ESBD_564376_1790883342185_RFO 781-6-CB-20 - Managed Services CCA.pdf

Request for Offers

Managed Services – College and Career Advising No. 781-6-CB-20

Technical Categories

NIGP Code(s):

915-96 Webpage Design, Management & Maintenance

920-00 Data Processing, Computer, and Software Services 920-40 Programming Services, Computer, Including Mobile Device Applications 920-65 System Requirements, Quality Assurance Review 208-54 Internet, Web Site and Mobile Application Development Software, Microcomputer 958-77 Project Management

Important Dates:

RFO Post Date: October 1, 2026 Written Questions Due: October 9, 2026, by 11:30 PM CT

Proposal Deadline: October 22, 2026, by 11:30 PM CT

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

1801 N. Congress Ave., Suite 12.200 Austin, Texas 78701

Financial Services Division Contracts & Procurement

1. Application Development, Maintenance, and Support

2. Comprehensive Web Development and Management Services

3. Managed Services

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

1.2 Definitions

1.3 Authority and Attachments

2. Contract Term and Authorization

2.1 Contract Term

2.2 Contract Work Authorization

3. Minimum Eligibility and Experience Requirements

4. Statement of Work

4.1 Overview

4.2 Technology Environment

4.2.1 Technology Portfolio

4.2.2 Current Technology Stack

4.2.3 External Integrations

4.2.4 Application Usage

4.2.5 Supporting Enterprise Technologies

4.2.6 Technology Evolution

4.2.7 Technology Environment Disclaimer

4.3 Delivery Organization Model and Team Structure

4.4 Delivery Organization Staffing Requirements

4.4.1 Personnel Management

4.4.2 Key Personnel and Staffing Continuity

4.4.3 Personnel Performance and Security

4.4.4 Remote, Nearshore, and Offshore Resources

4.5 Managed Services

4.5.1 Application Operations and Maintenance

4.5.2 Application Development and Enhancement

4.5.3 Solution Architecture and Technical Design

4.5.4 Quality Engineering

4.5.5 DevScOps and Release Management

4.5.6 Cloud Operations and Infrastructure

4.5.7 Security and Compliance

4.5.8 Documentation and Knowledge Management

4.5.9 Agile Delivery Management

4.5.10 Continuous Improvement and Innovation

4.6 Governance

4.6.1 Governance Model

4.6.2 Governance Meetings and Communication

4.6.3 Communication and Escalation

4.7 Performance Management and Service Reporting

4.7.1 Performance Management

4.7.2 Performance Reporting

4.8 Service Readiness, Transition, and Continuity

4.8.1 Service Transition and Operational Readiness

4.8.2 Ongoing Service Transition

4.8.3 Service Transition and Contract Closeout

4.9 Deliverables

5. Security Requirements

5.1 Security Certifications and Compliance

5.2 Security Documentation

5.3 Administrative Security Requirements

6. Contract Administration

6.1 Deliverable Review and Acceptance

6.2 Contract Change Management

6.3 Contract Administration

6.4 Vendor Accountability

7. Pricing and Payment Term

7.1 Pricing Structure

7.2 Pricing Schedule

7.3 Invoicing and Payment

8. Solicitation Key Deadlines and Events

8.1 Procurement Schedule

8.2 Proposal Due Date

8.3 Procurement Point of Contact

8.4 Questions and Answers

8.5 Proposal Submission

8.6 Proposal Modification and Withdrawal

9. Proposal Submission Requirements

9.1 Executive Summary

9.2 Company References

9.3 Company Experience

9.4 Delivery Organization and Key Personnel

9.4.1 Delivery Organization

9.4.2 Key Personnel

9.5 Technical Proposal

9.5.1 Delivery Organization

9.5.2 Service Delivery Approach

9.5.3 Agile Delivery Methodology

9.5.4 Technical and Engineering Approach

9.5.5 Governance and Performance Management

9.5.6 Service Transition

9.5.7 Innovation and Continuous Improvement

9.6 Pricing Proposal

9.7 Exceptions, Assumptions, and Risks

9.8 Required Forms, Certifications, and Disclosures

9.8.1 Attachment A - Respondent Info

9.8.2 Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement

10. Proposal Evaluation

10.1 Evaluation Criteria

10.1.1 Technical Proposal and Managed Services Approach

10.1.2 Organizational Qualifications, Experience, and Past Performance

10.1.3 Delivery Organization and Key Personnel

10.1.4 Pricing Proposal

10.1.5 Responsiveness, Clarity, and Organization of the Proposal

10.2 Proposal Scoring Methodology

10.3 Scoring and Evaluation Process

10.3.1 Administrative Review

10.3.2 Evaluation

10.3.3 Clarifications, Oral Presentations, and Interviews

10.3.4 Contract Award

10.4 Best Value Determination

11. Terms and Conditions

11.1 Costs Incurred

11.2 Waiver of Errors

11.3 Acceptance of Evaluation Process

11.4 Protest Procedures

11.5 Public Information Act

11.6 Retention of Proposals

11.7 Intellectual Property and Indemnification

11.8 Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence

11.8.1 General Prohibition

11.8.2 Request for Approval

11.8.3 Compliance Requirements

11.8.4 Unauthorized Use and Remedies

11.8.5 AI Assisted Capabilities and Tools

11.9 Electronic and Information Resources Accessibility

Appendix A – Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

Appendix B – Information Security Standards

Appendix C

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is the state agency responsible for providing leadership, coordination, and strategic direction for higher education in Texas. Through its statewide strategic plan, Building a Talent Strong Texas, THECB is working to strengthen the state's workforce, economy, and future by increasing educational attainment for learners of all ages, expanding access to credentials of value, and advancing research and innovation.

To advance these strategic objectives, THECB develops, operates, and continuously enhances a portfolio of digital products and technology platforms that supports students, families, educators, counselors, advisors, institutions of higher education, employers, and workforce partners throughout Texas. These products improve access to higher education, simplify the admissions process, strengthen college and career advising, and connect educational pathways with workforce opportunities. The current technology portfolio includes, but is not limited to, ApplyTexas, My Texas Future, ADVi, Direct Admissions, Salesforce-based applications, Azure-hosted applications, enterprise integrations, application programming interfaces, databases, reporting platforms, and supporting cloud services.

Modern, secure, and scalable technology is essential to achieving THECB's mission. Through this Request for Offers (RFO), THECB is seeking one or more long-term technology partners to provide Managed Services supporting the ongoing operation, maintenance, enhancement, and modernization of this technology portfolio.

The selected vendor(s) shall serve as a strategic technology partner(s) by applying mature software engineering practices, disciplined delivery governance, operational excellence, and continuous improvement to ensure the technology portfolio remains secure, reliable, accessible, scalable, maintainable, and responsive to the evolving needs of the State of Texas.

THECB seeks partners that will not only execute requested work but also provide technical leadership, engineering expertise, and recommendations that strengthen the long-term quality, sustainability, and operational maturity of the technology portfolio.

THECB reserves the right to award multiple contracts under this RFO and may assign products, workstreams, technologies, or specialized services among multiple vendors as determined to be in the best interest of the State of Texas.

1.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this RFO and any resulting Contract, the following terms shall apply throughout this RFO.

• CUSTOMER means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board , the State of Texas agency issuing this RFO and the recipient of all services provided under any resulting Contract.

• RESPONDENT(S) means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, or other legal entity submitting a response to this RFO.

• VENDOR means the RESPONDENT selected by CUSTOMER and awarded a Contract pursuant to this RFO. VENDOR is responsible for providing all services, personnel, deliverables, reporting, governance, and other contractual obligations described in this RFO and any resulting Contract.

References to CUSTOMER and VENDOR throughout this RFO identify the respective roles, responsibilities, rights, and contractual obligations of each party. These defined terms are intended to clearly distinguish procurement requirements applicable to RESPONDENTS during the RFO process from contractual obligations that become applicable to the successful VENDOR upon Contract award.

1.3 Authority and Attachments

CUSTOMER is authorized to issue this RFO and enter into any resulting Contract pursuant to Tex. Educ. Code § 61.067 and other applicable provisions of Texas law. RESPONDENTS shall comply with all applicable federal and state laws and procurement requirements in preparing and submitting a response to this RFO.

This RFO is comprised of the following:

• RFO No. 781-6-CB-20

• Appendix A – Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

• Appendix B – Information Security Requirements

• Appendix C – Vendor Program (VetHUB) Participation Requirements

• Attachment A – Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement (to be completed by RESPONDENT)

• Attachment B – Execution of Proposal (to be completed by

RESPONDENT)

• Attachment C – Sample THECB Contract

• Attachment D – Certificate of Interested Parties Form 1295

• Attachment E – VetHUB Subcontracting Plan

RESPONDENTS are responsible for reviewing and complying with all requirements contained in these documents when preparing their responses.

2. Contract Term and Authorization

2.1 Contract Term

The anticipated Contract resulting from this RFO shall commence upon execution and shall terminate August 31, 2027, unless terminated earlier as otherwise provided for in the Contract. Following the initial Contract term, CUSTOMER, at its sole discretion, may renew the Contract for up to four (4) additional one-year renewal terms or until completion of the services authorized under the Contract, whichever occurs first. All renewals shall be made in writing and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Contract.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, CUSTOMER, at its sole discretion and upon written notice to VENDOR, may extend the Contract for up to twelve (12) additional months to support continuity of services, Service Transition activities, Contract closeout, procurement of replacement services, or other circumstances determined to be in the best interest of the State of Texas. Any such extension shall be performed under the terms, conditions, and pricing in effect immediately prior to the extension unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Parties.

2.2 Contract Work Authorization

Work authorized under the Contract may include operational support, maintenance, enhancements, modernization initiatives, project-based services, emergency response activities, legislative initiatives, technical consulting, or other services described herein. CUSTOMER may authorize, prioritize, reprioritize, defer, accelerate, expand, reduce, suspend, or discontinue authorized work based upon changing business priorities, operational needs, legislative direction, available funding, emergency conditions, or other CUSTOMER requirements.

VENDOR shall support adjustments to work priorities, team capacity, and delivery schedules in accordance with the governance processes established by the Parties and shall collaborate with CUSTOMER to minimize operational disruption while maintaining continuity of services.

Nothing contained in the Contract shall be construed as a guarantee of any minimum quantity, dollar value, or volume of work. CUSTOMER reserves the right to authorize services as needed throughout the Contract term in accordance with available funding and business priorities.

Unless otherwise specified in the Contract, work authorized under the Contract shall be planned, governed, prioritized, and delivered in accordance with the governance framework, delivery methodologies, and engineering practices established in the RFO.

3. Minimum Eligibility and Experience Requirements This section establishes the minimum qualifications and organizational experience that each RESPONDENT must satisfy to be considered for award.

RESPONDENTS must demonstrate a minimum of five (5) years of experience providing Managed Services or substantially similar services comparable in scope, complexity, and technical environment to those described in this RFO. An entity or company in existence for fewer than five (5) years may submit a proposal provided its executive leadership and Delivery Organization collectively demonstrate the required experience.

RESPONDENTS that do not satisfy this minimum requirement are not eligible for award.

RESPONDENTS shall demonstrate organizational experience delivering enterprise application development, application maintenance, production support, Agile software delivery, DevSecOps, cloud operations, quality engineering, and related technology services for organizations of similar size and complexity. Experience supporting public sector organizations, cloud-based application platforms, enterprise integrations, customer-facing digital services, and modern software engineering practices is preferred.

RESPONDENTS shall demonstrate experience operating under an outcome-based Managed Services delivery model in which VENDOR is responsible for staffing, engineering execution, operational management, quality, service delivery, and continuous improvement while CUSTOMER provides governance, business priorities, product ownership, enterprise architecture oversight, and contract administration.

4. Statement of Work

4.1 Overview

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Managed Services supporting the ongoing operation, maintenance, enhancement, and modernization of THECB’s College and Career Advising technology portfolio.

This engagement will establish a long-term managed services partnership that enables CUSTOMER to continuously deliver secure, reliable, accessible, scalable, and user-centered digital services supporting students, families, educators, counselors, advisors, institutions of higher education, employers, and workforce partners throughout Texas.

VENDOR shall provide the necessary personnel, technical expertise, engineering practices, governance, tools, processes, and operational support to successfully deliver the services described in this Statement of Work.

VENDOR shall perform services using Agile delivery methodologies supported by modern software engineering practices, DevSecOps, automation, continuous testing, quality engineering, and continuous improvement.

VENDOR shall be responsible for the day-to-day engineering execution necessary to operate and evolve the technology portfolio, including application development, application maintenance, production support, quality engineering, release management, technical documentation, cloud operations, application security, performance optimization, and operational monitoring. CUSTOMER will provide product vision, business priorities, architectural governance, and contract oversight.

CUSTOMER expects VENDOR to operate as a strategic technology partner by applying mature engineering practices, disciplined project governance, proactive risk management, and continuous improvement throughout the Contract term. In addition to delivering requested enhancements, VENDOR shall proactively identify opportunities to improve application architecture, software quality, accessibility, cybersecurity, cloud operations, automation, operational efficiency, maintainability, and the overall maturity of the technology portfolio.

Recommendations for improving the technology portfolio shall be presented through the governance framework established under this RFO.

4.2 Technology Environment

4.2.1 Technology Portfolio

THECB’s College and Career Advising technology portfolio consists of a suite of integrated digital products, supporting platforms, and shared technology services that help Texans explore educational opportunities, prepare for higher education, apply to participating institutions, and successfully navigate their post-secondary journey.

These products represent THECB’s primary business applications at the time this RFO is issued.

Although each product serves a distinct business purpose, CUSTOMER expects the technology portfolio to operate as an integrated ecosystem. VENDOR shall consider interoperability, user experience, data consistency, security, maintainability, scalability, and the long-term evolution of the portfolio when performing services under this RFO. VENDOR shall evaluate proposed enhancements and technical decisions in the context of their impact on the overall technology portfolio rather than on individual applications alone.

THECB’s College and Career Advising technology portfolio includes:

• My Texas Future (MTF)

My Texas Future is CUSTOMER's primary digital engagement platform for Texans planning and preparing for higher education.

The platform provides students with college and career exploration resources, planning tools, personalized guidance, and access to post-secondary opportunities. MTF serves as the central point of engagement for multiple advising services and the primary digital destination supporting students throughout their college planning journey.

MTF integrates with several enterprise services, including ApplyTexas, ADVi, Direct Admissions, Salesforce, and other supporting technologies to provide a seamless user experience, improve service delivery, and reduce duplicate data entry.

• ApplyTexas

ApplyTexas is CUSTOMER's statewide application platform that enables prospective students to apply for admission to participating Texas institutions of higher education through a centralized online application. The platform also provides functionality supporting secondary school counselors and participating institutions and is administered by CUSTOMER in collaboration with representatives from the Texas higher education community.

• ADVi

ADVi is CUSTOMER's AI-powered virtual advising solution, operated through the Mainstay platform, that provides students with personalized guidance regarding college planning, admissions, financial aid, enrollment, and other higher education topics. ADVi currently integrates with ApplyTexas and is expected to continue evolving through expanded integration with other components of the College and Career Advising technology portfolio.

• Direct Admissions

Direct Admissions is a feature within My Texas Future that assists eligible students in identifying participating Texas colleges and universities where they may qualify for direct admission before applying. The service simplifies the college-application process, expanding access to higher education and increasing student awareness of educational opportunities available throughout Texas.

4.2.2 Current Technology Stack

CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio is currently hosted across a modern cloud-based application environment consisting of multiple technologies, platforms, databases, integrations, and third-party services. RESPONDENTS should review the information below to better understand the current operating environment.

Technology Area

My Texas Future

ApplyTexas Direct Admissions

Front-End Framework

React React React

Back-End Technologies

.NET, WordPress Node.js, Python, WordPress

.NET, WordPress

Identity and Access Management

Azure AD B2C Azure AD B2C Azure AD B2C

Data Storage Azure Cosmos DB, Azure SQL Database (Enterprise Data Warehouse), Azure Blob Storage

Azure Cosmos DB, Azure SQL Database (Enterprise Data Warehouse), PostgreSQL

Azure Cosmos DB, Azure SQL Database (Enterprise Data Warehouse), Azure Blob Storage

User Experience and Design

Figma Figma Figma

4.2.3 External Integrations

The current portfolio integrates with a variety of enterprise and third-party platforms, including, but not limited to:

Application Current Integrations

My Texas Future ADVi, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Google Maps

ApplyTexas National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), Salesforce, Google Maps, Google Analytics, Address Validation Services

Direct Admissions

ADVi, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Google Maps

4.2.4 Application Usage

Because several products within the portfolio continue to evolve, user traffic and transaction volumes are subject to change.

RESPONDENTS should review the following planning estimates to better understand the current operating environment.

Metric My Texas Future ApplyTexas

Annual Distinct Users 1,700,000 3,600,000

Peak Monthly Active Users 287,000 614,000

CUSTOMER anticipates continued growth in platform utilization throughout the Contract term. VENDOR shall ensure that proposed solutions, architecture, operational practices, and staffing models can support increasing demand while maintaining the service levels and performance requirements established under this Contract.

4.2.5 Supporting Enterprise Technologies

In addition to the above, the College and Career Advising technology portfolio leverages enterprise platforms, cloud services, development tools, and supporting technologies that enable application development, integration, deployment, operations, security, analytics, and user experience. These platforms include, but are not limited to:

• Microsoft Azure

• Crowdstrike

• Azure DevOps

• Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD B2C

• Salesforce

• Snowflake

• Mainstay (ADVi)

• Figma

• Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

• Azure Data Factory

• Git-based source code repositories

• Playwright

• Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines

VENDOR is expected to possess or acquire the technical expertise necessary to effectively support these technologies and any additional enterprise platforms adopted by CUSTOMER during the Contract term.

4.2.6 Technology Evolution

The environment detailed above represents CUSTOMER's current technology environment at the time this RFO is issued. During the Contract term, CUSTOMER expects the environment to evolve in response to changing business priorities, legislative direction, security requirements, technology standards, operational needs, and continuous improvement initiatives. CUSTOMER may add, modernize, replace, upgrade, consolidate, or otherwise modify components of the technology stack to support these needs.

VENDOR shall provide Managed Services supporting the evolving technology portfolio in accordance with the requirements of this

RFO.

VENDOR shall also proactively recommend modernization opportunities that improve application performance, reduce technical debt, increase platform reliability, security, maintainability, scalability, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability of the technology portfolio.

VENDOR is not expected to preserve existing technologies solely because they represent the current environment. Subject to the governance processes established under this RFO, VENDOR shall recommend architectural, operational, and technology improvements that advance CUSTOMER's strategic objectives while minimizing unnecessary technical debt and operational risk.

4.2.7 Technology Environment Disclaimer

The technologies, platforms, frameworks, tools, and integrations identified in this section are provided for informational purposes to assist RESPONDENTS in preparing their proposals. These technologies represent CUSTOMER's current operating environment and should not be interpreted as limiting CUSTOMER's ability to adopt, retire, replace, upgrade, consolidate, or otherwise modify technologies during the term of the resulting Contract.

4.3 Delivery Organization Model and Team Structure

CUSTOMER intends to establish a long-term Managed Services partnership in which VENDOR is responsible for organizing, staffing, managing, and continuously improving the Delivery Organization necessary to successfully perform the services described in this RFO. CUSTOMER will establish business priorities, product vision, enterprise governance, and strategic direction, while VENDOR shall remain responsible for engineering execution, service delivery, operational management, technical leadership, and delivery outcomes.

VENDOR shall organize a Delivery Organization using cross-functional, collaborative teams possessing the technical expertise, engineering disciplines, operational capabilities, and leadership necessary to support CUSTOMER's evolving technology portfolio. The Delivery Organization shall be capable of supporting the ongoing operation, maintenance, enhancement, modernization, security, quality engineering, cloud operations, and continuous improvement of the applications and technologies described in this RFO.

CUSTOMER expects VENDOR to utilize Agile delivery methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, or other CUSTOMER-approved Agile practices, to plan, prioritize, develop, test, deploy, and support work performed under this Contract. VENDOR shall remain responsible for coordinating activities across multiple delivery teams, technologies, and functional disciplines to ensure integrated planning, architectural alignment, engineering consistency, release coordination, quality engineering, and operational continuity throughout the technology portfolio.

Although CUSTOMER will identify the capabilities and functional disciplines necessary to support this engagement, CUSTOMER does not prescribe the VENDOR's internal organizational structure. VENDOR may propose any organizational model that effectively satisfies the requirements of this RFO, provided the proposed Delivery Organization demonstrates the leadership, technical expertise, staffing capacity, governance, and operational maturity necessary to successfully deliver the required services.

The Delivery Organization shall be capable of scaling resources, adjusting priorities, and supporting multiple concurrent operational, maintenance, enhancement, and modernization initiatives while maintaining service continuity, operational stability, engineering quality, and the performance standards established under this Contract.

VENDOR shall work collaboratively with CUSTOMER's Product Owners, business stakeholders, enterprise architects, cybersecurity personnel, cloud administrators, and other CUSTOMER representatives throughout the Contract term. VENDOR shall actively participate in governance activities, planning sessions, architecture reviews, backlog refinement, sprint planning, release planning, demonstrations, retrospectives, and other collaborative activities necessary to support successful delivery of the services described in this RFO.

4.4 Delivery Organization Staffing Requirements

RESPONDENTS’ Delivery Organization shall collectively provide the capabilities necessary to support CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio through a combination of leadership, engineering, quality engineering, architecture, DevSecOps, cloud operations, production support, and other specialized technical disciplines required to successfully perform the services described in this Contract.

At a minimum, the Delivery Organization shall maintain capabilities supporting the following functional areas:

• Engagement Management

• Delivery / Project Management

• Product Management

• Scrum Leadership

• Solution and Technical Architecture

• Software Engineering (Front-End and Back-End)

• User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design

• Content Development and Management

• Quality Engineering, Test Automation, and Regression Testing

• DevSecOps and Cloud Engineering

• Azure Platform Administration

• Salesforce Administration and Development

• Database Administration

• Integration and Application Programming Interface (API) Development

• Data Engineering and Analytics

• Application Security

• Production Operations and Application Support

• Technical Documentation and Knowledge Management

Personnel assigned to the engagement shall possess education, professional experience, technical knowledge, and certifications appropriate to their assigned responsibilities and shall demonstrate experience supporting enterprise application development, cloud technologies, Agile software delivery, and Managed Services engagements of similar scope and complexity.

VENDOR may assign individual personnel to perform multiple functions where appropriate, provided sufficient capacity, qualifications, and expertise exist to successfully perform all required services and meet the performance standards established under this Contract.

VENDOR shall be responsible for ensuring that the collective knowledge, experience, and capacity of its assigned personnel are sufficient to successfully perform all services described in this Contract. CUSTOMER is procuring the capabilities of a Managed Services organization rather than the services of individual personnel.

4.4.1 Personnel Management

VENDOR shall be solely responsible for recruiting, onboarding, training, supervising, managing, evaluating, compensating, and replacing all personnel assigned to this engagement. CUSTOMER will establish business priorities, define product requirements, approve deliverables, and provide contract oversight but shall not supervise, direct, or manage individual VENDOR personnel.

VENDOR shall maintain sufficient staffing capacity to support planned enhancements, production operations, maintenance activities, incident response, release activities, legislative mandates, emergency production issues, and other authorized work under the

Contract. Upon request by CUSTOMER, VENDOR shall evaluate workload demands and propose adjustments to staffing levels, skill mix, or team composition necessary to accommodate changing business priorities, available funding, operational requirements, or technology initiatives.

VENDOR shall ensure personnel assigned to the engagement maintain current technical knowledge and receive ongoing professional development appropriate to the technologies, engineering practices, security requirements, and services supporting CUSTOMER's environment.

4.4.2 Key Personnel and Staffing Continuity

VENDOR shall designate Key Personnel responsible for overall contract management, day-to-day service delivery, technical leadership, solution architecture, engineering governance, and quality engineering for the engagement. The specific job titles assigned to these responsibilities are at the discretion of VENDOR, provided the required responsibilities are clearly identified and assigned.

The Delivery Organization shall not become dependent upon any individual resource. VENDOR shall maintain staffing continuity throughout the Contract term by implementing appropriate knowledge transfer, succession planning, cross-training, documentation, and resource management practices. VENDOR shall make reasonable efforts to minimize unnecessary personnel turnover and ensure continuity of services.

VENDOR shall provide advance written notification to CUSTOMER of any proposed replacement of Key Personnel assigned to the engagement. Replacement personnel shall possess qualifications and experience substantially equivalent to or greater than those of the individual being replaced and shall be subject to CUSTOMER review and approval. VENDOR shall provide an appropriate transition period and complete all necessary knowledge transfer activities to minimize disruption to ongoing services. Except in emergency circumstances, Key Personnel shall not be replaced without prior written approval by CUSTOMER.

VENDOR shall ensure that Key Personnel identified for this engagement remain primarily dedicated to CUSTOMER's Managed Services throughout the Contract term. Key Personnel shall not be assigned concurrently to other customer engagements in a manner that materially impacts their availability, responsiveness, or ability to perform the responsibilities assigned under this Contract. If any Key Personnel are proposed to support multiple engagements, VENDOR shall disclose the allocation of effort in writing and obtain prior written approval from CUSTOMER. CUSTOMER reserves the right to require dedicated resources for critical roles when necessary to ensure continuity of services and successful delivery.

4.4.3 Personnel Performance and Security

VENDOR shall ensure that criminal background checks are completed and maintained for all personnel assigned to the engagement. CUSTOMER may review and screen, upon request, all criminal background check information prior to performance of services. VENDOR shall ensure that all personnel assigned to the project satisfy the requirements of any other security screening, confidentiality, training, and system access requirements established by CUSTOMER prior to being granted access to CUSTOMER systems, applications, or information.

If CUSTOMER reasonably determines that assigned personnel consistently fail to meet performance expectations, demonstrate inadequate technical competency, fail to comply with Contract requirements, or otherwise negatively impact service delivery, CUSTOMER may request replacement of those personnel. VENDOR shall propose qualified replacement personnel within a mutually agreed-upon timeframe and shall ensure continuity of services during the transition.

4.4.4 Remote, Nearshore, and Offshore Resources

CUSTOMER supports a hybrid workforce and recognizes that the VENDOR may utilize a combination of on-site and remote resources to successfully perform the services described in this Contract.

RESPONDENT shall clearly identify its proposed staffing model, including the primary work location of personnel assigned to the engagement, as part of its Proposal.

All personnel performing services under this Contract, including subcontractors, shall be physically located within the United States and legally authorized to work in the United States. The use of nearshore, offshore, or other personnel located outside the United States is prohibited unless expressly authorized in writing by CUSTOMER. Upon request, VENDOR shall provide documentation demonstrating compliance with this requirement

Regardless of where services are performed within the United States, VENDOR shall remain fully responsible for the quality, security, responsiveness, communication, collaboration, and timely delivery of all services provided under this Contract. The use of remote resources shall not relieve VENDOR of any contractual responsibilities or performance obligations.

4.5 Managed Services

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Managed Services supporting CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio. Services shall include the ongoing operation, maintenance, enhancement, modernization, administration, support, and continuous improvement of the applications, platforms, integrations, databases, cloud infrastructure, and supporting technologies identified in this RFO.

VENDOR shall perform all services using mature software engineering practices, Agile delivery methodologies, DevSecOps principles, and industry best practices to deliver secure, reliable, accessible, scalable, maintainable, resilient, and high-quality technology solutions.

The service areas described in this section are complementary and collectively define VENDOR's responsibilities for delivering Managed Services under this Contract. The responsibilities identified within each subsection establish CUSTOMER's minimum expectations and shall not be interpreted as limiting VENDOR's responsibility to perform any activity reasonably necessary to successfully operate, support, maintain, secure, enhance, modernize, or continuously improve CUSTOMER's technology portfolio in accordance with this RFO.

Throughout the Contract term, VENDOR shall proactively identify and recommend opportunities for modernization and improvement across the technology environment, including but not limited to:

• Improving the application and cloud architecture and increasing maturity of cloud environment;

• Standardizing and improving engineering practices;

• Improving release quality, deployment frequency, operational resilience, recovery time, release governance, and overall DevSecOps maturity;

• Strengthening cybersecurity and application security, improve security architecture, and accessibility compliance;

• Improving documentation quality, standardization, knowledge sharing, operational maturity, and long-term maintainability;

• Increasing automation and simplifying business processes and technical solutions;

• Reducing technical debt;

• Modernizing technologies;

• Enhancing user experience; and

• Improving the overall quality, maintainability, operational efficiency, and long-term maturity of the technology portfolio.

Recommendations shall be presented through the governance process established under the resulting Contract.

Managed Services include, but are not limited to, the following service areas and associated responsibilities:

4.5.1 Application Operations and Maintenance

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Application Operations and Maintenance services necessary to ensure the continued availability, reliability, performance, security, resiliency, and operational stability of CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio.

VENDOR shall proactively monitor, administer, maintain, troubleshoot, support, and continuously improve the production environment while minimizing service disruptions, operational risk, and technical debt.

Managed Services for Application Operations and Maintenance include, but are not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Monitoring the health, availability, performance, observability, and operational status of applications, integrations, databases, APIs, cloud services, and supporting infrastructure.

• Responding to, diagnosing, and resolving production incidents, application defects, system failures, service interruptions, and operational issues in accordance with the Service Level Agreements established under this Contract.

• Performing root cause analysis for significant production incidents and documenting corrective actions, preventive actions, and lessons learned to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

• Performing corrective, adaptive, preventive, and perfective maintenance activities necessary to maintain a stable, secure, reliable, and supportable application environment.

• Identifying, tracking, prioritizing, and resolving software defects, operational issues, and technical debt through an established defect management process.

• Monitoring application performance and proactively recommending improvements to increase reliability, scalability, maintainability, resiliency, operational efficiency, and customer experience.

• Performing routine application administration, configuration management, environment management, and scheduled maintenance activities.

• Supporting production releases, hotfixes, emergency changes, and planned maintenance activities in accordance with the Release Management processes established under this Contract.

• Maintaining operational documentation, support procedures, system runbooks, knowledge articles, and other operational artifacts necessary to support ongoing operations and continuity of service.

• Coordinating with CUSTOMER and third-party vendors, as necessary, to resolve incidents, infrastructure issues, security events, integration failures, and other operational concerns affecting the technology portfolio.

VENDOR shall maintain sufficient operational support capabilities to respond to planned work, production incidents, emergency situations, legislative priorities, and other operational needs while minimizing disruption to CUSTOMER business operations.

VENDOR shall proactively analyze operational metrics, recurring incidents, technical debt, performance trends, capacity constraints, and support patterns for operational improvement.

Recommendations shall be presented through the governance process established under the resulting Contract and shall include proposed corrective actions, anticipated benefits, implementation considerations, and any operational impacts.

4.5.2 Application Development and Enhancement

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Application Development and Enhancement services supporting the ongoing evolution of CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio.

Managed Services for Application Development and Enhancement include, but are not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Designing, developing, testing, deploying, and supporting new application functionality, business capabilities, and digital services.

• Implementing enhancements, configuration changes, workflow improvements, and user experience (UX/UI) improvements across the technology portfolio.

• Modernizing existing applications, technologies, frameworks, libraries, and supporting components to improve maintainability, security, performance, scalability, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability.

• Designing technical solutions, application architectures, database structures, integration patterns, and supporting technical components that align with CUSTOMER's enterprise architecture principles, technology standards, and long-term strategic objectives.

• Developing, maintaining, and enhancing RESTful APIs, web services, enterprise integrations, event-driven architectures, and data exchange processes supporting internal and external systems.

• Designing, developing, configuring, and supporting Salesforce applications, workflows, automations, integrations, and related platform capabilities.

• Developing and maintaining cloud-native applications and services utilizing Microsoft Azure and other cloud technologies adopted by CUSTOMER.

• Designing, developing, and maintaining database structures, data integrations, reporting solutions, data migration processes, and other data management components necessary to support application functionality.

• Developing responsive, accessible, and user-centered interfaces that comply with applicable accessibility standards and provide consistent user experiences across supported platforms.

• Refactoring existing application components to improve maintainability, reduce technical debt, simplify future enhancements, improve long-term supportability, and strengthen application resilience.

• Performing peer code reviews, adhering to established coding standards, and applying other engineering quality practices to improve code quality, maintainability, security, consistency, and long-term supportability before software is promoted through the deployment pipeline.

• Developing reusable components, shared services, APIs, libraries, and frameworks that promote consistency, reduce duplication, simplify future development, and improve engineering efficiency across the technology portfolio.

• Performing technical impact analysis for proposed enhancements, architectural changes, technology upgrades, framework updates, and new functionality to identify potential impacts to existing applications, integrations, APIs, databases, security controls, business processes, reporting, accessibility, user experience, and operational support. VENDOR shall identify risks, dependencies, mitigation strategies, and recommended design modifications prior to implementation.

• Maintaining source code repositories, configuration files, deployment artifacts, technical documentation, and other software assets necessary to support the complete software development lifecycle.

VENDOR shall ensure that all application development activities are performed in accordance with the engineering standards, architectural principles, secure software development practices, Quality Engineering processes, accessibility requirements, and Release Management procedures established under this Contract.

4.5.3 Solution Architecture and Technical Design

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Solution Architecture and Technical Design services supporting the ongoing evolution of CUSTOMER's College and Career Advising technology portfolio.

VENDOR shall design technical solutions that are secure, scalable, maintainable, accessible, resilient, performant, supportable, and aligned with CUSTOMER's enterprise architecture principles, technology standards, and long-term strategic objectives.

Managed Services for Solution Architecture and Technical Design include, but are not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Designing application architectures that support scalability, maintainability, resiliency, performance, security, accessibility, and long-term sustainability.

• Developing technical solution designs for new features, enhancements, modernization initiatives, integrations, APIs, cloud services, databases, and supporting infrastructure.

• Designing database schemas, data models, data integration strategies, and data management solutions that support application performance, reporting, scalability, and long-term maintainability.

• Designing and documenting RESTful APIs, integration patterns, messaging architectures, authentication mechanisms, and other shared technical services.

• Evaluating architectural alternatives and recommending technologies, frameworks, cloud services, implementation approaches, engineering patterns, and build-versus-buy alternatives that best support CUSTOMER's business objectives and long-term technology strategy.

• Identifying opportunities to reduce technical debt through architectural improvements, refactoring, modernization, and standardization initiatives.

• Ensuring architectural decisions consider operational supportability, cybersecurity, accessibility, disaster recovery, business continuity, monitoring, observability, and long-term lifecycle management.

• Maintaining current architecture diagrams, technical design documentation, interface specifications, database documentation, and other architectural artifacts necessary to support ongoing operations and future development.

• Participating in architecture reviews, technical planning sessions, and design discussions with CUSTOMER and other stakeholders.

For significant enhancements, modernization initiatives, infrastructure changes, database modifications, integration changes, API development, authentication changes, or other architectural changes identified by CUSTOMER, VENDOR shall prepare and present a Technical Design Package (TDP) for CUSTOMER review prior to implementation. At a minimum, the TDP shall include:

• Business and technical objectives

• Proposed solution architecture

• Estimated implementation effort and delivery considerations

• Architecture diagrams

• Database architecture, schema design, data model changes, and data migration considerations

• Integration and API impacts

• Security considerations

• Accessibility considerations

• Performance and scalability considerations

• Operational support considerations

• Risks, assumptions, and dependencies

• Testing strategy

• Deployment approach

• Rollback strategy

• Documentation updates

CUSTOMER shall review major architectural decisions through an Architecture Review process, prior to implementation, to ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards, cybersecurity requirements, data governance, accessibility requirements, strategic direction, and long-term supportability. CUSTOMER participation in architectural reviews, technical design discussions, or solution planning activities is advisory in nature and shall not transfer responsibility for the technical quality, completeness, maintainability, security, performance, or successful implementation of the solution.

VENDOR shall remain fully responsible for all architectural decisions, technical designs, engineering recommendations, and delivered solutions under this Contract.

VENDOR shall document significant architectural decisions through Architecture Decision Records (ADRs), or an equivalent methodology approved by CUSTOMER. ADRs shall document the architectural decision, alternatives considered, rationale, assumptions, dependencies, risks, and operational impacts to support long-term knowledge management, solution maintainability, and future architectural planning.

4.5.4 Quality Engineering

VENDOR shall provide comprehensive Quality Engineering services to ensure that all software developed, maintained, enhanced, or deployed under this Contract meets CUSTOMER's requirements for functionality, reliability, security, accessibility, maintainability, and overall software quality. VENDOR shall be solely responsible for planning, executing, documenting, and continuously improving all quality assurance and testing activities necessary to validate the completeness and quality of the delivered solution.

CUSTOMER expects quality to be integrated throughout the software development lifecycle rather than performed as a discrete activity immediately prior to release. VENDOR shall implement mature Quality Engineering practices that emphasize defect prevention, automation, continuous testing, and continuous improvement.

Managed Services for Quality Engineering include, but are not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Developing and maintaining a comprehensive Quality Management Plan governing testing activities throughout the software development lifecycle.

• Developing, maintaining, and executing test strategies, test plans, test cases, and test scripts appropriate for each enhancement, release, or maintenance activity.

• Performing unit testing, integration testing, system testing, end-to-end testing, user acceptance testing support, regression testing, smoke testing, and production validation testing, as appropriate.

• Developing and maintaining automated testing capabilities to improve software quality, increase testing coverage, reduce manual testing effort, and support Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices.

• Performing comprehensive regression testing for every production release to validate that new functionality does not adversely impact existing application functionality, integrations, APIs, databases, authentication services, reporting, or other components of the technology portfolio.

• Establishing and maintaining test data management practices, including the creation, protection, refresh, masking, and maintenance of representative test data necessary to support reliable, repeatable, and secure testing activities.

• Performing accessibility testing to verify compliance with applicable federal and State of Texas accessibility…