State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) Bureau of Information Technology Telecommunications Request for Information (RFI) Expense Management Tool and/or Services for Telecommunications Issue Date: April 21, 2015 Responses Due: May 28, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. CT This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes, it does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to this RFI are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the State to form a binding contract. The State of Wisconsin is not liable for any cost incurred by the vendor in response to this RFI. Questions and communications concerning this RFI may be directed to: Melissa Viken Wisconsin Department of Transportation Purchasing E-mail: melissa.viken@dot.wi.gov 4/01/2015 1 P a g e
Purpose of the Request for Information This Request for Information (RFI) represents an effort by the Wisconsin State Department of Transportation and does not involve any other Department or Agency. The primary purpose of this RFI is to gain contemporary knowledge to assist in the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a telecommunication expense management solution for the Department, either as Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), software as a service (SaaS)/ hosted platform, or some hybrid. Any platform DOT considers will need to integrate with PeopleSoft, mainframe, web services, and the general ledger/accounts payable system. The State of Wisconsin invites all interested parties to submit a written response to this Request for Information. Vendors are being asked to provide complete information on equipment, software, and fixed and wireless management services offered to facilitate the expense management of DOT s telecommunication equipment and service. The solution should include: Inventory Capability (CSR, not just invoice, and should include equipment) Invoice Management/Procurement Order Management Incident Management Workforce Management/Data Management Service Catalog Offerings standard equipment offerings Invoice and expense management Usage chargeback Payment Reporting capability The information gained from this RFI may be used in the development of a competitive procurement process, leading to the selection of a contractor that is best suited to provide the solution set that meets the Department s requirements. DOT wants to look at all possible solution sets to meet our business requirements. DOT stresses we wish to learn about any solutions that may allow WisDOT to make use of out-sourcing, third party managed, hosted, software as a service, OR customer premise/owned equipment. DOT may request demonstrations from responding vendors for the purpose of collecting additional information. Invitations may be extended to vendors subsequent to the receipt of responses. The demonstrations may be conducted before a multi-divisional committee in Madison, Wisconsin. 4/01/2015 2 P a g e
This RFI is for informational purposes only, and it does not serve as a substitute for the request for bids/proposal process. This RFI will not result in a contractual relationship. No purchases will be made based on responses to this RFI. Submitting a Response Submit five (5) hard copies and one (1) electronic version (on CD, DVD, or USB flash drive) to: U.S. Mail: UPS, Fed Ex, etc.: Purchasing Purchasing WI Department of Transportation WI Department of Transportation 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 751 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Room 751 PO Box 7396 Madison, WI 53705 Madison, WI 53707-7396 If you choose to hand deliver your response be aware of increased building security and that access to WisDOT is restricted. Allow time for security clearance to room 751. Make arrangements for clearance in advance of the deadline. All responses are due by May 28, 2015 at 2:00 PM CDT. Terms and Definitions ATM CPE CSR DLC DOT DSL DWDM ENET FR GPRS/UMTS IP IrDa MPLS RFB RFI RFP - Asynchronous Transfer Mode - Customer Premise Equipment -Customer Service Record - Digital Loop Carrier - Department of Transportation - Digital Subscriber Line, allowing transmission of data over telephone lines - Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing - thin communication layer on top of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) allowing flexibility and portability of the library -Frame Relay - General Packet Radio Service/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - Internet Protocol -Infrared Data Association Complete set of protocols for wireless infrared wireless communication - Multiprotocol Label Switching - Request for Bid - Request for Information - Request for Proposal 4/01/2015 3 P a g e
SaaS SONET STAR State TEM VoIP WisDOT - Software as a Service - Synchronous Optical Networking - State Transforming Agency Resources - State of Wisconsin - Telecommunication Expense Management - Voice over Internet Protocol - Wisconsin Department of Transportation Background and Current Operation DOT has telecommunication services in operation in all of our locations across the State of Wisconsin for Division of Executive Offices, Division of Motor Vehicles, Division of State Patrol, Division of Business Management, Division of Transportation System Development, and Division of Transportation Investment Management. We have offices in every county of the State and do business with every ILEC vendor, CenturyLink Long Distance, AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, US Cellular, and Sprint, as well as Cable Television vendors. DOT Desktop Environment DOT currently utilizes servers with operating system 2012, Lenovo desktops and laptops, Windows7 and 8, Mobile Device Windows 8.2 operating system, and Internet Explorer 11. We currently support iphones, androids, aircards and Mi-Fi devices. DOT supports multiple levels of environments: Development, System Test and Acceptance, as well as Education and Production. DOT requires that applications move through the various environments for thorough testing before rolling out to Production. Vendor Response Response in General Please respond to the following sections. Company Information 1. Briefly summarize the scope of TEM products and services that your company provides. 2. Provide contact name(s) and contact information for questions the DOT may have regarding your company s response to this RFI. 3. Wisconsin DOT is a State Agency. If possible, provide a list of recent governmental clients, or clients of similar size and complexity, now using the solution you are recommending. Product Information 1. Please include a full description of your processing system and integration model, including information on how it meets the business requirements 4/01/2015 4 P a g e
2. Provide a detailed description of the proposed vendor solution for managing telecom expense, with emphasis on the following requirements: Inventory Capability Describe the solutions ability to manage network inventory (circuits, facility, equipment, trunks, IP addresses, telephone numbers, bandwith) and technology (voice, video, MPLS, DWDM, SONET, ENET, DSL, ATM, FR, DLC, GPRS/UMTS, VoIP, IrDa, Bluetooth, 802.11(Wi-Fi), 802.16 (Wider-Fi or WiMAX, 802.20 (Mobile-Fi)). Consider intelligent path analysis, circuit layout records, design layout records, schematic design, activation reporting, and service provisioning. Records must be maintained for a minimum of five years. Describe how the solution meets this requirement. Invoice Management/Procurement WisDOT deals with a variety of pricing structures, and procurement methods, including regulated (tariffed), contracted terms and rates, project related rates, and instances of multiple projects billed per service type. Describe the solution s ability to manage complex billing and rate structures. Order Management Describe the solutions ability to manage order history, dispute management, and reporting. With any solution, the ordering process must be automatically tied to the inventory, payment, billing reconciliation, and location information. Data should not require rekeying in various modules. Describe your solution s ability to meet this requirement. Incident Management An integrated method of incident management, which uses industry standards (WisDOT uses ITIL) is desired. Describe your solution s incident management capabilities, including repeat/ chronic incidents, common cause ticket linkage, text and email notifications, ticket reporting, and escalation. Workforce Management/Data Management Describe your solution s ability to handle electronic workflows, gateway events, tasks, work queues, provisioning plans, and provisioning output. Service Catalog Offerings DOT offers standard equipment to our customers via a service catalog. The service catalog gives end users the ability to choose between options. For example, a user looking for a Smartphone has the option of selecting an Apple iphone or a Samung Galaxy. All available models would appear in the service catalog. The desired TEM solution should only allow purchase of equipment that has been approved for 4/01/2015 5 P a g e
purchase and appears in our service catalog. Describe how your solution would meet this requirement. 3. Describe how the solution functions for fixed, wireless, IP, or Unified Communications. 4. Detail how the respondent's system ties the vendors call detail record information at the phone number level. 5. Identify the system storage processes, back-up storage processes, and security measures at the production facility to ensure secure data. Please note: Pursuant to WI State Statute 16.705, all services provided to WisDOT must be performed in the United States. Any electronic WisDOT data stored, backed up or retained must be stored within the United States. State whether your solution meets these requirements. 6. Describe your disaster recovery plan. How often are product upgrades/patches made to your solution/platform? Are they optional or mandatory? Does your customer have any say when they are applied? (times days, holidays etc., or when they cannot be applied no changes allowed) For outsourced services, do you require any customer hardware installation? Describe how you back up and archive your clients data. 7. Describe how your solutions ties in to e911 and/or 911, wireless, wired, and VoIP. 8. The proposed solution must allow payment of invoices through a third party and still integrate the payment data into the TEM, must provide cost accounting at the subscriber number (not simply the account number) level, and interface with necessary DOT and/or DOA applications. Describe how your solution would meet these requirements. 9. Describe how your solution would allow a centralized payment processing area chargeback to decentralized locations with the use of object (accounting) codes and project IDs specific to each funding location. 10. Describe the staffing, roles, responsibilities and time requirements that DOT will have to provide to install and possibly maintain the operation of your product based on the various forms your solution sets can or may take. Include day-to-day operational maintenance as well as application upgrade time requirements. 11. Describe your solution s complete reporting capabilities. Describe how your product interfaces with off the shelf report generators. 12. Describe the testing, technical support, and maintenance services provided. 13. Describe the standard warranty and post implementation support for the solution. What actions might void a warranty? How is support provided? 14. Please provide a close estimate of time it takes to move from contract signing to full production mode for your product/service given our size and complexity; please provide a sample timeline, including a breakdown of the specific tasks necessary. 15. Please provide a list of potential problems/risks that the State may encounter if it adopts your solution. Please provide any ideas or suggestions about how such problems/risks could be mitigated. 16. Describe your plan in supporting past, current, and future operating systems. What operating systems and other standard system software products do you support/utilize? What is the typical process for applying security patches and or other upgrades to new releases of future operating system or other system software upgrades? 4/01/2015 6 P a g e
17. Please provide a full description of your product/service s lifecycle and roadmap including frequency of upgrades, updates and/or patch/bug fixes. Keep in mind DOT must maintain records for a minimum of 5 years. 18. Describe the general technology architecture (host environment, web services, database, etc.) of your product suite. 19. DOT has a business need for multiple billing cycle dates, 20 days or more per month. Describe how you can satisfy this requirement. 20. Describe your pricing model for the TEM. This information will be used for budgetary purposes. Do NOT submit actual price quotes or costs. 4/01/2015 7 P a g e
COMPANY/ORGANIZATION NAME Name the person to contact for questions concerning this proposal. Name Title Phone ( ) Toll Free Phone ( ) FAX ( ) Email Address Address City State Zip + 4 DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION List below any of the sections of the response deemed to be confidential or proprietary. Section # Page # Topic 4/01/2015 8 P a g e