Mainframe Midrange RFI - Final - 2024-06-12~1.pdf

Managed Mainframe/Midrange Service RFI

STATE OF OREGON

ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SERVICES

550 AIRPORT RD SE SUITE C

SALEM, OR 97301

Managed Mainframe/Midrange Service

Request for Information (RFI)

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction and Submission Process

2.0 Background and Present Situation

3.0 Questions

4.0 Case Studies

5.0 Contact Information

1.0 Introduction and Submission Process

Issue Date June 12, 2024 Due Date June 28, 2024 at 4 pm PT Single Point of Contact Connie Yaeger E-mail Address connie.yaeger@das.oregon.gov

The intent of this Request for Information (RFI) is solely to gather information; it is not a formal procurement.

Information received may be used for informational and planning purposes. Nothing in this RFI should be construed as intent, commitment or promise to solicit or procure a solution. Responding to the RFI is not a pre-requisite to submitting a proposal for any subsequent procurement should a formal solicitation be issued.

Respondents should not provide any confidential or proprietary information. Information submitted in response to this RFI will become the property of the State of Oregon.

The State of Oregon will not pay for any information herein requested and provided by Respondent, nor will the State of Oregon be liable for any costs incurred by the Respondent related to this RFI. All such costs are Respondent’s sole responsibility. Oregon is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondent must not submit any pricing information for services described in these RFI responses.

All interaction related to this RFI should be directed to the Single Point of Content indicated above. Following receipt of responses to this RFI, the State of Oregon may contact some respondents to clarification meetings to gain additional understanding.

Submission Process Via e-mail to Single Point of Contact Document Format Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF document addressing Sections 3, 4, and 5 below.

Suggested Page Limit While no responses will be rejected for length, we respectfully request a limit of 30 pages.

2.0 Background and Present Situation

The State of Oregon uses a federated IT model. Enterprise Information Services (EIS) is the central IT organization and provides statewide IT leadership by maturing enterprise technology governance, leveraging investments in shared services, ensuring transparency, providing oversight, and delivering secure and innovative solutions.

The Data Center Services (DCS) program provides managed IT services, colocation, and cloud brokering services for agencies within state government as well as selected county and city agencies. DCS is also the Wide Area Network (WAN) and Internet provider for all state agencies.

DCS provides mainframe, and midrange (IBM iSeries and AIX) services to state agencies. DCS provides and manages the compute, storage and networking infrastructure; manages the operating systems; and provides some middleware services. Agencies support and manage their applications and middleware software that

DCS does not support. Agencies serve various missions to consituents or state employees such as financial management for state operations, commercial vehicle registration and enforcement, health benefits administration, and others.

With application modernization and the retirement of staff skilled in managing these platforms, DCS is considering future operating models with an eye toward obtaining managed services for these platforms and associated middleware, database (DB2), and other software managed by DCS or Agency Customers. The current mainframe is being hosted in a DCS data center, with lease expiring in September 2026. DCS would like information to support a decision about a future operating model, which may include questions like whether hardware should move offsite, how to maintain knowledge and expertise, how to maintain flexibility of operating models and costs to support agency application transitions in the future, etc.

The mainframe is sized at approximately 164 MSUs or 1400 MIPS hosting 12 LPARs, which serve primarily Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The midrange environment is comprised of approximately 8 servers hosting 157 LPARs and support the above customers plus Department of Corrections (DOC), Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), Veteran’s Affairs, and several others.

This RFI is intended to help DCS develop and align its strategy, which in the future may include a procurement for managed mainframe services.

3.0 Questions

Please answer the following questions based on your experience in the marketplace. Where distinctions may exist between mainframe and midrange, please indicate. Service Providers are also encouraged to provide case studies (see Section 4 below), and may reference those in response to questions.

1. Operating Model. What service delivery operating models may be most effective for Oregon to consider and why? These may include continued leasing of equipment onsite, moving to a service provider facility, transitioning to a shared environment (e.g., cloud), etc. What operational or security risks should be considered and managed given a shift to this model?

2. Transition and Transformation. When transitioning to a new operating environment (whether that is a new physical box, a new location, a new cloud platform, etc.), what risks may exist and how could they be mitigated? For example:

a. Interdependencies between and integrations with existing applications, data sources, users, network routing, etc.;

b. Work required with agency resources or budgets that may not be in DCS central control; and

c. Software re-licensing costs.

3. Support Model. How should DCS and Agency IT departments best continue supporting operations and customer needs, even as existing knowledgeable resources move into retirement? Ongoing work and implications include:

a. Maintaining continuity of accumulated expertise, with existing resources as long as they may stay in place but replacing or augmenting as they may depart;

b. Performing enhancements or new work on legacy applications;

c. Clarifying roles and responsibilities between DCS, the service provider, and agencies; and

d. Integrating tools and ticketing between DCS, the service provider, and agencies.

4. Software. Software is a key component of the mainframe and midrange services, both in operations and costs. How do organizations best mitigate software surprises in such transitions? Concerns may include:

a. Missing software assets from the list, changes to licensing structures resulting in unforeseen costs;

b. Agencies relying on particular software or tools to support their application (in a manner perhaps unknown to both DCS and existing agency personnel);

c. Whether methods or tools may exist to identify usage and interdendencies of such software;

d. When is it best to acquire software through a managed service provider versus directly through a third party; and

e. Handling of support software audits.

5. Quality Management. Any transition can create operational risks. Presently the services are known as reliable, with relatively few outages and a responsive support team. How can organizations mitigate the risks during an operation model transition or transformation, and maintain and improve quality (e.g., increasing service level performance) in the years to come?

6. Finance. Over the long term, Oregon agencies may be planning to move off the mainframe and midrange servers. What are the best pricing or operating model approaches to maintain cost alignment and flexibility, such that no single agency is left covering a significant fixed cost for the hardware, software, support team, etc.

7. Transaction Process. How can a government organization like DCS make the procurement process most effective to receive high quality, low risk, and well calibrated proposals from service providers?

What are some best practices for the RFP process and content? What assumptions do you make or would you need addressed to inform the proposal?

4.0 Case Studies

Respondent is encouraged to provide one to three case studies of clients with relevance to Oregon’s situation.

Please include:

• Client name

• Time period engaged

• Sizing information (e.g., budget, mainframe/midrange capacity/volume, users)

• Relevance to Oregon

• Description of the project, goals, and accomplishments

• Lessons learned as applicable to Oregon

• Contact info if the client might be willing to speak (i.e., name, title, phone, e-mail)

5.0 Contact Information

Contact Information Enter your response in this table, pasting it into your submission document and enlarging the box as needed

Company Name Company Mailing Address Company Web Site Address Name and Title of Contact Person

Contact Person E-mail Address Contact Person Telephone Number

List of Primary Service Offerings