Addendum #3 RFP 20-005-651-Questions and Answers

This procurement is a Request for Proposal (RFP #20-005-651) for data center equipment issued by the Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency (WCRESA) on behalf of a consortium of Michigan school districts and educational service agencies. The solicitation seeks pricing for servers, storage area networks (SANs), Cisco switches, and related hardware and software components designed to support multiple districts with varying configurations and expansion capabilities. Key deliverables include server hardware, SAN equipment with three and five-year support options, fibre channel cards, Cisco switches (with allowances for alternative manufacturer solutions), and associated software components. The RFP permits alternative manufacturer solutions including non-Cisco switch alternatives, Supermicro servers, and both Intel Cascade Lake Refresh and AMD Rome CPUs, provided servers meet VMWare 6.7 Hardware Compatibility List requirements. Bidders may submit partial bids and should provide multiple SAN expansion shelf and drive cost options to accommodate the consortium's varying district sizes and unique configurations, with one specified example requiring approximately 750 TB disk space capacity for 752 cameras with 30-day retention. The original proposal deadline was April 3, 2020, with electronic submissions required due to COVID-19 restrictions. Multiple vendors may be awarded under this RFP, and the procurement is limited to hardware, software, and maintenance costs; professional services quotes and hourly rates are not required.

The solicitation documents do not specify set-aside designations, restrictions on organizational types, disadvantaged enterprise requirements, or incumbent vendors. The RFP permits participation from a broad consortium of Michigan school districts and educational service agencies, including WCRESA, Grosse Ile Public Schools, Gibraltar School District, Hamtramck Public Schools, Melvindale-Northern Allen Park, Westwood Community Schools, Lincoln Park Public Schools, Crestwood School District, Southgate Community Schools, Romulus Community Schools, South Redford School District, Livingston Educational Service Agency, Brighton Area Schools, Hartland Consolidated Schools, Fremont Public School District, Tecumseh Public Schools, Copper Country ISD, Monroe ISD, Genesee Intermediate School District, Mason Consolidated Schools, Shiawassee Regional ESD, and Marquette-Alger RESA, with provisions for additional agencies to join later. The RFP requires integration with the existing VMWare 6.7 infrastructure and specifications indicate camera systems requiring network connectivity and storage. No specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the available documentation.