Finance & HR Department

Supply of Server & Infrastructure Upgrade

Invitation Document

30 th May 2009

Derry City Council

Council Offices

98 Strand Road

Derry

BT48 7NN

Tel: +44 2871 365151

Fax: +44 2871 260359

Email: it@derrycity.gov.uk

Web: www.derrycity.gov.uk

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Table of Contents

Contents 3

Introduction & Scope of Works 4

Instructions to Tenderers 15

Evaluation / Award Criteria 19

Form of Tender 20

Proposed Contract 21

Form of Assurance 22

Collusive Tendering Certificate 23

Declaration of Commitment to

Promoting Equality of Opportunity 24

Fair Employment Declaration 26

Freedom of Information 27

Non Submittal Form 28

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Introduction and Scope of Works

BackgroundDerry City Council is one of Northern Ireland’s largest local authorities. It is a citizen driven organisation, and one which is very much in the public eye – the quality and delivery of service, is always of paramount importance.

The council’s main ICT infrastructure is based at their Headquarters in Strand Road, Derry and the IT team has five staff. In addition to the Strand Road head office, the IT team also support IT systems and users in:

The Guildhall Pennyburn Works Depot Templemore Sports Complex Lisnagelvin Leisure Centre Waterside Community Services and Sports Development Office City of Derry Airport Remote users (smaller offices, councillors etc)

The council provides a wide range of services to the local population and most of this service delivery is supported by our internal IT systems. Currently, Derry City council has 23 server systems, most of which are greater than 5 years old and in urgent need of replacement. These systems are causing problems for users due to speed and space issues and due to the age of the technology, it is proving difficult to support.

We have recently examined our IT infrastructure and have identified the following risks.

1. Current system cannot handle modern council work2. File & Print Server – Limitation on space is a serious risk to the Council as IT has to

delete data on a daily basis. This can be extremely time consuming and at some point could cause council data to be unavailable.

3. Back-up Issues – this is linked to the file and print issues and as the above problem remains, the back-up become more problematic. This can bring potential performance problems as the backup will need to run during the day if it has not finished. This is also a serious risk to the council as this could affect the integrity of the back up and therefore the council’s ability to bring systems back in the event of an IT disaster. In addition there is distributed storage of data. I.e. 3 SQL servers which are all backed up individually

4. MS Exchange – The capacity of the current server has caused problems in the past and has led at times to disruption in the e-mail system. If this service goes down, it will cause serious user problems as it is the main means of communication across the council.

5. Most server hardware is greater than 5 years old. It is now more susceptible to failure, harder to gets part for and more costly to maintain. Many new applications may not be able to run on most of these servers and this may cause problems should the council wish to upgrade any line of business or standard business applications.

6. Network – needs to be reconfigured in accordance with best practice and is necessary for the council to implement a suitable storage and DR solution.

7. Support Issues around Software Licensing. The council uses the following MS software products which are reaching end of support: MS Windows 2000 Server – Operating system and Active Directory MS Exchange 2000 – E - mail

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Ms Office 2000/2002 – day-today business applications.

Derry City Council is seeking a partner to assist the internal IT team with an Infrastructure modernization project that will contribute to the smooth running of the Council’s daily business for the next five years.As well as replacement of the sever hardware Derry City Council are also looking at our Disaster recovery procedures which also need updated and the current hardware and software is not capable of delivering a robust and reliable DR strategy.

Current Network Diagram

RequirementsDerry City Council wish to upgrade the current system to modern hardware and software standards which will enable council to function for the next 5 years. To accomplish this Derry City Council wish to move to a virtualized server environment with a SAN and backup system to ensure high availability and to consolidate disaster recovery and business continuity for Council operations.

In approximately two years, the process of consolidation of local councils recommended by the Review of Public Administration (RPA) is expected to start, and this should be taken into consideration where possible, when specifying a solution.

With future development in mind the Council would envisage the solution would involve a virtualised environment utilizing a Storage Area Network. To facilitate Disaster Recovery, it is anticipated that some of the newer servers will be re-utilised and in conjunction with snapshots, replication and CommVault software will provide fail-over disaster recovery services. If possible the Disaster Recovery service should provide Derry City Council with the option of operating from two locations.

The following points are classified as detailed below

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(MR) – Mandatory Requirement – the proposed solution must meet this requirement (D) – Desirable – this requirement is not mandatory but preference may be given to

solutions meeting this requirement

(I) – Information – point is included for information only

For each requirement the supplier should indicate how their solution meets the requirement rather than simply answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Solutions not able to deliver Mandatory Requirements will not be considered.

Current Configuration (I)The server farm consists of:

File and Print Server Primary Domain Controller Secondary Domain Controller MS Exchange Mail Server (Archiving Solution required) Blackberry Enterprise Server Digital Pen Server SQL 2000 Server IIS Server (with SQL 2000 Processor Licence) 5 x Citrix Presentation Server 4 Servers 2 x Citrix Metaframe 1.8 Servers RADIUS 2000 Server Microcache Server Financial Server TRIM Context Document Management Server CommVault Backup Server MS ISA Server with SurfControl/Websence Web Filtering SurfControl/Websence Email Filtering Server Building Control Server 2 x Buffalo NAS

The servers are standalone. The File and Print services run on a Windows 2000 Server. The Primary Domain Controller runs Active Directory 2000, DNS and DHCP on a Windows 2000 Server. The Secondary Domain Controller acts as a backup for the Primary Domain Controller. The MS Exchange Mail Server also operates on Windows 2000 Server and is currently running MS Exchange 2000 Enterprise, however it is envisaged migrating this to MS Exchange 2007 Enterprise during the upgrade. It is also requested that an archiving and retrieval solution will be included in this tendering exercise. The SQL 2000, Citrix, RADIUS, Financial and ISA Servers are also running on a Windows 2000 Server platform. The Email Filtering Server is running on a Windows Server 2007 platform and the Microcache Server is running Windows NT Server. It is envisaged that these will be migrated to Windows 2007 Server, in a virtualised environment where applicable. Any redundant servers should also be considered for reuse as part of a Disaster Recovery facility.

Disk Space Utilisation (I)

File & Print ~ 370GB Primary Domain Controller ~ 66GB

Secondary Domain Controller ~ 66GB

MS Exchange Mail Server ~ 168GB

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Blackberry Enterprise Server ~ 135GB

Digital Pen Server ~ 60GB

SQL 2000 Server ~ 500GB

IIS Server ~ 205GB

Citrix Servers ~ 70GB x 5

RADIUS Server ~ 10GB

Microcache Server ~ 35GB

Financial Server ~ 62GB

TRIM Context Server ~444GB

Commvault Backup Server ~1.70TB

Email Filtering Server ~ 60GB

Web Filtering Server ~ 60GB

Building Control Server ~135GB

2 x Buffalo NAS ~500GB (each)

General Requirements To remove the business risks of the current IT infrastructure (MR) To create a new Virtualised and Consolidated Server Infrastructure which will help

reduce the Server footprint within the Derry City Council server room and thus reduce the cost of power and cooling as well as the administrative overhead. (MR)

Environmental requirements including rack space needed, power requirements and air conditioning requirements and the number of network points required must be supplied along with any other details the supplier feels are relevant (MR)

The Council has an existing standalone UPS (MGE UPS Systems Galaxy 3000, installed February 2007) providing coverage for the main Computer Room, which it would intend to reuse for the new solution. Suppliers should advise if this is acceptable and include alternatives if not. (MR)

Where relevant, component level redundancy i.e. redundant NICs, PSU, etc should be included. Suppliers to detail what redundancy components have been included (MR)

The council requires software to monitor and manage server hardware. Any software supplied should be capable of monitoring the other server hardware already in place and all new hardware should be compatible with this system (MR)

Suppliers should also include details of expandability of proposed solutions, particularly storage. (D)

The proposed solution should be capable of allowing the deployment of additional servers running a range of operating systems and applications without the need for additional hardware. (D)

Ability to move live servers from one hardware box to another in real time with no disruption to users. (MR)

Virtual copies of all servers even if they are not a virtual server for DR purposes – if possible this should permit splitting the server farm over two other locations for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity. (MR)

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All servers should offer a level of high availability similar to or exceeding that offered by Microsoft Clustering (MR)

All relevant components of solution must be rack mountable in an industry standard 19” rack (MR)

Centralized storage of all data. This includes all data on the file and print server, SQL server, NAS devices and exchange data. This system must include archiving and retrieval for static data held on both Exchange and the main file store and must also be able to be increased for future proofing. De-duplication of data during transfer and on subsequent data storage is essential. (MR)

Archiving solution must enable conformance with all existing and proposed UK legislative requirements in terms of archiving and retrieval (MR)

Ability to demonstrate that retrieved material has not been altered (D) Suppliers should provide details of any additional software which is required and / or

recommended for the proposed new solution along with prices for such (MR) Configuration of CommVault backup system to cope with all current data and future

proofed for future expansion. (MR) Assistance in reviewing Disaster Recovery procedures and identification of any

required changes. Identification of any other hardware/software required for smooth operation of

Council systems. (MR)

Virtualisation Implementation of a virtual server environment to enable the reduction of servers.

(MR) Supplier should provide a comparison table of facilities available on proposed virtual

server environment and industry standard systems (I) All servers have the capability of being moved in real-time from one hardware box to

another. This will include any server that Derry City Council deem too important to virtualize fully and wish to run on an independent server, such as the payroll server. (MR)

Suppliers must provide details of the tools to be included for managing the virtual and physical environment. They should also include detailed features of the tools and how they can be used to optimise and allocate resources across the proposed infrastructure. (MR)

Derry City Council has appropriate Microsoft licensing agreements in place and will not require the partner to supply this software. The Council has FAST accreditation and wish to ensure that we are compliant for software licensing. We will therefore expect that the proposal will recommend the correct MS licensing for a virtual environment. (MR)

Although the Council will supply the licenses for Microsoft Server OS licenses etc, the supplier will be required to include costs for the building of servers to include installing the OS. (MR)

Suppliers should provide details and costs of additional software which is required to permit the migration of any existing server to a virtual server and the migration of a virtual server to a physical server (MR)

Storage The proposed solution must include a SAN solution which can also be managed as

part of the virtual environment. This SAN must be capable of meeting Derry City Council’s current and future needs. It is anticipated that the SAN will require usable data storage of at least four times that currently available but this should be expandable. This will handle the current data and allow for some future expansion. The proposal should also include details of the scalability features of the proposed SAN to include maximum capacity, type and size of disk that can be used and connectivity options. (MR)

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Supplier should state the details on solution resilience. The proposal should include detail on features for redundancy and high availability. This should also include details on how the system would deliver no data loss in the event of hardware failure. (MR)

The Solution should be able to automatically redistribute data across all disks in a group following the addition of disk capacity. The proposal should also demonstrate how the solution will allow- increased reliability and performance through the virtualisation of spare capacity

across all disks in a group (MR)- simplicity of operation and storage provisioning (MR)

Please also note that the solution should be designed to facilitate Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity. To facilitate Disaster Recovery, it is anticipated that some of the newer servers will be re-utilised and in conjunction with snapshots, replication and CommVault software will provide fall-over disaster recovery services. (MR)

If possible the Disaster Recovery service should provide Derry City Council with the option of operating from two locations. (D)

Suppliers should include an on-site test of disaster recovery within 6 weeks of system go live with an additional annual test included in the support cost. (MR)

Backup SolutionDerry City council currently uses CommVault for backup and as this is a product that we are technically comfortable with we wish to continue using a CommVault solution as part of this strategy. The CommVault requirements are:

Suppliers should detail any additional backup agents which would normally be required for their proposed solution i.e. a file system agent, a SQL agent, etc. Costs should be supplied for the relevant agents and their installation. (MR)

Suppliers should detail any additional hardware which would normally be required for their proposed solution together i.e. additional hard disks, SAN, etc. Costs should be supplied for the supply, installation and configuration. (MR)

Suppliers should include an on-site test of backup and retrieval from all media as part of a disaster recovery test within 6 weeks of system go live with an additional annual test included in the support cost. (MR)

Single set of policies & schedules to control backup & archive tasks (MR) Single GUI to manage backup & archive functions (MR) Single storage target (tape & Disk) for backup & archive data (MR) Integrated block level de-duplication for backup & archive data (MR) A Single index footprint for both backup & archive data (MR) Content searching (End user & compliance search) of both backup & archive data Full ILM capability for archive data allowing archive data as it ages to move from

secondary storage disk tiers to optical/tape storage tiers (MR) Ability to maintain de-duplicated footprint on tape as well as disk (MR) Archive individual email folders & filter on attachment types (MR) Selective content indexing on specific mailboxes & age the index data separate to

the archive / backup data (MR) Encrypt archive data selectively based on specific policies or data selections (MR) Remove archive data from a nightly backup routine by generating DR copies of the

archive to tape negating the need for the current backup solution to be involved with the backup or recovery of the archive solution. (MR)

Reduce the production storage footprint through the archive of stale data by up to 80%, replacing this data with a stub or shortcut files. In addition, ensure that secondary storage is also reduced through compression, de-duplication etc and should be no more than 70% of the original production data footprint. (MR)

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Implementation and Software upgrade Services We intend to centrally store all data on a SAN and will therefore require a partner to

migrate all data to the new SAN (MR) Implementation of the entire solution by accredited engineers etc (MR) Responses must include details of their proposed approach to the implementation

including the migration of the servers. This should include timescales and the resources required for the project. (MR)

Disruption to the daily workings of the Council should be kept to a minimum and suppliers should state how they will achieve this. In addition, Suppliers should make a statement as to the likelihood of any required downtime, the availability of out of hours services and the business impact of any expected downtime required during working hours. (MR)

Training in the form of skills transfer throughout all stages of the project will be required and any costs associated with this should be included in the cost. Proposals should also include details of any training availability (including cost and location) which is available for the software management tools for the solution. (MR)

The proposal should include details on the resource requirements and costs for the upgrade of Derry City Council domain from active directory 2000 to 2008 (This will involve the migration of approximately 400 Active Directory accounts)(MR)

The proposal should include details on the resource requirements and costs for the upgrade Exchange 2000 to Exchange 2007 (Approximately 400 Mailboxes)(MR)

The proposal should include details on the resource requirements and costs for the implementation of archived storage for Exchange and main filestore. (MR)

The proposal should include details on the resource requirements and costs for the upgrade of Office 2000 to Office 2007. (Approximately 400 users)(MR)

All Microsoft Licenses will be purchased by Derry City Council under an existing agreement. (I)

The proposal should include a project plan and schedule which details all aspects of the implementation of the solution. This should clearly state the methodology, timescales, and resource requirements. The implementation plan will need to be agreed by council before the project begins. (MR)

Support Pricing should be provided for supporting the solution for three and five years, with a

four hour response on all hardware elements of the solution. (MR) The staff involved in supporting this solution should be fully accredited and located in

Northern Ireland. (MR) Proposals should include the CVs of the engineers who will implement and support

all elements of this solution. (MR) For software support, the suppliers should detail the arrangements for telephone

support and how they will address any requirements for on-site support if required (MR)

Suppliers should include details about how the support function is managed and escalation paths that may be used if necessary. (MR)

Suppliers should include an on-site test of backup and retrieval from all media as part of a disaster recovery failover test within 6 weeks of system go live with an additional annual test included in the support cost. (MR)

Other Requirements Suppliers should include details of support options available including costs. The

Council require a four-hour response with a guaranteed eight-hour fix. (MR) The supplier must have a proven track record with virtualised server environments,

preferably in a local government environment. (MR) Suppliers should give details of the anticipated delivery timescale for the project.

(MR)

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Where applicable the supplier should give details of any parts of their proposed solution which had the potential to reduce the complexity of integration with other council’s IT systems during the RPA driven consolidation process over the next few years. (D)

Suppliers must provide reference sites for the relevant technologies in their proposed solution. Particularly they must provide evidence of relevant experience of

Server to server migration (MR) Citrix migration and upgrade to include any recommended changes to existing

configurations to support changes implemented as part of the upgrade. (MR) MS Exchange migration (MR) Any other new hardware or software proposed (MR) Suppliers should indicate what support they will require from the Council or the

relevant third party supplier (preferably including an estimate of man hours) to facilitate a safe migration process. The same details should be provided for any other server as appropriate. (MR)

Consultancy Requirements Suppliers should include costs for the implementation of the new equipment,

migration of the existing systems to the new solution and relevant handover training and documentation. (MR)

Suppliers should provide a high-level project plan detailing the implementation and migration process. (MR)

Suppliers should provide indications of the amount of anticipated downtime and indicate if this work can be done outside normal council business hours. As the Council’s back office has to support the operation of a number of leisure centres, ‘out of hours’ is defined as

22:00 to 07:00 Monday to Saturday 18:00 Sunday to 07:00 Monday (MR)

Added Value Benefits Suppliers should also identify any features or benefits that are not detailed as a

central requirement to the project as stated above, but which add value to the solution. These features should be identified in a separate section entitled “Added Value Features”. (MR)

Each added value feature should clearly list the benefits it gives to the solution and should also include any additional costs. (MR)

Network Hardware The council has recently upgraded its Cisco network and would wish to ensure that we achieve high availability, scalability & maximize the full potential of the purchased technology. (I)

Network Information Strand Road.(I)The network is broken up into 4 cabinets. 2 Cabinets on each side of the building covering the floor that the cabinet is on and the one above. The cabinets are connected via a fibre backbone (4 core).Cabinet 1 IT Department1 Cisco Catalyst 3500 XL switch with only gbit connections - IOS Ver 122 Cisco Catalyst 3500 XL switch with 48 ports (Servers connected to these) -Connected by GBIC module to main switch IOS Ver 121 Cisco 3600 Router. Used for dial in and some other routing.1 Cisco 2600. Main router for WAN connections and Internet.1 Cisco ASA 5510 Firewall1 Nortel baystack powered Switch.

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Cabinet 2 Facilities Coordinator’s office2 Cisco Catalyst 3500 XL switch with 48 ports - Connected by GBIC module to Fibre IOS Ver 12Cabinet 3 City Engineers Drawing office2 Cisco Catalyst 3500 XL switch with 48 ports - Connected by GBIC module to Fibre IOS Ver 12Cabinet 4 Building Control.2 Cisco Catalyst 3500 XL switch with 48 ports - Connected by GBIC module to Fibre IOS Ver 12

The existing switch does not have enough ports to facilitate this requirement and therefore the proposal should include pricing for a Cisco 3750g 24-port Switch. Using existing Cisco Stackwise technology the new switch will be uplinked to the current switch and both will need to be configured as one logical switch. (MR)

Costs should include all services required to commission and install the equipment on the network. (MR)

Line of Sight Networking

Three of the main council locations, Council Offices, 98 Strand Road, the Guildhall and Harbour Museum, Harbour Square are in line of sight. (I) Options/proposals should be given for providing voice and data communications

links between these buildings. Laser, wireless, microwave or other solutions will be considered. (MR)

The supplier should indicate any security measures and bad weather considerations which have been incorporated in their proposal. (MR)

Details should be given of all equipment required for required for operating this link and providing the capability for voice and data traffic, including any additional Cisco switches (MR)

Proposals should indicate the projected bandwidth available using the equipment. (MR)

Costs should include all hardware, installation and commissioning and any associated services (MR)

Replacement of old servers

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The preferred solution is blade servers installed in a blade enclosure. This solution will allow us to free up valuable space, reduce costs and reduce server admin requirements. (MR)

Management of all blade servers in the enclosure by one management tool. Technical details and a description of the capabilities of the management software proposed must be provided. (MR)

The proposed management tool should also be capable of managing existing physical servers. (D)

The blade enclosure should have an on-board, real-time, graphical administration of the server and switching environment (D)

The blade enclosure should incorporate an appropriate Cisco compatible switch to improve communication speeds between servers (D)

Chassis should accommodate full and half height blades and a full range of blade servers should be available, as we will require different server specifications depending on applications etc. (MR)

Suppliers are required to ascertain the number of servers and their applications which will not be suitable for virtualisation as well as identifying the optimum specification of blades and virtual servers. Suppliers will be permitted a month to evaluate the existing systems to assist in their preparation of a response to these requirements. The cost of this exercise is not attributable to Derry City Council. Please note that as we would hope to retain some of the fresher existing servers, the Council reserves the right to procure fewer servers for this project; however we also may require more servers to be procured as part of this procurement exercise if it is necessary for the success of the project. (MR)

Any proposed solution should include the tools to allow staff to easily move servers from physical to physical and physical to virtual. (MR)

Detailed technical specifications for the servers proposed must also be included in the response to this requirement. (MR)

Auditing/Inventory SoftwareDerry City Council has a requirement for software capable of automatically scanning networked PCs and laptops and gather information relating to the software installed and the hardware configuration of the machines. The network inventory and discovery tool is required to assist Derry City Council ICT staff in change reporting for hardware and software as well as delivering the software license usage information required for FAST Certification. Derry City Council has attained FAST Silver certification and a prerequisite for Gold certification is an automated tool for collecting the information required. Clientless operation is the preferred solution to ensure that all machines on the network are discovered and reported on and to preclude the necessity of physically deploying agent or client software to each machine.

Audit information Any solution specified must be FAST certified and it is essential that the auditing software be able to perform two tasks in relation to installed software

Discover all software resident on all computer systems across all platforms The software will need to discover all resident software on the system. It is unlikely that this can be achieved from a registry extract/snap shot alone as the registry is a component of the windows operating system only and not all software platforms will utilise this. (MR)

Attempt to identify all of the discovered software (MR). Once software files have been discovered they need to be identified. The minimum being,

Software publisherSoftware nameSoftware versionTotal number of copies of each application installed

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It is understood that tools will identify using differing methods with differing degrees of success. It is expected that the auditing tool will identify component parts/programs of software packages and be capable of reporting at a summary level the software package identified and not the component program files (e.g. vtidisc.exe is a component of Frontpage 2000 which is part of Office 2000 Premium). The number of unidentified files should be minimal but must be reported. A facility should also be available to classify the unidentified files for future reports. (MR)

Inventory information Identification information - Domain name, ID Number, UUID, MAC number, serial

number (if recorded on the BIOS) and User Name for every machine on the domain (MR)

Key Property summary - Manufacturer, Model, Operating system, Version, Service Pack, Processor, Memory size, Disk drive size for every PC/server on the domain (MR)

Resources used - printers and shares connected to each machine (MR) The ability to detect and record details of other network connected devices such

as switches, photocopiers and network printers (D)

Reporting In addition to normal reporting, the software should be capable of generating reports

of all changes in defined machine properties (software installed, hardware configuration, etc) since a previously defined status. This feature will permit ICT Staff to highlight changes that might otherwise be missed in the overall data as well as assisting in the process of identifying any hardware and software upgrades required. The ability to return the name of the currently logged on user on some reports would be desirable.

Costs for implementation, configuration and any ongoing annual maintenance charges for years 2 – 5 should also be provided and itemised separately.

Reference Sites

Please supply details of similar installations in which you have been involved: (MR)

Reference Site 1:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Reference Site 2:

_______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Reference Site 3:

________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________

Proposed TimetablePlease outline your proposed timetable for the project, taking into account ordering and delivery of hardware and software: (MR)

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Instructions to Tenderers1. Invitation To Tender

1.1 Derry City Council principally invites detailed and costed proposals for Tender brief defined in Introduction & Scope of Works. Please ensure your submission includes all details as per section 19 of Instructions to Tenderers

2 Explanation of Documents / queries during the tender period / registration of intent to tender

2.1 It is the responsibility of prospective facility/service providers (hereafter referred to as ‘tenderers’) or parties submitting ‘expressions of interest’ to obtain for themselves at their own expense any additional information ‘tenders’) or ‘expressions of interest’.

2.2 Tenderers are advised to ensure that they are fully familiar with the nature and extent of the obligations to be accepted by them if their tender is accepted, including the Council’s Standing Orders, a copy of which may be seen by arrangement.

2.3 Should any tenderer be in doubt as to the interpretation of any part of the contract documents, the ICT Manager shall endeavour to answer written enquiries. All queries must be submitted in writing to arrive with the ICT Manager not later than 5 weeks before the date of return of tenders, i.e., 24th July 2009, by post, fax or email to: ICT Section, Derry City Council, Council Offices, 98 Strand Road, Derry, Northern Ireland, BT48 7NN.Fax No: +44 28 71260359Email – it@derrycity.gov.uk

2.4 All copies of written queries received, together with written replies will be sent to all tenderers not later than two weeks before the date of return of tenders. All responses will also be posted on the Councils website as detailed below: - http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Tenders/index.htm

2.5 In order to ensure receipt of written replies, all prospective tenderers are therefore requested to register their intent to tender in writing to the ICT Manager by post, fax or email as noted in Clause 2.3 above, not later than three weeks before the date of return of tenders, including full contact details and indicating tender will be submitted.

2.6 No representation, explanation, or statement made to a tenderer, or anyone else, by or on behalf of the Council, as to the meaning of any of the tender documents, or otherwise in clarification as aforesaid, shall bind the Council in exercise of its powers and duties under any subsequent Contract(s).

3 Accuracy Of Tender

Tenders must be submitted for the supply of all the services specified in the Form of Tender. Tenders submitted for part of the services only will be rejected. Tenderers must price separately for all items listed in the Form of Tender. The Council may reject any tender that is not priced separately.

4 Information to be provided

Tenderers should provide a brief description of the overall organisation of their company. Tenderers must also include subcontracting information in this section if subcontractors will be engaged. Subcontractors must be named and their roles in the project briefly described.Tenderers should provide this general background information:

o Company Addresso Contact person (s)o Year established and company background

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o Account experienceo Number of customers currently being servicedo Comprehensive list of available services o Provide any additional background information

Tenderers must complete and return all relevant tender/pricing, assurance and declaration forms etc.

5 Submission of Tender Documents (and/or Additional Proposals and Expressions of Interest)

5.1 The tender(s) shall be made on the Form of Tender(s) provided, and signed by the Tenderer. All Contract Documents, together with these Instructions and completed Form of Tender(s) should be forwarded, by registered post or delivered by hand and a receipt obtained to:

Tender for Server Infrastructure UpgradeMrs V Watts, Town Clerk and Chief Executive, 98 Strand Road, Derry BT48 7NN, so as to arrive not later than 12.00 noon on 28th August 2009

Please provide 3 copies of your tender submission. These copies will enable your submission to be reviewed by tender panel

No UNAUTHORISED alteration or addition should be made to the Tender Form(s), or to any other of the Contract Documents. IF ANY SUCH ALTERATION OR ADDITION IS MADE OR IF THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT FULLY COMPLIED WITH THE TENDER MAY BE REJECTED.

5.2 All documents requiring a signature shall be signed.(a) Where the Tenderer is an individual, by that individual(b) Where the Tenderer is a partnership by the two duly authorised

partners.(c) Where the Tenderer is a company by two directors or by a director and

the secretary of the company, such persons being duly authorised for that purpose.

5.3 Tenders shall be submitted strictly in accordance with the tender documents.

5.4 No alteration to the text of any of the Tender Documents will be permitted, and if any are made, the tender may be rejected. Failure to complete any part of the documents may also incur rejection of the tender.

5.5 Tenderers must ensure that all requested documentation is returned with the completed tender.

5.6 No name or mark, including any franking machine slogan, is to be placed on the envelope to indicate in any way the identity of the sender.

5.7 Tenderers or any representatives thereof will not be permitted to be present when the tenders are opened.

5.8 All prices should be quoted in pounds sterling and shall be exclusive of VAT.

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6 The Basis of the Tender

The rates quoted in the form of tender section shall remain fixed for the duration of this contract.

7 Period of Acceptance

The Tenderer is required to hold his tender open for acceptance for a period of 120 days from the closing date for the submission of tenders.

8 Evaluation of Tender

8.1 Evaluation/Award Criteria are outlined in next section.

8.2 Derry City Council is not required to accept the lowest or any tender and may wish to award the contract as a whole or individual aspects depending on the strength of the successful team.

9 Contract Documents take Precedence

The information given in these Instructions for Tenderers is given in good faith for the guidance of Tenderers, but if there is any conflict, the Conditions of Contract, Specifications, and the Pricing Documents / Form of Tender shall take precedence over these Instructions.

10 Pre-Selection Interviews / Presentations

Tenderers are put on notice that they may be required to attend the Council Offices, 98 Strand Road, Derry, for procedural and technical presentations and/or interviews during the process of tender evaluation at no charge to Council.

11 Contract Commencement Date

It is envisage that this contract will commence in October/November 2009

12 Questions

All questions, requests or other communications regarding this tender must be made in writing to it@derrycity.gov.uk

13 Late Submissions

Tenders submitted after the closing date will not be accepted.

14 Expenses and Losses

The Council shall not be responsible for, or pay for, any expenses or losses that may be incurred by any tenderer in preparing their tender proposals.

15 Preparation of Tender

It is the responsibility of prospective tenderers to obtain for themselves, at their own expense, any additional information necessary for the preparation of their tenders.

16 Confidentiality

All information supplied by the Council in connection with this invitation to tender shall be treated as confidential by prospective tenderers, except that such

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information may be disclosed so far as is necessary for the purpose of obtaining sureties, guarantees and quotations necessary for the preparation and submission of the tender.

17 Ownership of Tender Documents

These documents are, and shall remain, the property of the Council and shall be returned with the tender. If no tender is to be submitted, the documents shall be returned pursuant to the Council’s Invitation to Tender.

18 Insurances

The Supplier shall effect and maintain insurance necessary to cover their liabilities under this Contract.

19 Format of Tenders

Those interested in tendering for this project should submit a tender document comprising of:o Form of Tendero Evidence of experience including references of track record of similar type

projectso Company details as per section 4 of Instructions to Tendererso Form of Assuranceo Collusive Tendering Certificateo Declaration of Commitment to the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity & Good

Relationso Fair Employment declarationo Copies of Insurances: Public/Products Liability, Employers Liability etc o Any additional information to support your tender submission

20 Offer and Acceptance of Contract

20.1 Prior to the expiry of the tender validity period as defined in Clause 7 Derry City Council will send to the successful tenderer a letter of provisional acceptance of tender. This letter will make clear that the execution of the contract will be subject to a minimum mandatory standstill period of 10 calendar days, from the day after the date of letter of provisional acceptance.

20.2 At the same time, Derry City Council will notify each unsuccessful tenderer.20.3 At the end of the standstill period, unless Derry City Council notifies the

successful tenderer that there has been judicial interruption in the form of an order by the court of competent jurisdiction that the execution an/or implementation of the contract should be suspended pending a full hearing of the matter by a court of competent jurisdiction, Derry City Council will execute the contract documentation.

20.4 If judicial interruption takes place Derry City Council will execute the contract documentation only following the conclusion of the Court proceedings (including any appeals) in favour of Derry City Council. If the Court proceedings are concluded against Derry City Council, no contract shall be entered into or executed.

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Evaluation / Award Criteria

Submitted quotations will be evaluated against the following Criteria Ability to Deliver Mandatory Requirements Company/proposed team expertise including; 10%

a. Financial Statusb. Management Capabilityc. Technical capacityd. Experience of service deliverye. References

Previous experience of similar projects; 20% Proposed approach (methodology) to the assignment; 35% Value for money - including 35%

a. Installation & Commissioningb. Trainingc. Annual Maintenance/Service charges

Compliance a. Health & Safety Legislationb. Equal Opportunities and Good Relationsc. Insurance

Contract award will be based on most economically advantageous cost to Derry City Council.

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Form of Tender

Server Infrastructure Upgrade Tender

To: Derry City Council, Council Offices, 98 Strand Road, Derry BT48 7NN

Members:Having examined all documentation bound in this Invitation Document as listed in the Table of Contents. I/we undertake to provide the above-mentioned services in conformity with this tender for the following prices: -

Item Cost Back up InformationGeneral RequirementsVirtualisationStorageBackup SolutionImplementation and Software Upgrade SolutionSupportOther RequirementsConsultancy RequirementsAdded Value BenefitsNetwork HardwareLine of Sight NetworkingReplacement of old ServersAuditing/Inventory Software

I/we agree that all prices will be fixed for the term of this contract.I/we understand that you are not bound to accept the lowest or any tender.

Signed: ………………………………………………………………………………..

For or on Behalf of: ………………………………………………………………….

Address: ……………………………………………………………………………….

Position in Company: ……………………..……… Date: ………………………...

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Proposed Contract

Copy of proposed contract to be included

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Form of Assurance

Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978

The Contractor’s attention is drawn to the provision of the above Order, which became law on 1 May 1979, and in particular to Clause 4 of the Order “General Duties of Employers to their Employees”.I undertake in the event of my tender being accepted to carryout these works with due regard to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and all attendant Regulations made there under.Site staff shall be adequately trained, instructed and supervised to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the Health and Safety of all persons who may be affected by the works under this Contract.All plant, equipment and vehicles for use under this Contract shall, where statutorily required, be tested and examinations will be submitted to the city Engineer before any item of plant is brought into use under the Contract.Before commencing work I will prepare a written policy on the Health and Safety of any employee engaged in this work together with written organisational arrangements for carrying out the policy, including particular arrangements for the health and safety of employees required to enter manholes and culverts.

Signed: ___________________________________________________________

On behalf of: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Date: _____________________________________________________________

(signed copy to be returned with Tender Submission)

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Collusive Tendering Certificate

We certify that this is a bona fide tender and that we have not fixed or adjusted the amount of the tender by or under or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person. We also certify that we have not done and we undertake that we will not do at any time before the hour and date specified for the return of this tender, any of the following acts:

1. Communicating to a person other than the person calling for those tenders, the amount or approximate amount of the proposed tender, except where the disclosure, in confidence, of the approximate amount of the tender was necessary to obtain insurance premium quotations required for the preparation of tender.

2. Entering into any agreement or arrangement with any other person that he shall refrain from tendering or as to the amount of any tender to be submitted.

3. Offering or paying or giving or agreeing to pay or give any sum of money or valuable consideration, directly or indirectly to any person for doing or having done or causing or having caused to be done, in relation to any other tender or proposed tender for the said work, any act or thing of the sort described above.

In this certificate the word “person” included any persons and anybody or association, corporation or unincorporated and “any agreement or arrangement” included any such transaction, formal or informal and whether legally binding or not.

Signed: ___________________________________________________________

On behalf of: ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Date: _____________________

(signed copy to be returned with Tender Submission)

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Declaration of Commitment to Promoting Equality of Opportunity and Good Relations

1. Preamble

1.1 Under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 Derry City Council must have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity:

Between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;

Between men and women generally; Between persons with a disability and persons without; Between persons with dependants and persons without.

1.2 In addition the Council must also have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

1.3 The Council is committed to fulfilling these obligations and is keen to not only to ensure that suppliers of goods and services, contractors undertaking work on behalf of the Council, and groups who receive support from the Council do not act in any way that would contravene the Council’s statutory equality duties but also that they help promote equality of opportunity and good relations within their own area of work and organisation.

1.4 It is therefore a condition of any offer of grant aid / support or contract for goods or services that the Chief Executive, Managing Director or other authorised person signs, on behalf of their organisation, the declaration below. This declaration will confirm that the organisation is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and good relations and will not act in any way that will undermine the Council’s commitment to fulfil its statutory obligations.

1.5 The Council will not enter into any contract or provide support / grant aid to any organisation which does not sign the Declaration of Commitment to the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Good Relations.

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Declaration of Commitment to the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Good Relations

We (insert name of organisation): ___________________________________

Recognise Derry City Council’s duty to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity:

Between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age marital status or sexual orientation;

Between men and women generally; Between persons with a disability and persons without Between persons with dependants and persons without,

and to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

We undertake not to act in any way that would contravene the Council’s statutory obligations and are committed to promoting good relations and equality of opportunity in all our activities (including in the recruitment, promotion and training of all our staff).

Signed by:

______________________________ _____________________________Signature Name in block letters

Position in Organisation: ________________________________________

Date: _________________________________________________________

On behalf of: __________________________________________________ (name of organisation)

Address: ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

(signed copy to be returned with Tender Submission)

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Fair Employment Declaration

Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

1. Article 64 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 (“the Order”) provided inter alia that a public authority shall not accept an offer to execute any work or supply any goods or services where the offer is made by an unqualified person in response to an invitation by the public authority to submit offers. Article 64 also provides that the public authority shall take all such steps as are reasonable to secure that no work is executed or goods or services supplied for the purposes of such contracts as are mentioned above by an unqualified person.

2. An unqualified person is either an employer who, having been in default if the circumstances specified in Article 62(1) of the Order, has been served with a notice by the Fair Employment Commission stating that he is not qualified for the purposes of Articles 64-66 of the Order or an employer who, by reason of connection with an employer on whom has been served a notice to that effect, has also been served with such a notice.

3. Mindful of its obligations under the Order, DERRY CITY COUNCIL has decided that it shall be a condition of tendering that a contractor shall not be an unqualified person for the purposes of Articles 64-66 of the Order.

4. Contractors are, therefore, asked to complete and return the attached Declaration/Undertaking, with their quotation/tender, to confirm that they are not unqualified persons and to undertake that no work shall be executed or goods or services supplied by an unqualified person for the purposes of any contract with a Council to which Article 64 of the Order applies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I/We ______________________________________ hereby declare that I am/we are not an unqualified person for the purposes of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. I/We undertake that no work shall be executed or good or services supplied by any unqualified person for the purposes of any contract with the DERRY CITY COUNCIL to which Section 64 of the Order applies.

Signed by: _______________________________________________

Duly authorised to sign _______________________________________________for and on behalf of:

Dated: ________________________________________________(signed copy to be returned with Tender Submission)

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Freedom Of Information

Derry City Council is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Should any tenderer consider that any of the information supplied by them is either commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, this should be highlighted and the reasons for its sensitivity specified. In such cases, the relevant material will, in response to FOI requests, be examined in light of the exemptions provided for in the FOI Act.

Tenderers should be aware that the information provided in the completed tender and contractual documents could be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act. No information provided by Tenderers will be accepted “in confidence” and Derry City Council accepts no liability for loss as a result of any information disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Derry City Council has no discretion whether or not to disclose information in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, unless an exemption applies. Disclosure decisions will be taken by appropriate individuals in Derry City Council having due regard to the exemptions available and the Public Interest. Tenderers are required to highlight information that they include in the tender documents, which they consider to be commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, and should state the precise reasons, why that view is taken. In particular, issues concerning trade secrets and commercial sensitivity should be highlighted. Tenderers are advised against recording unnecessary information.

In accordance with the Lord Chancellors code of Practice on the discharge of public functions, Derry City Council will not accept any contractual term that purports to restrict the disclosure of information held by the Council in respect of the contract or tender exercise save as permitted by the Freedom of Information Act. The decision whether to disclose information rests solely with Derry City Council.

Derry City Council will consult with tenderers, where it is considered appropriate, in relation to the release of controversial information. Tenderers will be notified by the council of any disclosure of information relating to them.

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Non-Submittal of Tender Form

FAO: Derry City Council Tender Review, Council Offices, 98 Strand Road, Derry BT48 7NN

Fax No:

Tender: Server Infrastructure Upgrade

Supplier:

Our company is unable return a tender submission for this project for the following reason:

Unable to submit price in timescale Unable to complete work within required programme Other (please specify below)

Signed: _________________________________

For or on Behalf of: _________________________________

Address: _________________________________

_________________________________

Position in Company: _________________________________

Date: _________________________________

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