RFP 6417 - Cisco IPT-SIP Telephony Managed Services.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL:

RFP No. 6417 Cisco IPT/SIP Remote Monitoring and Managed Services

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

WARREN, MICHIGAN

PROPOSAL DUE:

Friday, April 11, 2025 @ 3:00 PM

Submit Responses To:

bids@macomb.edu and idrisg@macomb.edu

Giancarlo Idris Buyer

Project Overview Overview Macomb Community College is seeking offers for long term, professional Cisco IP Telephony administration and managed services to provide routine monitoring, patching, backups, configuration, break-fix remediation, scheduled system configuration changes or upgrades, performance tuning, new system installations, customized deployment procedures, refresh methodologies, failover and replication routines that require formal skillsets beyond rudimentary knowledge.

Macomb expects the engineers to be available for work on-site with 36 hours advance notice, but remote-based support is acceptable in most cases and for after-hours monitoring. As such, bids from firms with engineers local to the College’s operations in Warren and Clinton Twp., MI will be given preference. Qualified bidders must have extensive Cisco IP Telephony and SIP experience.

Reference the “Scope of Services” section of RFP for minimum requirements of base bid.

Background Topology Statement The College has two geographically disparate datacenters connected with two dedicated, geographically separated fiber paths. The college’s Microsoft environment consists of approx. 3800 endpoint PC’s and a Windows server infrastructure utilizing a balance of (some) standalone and (primarily) Hyper-V virtualized technologies on a high-availability dual-campus HP blade server environment.

CER 2

UCCX 2

CUCM 2

CUCM 3

Unity Connections 2

InformaCast 2

Phone Counts

Cisco Server hardware - BE7000 with VMware Cube 4331 Routers – 4 Center, South, East – SRST, MTEC - SRST.

SIP Provider – Merit (Telnet Worldwide) Schedule of Events:

Proposal Response Format To facilitate the analysis of responses to this RFP, vendors are required to prepare their proposals in accordance with the instructions outlined in this section.

Mandatory Bid Response Forms (Section A) Submit complete copies of Bid Price Form and Bid Contact Form (signed & dated).

Note the Bid Price Form has section for Base Bid and Alternative Bid (if applicable).

Summary & Background (Section B) Overview of company, including core products/services, and summarize the proposed solution.

Qualifications & Credentials (Section C) Include redacted resumes showing qualifications, education, and certifications of engineers who would be assigned/available to MCC under the proposed Master Service Agreement.

Customer References (Section D) Provide three customer references that are comparable to the proposal solution.

Master Service Agreement (Section E) Sample copy of a Master Service Agreement (MSA) for review.

Managed Device Reports (Section F) Two examples of reports that describe how devices are monitored for the end user customer.

Site Documentations (Section G) One example of site documentation for the end user customer Scope of Services The specified services in this section are the minimum requirements for proposal solution. The base bid consists of two parts; The normal monitoring and maintenance of the VOIP system; the move, adds, changes of normal daily use of the system.

Base Bid: 24 x 7 x 365 Remote Monitoring and System Maintenance

A. OVERALL FUNCTION:

The ‘bench’ of Cisco Router and Cisco IP Telephony Administrators that will provide:

a. VOIP system maintenance (routine patching, DB and log space, backup monitoring, failover configuration/readiness)

b. Have PRIMARY responsibility for active monitoring of the College’s VOIP environment 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week. Notification of College administration will occur at predetermined thresholds of observed performance degradation or outage. Vendor to configure alert mechanism(s).

c. Have PRIMARY responsibility for routine patching, backup configuration, performance tuning

d. Be called upon to assist in break-fix remediation, scheduled system configuration changes, upgrades.

e. Augment existing Macomb IT staff in the architecture, analysis, design, implementation of Cisco IPT Technologies.

B. SPECIFICS:

The guiding principle for vendor activities shall be the overall effort required to maintain the Uptime Guarantee (SLA):

· Vendor shall guarantee a continuous high availability of the all the database services necessary to achieve 99.5% uptime 24 X 7/365

· Active monitoring of the College’s Cisco IPT/SIP environment 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week

· Notification to College administration and remediation efforts of outages to take place within 15 minutes M-F 7 AM to 6 PM and within 60 minutes all other times.

In order to meet that guiding principle, vendor is expected to perform the following tasks at levels of effort necessary to meet the contractual SLA expectations.

· Technical Support and Troubleshooting inclusive of but not limited to: Performing startup, shutdown, handling critical server errors and troubleshooting, resolution of errors, system crash recovery.

· Carrier Incident Handling: Work with carriers on resolving circuit issues and outages.

· DR and Business Continuity: Automatic backup of configurations before and after changes. The ability to view changes in a portal console.

· Preventative Maintenance and Patching: Review of firmware updates and minor release updates on a 6-month internal. Perform patching as needed or requested.

· Initial weekly meetings during the first 3 months of engagement then monthly for length on contract.

· Automated reporting and dashboard to review performance, availability, usage and inventory.

· Reporting to help identify environment trends or capacity issues.

C. EXPERIENCE:

An average of 10 years of experience for senior IPT engineer and a minimum of 5 years experience for a junior IPT engineer. Senior level administrator must hold active Cisco CCIE IP Voice certification. Engineers should have experience in successfully supporting smaller operations to larger environments.

D. SUPPLEMENTAL SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

All members of the bench must have the ability to organize and prioritize their assignment(s), work both independently and within a group and exhibit a willingness to openly share information and ideas. They must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in written form and be customer service oriented.

E. ENGINEER/TECHNICIAN SUITABILITY CLAUSE:

Macomb Community College reserves the right to interview engineer/technician candidates and validate their qualifications and suitability for the intended assignment before any or all engagements. MCC also reserves the right to change consultants during the contract term if performance and/or ‘fit’ within the MCC environment of contracted staff do not meet expectations. The College also reserves the right to cancel the contract/MSA in its entirely if, at the College’s sole discretion, determines the vendor’s bench skills and competencies can no longer meet the needs of Macomb Community College.

Bid Alternate: Endpoint Device Administration A. Provide dedicated engineers to administer covered endpoint systems on a 24x7x365 basis.

a. Troubleshooting phones, voicemail, ACD agents.

b. Unlimited Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs) are included to assist with your day-to-day administration. Close of tickets within 2 business days.

c. Creation of voicemail boxes.

d. Configuration of ACD agents, groups.

e. Update of CER due to MACs Proposal Instructions Intent It is the intent of Macomb Community College through this Request for Proposal, to establish to the greatest extent possible, complete clarity regarding the requirements of both parties to the Agreement resulting from the Request for Proposal. Specifications for the proposal are listed herein. All proposals must be for material, labor and services that meet or exceed all specifications described.

Proposal Clarifications Clarifications will be accepted until the cut-off period and should be in written form only and include vendor name, contact name, phone number, e-mail address and reference to the line and Section/Subsection being addressed. Responses to clarifications will be shared with all organizations that were invited to submit a proposal. MCC will not be bound by any oral responses.

Email questions to both: bids@macomb.edu and idrisg@macomb.edu Proposals Submission Submission must include the Vendor’s full response including all attachments, product services and specifications, and required Vendor documentation. Electronic submission must be Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word format.

Requirements for Signing Proposal Each Vendor, by making a proposal, represents that this document has been read and is fully understood. The proposal must be signed by an individual authorized to legally bind the person, partnership, company or corporation submitting the proposal. All signatures must have the name typed directly below the line of the signature.

Proposal Response Format Proposals must follow the format outlined in this document. Proposals not complying with this format may be considered non-responsive and may be removed from consideration.

Confidential Information Information contained in proposals may be subject to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests.

Right to Request Additional Information MCC reserves the right to request any additional information, which might be deemed necessary after the completion of this document.

Proposal Preparation Costs The Vendor is responsible for all costs incurred by the Vendor or his/her subcontractors in responding to this request for proposal.

Standard Forms and Contracts Any forms and contracts the Vendor proposes to include as part of any agreement resulting from this proposal between the Vendor and MCC must be submitted as part of the proposal. Any forms and contracts not submitted as part of the proposal and subsequently presented for inclusion may be rejected. This requirement includes, but is not limited to, the following types of forms: subcontractor, franchise, warranty agreements, maintenance contracts, and support agreements.

Right of Refusal Macomb Community College reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, either in whole or in part, or to waive any informalities or irregularities therein that are in the best interest of MCC.

Proposal to Become Part of Agreement This RFP, Vendor’s response and any subsequent written communications, along with any formal, signed agreement will become part of the contract documentation governing performance of this project. Where conflicts exist, the later dated document will govern.

Bid Response Forms Reference the Scope of Services and Bid Price Form to respond to the specific requirements associated with the proposal solution to be outlined in your response package.

Bids Due: Please submit proposals no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2025.

INVITATION TO BID

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

14500 East Twelve Mile Road Warren, MI 48088-3896

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY

You are invited to bid on listed items. This inquiry implies no obligation on the part of the college. Bid best price and delivery based on referenced specifications. Any suggestions for reducing cost without affecting quality will be welcomed and considered. Attach separate quotations outlining in detail alternates proposed. However, you must submit a bid on the specifications as listed to have your alternate bid considered. Note “CONDITIONS” below.

Base Bid:

24 x 7 x 365 Remote Monitoring and System Maintenance per Scope of Services Attach document describing proposed services. Include a cost breakdown for each component of the proposed services where applicable.

GRAND TOTAL (3 YR)

Alternative Bid:

Endpoint Device Administration (complete as applicable) Attach document describing proposed services. Include a cost breakdown for each component of the proposed services where applicable.

GRAND TOTAL (3 YR)

GRAND TOTAL – Device Administration

Note:

To be given consideration for an award, proposal bids must be submitted by the appointed time and date. Submissions must have an official Sealed Bid document with pricing and description of all line items. Bids must be signed, and the authority of the individual signing must be stated thereon. The Office of Purchasing is the sole point of contact for the College with regard to all procurement and contractual matters relating to the services described therein. The Office of Purchasing is the only office authorized to change, modify, amend, alter, clarify, etc. the specifications, terms and conditions of this RFP and any contract awarded as a result of this request. The College will not recognize any changes except when authorized by the Purchasing Department.

Bids will be received by the Purchasing Department until 3:00 P.M., Friday, April 11, 2025

CONDITIONS

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Purchasing Department 14500 East Twelve Mile Road Warren, MI 48088-3896

The undersigned offer prices, terms, and delivery hereon set forth.

Company Name

Address

City State Zip Code

Telephone Number

E-Mail Address

Terms

Authorized Signature

Print Name of Signature

Date

Delivery ARO

IT IS MANDATORY OF ALL BIDDERS TO RETURN THIS SHEET FULLY COMPLETED WITH THEIR BID.

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