Request for Proposal for Software Upgrade Project of Boardman Management Group - Essay Example

Running Head: Request for Proposal Request for Proposal for Software Upgrade Project of Boardman Management Group (Style: APA) ID 19714Order No. 270806 02 February 2009 Abstract A Request for Proposal (popularly known as RFP) is an invitation sent out to potential suppliers and consultants in order to encourage them to take interest in the project and apply their best efforts to bag the project and take accountability till final completion of all the tasks and handover to internal staff to accept the system as a part of the Business As Usual system. The RFP primarily controls the format in which the proposals shall be invited in order to ensure that an apple to apple comparison of the capabilities of the interested parties can be carried out. If the proposal is left to the creativity & innovation of the suppliers then every proposal would appear different with only the positive points mentioned by the suppliers whereas the negative points would normally be hidden. This may result in vital information getting left out during the comparison process thus risking the project getting into incapable or sometimes wrong hands. If a template comprising of all qualification points are sent to the suppliers/consultants then they are compelled to respond against every point mentioned in the template irrespective of whether these are their positive points or otherwise. This document presents the Request for Proposal from potential consultants pertaining to the project of software upgrade at Baderman Island Resort which is a part of Boardman Management Group. The RFP presented herewith comprises of three sections – an Introduction, the Project Requirements and the Administration Information. Table of Contents: Introduction: The purpose of this Request for Proposal (hereinafter referred to as “RFP”) is to provide the potential consultants with information to assist them in formulating their proposals. It is hereby advised that it is mandatory for every bidder to respond against all the requirements mentioned in this RFP. If the bidder has nothing to share against a requirement they can mark “Not Applicable” in front of the requirement. Our organization “The Baderman Island Resort” has 3 hotels, a convention center, 4 restaurants, 2 gift shops, a pro shop and a spa. All of the business entities are owned by the Baderman Island Resort and executively managed by the Boardman Management Group but are managed as independent business entities. In this context, a mismatch of software systems has resulted in the business entities with the versions as presented below: 26 computers running Windows XP and Word XP 38 computers running Windows 2000 and Word 2000 6 computers running Windows 98 and Word 97 Boardman Management Group has established the business goal of achieving a standard business support system across all the businesses across the group and hence has decided to upgrade all the software versions to Word 2007 on Windows Vista. In this context the following Project goals have been established: (a) To seamlessly migrate all the end user word processing systems to Word 2007 (b) To ensure smooth migration of all the existing business data on to the new software platforms without loss of information and compromising security (c) To help users to quickly adopt the new software platforms and start using them in the business as usual mode (d) To ensure that the in-house IT support system learns the new software platforms and start their support activities efficiently as per the usual service level agreements that they possess with the end users. The scope of the project is to: (a) Undertake all hardware upgrades/new hardware supply (b) Undertake licensing upgrades/new purchases (c) Undertake signing of new software subscription with Microsoft (d) Supply of original media and documentation in line with the licenses acquired (e) Carry out the installation of new software on the upgraded/purchased hardware (f) Carry out transition of data from old to new platform (g) Carry out end user training (h) Carry out IT support training (i) Suggest modification of business processes if required to cater to the operating mode of the new software system (j) Test and certify the migration (k) Publish detailed documentation – technical as well as user manual (l) Establish new support contracts with an authorized support partner of Microsoft (it would be an added advantage if the migration consultant bidding for this project is an authorized support partner of Microsoft as well) (m) The entire project needs to be managed as an integrated Change Management Project. (n) Information Security shall be of prime importance when managing this project. In this context, the consultant winning the deal would be required to sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement in the format provided by our legal advisors. The NDA format shall be made available as an addendum to this RFP for your review and perusal. The time is a major constraint in this project and hence should be planned effectively. The required time for completion of this project is three weeks from the date of work order (including weekends). If you do not see feasibility in completing the project within this period, you may document it in your proposal stating appropriate reasons. The budget is also a constraint but not a limiting factor. You are requested to quote your lowest prices because after opening the bid, there will be only one round of discussions before the contract is awarded. Nevertheless, it is hereby stated that merit & competence will be of more importance to us than prices. Project Requirements: Following are the requirements of this Project which the chosen consultant would need to fulfill. You are most welcome to add to the requirements if you wish to undertake additional deliverables that are useful to the project. You are requested to provide complete details of the new requirements justifying their need. (a) You are requested to ensure that the recommended standard by Microsoft in migration to the existing platforms to Windows Vista and Word 2007 are strictly considered in your bid. (b) You are requested to carry out a study of the existing system and recommend feasibility aspects of the project. In this context, a site feasibility report would be required from the selected consultant. (c) Hardware requirements (Upgradation or New Purchases) – You are requested to assess all existing hardware platforms and suggest Upgradation or New Purchase to achieve compatibility with the new requirements. (d) Licensing requirements (Upgradation or New Purchases) – You are requested to assess all existing software licenses and suggest Upgradation or New Purchase to achieve licensing compliance in the new software environment. (e) Networking requirements (Upgradation or New Purchases) – You are requested to assess our existing networking systems & components and suggest Upgradation or New Purchase to achieve optimal speed & performance of business in the new environment. (f) Project Staffing and Timeline requirements – Based on the target of three weeks, you are requested to present the number of people that would be deployed on this project (stating their role and project organization chart) (g) Training & workshop requirements – You are requested to present the training plans for both the end users and the IT administrators (h) Risk Analysis and Mitigation requirements – You are requested to present Threat analysis, impact analysis and the corresponding risk mitigation strategies pertaining to the project. (i) Security Readiness requirements – You are requested to present the security requirements pertaining to the project including (but not limited to) protection from viruses, trojans, worms, malware, adware, ransomware, access control, role based privileges, etc. (j) Detailed steps of implementation – At the RFP stage you are requested to present broad level steps of implementation. However the same would need to be expanded after the contract is awarded which shall include technical steps, standard operating procedures, process maps, etc. (k) Scalability, Availability, and Reliability – You are requested to present in broad terms how you would take care of these requirements of the project in the span of next two years keeping in mind that the existing user base may be tripled in two years time and the systems need to be 99.95% available with not more than 0.01% of error tolerance. (l) Support Operations – You are requested to present the support methodology that you propose after successful completion of project. (m) System handover plan – You are requested to present your proposed handover plan from consultants to internal IT administrators (n) OEM support plan – You are expected to be the primary interface between Boardman Management Group and Microsoft Corporation and are expected to carry out all required documentation and other procedures to ensure that upgraded software systems are covered by the appropriate OEM support plan by Microsoft. (o) In-house System administration & user support plan – You are requested to agree to document an in-house administration and support documentation post successful implementation of the project. (p) Software License management plan – You are requested to agree to document the methodology to manage software licenses in the long run. (q) Dos and Don’ts in the new environment – You are requested to agree to document dos and don’ts pertaining to the new software environment. (r) Any other – You are most welcome to add any other point that we might have missed in this section of the RFP. Please ensure that the proposal takes into account all the costs pertaining to the requirements mentioned herewith. Any hidden costs would not be acceptable at a later stage if brought to our notice. [Broussard, Frederick W 2007; Woodbury, Ken. 2007] Administration Information: The proposals are invited from the consultants who have successfully completed at least three similar projects pertaining to migration of desktop systems to Windows Vista and Word 2007 in a networked environment. The consultants who are interested to apply for this project may complete all the details mentioned above on their official letter head and continuation sheets. We shall accept scanned copies of Read Only Adobe PDF formats of the proposal and the corresponding hard copies duly signed and sealed. The proposal in PDF format may be sent to mentioning the RFP number and date. In addition, the proposal in hard copy should be mailed to the following address in sealed envelopes: The project board shall compare the details of the PDF format and the hard-copy format. Any discrepancies between the two formats would result in rejection of the proposal after informing you. In such cases, you would be required to resubmit the proposal. Discrepancies found after second submission shall result in disqualification of the bidder. The proposals shall be sent to us maintaining high confidentiality. No details should be discussed with any of our employees except the formal meetings that shall be conducted by Boardman Management Group. For any clarifications about this RFP, please call or send an E-mail at . The proposal format should be the following: (a) Introduction (b) About Your Organization (c) Details of similar projects completed in the past (migration projects to Windows Vista and Word 2007 are essential; No other migrations should be presented herewith) (d) References of your customers pertaining to the projects mentioned above whom we can call to verify your credentials (e) Responses against all our requirements presented above (f) A note on why do you think you are the most appropriate to qualify for this project Following is the schedule of activities: S.No. Event Last date 1 Last date for receiving queries 10 February 2009 2 Pre-Proposal Meeting (Venue and timing would be communicated via E-mail) 13 February 2009 3 Last date for receipt of Proposal 23 February 2009 4 Date for discussions with all parties 25 February 2009 5 Final date for closing the contract 27 February 2009 Following are the criteria for selection: (a) Age of the company in the industry (b) Track record of the company (c) Financial stability of the company (d) No. of Microsoft certified engineers working in the company (e) Past experience in similar projects (as mentioned above) (f) Prices quoted (g) Project timelines Conclusion: In this paper, I have presented a detailed Request for Proposal for the Software Upgradation project of the Boardman Management Group. The RFP has taken care of a number of factors from the perspective of the client business requirements, project requirements & competency requirements of the consultant and the administration aspects of the project. Reference List: Broussard, Frederick W (2007). Best Practices for Windows Vista Planning, Migration, and Ongoing Management. IDC – Analyze the Future. pp1-4. Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab (OWL) (2008), APA Formatting and Style Guide, Retrieved 22 January, 2009, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Woodbury, Ken. (2007). Create a More Manageable PC Fleet with Vista Migration. Altiris Smart Move. Symantec Corporation. pp3-7. End of Document Read More