REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Transcription

1 DEPARTMENT OF STATE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Information Acknowledgement Form Page 1 of 13 pages SUBMIT RESPONSE TO: Department of State DEPARTMENT RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2017 SOLICITATION TITLE: Division of Administrative Services 500 S. Bronough Street, Room 428 Tallahassee, Florida Telephone Number: SOLICITATION NO: DOS RFI 07/17-06 RESPONSES WILL BE OPENED: August 3, 2017 p.m., EST RESPONDENT NAME: RESPONDENT MAILING ADDRESS: CITY STATE ZIP: PHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: ADDRESS: FEID NO.: TYPE OF BUSINESS ENTITY (Corporation, LLC, partnership, Authorized Representative s Signature Name and Title of Authorized Representative This individual must have the authority to provide this Response. RESPONDENT CONTACTS: Please provide the name, title, address, telephone number and address of the official contact and an alternate, if available. PRIMARY CONTACT: SECONDARY CONTACT: NAME, TITLE: ADDRESS: PHONE FAX NUMBER: ADDRESS: NAME, TITLE: ADDRESS: PHONE FAX NUMBER: ADDRESS: This is a RFI as defined in s (22), Florida Statutes. The Department of State(DOS) is issuing this RFI for planning purposes only. Any subsequent implementation activities will depend on budget approval. This RFI is not a solicitation and will NOT result in a contract. However, information received in response to this RFI may be used to develop future procurements. Vendors are encouraged to respond with solutions that meet all or part of the specified requirements. 1

2 SECTION A - SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES This RFI have been designed to help ensure all responses are reviewed in a consistent manner, as well as to minimize costs and response time. INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN VARIANCE WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY NOT BE REVIEWED. A.1 PROCUREMENT OFFICER: Vonda Murray or Christina Harrell Department of State 500 S. Bronough Street Tallahassee, Florida Telephone No.: (850) vonda.murray@dos.myflorida.com christina.harrell@dos.myflorida.com These contact persons are the only authorized individuals to respond to RFI comments and questions. A.2 Calendar of Events Listed below is the calendar of important actions and dates/times by which the actions must be taken or completed. If the Department finds it necessary to change any of these dates/times, it will be accomplished by addendum. All listed times are local in Tallahassee, Florida. Estimated Calendar of Events 1. Date of Issuance and publication on the Florida Vendor Bid System website at: Date and Time Friday, July 21, Technical Questions Regarding RFI due to Department Wednesday, July 26, 12:00 p.m. 3. Department Responds to Technical Questions Anticipated Friday, July 28, 12:00 p.m. 4. Responses Due and Opened Wednesday, August 3, 3:00 p.m. 5. Oral Presentations, if scheduled Anticipated Monday, August 14, 2017 through Friday, August 18, 2017 Addenda or clarifications to this RFI along with an Addendum Acknowledgement Form will be posted on the Florida Vendor Bid System (VBS). It is the Respondent s responsibility to monitor the Florida Vendor Bid System for any solicitation updates. A.3 Questions Any technical questions from Respondents concerning this RFI shall be submitted in writing, identifying the submitter, by to Vonda Murray, vonda.murray@dos.myflorida.com, copying Christina Harrell, christina.harrell@dos.myflorida.com by the date and time specified in Section A.2, Calendar of Events. Respondent s questions should be submitted in the format included in Attachment A Technical Questions Submittal Form. 2

3 SECTION B - INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE B.1. INTRODUCTION Pursuant to Rule 60A-1.042, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), an agency may request information by issuing a written Request for Information (RFI). Agencies may use RFI s in circumstances including, but not limited to, determining whether or not to competitively procure a commodity or contractual service, determining what solicitation process to use for a particular need, or researching general, special, and/or technical specifications for a solicitation. A Vendor s response to an RFI is not an offer and the agency may not use the Vendor s submission to justify a contract with that Vendor without otherwise complying with Chapter 287, F.S., and Rule 60A-1.042, F.A.C. Vendors submitting a response to an agency s RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation. B.2 PURPOSE Florida is seeking information from qualified vendors pertaining to the acquisition of a Commercial off-the-shelf that has been successfully provided to entities of state governments within the United State of America and/or its territories conducting some or all of the activities listed as being provided by the Department of State, Division of Corporations. In addition, the Department is requesting vendors provide information about their product, including but not limited to, how data is collected, stored, and transmitted. B.3 BACKGROUND The Department of State (Department), Division of Corporations (Division) provides filing services and is the repository for records of entities doing business in Florida, both for profit and non-profit. Entity types include, but are not limited to, domestic and foreign profit corporations, domestic and foreign non-profit corporations, domestic and foreign limited partnerships, domestic and foreign limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, general partnerships, trusts, benefit and social purpose corporations, and sole proprietary. Actions processed by the Division include, but are not limited to, filing of a new entity, acceptance of annual reports, and edits (amendments/addendums). Edits include, but are not limited to, the dissolution or withdrawal of an entity, renewals, name changes, changes in officers, directors, and registered agents, domestications, conversions, mergers, and the reinstatement of an entity. The Division currently receives the documents required for these actions by mail, online, facsimile, and in-person filings. The Division is responsible for verifying the completeness of the documents as defined by Florida Statutes and accepting and processing the required fee(s). The Division accepts payments through checks, credit card, and prepaid Sunbiz E-file accounts. Those filings meeting the statutory mandates are accepted and indexed in the Division s records. The Division is also the repository for judgment and federal tax liens, administers the appointment and renewal of Notaries Public, and processes the requests for apostilles and other certifications. The Division is responsible for maintaining the records of Florida s cable franchises and the registration, renewal, assignment, and cancellation of trademarks and service marks, accepting Substitute Services of Process, and processing public records exemption requests. The majority of these activities are directly processed through or the documents are available on the Division s website Sunbiz.org (dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz). Unless exempted by statute, records indexed in the Division s records, including historical transactions associated with an entity, are available to the public. Inspection of an entity s filings are available by searching on and downloading from the Division s website or through a records request. Downloads include, but are not limited to, individual images of filed articles, edits, and annual reports, which are stored as compressed Tagged Image Format File (.tiff) and presented in Print Document Format (.pdf), and bulk corporate, fictitious name, and quarterly data file downloads. 3

4 The Division has other databases on which transactions are processed and data stored, including correspondence, images, and fiscal databases. Some databases are historically complete for the past 25 years and others are bifurcated with data prior to 2013 being on one database and since 2013 stored on a second. Data is stored in a variety of methods including Oracle Rdb, SQL, and BLOB. The Division desires to unify all of its activities through a single portal, coalesce its data, streamline and standardize its procedures, and modernize the underlying code and data storage schema. The solution must be sustainable, maintainable, scalable, economical and capable of handling mass electronic mail communication notice requirements. B.4 SPECIFICATIONS The list below contains some of the components being considered for any solution proposed for updating the Florida Division of Corporations web-based filing and data management system. Potential vendors should have the ability to demonstrate successful deployment of a registry solution to entities that provide similar services as the Division. The vendors are to have the ability to provide an integrated registry system that integrates the activities of the Division through a single portal and provides uniform information across the entire enterprise. The Enterprise solution needs to be sustainable, maintainable, adaptable, scalable, and economic. The solution must be secure, utilizing a secure socket layer (SSL). The solution must be able to unify all of the historical images and data in the Division s current set of databases and unify them into a single database. Currently, images are stored as compressed Tagged Imaged File Format (.tiff) on a local server or as Binary Large OBjects (BLOB) in the Cloud. Data is stored locally in an Oracle Rdb and SQL database and on the Cloud. The solution must have the ability to be customized to meet Florida s current legislative requirements (adhere to Florida Statutes) and be flexible enough to easily incorporate new and updated statutes. The solution must also: Provide for entity registration and modifications Have auditing and journal capturing and recording capabilities Distinguish between different business entity types Limited Liability Company (LLC), Profit Corporation, Not for Profit Corporation, Limited Partnership, General Partnership, etc. Distinguish between domestic and foreign business entities and registrations Allow for the registration, renewal, cancellation and expiration of fictitious registrations (aka Doing Business As ) Provide for ad hoc public searches and display all matched entities, providing pertinent information including, but not limited to, images of new filings, amendments/edits, and annual report documents in Print Document Format (PDF) Disallow the filing of two entities with the same name matched on any of the matching criteria in accordance with statutory business rules Search for and display filed business entities or registered fictitious names Allow for modifying, revoking, or dissolving an entity (administratively, involuntarily, voluntarily, etc.) including, but not limited to, the e-filing of articles of amendment, dissolution and foreign entity withdrawals, amendments, and registrations Allow the manual and automatic dissolution of entities, with the date and criteria for automatic dissolutions to be modified by the Division Allow for online payments by credit card and Sunbiz E-file accounts Print PDF payment vouchers for payment by check with vouchers tying the payment to the filing Allow for PDF uploads by the entity to include articles of incorporation, articles of organization, articles 4

5 of correction, annual reports, withdrawals, registrations, resignations, articles of dissolution, articles of amendment, etc. Allow for the search of an entity (singularly or in combination) by name, county, entity type, address, zip code, registered agent, officer, partner, debtor name, trademark name, owner name, FEI/EIN, owner FEI/EIN, document or registration number, date filed, effective date, and/or status Allow for o electronic filing and management of fictitious names, judgment liens, trademarks and service marks, cable franchises and the uploading of relevant documents as PDF o registration and renewal of foreign profit and non-profit name registrations and the uploading of relevant documents as PDF o designation, change, withdrawal and resignation of an alien business or financial institution registered agent o filing Declarations of Trust o filing domestications (profit and non-profit) o the formation and amendment of a profit benefit or social purpose corporation o filing of mergers, conversions and consolidations by the same or varying business entity types o edits/addendums/amendments (changes in name, address, officers, registered agent, FEIN), as well as additional filings, withdrawals, dissolutions, domestications, and reinstatements o registration, assignment, renewal, expiration, and cancellation of Trade & Service Marks o filing, adding a debtor, amending, and correcting judgement liens o downloading, displaying and printing of certificates of status, name change, registration, renewal, conversion, and merger filed business and commercial records (certified and non-certified) detail record screens o online submission of notarial and apostille requests and requests for Certificates of Incumbency, including the filing of the document to be certified or authenticated, payment, and pre-paid air bill o public records exemption requests and required redactions o viewing, editing and retrieval of historical documents and images, maintaining a log of any changes o provide for compliance assessment o the review, rejection, correction, and subsequent acceptance of a filing o scheduling and running of batch jobs o sending automated correspondence via electronic mail (i.e. change notifications) to the last previously reported address o filing with validation of key fields o the generation of various reports meeting federal and state requirements o a technical architecture and underlying functionality that is adaptable, scalable and flexible to support continuous process improvement and changes in applicable state and federal laws o the posting of notices and links to documents to be viewed and/or downloaded by the public (Consumer Notice and News) Desired features include, but are not be limited to: A single portal which allows for: o Public access (without credentials) to forms, filing information, and records search o Entities to file online without credentials o Entities to create credentials for accessing their files for making edits/addendums/amendments (changes in name, FEIN, address, officers, registered agent), additional filings, withdrawals, 5

6 dissolutions, domestication, and reinstatements o User groups within the Division with differing levels of permission for read only + new filing + edits + dissolution, withdrawals + deletions + fiscal transactions + user administration Matching by search criteria displaying all relevant entities Searching by entity name and matching on: o Concatenation o Definite and Indefinite articles (The, A, An) o Plural, singular, and possessive (Kris, Kris, Kris s, Krises) o Abbreviations of a root word (Florida vs Fla vs FL) o Suffixes (LLC vs Limited Liability Corporation, Inc. vs Incorporated) o Punctuation (with or without apostrophe, hyphen, dash, en dash, em dash, ampersand, plus, period) o Numerics (1 vs one vs I, 1st vs first) Accept Substituted Service of Process requests to include the uploading of court-issued summons, the complainant, and a cover letter Administrative management functionality in support of data security, reporting, audits and user safeguards against fraudulent actions Other enhancements/features/innovations provided by the vendor not identified above B.5 INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS The instructions for this RFI were designed to help ensure all responses are reviewed in a consistent manner. The response must include: 1. Information Acknowledgement Form The response must include the Department Information Acknowledgement Form signed by an individual with authority to provide the requested information on behalf of Respondent. The form must contain the name, title, address, telephone number, and address of a contact person who will be available for telephone or contact regarding the RFI. 2. Details In their submission, respondents are to provide a narrative which elaborates on the following. Methods by which information in the database is held secure Authentication and authorization of persons accessing the database Proposed architecture for the Production environment to include hardware, operating system, framework, database, and minimum requirements Proposed storage solution Proposed data migration plan Name of proposed registry solution Respondent s history providing similar systems to agencies in other states or US territories, to include contact information of each reference: Name, title, telephone number and address Proposed cost recovery (fixed priced, cost reimbursable/time and materials, annual subscription, transactional fee-based, license). If transactional, define a transaction (new filing, annual filing, edit) and scale, as well as length of subscription, and how costs are calculated 6

7 Provide pricing models for maintenance agreements Describe ways the use of the registry solution will result in costs savings to the Department Describe the company s approach to Enterprise license agreements and how it relates to agency customers Describe the development process from specifications gathering and documentation to testing and release with approximate timelines Describe the change management process Describe the issue resolution process Describe how modifications to the system are handled (legislative, enhancements, fixes/bugs) and cost structure modified Interest and ability to make a presentation to the Department during the week of August 14, 2017 Any other pertinent information that vendors want to supply in response to this RFI 3. Questions to Vendors In response to this RFI, and addressing the items identified in Section B.4 - Specifications and B Details, vendors should provide information regarding the needs listed by providing technical specifications of the vendor s registry solution and responding to the questions listed below. Why your solution? What do you need to know about the Division s business practice to provide an initial cost estimate? Time estimate? What is the business model? How is initial customization for the Division handled? Do the in-house developers have access to the code and may they make modifications? How are ongoing support, optimization, maintenance, and operational support handled? What other companies have comparable solutions? How long does it normally take for the implementation of the registry solution? How and by whom is onsite implementation handled? Does the registry solution have a fiscal/payment system? (credit cards, check processing) If not, how are payments of services conducted? Does the vendor have a local office or local support team available to address any urgent issues once the system is in production? How are service level agreements (SLA) with customers addressed and what is the average timeframe for urgent responses? What are alternative options for payment (e.g. subscription by transaction)? Describe. Is the solution/software available under a U.S. General Services Administration s contract? 4. Summary Sheet In response to this RFI, and addressing the items identified in Section B.4 Specifications, vendors should complete Attachment B Functional Requirements Submittal Form. 5. Pricing Provide Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) pricing information (not a specific price quote) for variables impacting the price, and other fees/charges for the registry solution. Provide details on how the vendor is compensated for the services provided. DO NOT PROVIDE A SPECIFIC PRICE QUOTE. To preserve your pricing competiveness on a future procurement requests related to this RFI, it is important to provide ROM pricing information only, such as an annual fee schedule and/or cost per usage fee (i.e., competitive ranges and variables impacting 7

8 price; not a specific price quote.) B.6 RESPONSE SUBMITTAL Submit an electronic copy in Print Document Format (.pdf) to the Procurement Officer noted in Section A.1 below no later than the time and date noted in the A.2., Calendar of Events. Responses must reference the RFI No.: DOS RFI 07/17-06 in the subject line of the response submission. If Respondent considers any portion of its response to be confidential, Respondent shall submit a separate file/attachment with the confidential information redacted. This file/attachment shall be titled Redacted Copy. B.7 RESPONSES It is not necessary to prepare responses using elaborate brochures and artwork, expensive paper and bindings, or other expensive visual presentation aids. Responses should be prepared in accordance with the instructions provided in this document. The Department is not responsible for and will not reimburse any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of information in response to this RFI. This is strictly a RFI, and in no way does this request bind the Department to solicit bids or proposals in the future. However, if in the future, the Department elects to solicit bids/proposals, in no way does the submittal of information pursuant to this RFI give any vendor any advantage in any solicitation. B.8 ORAL PRESENTATION Respondents may be invited to present their proposals and answer any questions about their experiences in the development, implementation and/or support of their solutions. B.9 ORAL PRESENTATION AGENDA Based upon the completeness of the response, the Department, at its sole discretion, may invite vendors for an oral presentation. Each presentation will be scheduled from one to two hours depending on the response and should include the following: A high-level overview of the product high-lighting the core agency processes the product addresses, including customer references for the product where it is currently installed A discussion of the vender s experience and competency in the design, development and support of a COTS Registry Solution, training and knowledge transfer activities, operations and maintenance of the proposed solution, and, if applicable, any additional vendors partnered with to provide a complete solution A discussion about the approach taken in previous implementations, challenges and risks encountered, and mitigating factors taken into consideration Questions and Answers B.10 PROCESS Responses to this RFI will be reviewed by the Department staff for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of a contract. This is an RFI as defined by section (22), Florida Statutes. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot not be accepted by the Department to form a binding contract. Information received in response to this RFI, however, may be used to develop future procurements. Respondents to this RFI will not be prohibited from submitting bids to such future procurements based solely on having responded to this RFI. The Department will review responses received from this RFI to determine the feasibility of issuing a competitive solicitation for services or commodities. Any request for cost information is for budget purposes only. 8

9 The Department may offer an opportunity for eligible vendors to present their product capabilities. Trade secrets are confidential and exempt from disclosure under Chapter 119, F.S., pursuant to the statutory provisions in F.S , F.S and F.S If vendor claims trade secret information is required to demonstrate their product, their meeting will be deemed confidential and closed to other vendors and the public. B.11 VENDOR COSTS Vendors are responsible for all costs associated with the preparation, submission, and any potential meeting to discuss this Request for Information. The State of Florida, Department of State will not be responsible for any vendor-related costs associated with responding to this request. B.12 CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY OR TRADE SECRET MATERIAL The Department takes its public records responsibilities as provided under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes and Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, very seriously. If Vendor considers any portion of the documents, data or records submitted in response to this RFI to be confidential, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure pursuant to chapter 119, Florida Statutes, the Florida Constitution or other authority, Vendor must also simultaneously provide the Department with a separate redacted copy of its RFI, and briefly describe in writing the grounds for claiming exemption from the public records law, including the specific statutory citation for such exemption. This redacted copy shall contain the Department s RFI name, number, and the name of the Vendor on the cover, and shall be clearly titled Redacted Copy. The Redacted Copy shall be provided to the Department at the same time Vendor submits its response to the RFI and must only exclude or obliterate those exact portions which are claimed confidential, proprietary, or trade secret. The Vendor shall be responsible for defending its determination that the redacted portions of its RFI response are confidential, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure. Further, Vendor shall protect, defend, and indemnify the Department for any and all claims arising from or relating to Vendor determination that the redacted portions of its RFI response are confidential, proprietary, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure. If Vendor fails to submit a Redacted Copy with its response, the Department is authorized to produce the entire documents, data or records submitted by Vendor in answer to a public records request for these records. 9

10 ATTACHMENT A REPLY QUESTIONS SUBMITTAL FORM For Attachment A, Respondents shall complete the form provided based on their questions relating to this RFI. The completed form shall be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided in A.3. The electronic response must be submitted as a Microsoft Word version file format. This form may be expanded as needed to facilitate response to this requirement. Respondent s Name: RFI Page Number, Respondent Section Number, Question Number* Subsection Reference* Question* *Add rows as necessary. *Authorized Representative s Signature *Typed Name and Title of Authorized Representative *This individual must have the authority to provide this Response. 10

11 ATTACHMENT B FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS SUBMITTAL FORM Vendor: Registry Solution: Functional Requirements 1 Perform Inquiry 1.1 Ability to inquire by business name, Officers, Registered Agents, FEI/EIN, Document Number, and other details. 1.2 Ability to search by Fictitious Name, Owner Name, Owner Charter Number, Registration Number, and other details. 1.3 Ability to search by Partnership Name, Agent/Partner Name, Partnership FEI/EIN, Document Number 1.4 Ability to Search for Federal and Judgement Liens by FLR debtor name, FLR document number 1.5 Ability to Search for Cable Franchises by franchise name or franchise number 2 Create Business Registries and Entities 2.1 Provide external users with online filing options for various types of Business Entities and Structures (e.g. LLC, Profit Corporations etc.) 2.2 Ability for internal staff to manually create business entities and structures in the system 2.3 Ability for internal staff to reject submitted business entity filings and structures 2.4 Provide external users with the ability to file/process authentications, Notaries and other services 2.5 Ability for external users to submit business entity filings via fax 2.6 Provide external users with the ability to file modifications online, including annual reports 3 Modify Business Registries and Entities 3.1 Ability to manage/change existing business entities and structures (e.g. address updates etc.) 3.2 Ability for external users to submit a request to dissolve or withdraw a business 3.3 Ability for external users to submit a request to Amend or reinstate a business 3.4 Ability to request a certificate of status or additional copies of a certificate of status 3.5 Ability to request and obtain a certified copy of a filed document 3.6 Ability to administratively dissolve/revoke business entities 3.7 Ability to upload attachments with online filings 3.8 Ability to modify the registered agent and/or registered office on multiple business entities simultaneously Base Product Custom Enhancement Not Available 11

12 4 Fiscal Processing 4.1 Ability to accept credit card payments 4.2 Ability to associate a payment to a business entity and structure for online, faxed and manual filings 4.3 Ability to associate a payment for an annual report filing to the historical system data for a business entity or structure 4.4 Ability to create, modify and delete a user payment account to be used for future business filings 4.5 Ability to debit and credit user fiscal accounts 4.6 Provide audit tracking for any and all financial processing associated to a business entity or structure 4.7 Ability to search, review and modify payment information associated to a business entity or structure 4.8 Ability to process refunds and reconcile payments received 5 Scanning/Imaging paper documents 5.1 Ability to import scanned documents and associate them to a business entity or structure 5.2 Ability to view, alter, move, remove, or void a scanned/imaged document 5.3 Ability to view, retrieve and print checks received and processed 6 Correspondence 6.1 Ability to generate and access specific correspondence templates 6.2 Ability to generate correspondence utilizing approved templates 6.3 Ability to communicate with business owners and/or contacts via , fax and mail 6.4 Ability to generate and send a single correspondence and generate and send mass correspondence to specific users (both internal and external) 6.5 Ability to log and retrieve any and all correspondence sent to users regarding their business entity 6.6 Ability to provide filing acknowledgements by regardless of submission method 7 Reporting 7.1 Ability to design and run ad hoc, batch, monthly and annual reports for all historical and current data held in the system 7.2 Ability to log and retrieve any and all reports generated in the system 7.3 Create and run specific reports for pertinent staff and functional areas (e.g. fiscal reports, administrative reports etc.) 7.4 Provide a user dashboard to enable staff to access reports based on user access and permissions 8 Task Management 12

13 8.1 Provide a dashboard for Division of Corporations Administrators to organize and assign work assignments for division staff 8.2 Ability to create a workflow queue with work assignments based on current functional areas 8.3 Ability to assign work assignments to specific staff 8.4 Ability for staff to manage, sort and route tasks 8.5 Ability for staff and administrators to modify work assignments during any phase of the workflow lifecycle 9 User Accounts and Permissions 9.1 Ability to create, update and manage user roles and associated permissions for both internal and external users 9.2 Ability to control access to sections of the system according to defined permissions and roles 9.3 Ability to differentiate between internal and external users 9.4 Ability to display access to specific pages and information about business entities and structures to general public without a user login 10 System Processing 10.1 Ability to integrate and migrate data from existing systems 10.2 Ability to import data from other data sources (e.g. FTP; code tables etc.) 10.3 Ability to download data files from the system 10.4 Ability to update system pages and functionality when federal or legislative changes are received (e.g. Biennial report filing) 13