IT TECHNICAL SUPPORT & SOLUTIONS – RFP
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Overview:
SPYM (Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses), is one of the most popular Non-for-Profit organizations in Toronto and GTA, welcomes imminent vendors to reply to this Request for Proposal (RFP) for the arrangement of IT Technical Services.
SPYM (Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses) will distinguish projects amid this term and work with the vendor defining SOW (Statement of work) and set expectations.
Every project needs a SOW (Statement of work) with a marked commencement and termination date with payment details for the services undertaken.
1.2 Purpose of RFP:
New technologies have helped development of various NGOs in the past. The traditional methods of management on have slowed down the pace of an organization. We have to uplift our traditional system which is being used currently and set up an Information Technology team.
SPYM has recently thought of moving its operations from traditional method to digital operations. In order to match pace with most of the NGOs and work efficiently it is important to move from traditional process to digital process.
♣ Increased efficiency: The donation process can be maximized by decreasing the manual processes involved and this time can be used to perform other imperative tasks, thus creating more scope for the front-end business activities.
♣ Eliminate Paper Work: Donations are the primary remuneration for any NGOs. Uplifting assets by means of the traditional way can be a depleting and tedious exertion. There is a simple answer for this issue “Eliminate Paper Work”.
♣ Better resource management: The association is utilizing a worldwide innovation stage to improve the utilization of its assets, acquire efficiencies, and lessen costs. The NGO will have better know-how into how to employee and assets can be used. It will also be able to track the activities and tasks related to volunteers and employees.
♣ Social media presence: Earlier the best option to reach up to people was getting included in papers or magazines. Presently everything is on the web. You have to demonstrate your respectability towards the reason. One of the most common way to gain respect is to highlight your social work and felicitations by different organizations.
1.3 Project objective
The following are the main objectives SPYM will achieve on implementing this project:
• Achieve rollout of Issue Tracking System to all SPYM employees.
• The applications installed are compatible with Chrome, Safari and Firefox browsers on Windows operating system.
• IT Support response time is less than 1 hour.
• Network interruptions as low as 5%.
• Allocating 20% time and budget for technical strategy planning and IT Policy review every quarter.
• The project cost does not exceed 80% of the original budget.
• Train 95% of staff within the four-week training period.
• An inventory is created every year of that includes details of technical and functional "point people" of the SPYM IT Department.
• Gain Centre of Excellence accreditation for SPYM’s IT Department.
2. Company Background / Purpose of RFP
SPYM is a local not for profit organization with its headquarter in Toronto, Ontario. It was established in 2017 to encourage the development of youth in the City of Toronto and GTA. SPYM is an independent society which is also bounded to reduce crimes committed by youth in the society. SPYM helps youngsters by training, offering support, guiding and mentoring in their area of interests. In our opinion if the youth finds a direction and they are provided with arena to learn, there is no limit how positively this can benefit the society.
Founded in 2017, SPYM also provides scholarships, international internships and promotes innovation. It inspires young minds to get trained with upmarket skills and perceive worthwhile employment. We also counsel them to overcome issues like Depression, Violence in Schools, Obesity, Anxiety and Drug Abuse.
SPYM believes that a steady income can mark a positive change in person’s life. Henceforth, from last 3 years we have been committed to the city’s youth build them an enhanced and self-reliant citizen. Our skillful team and partners help us to implement all these significant ideas.
We have recognized a portion of the real reasons for violations of our laws and we have consummated our plans on the best way to diminish these wrongdoings in North America. In spite of the fact that we have delineated our actions but we still abide to accomplish our objectives. In any case, we would consider our establishment to have achieved incredible success if measuring the following elements are accomplished:
• Training and empowering more than 20000 youngsters
• Bringing down crime committed by youngsters by 10% annually.
• Promote more than 20% for post graduate studies.
SPYM has also partnered with the government agencies, schools and private organization to deliver their goals in full capacity. Presently we operate from our locations in Toronto and GTA and going forward we intend to set up our offices across Ontario.
2.1 Timeline for Implementation of the Project
SPYM (Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses) will choose a solitary vendor for moving its operations from traditional method to digital technology, starting January 1, 2019 and finishing June 30, 2019 with high likelihood of retaining the vendor for maintenance after implementation.
Project Activities
Timeline
o Internet Server Implementation
18 January 2019
o Network and Hardware Setup
22 February 2019
o Intranet Set Up
06 March 2019
o Issue Tracking System
14 April 2019
o Desktop Applications Approval System
28 April 2019
o Network Monitoring for Security
16 May 2019
o Payroll and Time Tracking System
12 June 2019
3. Functional Requirements
SPYM has identified the following areas to be established in the first quarter of 2019 as a part of SPYM IT Department:
3.1 SPYM ITS – Issue Tracking System
SPYM’s IT Department will build a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues. This software is an Issue Tracking System and will be accessible to all the employees associated with SPYM. Technical issues faced within the IT infrastructure of the organization will be tracked through SPYM’s ITS. Dedicated IT Support Staff will respond to user incidents/requests via online ticketing ITS, including support for remote users. IT Support Staff will require to work 24*7 in rotational shifts and also during vacations to provide interrupted service.
3.2 Desktop Applications Approval System
A ticket raised by any SPYM employee for a new software installation will go through an approval process by line manager. The IT Support staff can deploy a software only after approval by authorized personnel. System Administrators will make use of desktop application management tools to install new software through remote sessions.
3.3 Network Monitoring for Security
A system will be set up inside SPYM's IT Department that always screens all the PCs for failing compliance or security compromised issues. The protocol advises the System Administrator if there should arise an occurrence of blackouts or other inconvenience based on the severity of the incident. Employees will be notified on a regular basis for objectives, principles, and tactics relating to the use of technologies within SPYM.
3.4 Payroll and Time Tracking
SPYM will invest in developing a cloud-based application for its employees to record time spent on tasks or projects. Employees are expected to manually record arrival and departure times. This application will also integrate payroll software that will assist employees to track compensation for time worked.
3.5 SPYM Community Intranet
SPYM will devote considerable resources into the planning and implementation of our Community Intranet accessible to only SPYM staff. Employees can use Community Intranet to access emails, holiday list, sharing documents, company policies, and getting to know the latest organization updates.
4. Scenarios or Use Cases
The following are the use case scenarios based on our IT services implementation project:
4.1 Raise ITS Ticket
Actors:
• SPYM Employee (Has an existing account, with system information)
• IT Support Staff
• Issue Tracking System
Triggers:
• The user faces technical issues with software.
Preconditions:
• User is an SPYM employee.
Post-conditions:
• The ticket will be placed in the system.
• The user will have a ticket ID for the tracking progress.
• The user will know the estimated time of resolution.
Basic Flow:
1. The user will indicate that she wants to log a ticket in the ITS to report a technical issue.
2. The ITS will present the user information and confirm software information that the user is using.
3. The user will provide details of the technical issue faced.
4. The user will confirm that the issue description and software information is accurate before submitting the ticket.
5. The system will provide the user with a ticket ID with an estimated resolution time for the issue reported.
6. The system will submit the ticket to the IT Support staff for evaluation.
7. The system will indicate to the user that the ticket has been logged.
8. The user will exit the system.
4.2 Installation of new software application
Actors:
• SPYM Employee (Has an existing account, with system information)
• IT Support Staff
• Issue Tracking System
• Authorization Personnel
Triggers:
• User requests new software installation.
Preconditions:
• User is an SPYM employee.
• User’s laptop/desktop meets the technical requirement for new software installation.
Post-conditions:
• The installation request placed on the system.
• The user will receive notification about the installation confirmation.
• The user will know the estimated duration of the remote installation process.
Basic Flow:
1. The user will request for the desktop application for their laptop/desktop.
2. The ITS will present the user information and confirm software information that the user is requests to install.
3. ITS automatically requests for the approval from user’s line manager and System Administrator for software installation.
4. Once approval is received, the system will provide the user with a ticket ID with an estimated resolution time for the software installation.
5. The system will indicate to the user that the ticket has been logged.
6. The user will exit the system.
4.3 Implementing Network monitoring for security:
Actors:
• SPYM IT Support Staffs
• Automated security software
Triggers:
• Security software auto checks threats and compliance.
Preconditions:
• User is an SPYM IT Support staff.
• Security software is programmed for periodic checkups.
Post-conditions:
• User’s laptop/desktop is screened for threats and compliance.
• Sending reports in case of failure to maintain compliance to System Administrator.
Basic Flow:
1. Routine background check is performed for detecting malware on user’s systems.
2. Security software notifies SPYM System Administrator with proactive communication tools and escalation protocols based on the severity of any security breach.
4.4 Payroll and Time tracking
Actors:
• SPYM Employees
• Cloud-based Payroll and Time tracking software
Triggers:
• User wants to check logged time and pay hours.
Preconditions:
• User is an SPYM Employee
Post-conditions:
• User is successfully able to record worked hours for billing, payroll or operations.
Basic Flow:
1. The user will request for the worked hours and compensation for a particular time duration.
2. The payroll application will present the user information on their worked hours and remuneration in weekly/Bi-weekly format.
3. User can raise issue in ITS if they do not agree with the displayed data.
4. The system will indicate to the user that the ticket has been logged.
5. The user will exit the system.
4.5 Implementation of SPYM Community intranet
Actors:
• All SPYM employees
Triggers:
• User wants to access or share company related information internal to the organization.
Preconditions:
• User is an SPYM employee
Post-conditions:
• User is able to view and share important events and announcements of SPYM.
Basic Flow:
1. User visits intranet site to access emails, holiday list, news and other announcements.
2. Intranet displays required information to the user.
5. Success Criteria
In order to be a part of the vendor list for SYPM a submission may be received in response to solicitations containing in an Invitation to Bid or Request for Quotation.
There will be three independent review panel teams:
• Technical evaluation team: This team will review and evaluate the technical and functional aspects of the proposals.
• Financial evaluation team: This team will review and compares the equivalence of all cost proposals.
• Final selection: This committee will receive the reports of both evaluations and recommends the final selection to the Project Manager or Project Sponsor, who will then authorize the final decision.
The following table includes the criteria and weighting for the responses received by the vendor companies participating in the bid selection process:
Mandatory Scoring Criteria
Requirement
Rating
Holding strong Experience in managing similar IT projects successfully for NGOs
5 previous projects
10 points
More than 5 previous projects
30 points
Managing Cost/Budget efficiently
Cost below $1M
40 points
Cost above $1M
20 points
Delivering within Schedule
Less than 10 Months
30 points
More than 10 months
15 points
Below is the template grid for vendors entering the selection process of SPYM:
Mandatory Scoring Criteria
Name of Vendors
Vendor A
Vendor B
Vendor C
Experience
Cost/Budget
Schedule
Total
6. Response Guidelines
SPYM will use multiple criteria to select the most suitable vendor to set up SPYM’s IT Department. Vendors are encouraged to complete all the sections of the RFP. This RFP will serve in as the basis for considering your potential as a prospective partner.
Your response must include the following mandatory qualitative areas:
• A brief summary of your company
• A blueprint of planned execution
• Previous relevant experience
• Timelines
• Pricing
Any additional materials to support your response should be labeled clearly and referenced to one of above 5 areas.
In order to understand more about your company and your potential to successfully fulfill our important requirement of setting up IT Department, please provide answers to the following questions in the below format as part of your response.
Question(s)
Answer
Provide the number of employees in your organization. How many of those are dedicated to client account management and/or technical support?
Please indicate the number of NGOs your organization has provided IT support in last 5 years.
What separates your association from your competitors in the commercial marketplace and in what ways this will be helpful for SPYM?
Will you be providing bundle pricing if we team up with similar organization? Please provide bundle pricing if applicable.
Please provide measures that your company ensures to identify benchmarks, key milestones, checkpoints, and other decision points
7. Glossary
• Request for Proposal: A formal invitation to vendors to present a proposition for an explicit arrangement. Mostly issued during the procurement period and used to recognize uncertainty, vulnerability, timelines, finances and solution.
• Vendor: A vendor is an organization that offers its services or products for sale.
• ITS: A list of problems faced and issues occurred is managed by an application usually referred by ITS.
• SPYM: Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses
• NGO: Non-Governmental Organization