Request for BidsHosted PBX System 2021

City of Aransas Pass600 W Cleveland Blvd.Aransas Pass, TX 78336

Tel: 361-758-5301

Request for BidsHosted PBX System 2021

City of Aransas Pass

City of Aransas Pass600 W Cleveland Blvd.Aransas Pass, TX 78336

Tel: 361-758-5301

The purpose of this Request for Bids (RFB) is to identify a vendor for a complete off-site hosted PBXphone system to serve as the city’s primary telephone communication system.

Potential bidders must email the City’s Secretary at citysecretary@aptx.gov of interest in the project.Any subsequently issued addenda to this RFB will be posted on the city’s website and notice ofaddenda will be sent to all confirmed bidders that have indicated an interest in the project. The CitySecretary can also be contacted at (361)758-5301. Interested vendors are encouraged to visit theworksite.

Bid Submission and AcceptanceAny bid not meeting the requirements of the proposal directions shall be considerednon-responsive.

Bids must be received by 9:00 AM, Wednesday, May 12, 2021, at the Aransas Pass City Hall. A formal bid opening will follow directly after. It is the sole responsibility of the submitter to see that their bid is submitted on time. Any bid received after the deadline will not be considered and will be held unopened. No responsibility will be attached to any City employee for the premature opening of or failure to open a bid not properly addressed and identified. A pre-bid meeting will be held on Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 10 am at the City Hall located at 600 Cleveland Blvd.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informalities in the procedures, or to cancel the solicitation if it is in the best interest of the City. The City shall have the right to reject any bid from a contractor determined by the City at its discretion, to be not responsible or not qualified to perform the bid specifications. A determination that a vendor is not responsible may be made solely based on previous failure to perform properly or to complete contracts.

Telegraphic or electronic submissions of a bid will not be accepted except to withdraw, modify, or correct a previous hard copy that was submitted on time.

Bids shall be made on the forms provided by the City or copy thereof and shall be signed by the submitter with signature in full. Each bid shall be enclosed in an envelope and marked “Hosted PBX System 2021 – City of Aransas Pass”, “Request for Bid, DO NOT OPEN”. Attention: City Secretary, 600 W. Cleveland Blvd., Aransas Pass TX 78336, (361)758-5301

This RFB is not to be construed as a commitment of any kind; nor does it commit the City to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of a bid or for any other costs incurred before the execution of a formal contract.

Work HoursExcept as otherwise required for the safety or protection of persons, the work, or property at thesite or adjacent thereto, the Vendor will be permitted to work only Monday thru Friday between6:00 am and 5:00 pm. Any request for variation from the work hours must be submitted to theCity Manager in writing for approval.

Contract TermsThe Vendor’s duties begin on the date the City issues a Notice to Proceed. All work shall becompleted no later than 30 working days from the date notice to proceed is issued. If the contractwork is not complete on time the contractor shall pay the City liquidated damages for the delay (butnot as a penalty) for 500 hundred dollars ($500) for each calendar day that expires after the timespecified above until the contract work is complete.

Proposal FormatAll proposals are required to address each of the Evaluation Criteria. Proposals must be completeas to the requested information. Failure to follow this format in a proposal or failure to includecomplete information as requested will result in a lower score and may result in disqualification ofthe proposal. Each submission must include one original that is signed and two additional copies ofthe proposal. Proposals must be in a sealed envelope with the following information identified onthe outside of the envelope:

● Submitting firm’s name● Project name: “Hosted PBX System 2021 – City of Aransas Pass”, “Request for Bid, DO

NOT OPEN”. Attention: City Secretary, 600 W. Cleveland Blvd., Aransas Pass TX 78336,(361)758-5301

Required Documents to be submitted with Proposal● Documentation outlining details on the proposed system and services. Along with a list of

proposed hardware that includes product details and features.● Contact information for at least 3 references. It is preferred that the references be Texas

customers, a municipality and/or small government entities, or similar.● An outline of company details that include background and specialties.● The proposed Service-Level Agreement (SLA) or document outlining support. availability,

and maintenance.● An outline of host information to include locations and other reliability and/or security

information.● An itemized breakdown of the total cost.

InquiriesProposal submission and technical questions should be directed to David Offalter, Project Manager,Telephone: 361-758-5224 ex 2420, Email: doffalter@aptx.gov.

Scope of WorkHosted PBX System 2021

City of Aransas Pass600 W. Cleveland Blvd.Aransas Pass, TX 78336

Tel: 361-758-5301

Scope of WorkThis bid is for the purchase of a completely off-site hosted enterprise-level PBX system that willfunction as the primary telephone communication system for the City of Aransas Pass. The systemmust be able to function independently from any of the City’s technology infrastructure and mustfocus on mobility and flexibility. The vendor will be responsible for the complete installation,configuration, and continued support of the system. The vendor must meet all of the requirementslisted below and list any additional features their proposed system offers. Documentation outliningthe offered Service-Level Agreement must be included with the proposal. The purpose of this projectis not only to update our current system but to provide the mobility and flexibility needed to operatein any environment in the event of a disaster or critical event.

Data connections and other ISP services are outside the scope of this project. The city will providethe data connection for each phone along with a standardized power over ethernet plus (POE+) orpowerline connection.

All bids should include the total cost for all upfront configuration and hardware along with the cost ofone year of service. The cost should reflect everything that is needed to install, configure, and supportthe system for that term. The cost should also be broken down into an itemized list and included withthe proposal.

The vendor will be responsible for abiding by all State Standards and Regulations for the work to becompleted for this project. The Vendor shall take all precautions necessary to protect all existingproperties. All damaged property shall be restored by the contractor to its original condition or betterat no separate cost. The vendor will be responsible for verifying quantities and infrastructureconditions before the bidding project.

This project will require access to secure and sensitive areas. Any employee of the vendor who needsto access these areas must pass a background check and will be escorted by a city employee duringthe work. The vendor must have staff available who can do the work and meet this securityrequirement.

System and Vendor Requirements● The system must be completely hosted off-site.

○ Hosts must be located in the continental US. They also must be a reputable providerwith adequate security practices.

○ The host must provide high availability to ensure maximum uptime. Any additionalhost sites that are to be used for high availability should be at physically separatelocations.

○ Hosted bandwidth and hardware must be adequately provisioned to support thecomplete PBX system and must allow for future growth.

○ The phones, both physical and soft must be able to connect to the host using any dataconnection from any internet service provider without the use of additionalnetworking hardware.

● The system must provide enterprise-level features to include but are not limited to thefollowing features or equivalent alternatives. See the Customer Details page attached to thisdocument for a detailed description of our unique configurations. Future configurationchanges that do not require additional users and/or phones must be offered at no additionalcost and be unlimited despite the complexity of the requested change.

○ Advanced Call Routing■ Hunt Groups / Lists / Pilots■ Line Groups■ Call Forwarding

○ Auto-Attendant○ Voicemail

■ Voicemail forwarded to an email address○ Directory Services○ Emergency Calling (9-1-1)○ Called ID○ Call Park○ SIP Trunking○ Conferencing○ Phone Recording with a 90 day retention period

● The system must include “softphones” that allow the user to make and receive calls from theirextension without the use of a physical phone. The softphone must be accessible on thefollowing platforms

○ A computer using a web application that supports modern browsers○ Android phones○ iOS phones

● The complete system must be installed, configured, and supported by the vendor.○ While the initial configuration must be completed by the vendor, the solution must

allow city technical staff to configure parts of the system and provision newlypurchased hardware/users. This is to act as supplements support and does not releasethe vendor from supporting those features or products throughout the term.

○ Training must be provided for city technicians on the use and configuration of thesystem.

● All hardware and software used in this project must be supported by their manufacturer andmust remain in support for the term of service.

○ Phones should provide the level of service and the general feature of our currentphones. Information on our current phones can be found on the attached CustomerDetails page.

○ Phones must be powered using the POE+ standard but also include the ability to bepowered using powerline adapters.

● Support must be available 24/7/365. The vendor must provide a detailed Service-LevelAgreement (SLA) that outlines the level of support provided. This should include but is notlimited to

○ Support Hours○ Type of Support

○ Escalation Procedures○ Host and host connections “uptime”○ Maintenance Procedures○ Details on what support and services the company can provide in a disaster / critical

event scenario to ensure city staff maintains functionality during the event.

Evaluation CriteriaAll on time bids will be scored using the following criteria● System requirements met● Features offered by the vendor or unique system features provided.● Overall cost● Vendor / Host quality and security

Attachments:● Customer Details Page (PBX_Details.pdf)

Vendor FormHosted PBX System 2021

City of Aransas Pass600 W. Cleveland Blvd.Aransas Pass, TX 78336

Tel: 361-758-5301

Company name

Address

City/State/ZIP

Telephone number Fax number

Authorized individual’s name (print) Authorized individual’s title

Authorized individual’s signature Date

Proposal Fee ScheduleHosted PBX System 2021

City of Aransas Pass600 W. Cleveland Blvd.Aransas Pass, TX 78336

Tel: 361-758-5301

Description Unit EstimatedQuantities

Proposal Unit PriceNumerically

Total Cost

Breakdown of per-seat cost. Thisis to give us an idea of whatfuture added positions wouldcost.

EA

The upfront cost for equipment,fees, installation, andconfiguration.

EA

Recurring annual cost EA

Total Base Bid:______________________

Notes: The vendor should do a site visit and verify all quantities before bidding.