Request for Proposal
Help Desk Management and Tracking System Software
Lorri J. Moore City of Dover, DE 5 E. Reed Street Dover, DE 19901 LJMoore@dover.de.us 302-736-5072
Request for Proposal
Help Desk Management / Tracking System Software
Purpose of RFP: The City of Dover, Delaware, Information Technology Department, is issuing this Request for Proposal for the purpose of soliciting proposals from qualified vendors who will be responsible for providing Help Desk Management and Tracking System software including support and training at a competitive and reasonable cost.
City of Dover, Delaware Info:
The City of Dover, Delaware employs approximately 400 people, (370 full-time and 30 part-time). The City of Dover is a municipality that is governed by a mayor and 9 council members. The City of Dover has an estimated population of 34,120 and a total land area of approximately 26,000 acres. The City of Dover’s goal is to obtain a software package that will enable the Information Technology staff to track Help Desk requests and provide accurate reports of this information. Our present Help Desk scenario is as follows: Users notify the IT department through various means to report PC, printer, network, iSeries, and web problems, issues, and requests. The staff will then assist the user or pass the request on to the proper IT staff member. Some requests are tracked in a Task list via an Exchange public folder however the majority of the requests are not tracked at this time. iSeries requests are presently tracked in an Microsoft Access database. Our present inventory system consists of a Microsoft Works database that has been maintained by the Administrative Assistant. The data that has been entered into the database consists of information about the PC and its components, monitors, operating system version, any installed software including version information, location of the PC, maintenance history, and purchasing history. There is also a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that contains information about our scanners, printers, and plotters. Date of RFP Release: Deadline for requests for clarification: Deadline for clarification request responses: Deadline for Vendor Submittal: Date of Vendor Selection Decision and Award: November 17, 2004 November 29, 2004 December 6, 2004 December 20, 2004 In accordance with cover letter
RFP’s can be obtained in electronic form via http://www.cityofdover.com/bids.
Point of Contact Information: PRIMARY Lorri Moore 5 E. Reed Street Dover, DE 19901 Email – LJMoore@dover.de.us Phone – 302-736-5072 Fax - 302-672-1847
SECONDARY Andrew Siegel 5 E. Reed Street Dover, DE 19901 Email - ASiegel@dover.de.us Phone – 302-736-5045 Fax – 302-672-1847
The RFP response must consist of one printed original and one printed copy. An additional copy must be presented on CD in a format compatible with Microsoft Office Suite. RFP’s will be opened publicly at the time and place designated in this letter. The main purpose of the RFP opening is to reveal the name(s) of the bidder(s), not to serve as a forum for determining the low bidder(s). The bids, bid summaries, and bid tabulations shall not be open for public inspection until after receipt of a fully executed contract. All bids are to be received by the Office of the City Clerk, 15 East Loockerman Street, Dover, DE, 19901 no later than the 2:00 p.m. bid opening. All bids will be opened in the presence of the City Clerk or his/her designee. All bids shall become public record and shall be available for public inspection after it has been determined that there is no proprietary information within the bids. Any and all proprietary information contained within the bid must be clearly marked. The cover must indicate that the bid contains such information. Copies of the bids will not be provided to competing vendors. Vendors must provide references to the City of Dover upon request. Vendor references may be checked to verify the bidder’s ability to perform the contract requirements, the quality of work, and the ability to meet obligations. Payments for services will be a mutually accepted payment plan to be determined by both parties. At the conclusion of the project, all materials will become the property of the City of Dover. All submissions including but not limited to the Request for Proposal and bidder’s response are included in the final contract if awarded. ENVELOPES MUST BE MARKED “Help Desk / Tracking Software RFP Bid #05-0049IT”. No faxed bid will be accepted. Failure to comply with the above format may result in disqualification of your bid. The City of Dover shall have the right to reject any or all bids if deemed to be in the best interest of the City, such as but not limited to local vendor preference and minority vendor preference while awarding bids.
Vendor Response Requirements:
Include the following: • Software Vendor Name • Time in Business • Business Background and History • Point of Contact Information • Submit completed enclosed table – please base responses on the City of Dover request and environment
Communication with City staff:
From the date the RFP is issued until a determination is made and announced regarding the selection of the vendor, all official communication must be in written form with the staff designated as the point of contact.
Additional Documentation:
Vendors must include a short demo or direct us to an internet site which demonstrates their production capabilities. Vendors must also provide references preferably in the Dover, DE region.
Network Inventory IBM I-Series AS400 PCs / Laptops Users Servers (Dell) Switches (3COM) Routers (3COM) Firewall (Cisco PIX) Wireless Access Points (Cisco) Wireless Devices (Dell Laptops) Domain Operating Systems in use: Windows 2000 Pro / Windows XP Pro SP1 and SP2 / Windows 98 / Windows Server 2000 and 2003 / Microsoft Exchange 2003 The equipment listed above is spread out across 8 buildings located in the City of Dover city limits. All buildings are connected via fiber. 1 225+ 200+ 7 14 2 1 17 10+ 1 The Information Technology staff is as follows: (1) Information Technology Director - The essential function of the position within the organization is to oversee and direct the City’s information system. The position is responsible for supervising staff, establishing goals, objectives, policy and procedures, planning information system infrastructure and architecture, designing operating processes, managing system operations, evaluating system performance, negotiating for improved system capabilities, and coordinating or reporting on activities to senior management and elected or appointed officials. The position formulates long range goals for the organization; develops policy and position papers and negotiates with chief administrative officer and/or elected officials. This position will use proposed software for analyzing, prioritizing, projecting work loads, and inventory levels. (1) Senior Programmer / Analyst – The essential function of the position within the organization is to serve as lead worker in performing systems analysis and design and creating complex computer applications. The position is responsible for programs of responsibility, preparing reports, and user training and support. The position works independently, reporting major activities through periodic meetings. This position will use proposed software for tracking programming, iSeries, and web design service requests. (1) Programmer Analyst - The essential function of the position within the organization is to perform systems analysis and design and create complex computer applications. The position is responsible for programs of responsibility, preparing reports, and user training and support. The position works under general supervision independently developing work methods and sequences. This position will use proposed software for programming and web design requests.
(1) Administrative Assistant - The essential function of the position within the organization is to provide administrative, organizational, and clerical support. The position is responsible for tasks of responsibility for the assigned department. The position works under general supervision independently developing work methods and sequences. This position will be the primary person responsible for entering and maintaining asset management and inventory auditing. This position also helps assist whenever possible with Help Desk issues and solutions. This position will use proposed software to record, assign, track requests for services and equipment including scheduling and routine tasks.
(2) LAN Analyst - The essential function of the position within the organization is to support the City’s computer network. The position is responsible for PC hardware and software, networking hardware, servers, related equipment of responsibility, and user support. This position is responsible for all software and operating system upgrades. The position works independently, reporting major activities through periodic meetings. The LAN Analysts will function as the primary Help Desk support personnel with the other IT staff serving as Help Desk support for issues that relate to their expertise. This position will use the proposed software for tracking PC and network service requests, maintaining a knowledge base, producing reports, and prioritizing requests. (1) Computer Operator - The essential function of the position within the organization is to perform responsible work in operating and monitoring data processing equipment. The position is responsible for monitoring computer jobs, resolving problems, preparing reports, scheduling operations, performing back up, software upgrades, and assisting computer users. The position works under general supervision independently developing work methods and sequences. This position will provide Help Desk support for iSeries issues and assist whenever possible with Help Desk issues and solutions. This position will use proposed software to assist users with iSeries service requests and tracking request history.
B=Included in Base Package O=Optional P=Planned/In Development N/A=Not Available B O P N/A
Comments - (Use additional sheets if necessary - **Refer to item number**)
Additional Costs
Technical Requirements
1 The application must be user customizable without program code changes including some custom data fields to accommodate any specialized business needs. Vendors should specify the number of available customizable fields. The application must allow for support request attachments. Identify allowable formats and any limitations. The application must allow for multiple levels of security and access in order to accommodate management, administration, help desk staff, technicians, and customers with the help desk process. The system must be customizable to display or hide the fields that each level can or cannot view. The application must include the ability to compose, edit, sort, and filter request records. The application must allow for viewing the client profile as well as a listing of client's most recent requests or an entire history of client's help requests. The application must allow for customized levels of severity and prioritization of requests. It must allow for automatic and manual control of the escalation of calls based on severity and prioritization as well as age of request.
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Application must allow for self service tickets that are generated by the user electronically rather than a phone call to the help desk. 8 The application must allow clients to check on the status of their problem tickets. 9 Check FAQ from a knowledge base and system outage information through a browser interface without the requirement of a user ID. 10 Server applications must run on Windows 2003 Server. Vendor should detail the minimum configuration requirements for server applications. 7 11 The client application must run on Windows XP Professional SP1 and SP2 and Windows 2000 Pro. Vendors should detail the minimum configuration required for workstations. 12 Application must interface with current Email product, Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP1. •What generates the email, a person or the proposed application?
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N/A •Will product remain compliant with future releases of Exchange? 13 Provide approval levels prior to acting on a request. (**i.e. A purchase request that requires a department head approval.) 14 Provide ability to trigger and track maintenance events. (**i.e. monthly reports, contract renewals, unattended server reboots)
Comments - (Use additional sheets if necessary - **Refer to item number**)
Additional Costs
Database Requirements
15 Application must be compatible with SQL Server 2000 and future releases 16 Application should have a conversion utility to enable migration of current inventory data. (**Data is currently in Microsoft Works (.wdb) database format.)
Help Desk Agent Requirements
17 Ability to delegate requests 18 Provide an audit trail / history of request 19 Ability to search databases using keywords, Boolean string or string of characters 20 Ability to use attached documents (Provide details) 21 Email notification functionality from within the software. Provide details about level of Email notification supported. (i.e. via software, Internet, other) 22 Provide online help, documentation (electronic or paper?) and tutorials (via software, internet or other?)
Administrative Requirements
23 Ability to analyze trends and evaluate performance levels 24 Ability to customize vendor software (i.e. customize tracking fields, screens and toolbars) 25 Ability to set security permissions for groups or individual users 26 Ability to import an issue into the knowledge base - automatically and/or manually 27 Ability to push other software and operating system updates to PCs unattended. 28 Ability to remotely operate/control PCs for troubleshooting 29 Provide a query or search tool to retrieve issues 30 Ability to prevent a client from showing up multiple times due to misspellings of name. 31 Specify how requests are associated. (**i.e. to the client, to the type of request, to a piece of equipment, or all of the above)
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N/A 32 Provide details on the available request sources and the ability to differentiate between them. (**i.e. requests via phone, automated phone, Email, Web, walk-in, on-the-spot, voice mail etc.) 33 Provide details on the available request types and the ability to differentiate between them. (**i.e. emergency, purchase, troubleshooting hardware/software/network, repair vs upgrade etc.) 34 Provide projected frequency of software updates
Comments - (Use additional sheets if necessary - **Refer to item number**)
Additional Costs
Reporting Requirements
35 Provide the number of standard reports included in the software (provide list) 36 Customizable included reports through a flexible reporting package 37 Provide real-time update for reports 38 Generate reports to review technology investments, prepare budgets, and plan upgrades 39 Ability to report help desk staff performance, both by individual and by group 40 Provide details about required reporting package. 41 Ability to create reports/graphs to analyze trends or distribution 42 Provide aging reports on service requests
Web Requirements
43 Provide web access to the issue tracking system (Intranet, Internet or both?) 44 Identify various security permissions that may vary from administrative requirements. 45 Can product be integrated into existing intranet or web page? 46 The application should support a browser interface for Internet Explorer 5.5 or above.
Audit / Inventory Requirements
47 Accurately track installed software and hardware - give details of levels of tracking 48 Ability to audit a PC from any location 49 Maintain a central reporting database 50 Ability to accurately track the history of a PC 51 Ability to inventory and track invoices 52 Ability to add other fields to track (i.e. Software assurance product, more detail fields, a general comment field etc.) 53 Ability to inventory maintenance contract information
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N/A
Comments - (Use additional sheets if necessary - **Refer to item number**)
Additional Costs
Training / Library Requirements
54 Provide training and library management ability 55 Ability to track resources (i.e. Materials, E-Classes, Classrooms) 56 Ability to track individual users training record
Workflow Requirements
57 Workflow routing based on Email delivery 58 Provide details on how Email flows (Request submission via internet or intranet) 59 Provide notification through Email and paging or other. Vendor should specify the exact types of information that can be interfaced and the types of compatible technology. 60 Ability to prioritize tasks 61 Identify methods of communication. What is/can be communicated? 62 What prompts a notification?
Knowledge Base Requirements
63 64 65 66 67 User customization capabilities Ability to customize access based on user rights Search functions Ability to create a knowledge base from our issue list Ability to import knowledge base items from other sources i.e. Microsoft Knowledge base, various web sites etc.
Client Access Requirements
68 The application should have availability notification (i.e. current major problems such as outages and scheduled downtimes.) 69 Application should provide the ability to monitor status of user request
Support Requirements
70 Available Technical Support Options: (Note hours of attended operation for each of the following) • Phone Support • Fax Support • Email Support • On-Line Chat 71 Access to proposed software knowledge base of user application incidents 72 What training is provided by the vendor? •Level of training recommended? •On-line tutorials?
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N/A •On-site training? •Off-site training? •Web-based training? •Other (please submit details)
Comments - (Use additional sheets if necessary - **Refer to item number**)
Additional Costs
Miscellaneous
73 Software upgrades should be available for download or on CD 74 Provide structure of pricing policy 75 Provide details of the time and costs that will be required to complete project 76 Provide server or workstation license costs 77 Is license dependent on platform or number of concurrent licenses 78 List any annual fees (not to exceed $$ or ? percentage) 79 Itemize any and all 3rd party hardware/software requirements for proposed application to function (Initial cost and annual fees) Not to exceed $$ or ? percentage. 0 0 0 0
TOTALS
80 The vendor should provide a copy of: •End user license agreement •Reference list (Include 3 or more references - preferably located near to Dover.) **References given must use the same product as appears in bid and a similar environment to the City of Dover.** •The vendor must provide 2 hard copies and 1 electronic copy of their RFP response.