which may result from this procurement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.

14. Basis for Proposal Only information supplied in writing by the Procurement Manager or contained in this RFP shall be used as the basis for the preparation of Offeror proposals.

15. Contract Terms and Conditions The contract between the Agency and a contractor will follow the format specified by the Agency and contain the terms and conditions set forth in the Draft Contract Appendix C. However, the Agency reserves the right to negotiate provisions in addition to those contained in this RFP (Draft Contract) with any Offeror. The contents of this RFP, as revised and/or supplemented, and the successful Offeror’s proposal will be incorporated into and become part of any resultant contract.

The Agency discourages exceptions from the contract terms and conditions as set forth in the RFP Draft Contract. Such exceptions may cause a proposal to be rejected as nonresponsive when, in the sole judgment of the Agency (and the Evaluation Committee), the proposal appears to be conditioned on the exception, or correction of what is deemed to be a deficiency, or an unacceptable exception is proposed which would require a substantial proposal rewrite to correct.

If an Offeror objects to any of the terms and conditions as set forth in the RFP Draft Contract (APPENDIX C) strongly enough to propose alternate terms and conditions in spite of the above, the Offeror must propose specific alternative language. The Agency may or may not accept the alternative language. General references to the Offeror’s terms and conditions or attempts at complete substitutions of the Draft Contract are not acceptable to the Agency and will result in disqualification of the Offeror’s proposal.

Offerors must provide a brief discussion of the purpose and impact, if any, of each proposed change followed by the specific proposed alternate wording.

If an Offeror fails to…