IFB - Netscaler Renewal.pdf

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Request for Proposals

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-135, sealed proposals endorsed “Netscaler Renewal” will be received by City/County Purchasing until the time and date noted above. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

Technical questions should be submitted in writing to Tony Walters at tonywa@cityofws.org. End of

Question period is 12:00 PM, April 23, 2024.

Per North Carolina General Statute 143-135, the City reserves the right to award a contract not solely based on lowest price, but based on the best overall proposal complying with the requirements given herein, and the City further reserves the right to negotiate a contract meeting the needs of the City, as long as the scope or services are not altered from this original solicitation including any addenda.

Issue date: 04/12/24

NETSCALER RENEWAL

Proposals Will Be Received Until

12:00:00 PM, April 30, 2024

Submit a single PDF file of your bid entitled

“Bid for Netscaler” to tonywa@cityofws.org mailto:tonywa@cityofws.org mailto:tonywa@cityofws.org

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SECTION 1 - Notice to Bidders

It is the policy of the City that an employee, officer, or agent of City may not participate in any manner in the bidding, awarding, or administering of contracts in which they, or a member of their immediate family, their business partner, or any organization in which they serve as an officer, director, trustee, or employee, has a financial interest.

The successful proposer must comply with all provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the

Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA), and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. By submitting a proposal, the successful proposer agrees to indemnify the City from and against all claims, suits, damages, costs, losses, and expenses in any manner arising out of, or connected with, the failure of the Company, its subcontractors, agents, successors, assigns, officers, or employees to comply with the provisions of the ADA, EEOA, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

All bids must be firm and not subject to increase, unless specified within the provisions of this Request for

Proposals (RFP) and mutually agreed upon by the City and the proposer.

No special inducements will be considered that are not a part of the original bidding document.

The City reserves the right to hold proposals open for a period of sixty days (60) days after due date before making awards.

City Rights and Options

The City, at its sole discretion, reserves the following rights:

• To supplement, amend, substitute or otherwise modify this IFB at any time

• To cancel this IFB with or without the substitution of another IFB

• To take any action affecting this IFB, this IFB process, or the equipment subject to this IFB that would be in the best interests of the City

• To issue additional requests for information.

Public Records

Any material submitted in response to this RFP will become a “public record” once the proposer’s document(s) is opened and the proposer is determined to be a participant in the solicitation process and shall be subject to public disclosure consistent with Chapter 132, North Carolina General Statutes.

Proposals submitted under this section shall not be subject to public inspection until a contract is awarded

N.C.G.S 143-129.8(d).

Trade Secrets/Confidentiality/Proprietary

Proposers must claim any material that qualifies as "trade secret, proprietary, or confidential" information under N.C.G.S. 66152(3) in their response to this RFP and must state the reasons why such exclusion from public disclosure is necessary and legal.

To properly designate material as trade secret under these circumstances, each Proposer must take the following precautions: (a) submit any trade secrets in a separate attachment marked "Trade Secret -

Confidential and Proprietary Information - Do Not Disclose Except for the Purpose of Evaluating this

Proposal," and (b) stamp each page of the trade secret materials contained in the email attachment.

Do not attempt to designate your entire proposal as a trade secret, and do not attempt to designate pricing information as a trade secret. Doing so may result in your bid being disqualified.

In submitting a proposal, each Proposer agrees that the City may reveal any trade secret materials contained in such response to all City staff and City officials involved in the selection process, and to any outside consultant or other third parties who assist City in the selection process. Furthermore, each Proposer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the City and each of its officers, employees, and agents from all

IIFB24262 Netscaler Page 3 of 8 costs, damages, and expenses incurred in connection with disclosing any material, which the Proposer has designated as a trade secret.

The City reserves the right to make all final determination(s) of the applicability of North Carolina General

Statutes 132-1.2, Confidential Information.

Familiarity with Laws and Ordinances

The submission of a proposal on the services requested herein shall be considered as a representation that the Proposer is familiar with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations which affect those engaged or employed in the provision of such services, or which in any way affects the conduct of the provision of such services; and no plea of misunderstanding will be considered on account of ignorance thereof. If the Proposer discovers any provisions in the RFP documents that are contrary to or inconsistent with any law, ordinance, or regulation, it shall be reported to the City in writing without delay.

The Proposer agrees that in carrying out this contract, compliance will be maintained with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, specifically including, without limitations, the Occupational Safety and

Health Act of 1970 and Section 1324A, the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

The Proposer certifies that the proposal is made in good faith and without collusion with any person making a proposal or with any officer or employee of the City.

The undersigned further agrees, in connection with the performance of this contract, not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, gender, age, handicap, political affiliation, or national origin.

Ethics Policy Code of Conduct

The City has established guidelines for ethical standards of conduct for City representatives and to provide guidance in determining what conduct is appropriate in particular cases. City representatives should maintain high standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty, and fairness in carrying out public duties; avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants including the appearance of impropriety;

and never use their position or power for improper personal gain. In establishing an ethics policy, the City desires to protect the public against decisions that are affected by undue influence, conflicts of interest, or any other violation of these policies as well as promote and strengthen the confidence of the public in their governing body. For a complete review of the City Policy go to the following link:

https://www.cityofws.org/820/Procurement-Guidelines

Stimulation of the Local Economy

In an effort to stimulate the local economy, foster development and promote efficiency in the provision of city services and the completion of various city projects, the City of Winston-Salem has undertaken an initiative to strongly encourage all parties contracting with the City of Winston-Salem to evaluate their internal operations and hiring practices and, where appropriate, to initiate efforts to stimulate the local economy by hiring applicants and contractors from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Area and by utilizing minority and women contractors and service providers. Such efforts to stimulate the local economy may be accomplished by posting job vacancies with the North Carolina Employment Security

Commission, the Piedmont Triad Regional Council of Governments, and the Winston-Salem Urban

League; and utilizing the State of North Carolina Office for Historically Underutilized Business database https://ncadmin.nc.gov/businesses/hub or other local resources such as the City of Winston-Salem M/WBE

Program to identify Winston-Salem/Forsyth County based contractors and subcontractors. Stimulation of the local economy requires a collaborative effort of both the public and private sector. The city is committed to taking reasonable steps to achieve said goal.

E-Verify Compliance

Per N.C.G.S. 143-133.3, CONTRACTOR shall comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the North Carolina General Statutes. Further, if the CONTRACTOR utilizes a subcontractor, the

CONTRACTOR shall require the subcontractor to comply with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 https://www.cityofws.org/820/Procurement-Guidelines https://ncadmin.nc.gov/businesses/hub

IIFB24262 Netscaler Page 4 of 8 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

Iran Divestment Act

Provider hereby certifies that it is not on the North Carolina State Treasurer’s list of persons engaging in business activities in Iran, prepared pursuant to NCGS 147-86.58, nor will Provider utilize on this agreement any subcontractor on such list.

Divestment from Companies that Boycott Israel

Proposer hereby certifies that it is not on the North Carolina State Treasurer’s list of companies engaged in a boycott of Israel in violation of NCGS 147-86.80 et. seq. and that it will not utilize on this agreement any subcontractor on said list.

Workforce Demographics

The successful proposer may be asked to complete Exhibit A (included in this document) and submit to the

City. This exhibit, which identifies the workforce demographics for the business location providing the product or services to the City, is for information only to reflect generally the company's efforts to achieve diversity in the workplace in compliance with the applicable equal employment opportunity laws;

however, this information is not dispositive of such and may not be used as the basis for awarding or rejecting a bid contract.

Right to Audit

To confirm compliance with the terms of this Agreement, the City's MWBE program, local, state, and federal laws and regulations, the City may, at all reasonable times upon reasonable prior notice during usual business hours, inspect, audit and examine for a period up to five (5) years after completion of the service or project detailed in this Agreement, all accounts and books of Contractor and, where necessary, make copies of the Contractor's documents necessary to determine compliance. Such right may be exercised through any agent or employee of City or by independent certified public accountants designated by the City. The Contractor shall permit the aforementioned inspection, audit and examination, and where necessary, the City to make copies of documents verifying compliance as indicated herein.

Nondiscrimination Ordinance

As a condition of entering into this contact, the Contractor represents and warrants that it will fully comply with the City's Non-Discrimination Policy, as set forth in Chapter 2, Section 2-8 Entitled “Policy of

Nondiscrimination” of the Winston-Salem City Code. As part of such compliance, the Contractor shall not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, veteran status, disability, age, marital status, familial status, protected hairstyle, political affiliation or national origin in the screening of applicants, the hiring and treatment of its employees, the provision of the goods and/or services set forth herein, or the solicitation, selection, hiring, or treatment of its subcontractors, vendors or suppliers, (hereinafter collectively “subcontractors”), if any, in connection with this contract or the contract solicitation process if applicable, nor shall the

Contractor retaliate against any person or entity for reporting instances of such discrimination. The

Contractor shall enact employment policies consistent with this obligation to refrain from such discrimination and shall provide evidence of such to the City within 90 calendar days of the first receipt of

City funds. The Contractor shall provide equal opportunity for subcontractors to participate in all of its subcontracting and supply opportunities, if any, under this contract, provided that nothing contained in this clause shall prohibit or limit otherwise lawful efforts to remedy the effects of marketplace discrimination that has occurred or is occurring in the marketplace. The Contractor understands and agrees that a violation of this clause shall be considered a material breach of this contract and may result in termination of this contract, disqualification of the Contractor from participating in future City contracts pursuant to Winston-

Salem City Code Section 2-3 or other sanctions. Furthermore, as a condition of entering into this contract, the Contractor agrees to: (a) promptly provide to the City in a format specified by the City all information and documentation that may be requested by the City from time to time regarding the screening of applicants, the hiring and treatment of its employees particularly if City funds were used in connection

IIFB24262 Netscaler Page 5 of 8 with hiring and compensation process, and the solicitation, selection, treatment and payment of subcontractors, if any, in connection with this Agreement; and (b) if requested, provide to the City within sixty days after the request a truthful and complete list of the names of all subcontractors that the Grantee has used under this contract, including the total dollar amount paid by the Contractor on each subcontract or supply contract. The Contractor further agrees to fully cooperate in any investigation conducted by the

City pursuant to the City’s Nondiscrimination Policy, to provide any documents, relevant to such investigation, that are requested by the City. The Contractor agrees to provide to the City from time to time on the City’s request, payment affidavits detailing the amounts paid by the Contractor to subcontractors and suppliers in connection with this contract within a certain period of time. Such affidavits shall be in the format specified by the City from time to time. Nothing in this contract shall negate or diminish the requirements of the City’s MWBE program. Nothing in this contract shall infringe upon any rights afforded to the Contractor by state or federal law.

Non-appropriations clause

The City’s obligations under this contract are contingent upon funds being appropriated from which payment can be made under this contract. In the event the City of Winston-Salem does not appropriate funds or sufficient funds for this contract in any given fiscal year, the City of Winston-Salem has the right, in any given fiscal year, to terminate this contract without penalty or liability of any sort.

SECTION 2 - INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

This entire set of documents constitutes the IFB. The proposer must return the IFB with all information necessary to properly analyze the proposer's response. Proposer's notes, exceptions, and comments may be rendered on an attachment, provided the same format of this IFB text is followed.

PROPOSER QUESTIONS AND INQUIRIES

Questions or inquires relative to this solicitation must be made in writing as noted on Page 1. Any oral responses made by any representative of the City may not be relied upon. The City will provide written responses via addenda to all known recipients of this document and post addenda to the city’s purchasing website and state IPS website only.

RFP RESPONSE SUBMISSION

Bidders MUST submit proposals electronically as noted on Page 1. Submissions will not be opened until the time for receiving bids has come. Do not wait until the last minute to send your Proposal to avoid any possible delay that may occur during the transmission of files. A screen print of the email receipt will be used as verification of the time received. Late proposals will not be considered

The City will not be obligated for the expenses of any provider arising out of preparation and/or submittal of responses to this RFP.

The City reserves the right to hold proposals open, and proposers agree to hold their prices, for a period of sixty days (60) days after due date in order to award a contract.

IMPORTANT: Winston-Salem City Code (Chapter 2, Article 1, Sec. 2-3) provides that the City may disqualify any business from bidding on contracts of the City if a business fails to perform satisfactorily on past or current projects.

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SECTION 3 – SCOPE OF SERVICES and PROPOSAL FORMS

The purpose of this Invitation for Bids (IFB) is to solicit bid responses for the renewal of software licenses to transition the City’s End of Life Netscaler to a virtual environment. A parts list is included in this document and should be used to formulate bid responses.

Requirements:

• The awarded vendor MUST be an authorized Citrix reseller.

• Vendors must fill in the pricing amounts in the parts list section of the RFQ.

• Vendor must provide a three-year bid.

City’s Organization ID: 47229425

Billing Address:

Bryce A. Stuart Building

100 East 1st Street, Suite 520

Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Attention: Tony Walters

Bill of Materials

Description Qty Unit Cost

ADC VPX/BLX Software Subs (Fixed Model) - Premium - 1Gbps

Year 1, 2024-25 2 $

ADC VPX/BLX Software Subs (Fixed Model) - Premium - 1Gbps

Year 2, 2025-26 2 $

ADC VPX/BLX Software Subs (Fixed Model) - Premium - 1Gbps

Year 3, 2026-27 2 $

Total Cost

Initial Period: 365 days from Purchase Order date – approx. 05/01/2024 through 4/30/2025. This City reserves the right to extend this Agreement – but fully intends to – provided that both parties are in agreement and funds are made available for this purpose. A properly executed purchase order shall be evidence of an extension agreed to by the parties and that said purchase order shall become a self-executing amendment to the contract.

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PROPOSAL AUTHORIZATION AND SIGNATURE PAGE

**this page is required**

Proposals are to be signed by an officer of the company authorized to bind the submitter to its provisions.

Date Company (SEAL)

Authorized Signature Street Mailing Address

Printed Name and Title City, State, Zip Code

Email Address Telephone Number

The following information is to verify M/WBE status for the City’s annual report. Omission of this information will not affect the City's ability to award a contract.

Bidder certifies that: a) yes, we are a woman-owned business, or no, we are not

b) yes, we are a minority-owned business, or no, we are not

If yes, please identify in the appropriate box below.

Black

Hispanic

Native American Indian

Asian American including Indian Subcontinent/Pacific Islands

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged

Disabled

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**This form may be requested of the awarded vendor**