The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (M. D. Anderson) in Houston, Texas, celebrating six decades of Making Cancer History ™, is one of the world’s most respected institutions devoted exclusively to cancer patient care, research, education and prevention.
Created by the Texas Legislature in 1941 as a component of The University of Texas System,
M. D. Anderson continues to rank among the nations’ top cancer hospitals in U. S. News and
World Reports America’s Best Hospitals survey since its inception 15 years ago.
M. D. Anderson’s Division of Information Services currently operates an institution-wide network infrastructure comprised of wired and wireless network services. Network assets under management include, fiber and copper cable infrastructure, network switches and routers, SAN switches, wireless access points, terminal servers, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), network sniffers and probes, as well as Wintel, UNIX and Macintosh servers. It is also responsible for managing and maintaining systems related to Domain
Name Service (DNS), Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP), IP and Cable Record databases, Network Management systems, Authentication Servers, Remote Access (dialin and VPN), and the Mail (SMTP) Hub. The current infrastructure supports well over
500 (Wintel, Novell, Macintosh, and other) servers, many of which are clustered.
M. D. Anderson currently utilizes or is in the process of converting to a number of
Microsoft applications on an enterprise-wide basis:
1.
The enterprise infrastructure (including e-mail, calendaring, directory services, along with file and print services) is currently migrating towards one based on the
Microsoft Corporation’s Active Directory, Exchange Server, and Outlook platforms.
2.
The application (development) environment (including software development, source code maintenance, build management, and process guidance) is similarly migrating towards one based on Visual Studio, Avanade’s ACA.NET framework,
Team Foundation Server, SharePoint, and Project Professional.
M. D. Anderson has prepared this Request for Proposal (RFP) to facilitate the selection of a company to provide professional services supporting select information technology (IT) projects based on the above described enterprise infrastructure and/or application environment.
Specifically, M. D. Anderson is seeking a firm to provide specialized expertise and/or personnel to complete projects that utilize the Microsoft applications listed above.
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Rather than bid contracts that utilize these applications individually, M. D. Anderson is seeking a single vendor that can supply needed professional services related to our enterprise infrastructure and application environment strategies and (aforementioned) tool sets.
By pursuing selection of a single vendor for IT related professional services, M. D. Anderson hopes to gain savings by utilizing a single vendor for these services through:
•
Reduction in ramp-up time for consultants on projects that results in reduced project durations
•
Reduction in business development expenses for the vendor that translates into direct savings for M.D. Anderson
•
Deep understanding of the M.D. Anderson environment that will enable the selected vendor to provide better solutions to issues facing the Institution
M. D. Anderson is seeking a consulting professional services company to provide specialized expertise or personnel for purposes of specific IT projects, with experience using Microsoft technology that has become a cornerstone of our enterprise infrastructure and application environment. Activities included within this scope, among others, include:
•
Configuring, deploying, and maintaining Exchange Server and Active Directory at a large organization,
•
Designing and implementing a disaster recovery program for these (infrastructural) services,
•
Establishing an application development infrastructure using Microsoft applications such as Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server, SharePoint, and Project in a configuration that can support seventy-five concurrent developers across multiple network segments,
•
Configuring, deploying, and managing such Microsoft tools to support up to seventy-five concurrent users,
•
Integrating such Microsoft tools into a single integrated system/environment,
•
Configuring such Microsoft tools to build high-transaction, secure, and reliable enterprise-level applications, and
•
Transferring in-depth technical knowledge about Microsoft enterprise infrastructure and application environment tools to M. D. Anderson technical staff.
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Professional services must be available to all information technology groups at M. D. Anderson, both within the (central) Division of Information Services as well as several other (distributed) teams.
Responses to this RFP should include appropriate responses to the Proposal Requirements presented in Section II of this document.
In replying to this RFP, vendor shall make best effort to comply with the guidelines as follows:
•
Provide appropriate narrative responses and understands that a “yes” only response to a narrative question may be considered as a “no response.”
•
Follow the below RFP sections and numbering schema in responding to the items
•
Vendor shall prepare a response to the RFP with supporting materials and documentation and submit as follows: o Four bound hard copies of response and supporting material and documentation o An electronic copy in MS Word or PDF format
•
Vendor acknowledges that responses received after March 16, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. will not be considered.
The final selection of a vendor for this engagement will be made by the decision making team based on the following criteria:
•
Cost of the proposal
•
Firm experience with large-scale infrastructure-level implementation engagements at large, diverse academic medical centers and/or other similar enterprises
•
Firm and individual expertise in referenced products and platforms, including (1) infrastructural components such as Active Directory, Exchange, and file and print services, including applicable certifications held, and (2) application development environment components, as well as Microsoft's Enterprise Library, Team
Foundation Server, SharePoint, and Project Professional
•
Firm and individual experience with (1) the current M. D. Anderson enterprise infrastructure and application environment, and (2) some of the most key applications in use at M. D. Anderson, including ClinicStation
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•
Project management methodology and it’s integration with the established
M. D. Anderson IT governance process and Microsoft based infrastructure
•
Other items which may benefit M. D. Anderson that will be provided through the proposed methodology that have not been specifically requested by the
Institution.
The RFP is not an offer to contract. Acceptance of a proposal neither commits M. D. Anderson to award a contract to any Service Provider nor limits M. D. Anderson’s rights to negotiate terms in its best interest. M. D. Anderson reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals in part or whole. M. D. Anderson reserves the right to request clarification on any specific responses, omissions, or claims made in responses to the RFP. M. D. Anderson further reserves the right to request modification to a bidder’s proposal in order to provide the optimum solution for strategic teaming services.
Vendors submitting a proposal does so with the understanding that M. D. Anderson reserves the right to select a “vendor of choice” based solely on the response to the RFP or to evaluate one or more vendors via additional interviews, site visits, reference checks, and other additional evaluations.
M. D. Anderson will notify vendor of the results of the selection process as soon as a final award decision has been made.
The information contained in this RFP and its attachments is confidential and proprietary. It is not to be copied, displayed or distributed to any person or persons not associated directly with
M. D. Anderson or your respective firm.
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1.
Corporate a.
Provide an overview of your firm’s services both in general and specific to
Microsoft based enterprise infrastructure and application development, including that based on: i.
Active Directory ii.
Exchange Server iii.
Outlook iv.
Visual Studio v.
.NET framework, vi.
Team Foundation Server, vii.
SharePoint, and viii.
Project Professional b.
Provide a list of applicable references regarding engagements of this type. c.
Provide an overview of your firm’s experience with the governmental, academic and healthcare sectors. d.
Provide an overview of your firm’s experience and expertise in the following key activities of this engagement: i.
Configuring, deploying, and maintaining Exchange Server and Active
Directory at a large organization, ii.
Designing and implementing a disaster recovery program for these
(infrastructural) services, iii.
Establishing an application development infrastructure using Microsoft applications such as Visual Studio, Team Foundation Server, SharePoint, and Project in a configuration that can support seventy-five concurrent developers across multiple network segments, iv.
Configuring, deploying, and managing such Microsoft tools to support up to seventy-five concurrent users, v.
Integrating such Microsoft tools into a single integrated system/environment,
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vi.
Configuring such Microsoft tools to build high-transaction, secure, and reliable enterprise-level applications, and vii.
Transferring in-depth technical knowledge about Microsoft enterprise infrastructure and application environment tools to M. D. Anderson technical staff e.
Provide a listing of health care, academic, and governmental organizations with which your firm has previously engaged for purposes of Microsoft infrastructure conversions of this type. f.
List any certifications your firm has been granted, related to the (evolving)
M. D. Anderson enterprise infrastructure and application environments as well as overall project management. g.
Describe your firm’s internal plans for the deployment and use of the above listed
Microsoft infrastructural technologies.
2.
Service Team a.
Describe how your firm will staff the project, both in terms of the individual key engagement phases, as well as the overall migration project as a whole. Address the use of any use of subcontractors to fulfill this engagement. b.
Provide an organizational chart showing the structure and specific personnel for the team that you propose will serve M. D. Anderson. Include the resumes of these team members in an appendix to your response. Resumes should include a brief discussion of each individual’s proposed responsibilities at M. D. Anderson, the estimated percentage of their time dedicated to M. D. Anderson, and any unique skills they bring to the engagement. (Note: Only provide resumes for personnel who will be active on the engagement.) c.
Describe the proposed staff’s experience in working within (1) large academic healthcare and (2) highly distributed computing environments. d.
Describe any certifications held by the proposed staffing team, including
Microsoft Certified Architect
3.
Process and Delivery a.
Describe your firm’s approach for monitoring and controlling an infrastructure or other IT implementation project of this type so that specified budget, scope and schedule are achieved. b.
Describe the policies and practices your firm utilizes in order to ensure accuracy, consistency and confidentiality of the work performed.
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c.
Describe the process for identification and resolution of any issues encountered during the course of the engagement. d.
Describe your firm’s project management methodology including goal-setting, process flows, measurements, milestones deliverables, etc.
4.
Documentation a.
Provide documentation of one or more IT professional services engagements related to the technology platforms listed above. b.
Provide documentation about one or more applications built within the Microsoft
.NET and Enterprise Library, as well as the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) framework, as delivered during another engagement of this type. Include such sample documentation in an appendix to your response. c.
Provide documentation about one or more large deployment of Exchange Server and Active Directory. Include such sample documentation in an appendix to your response. d.
Provide documentation about one or more enterprise deployment of Visual
Studio, Team Foundation Server, and SharePoint. Include such sample documentation in an appendix to your response e.
Provide cost hourly rates for the following levels of personnel, or equivalent, from your organization: i.
Sr. project manager ii.
Jr. project manager iii.
Technical lead – software development iv.
Developer v.
Technical lead - infrastructure vi.
Infrastructure support vii.
Training viii.
Consultant ix.
Project Coordinator x.
Content Coordinator
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