Att F - Technical Proposal.docx

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

RFP 26-86494

ATTACHMENT F

The Technical Proposal must be divided into the sections as described below. Every point made in each section must be addressed in the order given. The same outline numbers must be used in the response. RFS language should not be repeated within the response. Where appropriate, supporting documentation may be referenced by a page and paragraph number. However, when this is done, the body of the technical proposal must contain a meaningful summary of the referenced material. The referenced document must be included as an appendix to the technical proposal with referenced sections clearly marked. If there are multiple references or multiple documents, these must be listed and organized for ease of use by the State. The Technical Proposal Template is Attachment F.

Technical Proposal

Instructions: Please supply all requested information in the areas shaded yellow and indicate any attachments that have been included. The state is expecting creative cost saving solutions from all of the Respondents in an effort to distinguish the best partner to select.

From Section 2.4 of RFP 26-86494

2.4.1 REPORTING

The State expects winning Respondent(s) to provide two different monthly spend reports within ten (10) working days after the close of the respective billing period. Reporting must be provided in an electronic format (spreadsheet or database) and should at a minimum capture the following fields:

SPECIFIC CONTRACTED DEVICE USAGE REPORT:

-Purchasing State Agency/Program (e.g. VR) -Order # -Invoice # -Manufacturer -Description -Standard Configuration # -Quantity -Unit Contract Price -Extended Price

ALL OTHER CONTRACT USAGE REPORT:

-Purchasing State Agency/Program (e.g. First Steps) -Order # -Invoice -Manufacturer -Description -Quantity -Unit List Price -Contracted Discount Rate -Indiana Price -Extended Price

The report details listed above are critical to the State. Please review each field requested above and indicate your company’s ability to provide the level of reporting detail described above. Please also describe, in detail, how you intend to generate all the fields listed above (for example – if you have reporting systems that will generate these reports or if you plan to do them manually, etc.). Please provide any sample reporting as a separate exhibit.

2.4.2 SUPPORT TRACKING

Please describe how the State will be able to electronically track the status of any support inquiry through a web portal.

2.4.3 ORDER TRACKING

Please describe how the State will be able to electronically track the status of any order on a daily basis, especially in the event of a delayed order.

2.4.4 ON-LINE SERVICES

Respondent should describe in detail their company’s online-ordering capabilities.

2.4.5 UPDATED LIST PRICING

Respondents should describe their commitment to update their List Prices at least every six (6) months. The List Prices must be submitted in soft copy every 6 months. This is important because the State of Indiana requires that vendors lower the State’s discount price on any item by the same magnitude by which the list price has decreased.

2.4.6 PRODUCT UPDATES

Respondents should describe their commitment to send product updates to appropriate state entities.

2.4.7 BILLING

Respondent should describe their billing methods and how it will meet the requirements of this RFP.

2.4.8 MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP TEAM

Respondent should provide an overview of the management and customer relationship team that will be responsible for managing the Indiana relationship in the event of being awarded the State’s business. Please list each member of the account management team along with their expected roles. A single point of contact should also be provided to address customer service issues related to the account.

2.4.9 ISSUE ESCALATION PROCESS

Respondent should describe company’s escalation process if the Account Manager cannot resolve any issues.

2.4.10 SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Respondent should explain how company defines its customer service quality program. Please also describe the metrics your company uses to measure its service quality. Please explain how your current system captures customer feedback on specific metrics.

2.4.11 EAR MOLDS

Please provide all styles available for purchase, and the warranty time frame for each ear mold?

2.4.12 RECEIVERS

Please provide all styles available for purchase, and the warranty time frame for each type of receiver?

2.4.13 HEARING AIDS

Please provide all styles available for purchase, and the warranty time frame for each hearing aid?

2.4.14 ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES

Please provide all styles available for purchase, and the warranty time frame for each assistive listening device?

2.4.15 PRODUCT UPDATES

Describe the process the vendor takes to update the State on all product changes including timeline of notice?

2.4.16 TRAINING

Please provide the types and process for yearly training on devices and services requested in this RFP.

2.4.17 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Disclosure

The State seeks to understand the use of artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of vendor submissions. Respondents must disclose whether AI technologies were used in developing any portion of their proposal.

AI Utilization Statement State whether any AI tools or systems were used in drafting, reviewing, or generating any part of this proposal.

Description of Use If AI was used, provide the following details:

Identify which sections, questions, or deliverables within the proposal were created, reviewed, or influenced by AI tools.

Describe the purpose for using AI (e.g., drafting assistance, grammar review, data analysis, summarization).

Explain the extent of human review and validation applied to AI‑generated content to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with solicitation requirements.

AI Tools and Data Sources List the AI tools or platforms used (e.g., generative text tools, code assistants, data analysis models).

Describe any datasets, proprietary information, or third‑party content provided to the AI tools during proposal development.

2.4.18 Security – Information Security Framework

Review the State’s Information Security Framework (https://www.in.gov/iot/iot-vendor-engagement/) (https://www.in.gov/iot/iot-vendor-engagement/) and either confirm that your company conforms to the policy or provide an explanation to the areas for which your company does not conform. Please be advised that Respondents will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to access the IOT Information Security Framework.

Are the tools proposed already on the GovRAMP authorized product list?

Describe your company’s logical security measures in place.

What physical security measures does your company have in place (i.e., key cards for caged areas)? Are surveillance cameras at the entrance to your company’s facility?

Are security guards on duty at all times? If not, what is the current security guard schedule?

Are locked cages, cabinets, and racks provided?

Are customers allowed entry to the data center floor?

Are firewalls shared across several customers or does each customer have its own firewall?

How is Customer A prevented from accessing Customer B’s data? What is your company’s client data isolation scheme?

What application and infrastructure intrusion detection programs are in place? What mechanisms are in place to provide real-time alerts for intrusion detection?

What mechanisms are in place to protect against service attacks?

Has someone ever compromised the integrity of your company’s network? If so, what happened and what was the response?

What roles on the respondent team have access to customer accounts and what is the purpose of that access?

Are the data centers audited and / or certified? Provide details of Server Scans details, etc.

Provide your company’s most recent security audit results.

What type of application scans does your company provide and at what frequency?

What is your company’s data encryption strategy for data at rest and data in transit?

Confirm that any data provided by or for the State remains State property and may not be marketed or sold by the respondent without the express written State consent.

2.4.19 Access Indiana (Authentication)

Provide a high-level architectural diagram(s) and associated details of all hardware / infrastructure required for the application to operate, including backup and disaster recovery. (Number of servers, servers' specs, OS versions etc. for client and server).

Describe your company’s strategy / planning / process for infrastructure upgrades.

Are your company’s servers shared among multiple customers or dedicated to one customer?

How is load balancing performed for all your company’s customers within each data center as well as between the primary and secondary data center, if applicable?

Provide details about public and private subnets in the infrastructure design.

What types of redundancy are in place (entire data center, application code, database, etc.)? Is redundancy with a remote location? Provide details.

Provide details of minimum client hardware and software (including operating systems, plug-ins, libraries, etc.) required to access and use the application.

Provide details of the recommended client hardware and software (including operating systems, plug-ins, libraries, etc.) for optimal application performance.

Describe the tools that will be used to develop and / or maintain the application to include development tools, database management system, testing tools, data conversion tools, training tools, etc.

2.4.20 Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)

Do you understand and agree with the IV&V requirements defined in the Scope of Work?