1
2
3
4
Data Centre as a
Service Project
Sourcing Approach
5
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 1 of 12
8
9
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 2
10
Data Centre as a Service (DCaaS) Project ............................................................................................... 3
11
Service Catalogue .................................................................................................................................... 4
12
Timeframes ............................................................................................................................................. 5
13
Types of Services available on the MUL.................................................................................................. 5
14
Establishing the MUL .............................................................................................................................. 6
15
MUL features .......................................................................................................................................... 6
16
MUL Questions........................................................................................................................................ 7
17
Agency Questions ................................................................................................................................... 9
18
Work Order Questions ............................................................................................................................ 9
19
Service Questions.................................................................................................................................. 10
20
Definitions ............................................................................................................................................. 11
21
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 2 of 12
22
Data Centre as a Service (DCaaS) Project
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
Objectives
33
Benefits of this approach
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
1. The objective of the DCaaS project is to establish a method of supplying ICT services to the
smaller 50 per cent of Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA) agencies.
The services may also interest larger agencies, Australian state and territory governments
and other Commonwealth bodies. Whilst the services available under the Multi-use list
(MUL) are Data Centre based, a cloud delivery/computing model is not essential. This project
is intended to contribute to the Australian Government Data Centre Strategy 2010-25 (the
Strategy)’s outcome of avoiding $1 billion in costs. DCaaS will enable streamlined
procurement of ICT services, reducing agency procurement overheads and reducing the
costs of the procured services.
2. The MUL’s services, comprising cloud and cloud-like computing services, provide agencies
with a low-risk opportunity to become comfortable with using new services and service
delivery models. Using these services will provide agencies with valuable experience with
security, legal, management, compliance and auditing issues. The benefits of the MUL
approach include:
a. Efficiency of procurement;
b. Flexibility;
c. Agility;
d. Balanced risk;
e. Pre-qualification;
f. Ease of comparison; and
g. Mechanism for lodging requests for ‘wanted services’ not yet listed.
Exclusions
3. The MUL will not include services that are mandatory for FMA agencies to procure through
whole-of-government ICT coordinated procurement arrangements. Including:
a. The Data Centre Facilities Panel.
b. The Data Centre Migration Services Panel.
c. The Microsoft Volume Sourcing Arrangement (VSA).
d. The Internet Based Network Connections (IBNC) Panel.
e. The Telecommunications Management Panel
Exemptions
4. Use of the MUL is not mandatory; agencies are not required to apply for exemptions using
the MUL.
Outline
5. The DCaaS MUL aims to establish a low value and low risk process for agencies to use when
acquiring certain ICT services.
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 3 of 12
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
6. Work orders must not exceed a maximum value of $80,000 (GST inclusive) and must not
exceed a maximum term of 12 months.
7. The project team has determined that the objectives of the project can best be achieved by
using a MUL arrangement. The difference between a MUL and panel arrangement is
described on the Buying for Australian Government website.1
8. The MUL will be operational for at least 24 months and be managed by the Australian
Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Group of the Department of Finance
and Deregulation. The MUL will be reviewed 12 months after its implementation and will
recommend follow-up action. Possible follow up actions might be replacing this MUL with a
new MUL that allows contracts with a greater maximum value than the $80,000 limit of this
MUL and with a longer term than the 12 month limit of this MUL. Another possible action
might be the establishment of a panel for the provision of similar services.
9. To be included on the MUL, potential suppliers will be required to sign a Head Contract
setting out the overarching terms and conditions. Following an appropriate approach to
market process, Agencies will enter into work orders with suppliers for procurement of each
ICT service.
76
Service Catalogue
77
78
79
80
What is the service catalogue
81
82
83
84
85
How will the data be categorised and structured?
86
87
88
89
90
91
What searching will be supported?
92
93
94
95
Who is responsible for the data?
10. The service catalogue is a portal that allows users to easily browse and search the list of
services available under the MUL. It will be available to registered personnel of FMA
agencies only via Govdex.
11. Potential suppliers will submit service descriptions in their Application for Inclusion (AFI)
form. The service descriptions will form a schedule to the Supplier’s Head Contract and be
listed in the service catalogue. A draft of the service catalogue is provided separately for
your comments.
12. Agency users will be able to use filter search functions to narrow down their search for
appropriate services. Suppliers will be required to describe their services under specified
categories and will be encouraged to include keyword descriptions in their service
descriptions. Agencies will then be able to search for categories of services and keywords in
order to identify prospective services.
13. A supplier who has applied for inclusion in the MUL is responsible for the accuracy of the
information supplied in their service descriptions. AGIMO is responsible for uploading the
service descriptions into the service catalogue.
1 http://www.finance.gov.au/procurement/procurement-policy-and-guidance/buying/procurementpractice/panel-and-mul/principles.html
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 4 of 12
96
97
98
99
100
101
How often can it be changed?
102
103
104
Who can view the service catalogue?
105
106
107
What history will be kept?
108
109
110
Will the service catalogue be reviewed?
111
112
113
114
115
116
Who can input and access feedback?
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
Timeframes
131
Types of Services available on the MUL
14. MUL members can submit new DCaaS service descriptions to the MUL team at any time
during the operation of the MUL. AGIMO, at its sole discretion may accept these
re-submitted forms and amend the service catalogue. The service catalogue will be updated
according to a quarterly change control timetable that will be published on the Finance
website.
15. The service catalogue will be available to registered personnel of FMA agencies only via
Govdex.
16. The service catalogue will be updated by the MUL management team and the previous
version backed up to a system archive.
17. The service catalogue will be reviewed by AGIMO as part of the 12 month review of the MUL
to assess its ease of use, administrative overheads and level of usage.
18. Agency users who have signed work orders with suppliers and utilised services will be asked
to provide feedback on the services. The feedback will be discussed with the supplier and
two weeks allowed for remediation if the supplier disagrees with the feedback. Once the
two parties agree on the changes, it will be included among the service description in the
service catalogue.
19. A request for Applications for Inclusion (AFI) on the MUL will be released on AusTender on
29 June 2012. The MUL will remain open for 24 months. AFIs may be submitted at any time
during the life of the MUL. Assessments will be undertaken quarterly and AFIs received after
a quarterly cut off date will be assessed during the next quarterly round. Companies that
submit AFIs in the first round and are accepted onto the MUL will be announced in October
2012. These are maximum timeframes; if circumstances permit new applications will be
uploaded to the service catalogue sooner. The timetable will be published on the Finance
website.
20. The MUL aims to enable a simple purchasing process using the service catalogue. The MUL
will provide a guidance document on the Finance website to assist agencies in their selection
and procurement of services. Agencies will be responsible for conducting the procurement
process, in a manner consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (2012), Agency
Instructions and relevant legislation/guidance.
132
133
21. Cloud services are those services that conform to the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST)2 definitions of cloud computing.
2
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 5 of 12
134
135
136
137
138
22. The three basic types of cloud service offerings, defined by NIST and explained further in the
Cloud Computing Strategic Direction Paper3 will be available through the MUL.
23. The MUL also allows cloud-like services. This will permit suppliers to offer a service that
conforms to one of the three basic types but that is not shared and/or is located in a
government data centre.
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
Establishing the MUL
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
MUL features
24. The following will be required to establish the MUL:
a. To be considered for inclusion on the MUL, applicants must meet the conditions in
the AFI, which will include:
i.
Provide service description (including pricing) to be included in a service
catalogue;
ii.
Provide two written referee reports from customers, which includes contact
name, position, phone, email, and ABN; and
iii.
Provide paperwork that will enable a company search (ABN, company name,
company address, names of directors);
iv.
Provide two duly completed and executed DCaaS Head Contracts (in the
form set out in the Request for Expression of Interest, Part 2),
b. To be considered for inclusion on the MUL, applicants must meet the assessment
criteria in the AFI, which are expected to include:
i.
Capacity to provide quality services as demonstrated by two referees;
c. The assessment process for the MUL will include:
i.
ensuring mandatory requirements listed in the AFI – Conditions of
Participation have been fulfilled;
ii.
verifying company information;
iii.
financial check;
iv.
verifying the written referee reports; and
v.
ensuring that all information requested by the AFI has been provided.
25. The MUL will ensure ongoing competitive tension and currency by:
a. Allowing the addition of new suppliers and services during the entire two year term;
b. Allowing removal of services if the termination clauses of the Head Contract4 are
triggered;
c. Publication of supplier and pricing lists in the service catalogue;
d. Publication of supplier’s cloud service specific terms with the description of that
service; and
e. Periodic adjustment of prices, with price increases or reductions to apply to new
work orders.
26. Agencies will be able to obtain feedback provided to AGIMO by other agency customers on
quality of services.
27. Agencies will be able to request ‘wanted’ services to AGIMO. AGIMO will list these ‘wanted’
service on the Finance website, allowing suppliers (both MUL members and prospective
MUL members) to respond. If MUL members already offer the wanted service, they can
point the agency to their service. If MUL members do not offer the wanted service they can
3
http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/cloud-computing.html
Note that Work Orders will persist until completed or terminated under the termination provisions of the
Work Order.
4
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 6 of 12
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
consider adding that service to their offering. Non MUL members can submit an AFI
including the wanted service, noting the schedule for assessment of new AFIs in Clause 18.
28. The work orders between agencies and suppliers, must:
a. not exceed a maximum value of $80,000 (GST inclusive);
b. not exceed a maximum term of 12 months;
c. include service levels;
d. include pricing;
e. contain service descriptions; and
f. be reviewed by AGIMO prior to execution (AGIMO will maintain records of all work
orders entered through this DCaaS MUL arrangement).
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
The Role of AGIMO
214
MUL Questions
215
216
How many suppliers?
217
218
How many services?
219
220
221
How long will a supplier remain on the MUL?
29. AGIMO will establish and manage the MUL.
a. The Agency Services Division of AGIMO has established an Agency Reference Group
(comprising SES Band 1 representatives from agencies) to provide guidance for the
project.
b. The DCaaS project team has established a Technical Working Group to provide input
and advice on the technical and other aspects of the project. This includes advice on
the contents of the sourcing approach, standard Head Contract and business as
usual (BAU) considerations.
c. The project team has also contracted a probity advisor to assure the integrity of the
project.
30. AGIMO will:
a. manage the addition and removal of suppliers from the MUL;
b. update the service catalogue;
c. provide advice and assistance to agencies regarding the MUL;
d. develop a buyers’ checklist as part of BAU activities that will outline the steps for
agencies to undertake prior to buying from the service catalogue;
e. review all work orders prior to execution to ensure services are consistent with the
offering in the MUL and to keep statistics of the amount of work arising from the
MUL. The statistics will be used to measure whether the MUL is providing value to
the government.
f. monitor price fluctuations;
g. develop MUL guidance documents;
h. maintain a history of services;
i. manage charge back to agencies;
j. maintain a register of contract details for each work order; and
k. conduct regular reviews of the MUL.
31. The number of suppliers will not be limited.
32. The number of services under the MUL will not be limited.
33. a supplier will remain on the MUL until:
a. the supplier asks to be removed and for their Head Contract to be terminated;
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 7 of 12
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
b. the supplier ceases to provide services according to the description in the service
catalogue;
c. the supplier fails to comply with the operational rules of the MUL and, at AGIMO’s
discretion, is removed from the MUL;
d. the supplier fails to meet the Conditions of Participation, and, at AGIMO’s discretion
is removed from the MUL; or
e. the MUL reaches the end of its term and is closed.
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
Will there be a service closure strategy for both Supplier and Agency?
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
What are the rules regarding price changes?
255
256
257
How will AGIMO be funded to manage the MUL?
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
34. The DCaaS work order will include clauses for work order initiation, closure on completion
and termination that will contain provisions for managing the following issues:
a. transfer of the agency’s data back to the agency or to a third party as instructed by
the agency;
b. closure on completion or termination of a service should have a low impact on users
and productivity; and
c. Processes for exiting the services upon termination or completion of a work order
must be defined and costed in the service catalogue and in a work order.
35. Suppliers must provide in the pricing data included with their service descriptions:
a. Details of prices (GST inclusive) that they propose for the provision of services,
including 3rd party costs such as electricity, software, network and bandwidth;
b. Details of prices (GST inclusive) for additional services, such as setup and
decommissioning costs; and
c. Details of any innovative pricing arrangements they may propose
36. Suppliers should note that prices, additional service rates and innovative pricing
arrangements provided in their AFIs do not prevent agencies from negotiating their own
specific fee arrangements with the supplier. These arrangements may be at prices below
the prices in the catalogue.
37. Prices will be provided by suppliers and will be listed on the service catalogue. A supplier
may request a price variation, by submitting a service description form with revised price
schedules to the MUL. The MUL will rely on market forces to set prices for the different
services and a transparency to agencies to keep prices within market expectations. If prices
are varied by a supplier for a particular service, and the change approved and uploaded to
the service catalogue by AGIMO, the new prices will apply to all new work orders.
38. Suppliers applying for inclusion to the MUL will be required to pay a registration fee of $250
that will be used by AGIMO to pay for the financial viability check of the supplier.
39. The Data Centre Strategy Program is to be self-funded from 1 July 2013. From July 2013, the
DCaaS MUL will include a charge back mechanism to agencies to fund the management of
the MUL.
How can AGIMO track agency usage of the service catalogue and/or
services?
40. AGIMO will maintain a register with contact details for each agency work order. MUL
members will be required to provide a report to AGIMO on a monthly basis, commencing
from the first quarter in which a work order was signed, on the services they have provided
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 8 of 12
266
267
268
269
to agencies. Details of the reporting requirements are provided in the Head Contract at
clause 19.
41. The supplier must promptly provide additional information in respect of this Head Contract
and any work order as may reasonably be requested by AGIMO from time to time.
270
271
272
273
274
How will AGIMO know it has succeeded with its sourcing approach?
275
Agency Questions
276
277
278
Which Agencies can use the MUL?
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
How does an agency access the service catalogue?
287
288
289
290
291
What kind of additional information could be included in a Work Order?
292
293
What are the insurance requirements?
294
295
296
How must cost avoidance be reported?
297
Work Order Questions
298
299
How long can a work order be?
300
301
How short can it be?
42. AGIMO will measure the success of the MUL by conducting regular reviews. The initial
review will occur 12 months after the launch and then ongoing regular reviews throughout
the life of the MUL. The estimated cost avoidance for each work order that is signed under
the MUL will be reported against the Data Centre Strategy total cost avoidance of $1 billion.
43. The MUL is available for all Commonwealth agencies to use, but is targeted at the smaller 50
per cent of agencies. It will also be available to Australian State and Territory governments.
44. The service catalogue will be available on Govdex to registered personnel of FMA agencies.
Agencies will be able to access a search tool to filter possible services or view the entire
service catalogue. Agencies are to send their requests for quotation to AGIMO. AGIMO will
review the requirements and forward them to suppliers. Suppliers will return quotes to
AGIMO who will supply them to Agencies. Agencies will review quotes and contact the
supplier of first choice to initiate negotiations. Agencies must use the work order provided
with the Head Contract to execute their contract with a supplier.
45. Work orders are the instrument for the agencies and the supplier to agree to any additional
contractual terms that may not be covered in the DCaaS Head Contract. These may include:
a data plan for an agency to specify how data is to be captured; how an agency can reharvest that data; and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
46. See the Head Contract, Schedule 3, clause 10.1
47. Agencies will be required to report to AGIMO their cost avoidance for each work order that
is signed under the MUL. [Work is continuing in this area.]
48. Work orders must not exceed a maximum term of 12 months.
49. There will be no minimum term for a work order.
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 9 of 12
302
303
304
305
306
What are the renewal options?
307
308
309
If a supplier changes prices what is the impact on existing work orders?
310
Service Questions
311
312
313
314
315
316
Will the AFI use standard names of service types?
317
318
319
320
What are the allowable services?
321
322
323
What standards are relevant – mandatory/optional?
324
325
326
Who sets service levels?
327
How are the services assessed before and after they are put in the service
catalogue?
328
329
330
331
332
50. Work order extensions will not be permitted under the standard Head Contract. If an
agency wants to continue with a particular service, they must repeat the procurement
process to show that the service is value for money in accordance with the agency’s CEIs and
the CPGs and sign a new work order.
51. The prices that are agreed in the work order at the time of signing will apply for the term of
the work order.
52. The AFI will refer to the three basic types (see section 22). The AFI will also contain a list of
service types for suppliers to select from when describing their offerings. This list will
include an ‘other’ option, in which suppliers can enter new service types. AGIMO, as part of
its management of the Service Catalogue will review new service types and, at its discretion,
may add them to the list.
53. See sections 21, 22 and 23. The MUL management team will determine if the services put
forward by suppliers comply with these sections and the source documents referred to from
these sections.
54. None. A section will be provided in the application for suppliers to detail relevant
qualifications/standards are possessed by their organisation
55. A guide to the minimum standard of service required to be included in the service catalogue
will be released in the MUL AFI guidance and instruction documents.
56. Suppliers will be assessed against the requirements of the AFI, summarised in section 24
before being put in the service catalogue.
57. Agencies will be asked to provide feedback for inclusion in the service catalogue after
utilising the services.
333
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 10 of 12
334
335
336
Definitions
337
338
339
340
341
Approach to the market
In line with Commonwealth Procurement Rules in effect from 1 July 2012, the following definitions
will apply to this Sourcing Approach:
342
343
344
any notice inviting potential suppliers to participate in a
procurement which may include a request for tender, request
for quote, request for expression of interest, request for
application for inclusion on a multi-use list, request for
information or request for proposal.
Note: the acronym ‘ATM’ is used on AusTender and other
procurement documents to reference an approach to the
market.
345
346
347
Chief Executives Instructions (CEIs)
directions issued by the Chief Executive of an agency under
the authority of section 52 of the FMA Act and
FMA Regulation 6.
348
349
350
351
352
Conditions for Participation
minimum conditions that potential suppliers must
demonstrate compliance with, in order to participate in a
procurement process or for submissions to be considered.
This may include a requirement to undertake an accreditation
or validation procedure.
353
354
355
356
Contract
an arrangement as defined by the FMA Regulations for the
procurement of goods and services under which public money
is payable or may become payable. Note: this includes
standing offers and panels.
357
358
359
360
Multi-use list
a list, intended for use in more than one procurement process,
of pre-registered suppliers who have satisfied the conditions
for participation on the list. Each approach to a multi-use list
is considered a new procurement.
361
362
363
364
365
Open approach to the market
any notice inviting all potential suppliers to participate in a
procurement which may include a request for tender, request
for quote, request for expression of interest, request for
application for inclusion on a multi-use list, request for
information and request for proposal.
366
367
Potential supplier
an entity or person who may respond to an approach to the
market.
368
369
370
371
Submission
any formally submitted response from a potential supplier to
an approach to the market. Submissions may include tenders,
responses to expressions of interest, applications for inclusion
on a multi-use list or responses to request for quote.
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 11 of 12
372
373
Supplier
an entity or person who has entered into a contract with the
Commonwealth.
374
375
Tenderer
an entity or person who has responded with a submission to
an approach to the market.
V3.4, amended for Blog Re-release, 13 June 2012
Page 12 of 12