HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP Question Responses1. Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this?
(like,from India or Canada) Please review the sample contract we attached to the RFP.
2. Whether we need to come over there for meetings? 100% Virtual is okay.
3. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA?
(like, from India or Canada) Please review the sample contract we attached to the RFP.
4. Can we submit the proposals via email? Section 4.2 states to submit proposal via email.
5. Does the City desire an assessment of its Utilities (water, wastewater, and storm water) operational
technology and SCADA networks as part of this project? Not at this time.
6. Does the City desire an assessment and GIS strategic plan to be developed as part of this project? No,
but possibly a data plan.
7. Does the City desire either a high-level review or in-depth cybersecurity assessment as part of this
project? High Level.
8. Can the RFP Response Template.xlsx referenced on page 11 of the RFP be provided in a manner
viewable by respondents? (Unable to right-click, save or open the file via the RFP document). Uploaded
a new copy to the RFP listing.
9. When was the last IT strategic plan developed and has the City completed all of the projects described
in that plan? 2016, no.
10. Does the City currently have a vision statement for the IT operations? No.
11. Is it expected that the City create a vision statement for the IT operations as part of this
engagement? No.
12. Does the City have any aspect of its IT Division operations or systems managed or administered by a
third-party service provider (e.g., firewall monitoring, network engineering)? Yes
13. How many staff are in the IT Division? Please break down the number of staff per team.
o Administration - IT Director
o Network Systems – 1 Manager, 4 Specialists
o Applications – 1 Manager, 6 Analysts
o Client Services – 1 Supervisor, 3 Specialists
o GIS – 1 Manager, 2 Analysts
14. Is IT managed and administered out of a centralized department or are there departments that have
their own IT staff? Centralized. If there are departments that have their own IT staff, which are they and
how many IT staff do they have? N/A
15. If applicable, does the IT staff outside of the IT Division follow the same set of IT policies and
procedures that the IT Division follows? N/A
16. Does the City utilize cloud-based service providers for any aspect of their IT operations? If yes, please
describe the vendor and purpose/role in IT operations. Two primary locations. See major systems
question 20.
17. How many servers are hosted? This information will be disclosed after a contract is established with
a selected vendor.
18. Where are the City’s data centers/server rooms and cloud service providers located? (e.g., 1 data
center at City Hall, AWS, Azure, etc.) This information will be disclosed after a contract is established
with a selected vendor.
19. How many servers are on-premise in the City’s data center? Please break down the number of
physical versus virtual servers. The city has about 90% virtual servers.
20. What are the key applications in use at the City and what is their purpose (e.g., Tyler MUNIS –
Finance, ESRI – GIS, etc.)? Axon, Cityworks, Coban, Eden (Tyler Technologies), Energov (Tyler
Technologies), Fleet Anywhere by Assetworks, Internet Timesheet – ITS, Laserfiche, Lawbase, M365,
Neogov, New World Systems (Tyler Technologies), Perfect Mind (Recreation Management), Sharepoint,
Springrbrook, SQL Servers, Workforce Telestaff.
21. Does the City require an end-user survey to inquire and collect a broad sense of user needs? Yes.
How many interviews for each of the City’s departments does the City anticipate during this
engagement? The city expects at least one interview per department. More interviews may be needed
to fully gain understanding of department needs.
22. Is there an IT service delivery standard (e.g., ITIL, COBIT) that the City currently model’s itself after?
Not at this time. This could be identified as a future work plan from the strategic plan.
23. What is the City’s budget for this engagement that vendors need to keep in mind when pricing the
work? Negotiable based on the scope of work provided to the city.
24. What is the desired completion date? Negotiable.
25. Does the City require a presentation to City Council at the conclusion of the engagement? A
presentation to city leadership and IT management.
26. Will the requirement of having references physically located within a 50-mile radius a disqualifier, or
will this be part of the RFP scoring? Per the RFP it is request references are within 50 miles. If
references not available then provide alternate references.
27. Are in-person, on-site meetings required by the city for this review? 100% Virtual is acceptable.
28. Have any information systems/applications been developed by the city staff or others (custom)? Yes.
29. Section 7.2, would the City allow proposers to submit the Executive Summary and Client References
in an alternative format, in addition to the other required sections, should proposers’ content/narrative
not format well within the spreadsheet? See section 7 for alternative options.
30. Section 7, the RFP Response Template does not specify an area for project teaming information
(organizational chart, resumes, etc.). Is there a section in which proposers should include this content?
Please feel free to provide information relevant from your organization that would relate to this rfp
based on the requirements listed in the rfp.
31. Can you identify some of the key enterprise software systems in place now in the City (e.g.,
document management, plan review/permitting, GIS, Asset management, ERP/Financial management)?
See question 20.
32. [REF 3.1, 2nd bullet]: It is expected that monthly meetings be onsite or are remote meetings OK?
Remote is okay.
33. Does the City have a current inventory of IT hardware and software which may be used as a basis for
this project? Yes.
34. [REF 3.1, 3rd bullet]: Can you elaborate in the requirements to “identify if systems are being used to
their full extent”. Does this imply a detailed technical analysis of user access volume, system (server,
network, desktop system) capacity, network traffic, cloud resources use, etc. Or are you expecting a less
technical review focusing on user business needs and system use? Business needs and are there existing
systems that can meet new needs.
35. [REF 3.1, 7th bullet]: Can you elaborate on the staff analysis requirements? Does this include only
City staff with IT job classifications in the IT Division or staff in other offices and Departments as well?
Just IT staff. In regards to the requirement for a recommended “organizational chart,” is this intended
to apply to the IT Division or more broadly to other City office? Just IT.
36. Does the City of Renton have their technology standards documented and/or any Enterprise
Architecture documentation? While formal standard architecture is not in place, the city does have
system requirements for most systems. The city does have formal standards for technology platforms.
37. Approximately, how large is your IT organization by head-count? See question 13. How many
employees does are there city-wide? On average 600.
38. Approximately how many COTS, SaaS and custom applications are in your system inventory? How
does this break out by business system vs other? This information will be disclosed after a contract is
established with a selected vendor.
39. Does Information Technology manage applications for all of the departments or does Information
Technology only provide/support the technology infrastructure (e.g. personal computers, network and
servers)? We are a full service IT division. If it only provides/supports certain applications (e.g. GIS) can
you provide an estimated number N/A
40. Does the City of Renton have a software asset inventory that includes software licenses, expiry
dates, and where licenses are deployed? We have a software audit count using internal systems.
Certain applications do have counts and expiration attached.
41. Does the IT organization have a service catalog, and does this catalog set expected service level
expectations? Yes but no formal SLA. City is still reviewing SLAs.
42. Does there an incumbent vendor currently providing services similar to the scope of this RFP with
the City of Renton? No. If so, are they excluded from bidding on this project? N/A
43. Can the City of Renton provide an estimated budget for this project? See question 23.
44. Page 7, Section 3.1: "In the RFP the City of Renton states the vendor should ""Conduct a thorough
analysis of the existing IT environment; infrastructure, services, staffing, applications, and business
systems. Identify if systems are utilized to their full extent.""
Does the City have specific notions as to how current system utilization this will be determined, and to
what level of detail? Answers will vary based on systems and gaps discovered during interviews. Not
expected that every system will have a detailed analysis performed. Only those identified as having
gaps or opportunities. What is the expected questions or decisions is this intended to inform? IT is in
need of a strategic plan to establish a work program. The context for this question is that this answer
may be answered be a high-level or at a very technical-level based on context, and thus can vary widely
on effort, accuracy, and efficacy." We agree with this.
45. Page 7, Section 3.1 "Strategies can include all elements of an organization. The scope defined in
Section 3.1 is focused on the technology environment.
Can you confirm whether the IT processes and IT organization structure (except the staffing analysis) is
out of scope?" IT processes and IT organization structure is in scope.
46. Page 7, Section 3.1 "In the RFP the City of Renton states the vendor should "" Provide staffing
analysis to be able to support the recommendations from this strategic plan"".
Is the objective of this activity to identify potential skills gaps as new technologies are implemented? If
not, please describe the objectives of this task" Objective is a. skills to support systems and b. staffing
levels to support systems.
47. Page 12, Section 7.2, Cost section and RFP Response Template, Cost tab "In the RFP the City of
Renton requested costs ""must be broken down into hours, hourly rates and expenses for each task and
subtask"".
Should the tasks and subtasks with associated costs be captured in the Services box of the cost
workbook?" Please submit an itemized list of services to complete the work in the services sections.
The hourly section is established for additional services to be added due to change orders.
48. Page 12, Section 7.2, Cost section and RFP Response Template, Cost tab "In the RFP the City of
Renton states ""The bottom of the costs worksheet provides a location where vendor can propose a
payment schedule narrative. With each deliverable and amount, explain why those particulars were
chosen."" and costs ""must be broken down into hours, hourly rates
and expenses for each task and subtask"".
Can we assume the deliverables will be an outcome of these tasks? If not, please clarify" Yes.