ESBD_459687_1759761058396_RFI 304-26-100625AK Mass Email Platform.pdf

RFI 304-26-100625AK

RFI 304-26-100625AK – Mass Email Platform

KELLY HANCOCK

TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Request for Information (RFI) for

Mass Email Platform

RFI No. 304-26-100625AK

October 06, 2025

Schedule of Events October 06, 2025 Issuance of RFI

October 17, 2025 Deadline for Submission of Questions (2:00 p.m., CT) October 31, 2025 Release of Answers to Questions

(or as soon thereafter as practical) November 14, 2025 Deadline for Submission of Responses (2:00 p.m. CT)

Late Responses will not be considered

A. Summary

1. Type of Document: Request for Information (RFI)

2. Deadline for Responding to RFI: November 14, 2025 @ 2:00 p.m., Central Time (CT) Respondents are solely responsible for ensuring receipt of their Responses at the email addresses specified in Section A.4 on or before the specified deadline; late Responses will not be considered.

3. CPA Point of Contact for this RFI: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Contracts & Purchasing Attention: Alexander Kost, Sourcing Analyst

Email: researchcpa@cpa.texas.gov

4. Method of Submitting Responses: Responses must be submitted by email to Email: researchcpa@cpa.texas.gov

5. RFI Addenda: CPA will post any amendments to this RFI as addenda on the Electronic

State Business Daily (ESBD) located at http://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd. It is the responsibility of an interested party to periodically check the ESBD for updates to the RFI prior to submitting a RFI Response.

6. Questions and Answers: Questions regarding this RFI must be submitted in writing to CPA’s

Point of Contact, Alexander Kost, at researchcpa@cpa.texas.gov, no later than October 17, 2025; 2:00 p.m. CT. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. CPA intends to post answers to questions received on the ESBD on or about October 31, 2025.

7. Respondent Presentations: In CPA’s sole discretion and to assist in additional information gathering, CPA may invite Respondents to give a presentation to explain in further detail the recommendations made or information provided in the RFI Response. Any presentation(s) will be performed at CPA offices located in the LBJ Building, 111 E. 17th Street, Austin, Texas 78774;

presentation date(s) and time(s) to be arranged.

B. Introduction

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) is seeking information from qualified vendors regarding enterprise email communication platforms to support high-volume, secure, and accessible outreach to constituents. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to gather details on vendor capabilities, features, compliance, scalability, and support for public-sector environments.

The information collected through this RFI will help inform future procurement decisions and guide potential contract requirements. Responses should focus on the vendor’s platform functionality, security and compliance posture, integration capabilities, and experience supporting similar organizations.

This RFI is for information purposes only and does not constitute a commitment to procure products or services. Vendors are encouraged to provide detailed responses and supporting materials where appropriate.

mailto:bidcpa@cpa.texas.gov http://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd

C. Background

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts conducts frequent communications with a large and diverse audience, including constituents, partners, and stakeholders. These communications include newsletters, announcements, and other outreach efforts that require:

• High-volume sending capacity and reliable deliverability.

• Tools for designing accessible, responsive, and personalized emails.

• Analytics and reporting capabilities to evaluate engagement and inform strategy.

• Secure data handling, retention, and archiving aligned with regulatory requirements.

Currently, the CPA seeks a solution that can support these needs while providing administrative controls, user role management, and integration with existing systems. This RFI will help the CPA understand the range of available solutions, assess vendor experience with public-sector clients, and identify potential best practices for future implementation.

D. Definitions

• A/B Testing – A method of comparing two or more versions of an email (e.g., subject line, content, layout) sent to a subset of recipients to determine which version achieves higher engagement.

• Administrator – A user role with full access to the platform, including user management, settings, and configuration capabilities.

• Bounce Rate – The percentage of emails that could not be delivered to recipients’ inboxes.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR) – The percentage of email recipients who click one or more links in an email.

• Deliverability – The ability of an email to successfully reach recipients’ inboxes without being blocked or marked as spam.

• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) – An email authentication method that uses encryption and digital signatures to verify that the email content has not been altered in transit.

• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) – An email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM, specifying how to handle emails that fail authentication and providing reporting on potential domain abuse or spoofing.

• Email Client – The software or service used to read emails (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail).

• Mail Merge / Personalization – A feature that allows dynamic insertion of recipient-specific information (e.g., name, account number) into emails.

• Manual Preview – The process of reviewing how an email appears on various devices and email clients by opening each version individually.

• Metrics / Engagement Metrics – Measurements of email performance, including open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates.

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework) – An email authentication method that specifies which mail servers are allowed to send emails on behalf of a domain.

• Staggered Sending / Batch Sending – The process of scheduling emails to be sent in multiple groups over time, rather than all at once, to optimize engagement and deliverability.

• Subscriber / Recipient – An individual who receives emails from the CPA, either by opting in via subscription links or sign-up forms, or by being added to the subscriber list through bulk or mass upload by the agency.

• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) – An email design interface where the displayed content closely matches the final output in the recipient’s inbox.

• WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) – Standards for making digital content accessible to people with disabilities, which the platform must support in email design.

E. Scope

The following questions are intended to gather information about your platform’s capabilities, experience, and support for public-sector clients. Please provide clear and concise responses to each question:

1. General Information

a. Please describe your experience supporting public sector or government clients.

b. Do you have an account manager assigned to large clients?

c. Provide examples of similar implementations (preferably in state government or high-volume environments).

2. Functionality

a. What tools or features does your platform provide to preview emails across different devices and operating systems (iOS, Android)?

b. Which email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail, etc.) are supported for preview testing?

c. Does your platform provide automatic previews of emails across multiple devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) and major email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Apple Mail), or must these previews be generated manually by staff?

d. Do you support SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability and prevent spoofing?

e. Does your platform support A/B testing for emails (e.g., subject lines, content, layout) and provide reporting on which version performs better?

3. Analytics & Reporting

a. What engagement metrics (e.g., opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes) does your system capture?

b. Does the platform offer dashboards, data visualization, and export options (CSV, PDF, etc.)?

c. What training and support do you provide for staff to maximize reporting functionality?

4. Data Retention & Archiving

a. How does your platform store sent and draft emails, and how far back can they be accessed?

b. What are your data retention policies, and what options are available for exporting archived emails at contract termination?

c. How does your system support bulk management of images and assets (upload, organize, delete)?

d. What is your process for data extraction and transition support at the end of a contract?

5. Design & Accessibility

a. What design tools (drag-and-drop, WYSIWYG) are available?

b. How does the platform ensure WCAG-compliant email templates?

c. Can users import custom HTML or templates?

d. Does your platform provide a library of pre-made email templates?

e. Do you offer design support, such as a team to draft designs or assist with creative briefs?

f. Can sent emails be copied, modified, and reused for future messages?

6. Personalization

a. What personalization capabilities (macros, merge fields, dynamic content) are supported?

b. Are there any limitations on the number or type of fields that can be merged?

7. User Roles

a. What administrator roles and levels are supported, and what permissions are associated with each?

b. How is user access managed (SSO, MFA, role-based access)?

c. Does your platform maintain audit logs of user activity?

d. What training and ongoing support channels (phone, chat, email) are included?

8. Sending Capability

a. What is the maximum number of recipients supported per single send?

b. Are there monthly or cumulative sending limits?

c. What measures are in place to maintain high deliverability and prevent service disruptions at scale?

9. Subscription Management

a. How does the platform enable sign-up forms and subscription links for website integration?

b. Does it support segmentation by topic/category for subscribers?

c. Does your platform support the addition of new subscribers via manual entry and/or bulk upload (e.g., CSV file)? Please describe any limitations on file size, field types, or number of records.

10. Staggered sending

a. Does your system support staggered or batch sending?

b. Are there options for manual scheduling and/or AI-driven send-time optimization?

c. How does the system leverage historical engagement data to recommend timing?

11. Performance

a. What are your uptime guarantees or SLAs?

b. How do you handle service disruptions or throttling during very large sends?

F. Required RFI Response Materials

Respondents must email an RFI response titled “Response to MASS EMAIL PLATFORM RFI” to the designated CPA Point of Contact on or before the deadline for Responses (see Section A.2) and as otherwise required by Section A (Summary) of this RFI. The RFI Response should include the items listed below and be organized in the following manner:

• Entity’s name and address.

• Point of contact information for Respondent regarding its RFI Response (i.e., name, title, telephone number and email address of Respondent’s designated personnel).

• A brief summary (no more than one page in length) describing each item requested in Section D of this RFI, in the order listed.

• Any other information that the Respondent deems pertinent or relevant to this RFI (e.g., brochures or other company literature).

• RFI responses must be submitted via email to researchcpa@cpa.texas.gov .

G. No Award Results from this RFI

This RFI is issued solely for the purpose of obtaining information that may assist CPA in evaluating enterprise email communication platforms for potential future procurement, and no contract will be awarded in connection with this RFI. CPA is under no obligation to issue a solicitation. Respondent’s submission of a Response is voluntary and failure to respond will have no impact on the evaluation of responses to any subsequent solicitation.

H. No Compensation or Cost Recovery

CPA shall pay no costs, expenses, or any other amounts to any entity that are incurred under or related to this RFI.

I. Ownership of Responses, Copyright, Public Nature of Responses

Responses to this RFI will be the property of CPA. CPA, in its sole discretion, may consider or disregard any information submitted in a Response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned to Respondents.

Responses will be public information and available for public inspection without redaction. Consequently, a Respondent should not submit any information in its Response that is asserted by Respondent to be confidential or proprietary.

A response with a copyright notice or marked as “Confidential or Proprietary” is not acceptable and will be rejected by CPA as non-responsive to the RFI.