Introduction
Verizon is a telecommunication company in America providing services for wired and wireless communications beads on third-generation technology (Verizon, 2011a). The organization is innovative in the telecommunication sector and it provides video and broadband communications and other modes of entertainment through an advanced fiber-optic network. The organization is committed to providing services to clients and collecting views of different clients in order to overcome the challenges that may be encountered in the future.
The goal of the organization is to provide the fastest means of data connection that is not subjected to uncertainties (Verizon, 2011b, para.2). This Request for Proposal is issued to allow the organization to obtain qualified bidders to provide services for the design, development, testing, and implementation of an information management system in the organization. The system shall contain a database of all the employees of the organization, all the products of the organization, and information on how the customers can access our services online. It is recommended that the bidders should not restrict their proposals to the requirements of this document. They are encouraged to include more inventive and innovative ideas that can help the organization improve its service delivery.
The vendor will work with the technology team to ensure that the system is developed in line with the current technological requirements and the objectives of the organization.
The system will be developed within three months after the acceptance of a successful bid. The organization has allocated $1.5 million for the development and installation of the information system. The bidders who will fall within the bracket will stand better chances of winning.
Requirements
There are certain requirements that the vendors should meet. It is necessary that the vendors understand the purpose of this request for the proposal stated above (Reh, 2011). These are illustrated below.
Standards
The system to be developed should meet the current database standards. It is desired that the system have a central database that does not require that a separate client’s software be installed. The current system in the organization has a separate client-server.
Hardware and Operating System
The organization uses different hardware components, and the system to be developed has to run on all the available types of hardware. The organization uses more than eight operating systems including Androids, Apple iPhone, LiMo Os, and Microsoft’s Windows mobile among others (Gardner, 2009). The system to be developed should therefore be compatible with these operating systems, with possible adjustments. The organization is set to reduce the number of operating systems (Gardner, 2009).
Networking
The system to be developed will require that the information be accessible from different sections of the organization and by different users. The successful vendor will have to carry out this computer networking. There is a need to have an efficient means of transferring information among the users in the organization. In doing the networking, the vendor will ensure a high degree of security. It should be noted that there are irresponsible users that may need to access and/or distort the information to be contained in the system. The system to be developed should provide for the security of the data so that only authorized users can access the information. The organization uses the applications like Microsoft Word, Ms Access, Ms Excel, Ms PowerPoint, Publisher, and many other applications. The system developed should therefore support such applications.
Scalability
The vendor should be aware that the system to be developed should not be limited to the current business needs of the organization. Instead, it has to be developed in a manner that will accommodate the growing needs of its clients. Moreover, it should respond positively to the increasing workload that may be encountered in the organization in the future.
Reliability
Vendors need to ensure the reliability of the system that they intend to develop. They should state clearly the conditions under which the system may fail so that appropriate mitigation can be taken.
Availability
This should also be considered alongside the reliability of the system. The system to be developed will have to ensure that the minimum costs are incurred in the organizational plans that adopt the system. For instance, in the case of data recovery, the time taken for such a recovery should be in line with the standards that are required for that particular application.
Maintenance
The vendor that will be successful in carrying out the project will also provide maintenance for the system. It will be required that the vendor provides some guidance to the staff of the organization until such a time when there will be enough expertise in the organization to manage the system.
Disaster recovery
There are certain circumstances that may not be mitigated and that may lead to the loss of massive data. It should be clear that the information to be contained in the developed system is the most essential tool for the operations of the organization. The system to be developed should be able to recover lost data in case some failure occurs.
Other requirements
There will be a presentation by all the bidders. It is necessary that all the bidders prepare in advance for this exercise, as it will be conducted immediately after the bids have been received. The successful vendor will develop and implement the new information management system.
The cost of preparation and submission of the Request for Proposal shall be incurred by the bidders. In an event that there is a need for some clarification before a given Request for Proposal document is checked by the hiring board, the bidder shall still incur the associated costs. This will remain valid even if the bid is not successful.
It is necessary to point out that the bidders need to check all the instructions that describe the requirements of the Request for Proposal. All the necessary information should be included, and this will be a basis for the disqualification of some bids.
Administrative information
Minimum requirements
The proposal should follow the stipulated minimum eligibility criteria. The proposals that shall not comply with these criteria will be rejected and will not be considered for evaluation of the technical bid:
- The respondent should be a registered company and has to provide a copy certificate of registration
- The respondent should have operated in the business for a minimum period of five years
- The consultants in the company that shall be assigned this project should have demonstrated ability and experience in system development in a busy telecommunication organization.
How to apply
The duly prepared proposal needs to be enclosed in some envelope. The bidding company should indicate its name and address on the cover of this envelop, which should then be sent to the following address:
Verizon Information Technologies LLC
12470 E. Telecom Parkway
Temple Terrace, FL 33637
Confidentiality
The information that is contained in the bid proposal shall remain confidential to the company. Except for the purposes indicated in this request for proposal, the information shall not be used to threaten the operations of the vendor in any way.
References
To prove that they have met the minimum eligibility criteria, vendors will be required to provide a list of the customers that they have been served in the recent past. In order to be more precise, the vendors will be required to provide a list of their customers that they have served in the last two years in areas of system development (see On-Line Consultant, 2010).
Obtaining clarification
For any clarification, the bidders should feel free to obtain assistance through the address stated here below:
The board of management
One Tampa City Center
201 N. Franklin Street
Suite 3300
Tampa, FL 33602
Telephone: 813-229-6000
Fax: 813-229-3988
Proposal format
The first section of the bid proposals should contain the proof or the eligibility of the vendors to carry out the project. The bidders should indicate how they meet the minimum eligibility criteria and state the qualifications as stipulated in this document. The bidders should also provide a list of references. The vendor has served these customers in the last few years. It is necessary that the bidders provide the list irrespective of whether the customers were satisfied with the services provided.
The next section shall contain the price of the project. The vendor has to indicate clearly the amount that it charges for the services. The cost of each of the activities and subprojects that constitute the whole project will have to be submitted. The flexibility in the stated price may also be quoted.
Submission schedule
The bids shall be received by Verizon at the address specified on or before 20 July 2011. The bids that shall be received after the deadline of the submission of bids prescribed by Verizon shall be rejected and returned unopened to the respective bidders.
Selection criteria
The selection shall be conducted purely on the merit of the vendors including the successful projects that they have conducted in the past. However, the vendors need not fear providing references for customers that were not satisfied with their services as this will not be an automatic basis for disqualification. There are other factors in the organization that could have contributed to the failure (On-Line Consultant, 2010). The board shall consider all such factors in processing the bids.
Decision schedule
The project shall commence within a week after the purchase order date. The service providers will then have a period of twelve weeks to accomplish the project.
References
Gardner, D. (2009). Verizon: Too Many Mobile Operating Systems.
On-Line Consultant. (2010). Asking the Right Questions: How to Perform Software Vendor Reference Checks.
Reh, J. (2011). How to write RFP. Web.
Verizon. (2011a). About Verizon –Our Company. Web.
Verizon. (2011b). About Verizon- Product and Services. Web.