Page 1
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
Gwinnett County Public Library (“the Library”) plans to update their existing VoIP
communications infrastructure with an up-to-date platform that will allow them to leverage
advances in IP Telephony (IPT), Unified Communications (UC) and business process tools to
improve communications, increase productivity and reduce costs. At this time, the Library is
interested in all platforms from an on-premise solution to a SaaS solution.
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information about the various
VoIP systems currently available, including upgrades or full-system refreshes. The information
gathered will enable the Library to assess whether migration from its current system to a new
system is warranted at this time.
The Library will review the written responses to this RFI, and may elect to invite Respondents to
give oral presentations to a review committee. The Library may use the information gathered
during this process in the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP). The Library is seeking
responses primarily from system manufacturers, although VARs are encouraged to respond
directly as well.
In addition to the information specifically requested, Respondents are encouraged to provide
any additional information about their system that may help the Library better understand the
system’s capabilities and real-world applications for their technology.
INSTRUCTIONS
Due date for responses is Monday, February 11, 2013, no later than 4:00 P.M. Responses to
this Request for Information should be submitted in a sealed envelope, marked “VOIP RFI” and
the name and address of the proposer. Please submit one (1) original and two (2) copies of
your response, plus one (1) electronic copy.
Send or deliver responses to: Gwinnett County Public Library, Attn: Business Services, 1001
Lawrenceville Highway, Lawrenceville GA 30046-4707.
If you have questions regarding this RFI, please email them to RFI@gwinnettpl.org
BACKGROUND
Gwinnett County Public Library utilizes a Cisco VoIP system throughout the Library. In addition,
we maintain a call center which utilizes a Cisco IPCC system. We are asking vendors to provide
information about upgrading or replacing our IP Telephony platform, end points, solutions and
services along with their estimated costs. The Library is in the midst of collecting the
information and, at its sole discretion, may invite select vendors to further assist the Library’s IT
Department by providing product demonstrations or informational interviews that may be viewed
by other Library staff, to include management and end-users.
Page 2
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
The high-level summary of the Library’s current telephony system is:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Library Network
○ MS Windows domain network with Active Directory service
○ Google Apps for Education used for email, chat communications,
teleconferencing, intranet and document management
○ (5) PRIs at four (4) geographically separate locations and (439) numbers
○ Private WAN with 100Mb fiber between 14 branches and headquarters
Cisco VoIP telephony system at HQ
○ (2) Call Managers (sub and pub) (7825s) v4.2
○ (1) Unity Voice Messaging (100 users)
○ (1) IPCC Express v1.5.19
○ (1) Cisco 2851 router
Each of the 14 other locations have one (1) Cisco 2801 router
Each location has 911 POTs capability
Telephones and ATAs
○ 230+ Cisco IP phones (models 7970, 7961, 7941, 7911 and 7921)
○ 32 Cisco ATA port adapters (model ATA186)
IPCC (Cisco IP Contact Center) Express
○ (4) Agents
○ (1) Supervisor
○ Single Skill group
○ (3) menus
○ Record on demand
○ (2) call managers
Call Manager Features
○ call forward-all (off-net/on-net)
○ call forward busy
○ call forward no answer
○ call park
○ direct inward dial
○ direct outward dial
○ directories - missed, placed, received on local IP phone
○ message waiting indication
○ multiparty conference
○ multiple line appearances per IP phone
○ music on hold
○ mute from handset and speakerphone
○ on-hook dialing
○ station volume controls
Page 3
●
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
Unity Voice Messaging Features
○ basic subscriber functionality
○ user voicemail boxes
○ message waiting indication
○ voicemail retrieval over phone
○ voicemail forward to email
○ unified messaging
SCOPE OF PROJECT
Gwinnett County Public Library is soliciting RFI submissions that outline system features, unified
communications solutions, software applications, costs for implementing, customizing, and
maintaining the proposed solution.
Each submission must address the following in detail:
A. Company Background
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Respondents shall provide the name, address, email address and telephone number for
the person the Library should contact regarding the company’s response to this RFI.
Describe the firm’s lines of business, vertical markets served, geographic markets
served, the firm’s size in terms of number of employees and annual revenue, and
provide proof of the firm’s financial stability.
Describe the firm’s corporate strategy for delivering open systems and UC applications
to the marketplace.
Describe the company’s UC product line.
Describe the nature and length of any partnerships/agreements the firm has with other
equipment and service providers.
Describe the firm’s “go to market” strategy (e.g. direct vs. resellers) and, if systems are
sold through resellers, identify three resellers in the Atlanta area that are in good
standing with the manufacturer.
Provide at least one (1) case study for a completed implementation of similar size and
scope to the Library’s. The case study should include a description of the client’s
environment prior to implementation, the system configuration provided by the
Respondent, a list of features and applications included in the configuration, the total
cost of the system provided by the Respondent, and the schedule for implementation.
B. System Architecture
1
Describe all of the hardware and software components of the Respondent’s
communications system, including all system components (call manager/server,
signaling server, gateways, etc.) the main HQ data center and at a Library branch.
Page 4
2
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
Include a system-level diagram showing how the components are integrated.
a Clearly identify any proprietary components.
b What components, if any, must be provided by the Library?
c Describe redundancy and failover capabilities
d Describe how the Respondent’s solution will scale to accommodate future
growth.
e Describe licensing structure for all components of the Respondent’s solution.
f Does the Respondent offer a trade-in program for the old equipment that would
offer the Library a discount on the purchase of new equipment?
C. System Capability
1
2
3
The Library wants to maintain, at a minimum, the capabilities of its current telephony
system, including the call center and E911.
Respondents should provide detailed information and costs for the following desired
improvements:
a System should, at a minimum, forward voice mail messages to the Library’s
email provider, Google Apps.
b Ideally, any future telephony and call center system would integrate with, and/or
take advantage of the feature-sets within Google Apps for Education, which is
the Library’s email, remote meeting, intranet and document management system.
c Call Center system capability to have agents and supervisors working remotely
and outside of the Library’s physical network
d Capacity for greater number (8-16) of Call Center agents.
e Multiple tiers (skill-levels) of Call Center agents
f Flexible menu system for main telephony system
g Intelligent call routing for Call Center, perhaps including menu-driven, timebased, and rules-based call routing
h Call Center capability to take and manage customer voice mails
i mass notification system - contacting employees and others, outside the Library
network, for urgent and emergency issues
j Mobility solutions for staff
k Mobility solutions for Call Center
Security
a Describe how the Respondent’s system will authenticate users.
b How will the Respondent’s system manage the interface between the Library’s
internal network and the outside world to enable mobility and other features,
while ensuring that no unauthorized user is able to gain access?
c How will the Respondent’s system integrate with existing network security
devices such as the Library’s firewall and proxy servers?
d What method of encryption is used by the Respondent’s system? What
information is encrypted? With which government security guidelines does the
Respondent’s system comply?
Page 5
4
5
6
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
Implementation
a How could the Library implement an upgrade or new system in phases without
disrupting service and maintaining interoperability with the existing VoIP system?
System Administration
a What Administration tools are available?
b What Self-Service options are available for customers?
c What recommended VoIP and Network Monitoring tools are available?
d What reporting tools are available?
Service and Support
a Describe the system’s warranty options.
b Describe the Respondent’s support organization’s structure, specifically noting
their presence in Gwinnett County, the Respondent’s ability to provide on-site
techs within the Library’s service area, and the Respondent’s ability to support
the Library Offices.
c Describe the software and system upgrade approach, frequency and cost,
including the approximate number of software upgrades and patches released
each year and any impact they have on the availability of the system.
d Describe the process for completing moves, adds, changes, including response
times.
e Describe the spare parts strategy.
i The availability of parts locally?
f Describe how the solution supports system and user provisioning, including:
i Single point provisioning.
ii Integration with Microsoft Active Directory.
iii Which AD schema versions are supported?
iv Are multiple domains supported?
v Is LDAP Data Interchange Format supported?
vi Integration with Google Apps.
vii What features are available through integration with Google Apps?
viii Discuss system interoperability with other commercial, off-the-shelf
system management platforms. This includes the ability to generate
intelligent trap messages that can be forwarded to other event
management systems installed in the work, send to email, SMS, etc.
g Describe the System and End user Training resources available:
i Online resources, training tools, DVD’s, etc.
ii Local training sites/classrooms and type of classes
iii Onsite training options for System Administrators and End-Users
Page 6
Gwinnett County Public Library - VoIP RFI
RESPONSE SUBMITTALS
You may include brochures and literature for any of the components of your proposed solution
as attachments.
Include in your response to this RFI:
1 The response must provide a clear demark between the RFI text and their response
(response may be in italics, color, bold and/or indented, etc.).
2 A detailed description of the existing features and functionality of the proposed solution,
including administration, reporting and optional features
3 A description of warranties for the proposed solution
4 Include 3 references from other organizations or businesses of approximately our size
that have used a similar solution. Include the following information:
a Name, position, organization, contact information (phone number, email address,
etc.)
b Description of solution deployed
c Narrative describing outcome
d The actual implementation timeframe as well as the originally proposed schedule
5 Do you currently have the proposed solution implemented at any library, education or
government agencies? If so, is your proposed solution available under any existing
state or local government contracts (contracts with cooperative purchase language
included)?
Gwinnett County Public Library in no way implies or guarantees any purchase of potential
solutions submitted in response to this RFI. The Library reserves the right to use the
information obtained through this Request for Information if it is in the best interest of the Library
to issue a competitive procurement in the future. The Library, at its sole discretion, may request
product demonstrations from any or all qualified respondents.