SSP25_005 MODX.pdf

USM SSP 25_005 Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase of MODX.

http://www.ms.gov/dfa/contract_bid_search/Bid

RFx: 3150005881

Comments/objections will be received as required per Section 31‐7‐13 (C) of the Mississippi Code until

8:00 a.m. (Central Time) on September 20, 2024.

Any person or entity that objects and proposes that the commodity listed is not sole source and can be provided by another person or entity shall submit a written notice to:

Jacob Cochran

Interim Director of Procurement & Contracts 118 College Dr. Box 5003 Hattiesburg, MS 39406 bids@usm.edu

Phone: 601‐266‐4131

Subject Line must read "Sole Source Objection USM SSP 25_005"

The notice shall contain a detailed explanation of why the commodity is not a sole source procurement.

Appropriate documentation shall also be submitted if applicable.

If after a review of the submitted notice and documents, USM determines that the commodity in the proposed sole source request can be provided by another person or entity, then USM will withdraw the sole source request publication from the procurement portal website and submit the procurement of the commodity to an advertised competitive bid or selection process.

If USM determines after review that there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then USM will appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board. USM will have the burden of proving that the commodity is only provided by one (1) source.

Run Dates: 8/30, 9/6

The University of Southern Mississippi

Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase

SSP 25_005

The University of Southern Mississippi anticipates purchasing the item(s) listed below as a sole source purchase. Anyone objecting to this purchase shall follow the procedures outlined below.

1. Description of the commodity that USM is seeking to procure:

University Libraries requires MODX‐specialized hosting services to host its website lib.usm.edu.

MODX is the creator of the MODX content management system that powers the University

Libraries website.

2. Explanation of why the commodity is the only one that meets the needs of the agency:

University Libraries require a stable and secure website on optimized infrastructure specifically tailored to MODX websites. Additionally, University Libraries needs a dedicated staging site and automatic recurring offsite nightly backups that cannot be disabled by customers and can be restored on demand.

Uptime and availability of the University Libraries resources are a top priority necessitating 24/7 outage monitoring, emergency support within 30 minutes during working hours, and an automatic failover solution to ensure the website remains operational even during outages and updates.

3. Explanation of why the source is the only source is the only person or entity that can provide the required commodity:

MODX is the creator and maintainer of the MODX CMS and developed proprietary caching and performance enhancements for MODX like Cloud Edge and our failover solution, which are unavailable with other hosting providers.

There are no known alternatives which provide such extensive MODX‐specific support, custom built infrastructure, and failover protection without intensive technical administration.

4. Explanation of why the amount to be expended for the commodity is reasonable:

The amount for the software is lower than the annual salary for a qualified system administrator.

5. Efforts that the agency went through to obtain the best possible price for the commodity:

The price was negotiated with the vendor with a 0% increase for three years.

The University of Southern Mississippi

Notice of Proposed Sole Source Purchase

SSP 25_005

Advertisement Schedule Date

1st scheduled 9/3/24

2nd scheduled 9/10/24

Any person or entity that objects and proposes that the commodity listed is not sole source and can be provided by another person or entity shall submit a written notice by September 20, 2024, 8:00 AM CST, to:

Jacob Cochran

Director of Procurement & Contracts

Jacob.Cochran@usm.edu

Subject Line must read "Sole Source Objection 25_005"

The notice shall contain a detailed explanation of why the commodity is not a sole source procurement. Appropriate documentation shall also be submitted if applicable.

If after a review of the submitted notice and documents, USM determines that the commodity in the proposed sole source request can be provided by another person or entity, then USM will withdraw the sole source request publication from the procurement portal website and submit the procurement of the commodity to an advertised competitive bid or selection process.

If USM determines after review that there is only one (1) source for the required commodity, then

USM will appeal to the Public Procurement Review Board. USM will have the burden of proving that the commodity is only provided by one (1) source.