REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CONSULTANT SERVICES

RFP NO. 5931

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services Bench Contract

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

WARREN, MICHIGAN

PROPOSALS DUE NO LATER THAN

Friday, July 31st, 2015 at 2:00 P.M.

Submit Bid To:Mailing Address

Macomb Community College Dennis Costello-Purchasing Department

14500 E. Twelve Mile Road Warren, MI 48088-3896

Office LocationMacomb Community College

16000 Hall RoadSuite 1A

Clinton Township, MI 48038Phone: (586) 445-7308

Email to:Dennis Costello

costellod@macomb.eduPhone: (586) 445-7308

RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”

1. PROJECT OVERVIEW

Macomb Community College is in need of qualified, formally trained Microsoft support engineers of varying (Microsoft) disciplines to augment its on-premise staff. Through this RFP, the College seeks to locate one or two firms with a bench of Microsoft competencies that can be engaged as needed. An overall master services agreement (MSA) shall cover a 24 month period and will make available to the College a ‘bench’ of Microsoft Support engineers/technicians who can be called upon to assist in break-fix remediation tasks, scheduled system configuration changes or upgrades, performance tuning or new system installations. Bench staff may also be called upon to provide daily long-term support of specific technologies during periods of prolonged vacancies, vacations or other times where existing staff cannot meet the demands of the organization. The College expects to consume 1000-2500 hours per year.

Staff from the ‘bench’ must have at least 6 years of experience in the Microsoft disciplines they are declared to be experts. Preference will be given to firms whose bench staff includes active Microsoft MCSA or MCSE certifications in their respective disciplines.

There is an immediate need for a formally trained Microsoft Exchange Administrator. This engagement will be for three months starting Aug 15 th.

In order to have access to fully competent resources, the College will commit to MSA parameters that guarantee:

a minimum number of hours per year, per discipline if necessary, to obtain preferred pricing and access to competent and reliable contract resources.

a minimum number of hours per sub engagement/engineer

a premium rate for unscheduled, break-fix remediation sub-engagements

monthly payment via net-30 invoice for hours consumed the prior month

Macomb expects the engineers to work on-site but will consider remote-based support when applicable. As such, bids from firms with engineers local to the College’s operations in Warren and Clinton Twp., MI will given preference.

Please see section 9, “Scope of Services”, for a detailed list of the skills/disciplines required and proposed engagement parameters.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”2. PUBLIC STATEMENT

Macomb Community College (MCC) is the second largest community college in Michigan serving more than 43,000 degree-credit students. MCC also offers pre-college programs, continuing and professional education programs, customized workforce training and many cultural and community service programs.

3. TOPOLOGY STATEMENT The College has two geographically disparate datacenters connected with two dedicated, geographically separated fiber paths. The college’s Microsoft environment consists of approx. 3800 endpoint PC’s and a Windows server infrastructure utilizing a balance of (some) standalone and (primarily) Hyper-V virtualized technologies on a high-availability dual-campus HP blade server environment.

4. RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

To be considered for acceptance, all vendors wishing to bid must adhere to the following schedule:

Deadline to request clarifications Date: 7/10/15

Clarifications published to all bidders Date: 7/15/15

Final proposals due Date: 2 PM EST, 7/31/15

Proposals must be e-mailed by 2:00 p.m. EST time on the Final due date posted above. Proposals should be submitted to:

Dennis Costello, Purchasing AdministratorMacomb Community College14500 E. Twelve Mile Road, Warren, MI 48088 (Mailing Address)Fax: (586) 445-7366E-mail: costellod@macomb.edu

Proposals should not include any zipped or executable files as these will be blocked by the College’s e-mail security system and may not be considered as received on time.

Proposals must be signed by an individual with authority to enter into a binding contract and the authority of the individual signing must be stated thereon.

5. INQUIRIES

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”Inquiries pertaining to this RFP are to be directed to:

Contractual Questions:Dennis Costello, Purchasing Administratorpurchase@macomb.edu and costellod@macomb.edu

Scope of Services Questions (email only, please):Michael Zimmerman, CIO - zimmermanm@macomb.edu

Responses to clarifications will be shared with all organizations that were invited to submit a proposal. MCC will not be bound by any oral responses.

6. PROPOSAL RESPONSE FORMAT Responses should be submitted in electronic format to the contact listed above in Section 4 using the bid response form in appendix A of this document and attachment of pertinent supporting documentation. Acceptable electronic formats include Microsoft Word or PDF. Responses should be organized by section with contents of each as listed below:

Section ContentsA. Define your services and associated costs using the mandatory bid response

form found in Appendix “A”

B. Provide a company overview including core services and products.

C. Include redacted resumes showing qualifications, education and certifications of engineers/consultants who would be assigned/available to Macomb Community College under the MSA.

D. Three customer references.

E. A sample of the master services agreement (MSA) for review.

7. CONTACT PERSON

Please identify by name, telephone number and e-mail address, the person or persons whom the College can address questions to during the evaluation of proposals.

8. AWARD OF PROPOSAL

The College may award a contract based upon the initial proposal without further discussion of such proposals. Accordingly, each initial proposal should be submitted with each respondent’s most favorable fee and service capabilities.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”The College will award a contract to the one firm which it believes offers a proposal that is in the best overall interest of the institution.

9. SCOPE OF SERVICES

A. MASTER SERVICES AGREEMENT (MSA): The MSA will make available to the College a ‘bench’ of Microsoft Support Engineers that can be called upon to assist in Microsoft systems break-fix remediation tasks, scheduled system configuration changes, upgrades, performance tuning or new system installations.

Not all resources/skills listed in the ‘Discipline’ section (E) may be consistently required over the length of the contract. The vendor and the College should meet every six months (at minimum) to forecast needs.

B. OVERALL FUNCTION: Members of the ‘Bench’ will augment existing Macomb IT staff in the architecture, analysis, design, implementation, maintenance and break/fix remediation of the Microsoft core technologies listed in the ‘Discipline’ section below. Bench staff may also be called upon to provide daily long-term support of specific technologies during periods of prolonged vacancies, vacations or other periods where existing staff cannot meet the demands of the organization.

C. SCHEDULING: Bids shall include explanation of the procedure to request and reserve these resources under the MSA as a scheduled engagement or emergency (BREAK/FIX) support situation. The bid response form provides space to indicate standard and premium/off/hour/unscheduled pricing modes.

D. EXPERIENCE: Staff from the ‘bench’ made available to the College must each have at least 6 years of experience in designing, implementing and maintaining the Microsoft disciplines below within a mid-size enterprise environment. Preference will be given to firms whose bench staff includes active Microsoft MCSA or MCSE certifications within their respective disciplines.

E. MICROSOFT DISCIPLINES: Active Directory (2008, 2012) Microsoft System Center Suite (SCCM, SCOM, SCSM, SCVVM, SCDPM) Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization technologies Microsoft Azure Windows Desktop 7, 8.1 (and 10 when available) Windows Server 2008, 2012 SharePoint 2010, 2013 MS Exchange 2010, 2013 (clustered)

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench” Microsoft 365 (and future integration with on-premise Exchange and

Outlook clients) MS SQL Server (2008, 2012, 2014)

F. SUPPLEMENTAL SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: All members of the bench must have the ability to organize and prioritize their assignment(s), work both independently and within a group and exhibit a willingness to openly share information and ideas. They must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in written form and be customer service oriented.

G. ENGINEER/TECHNICIAN SUITABILITY CLAUSE: Macomb Community College reserves the right to interview engineer/technician candidates and validate their qualifications and suitability for the intended assignment before any or all engagements. Macomb also reserves the right to change consultants during the contract term if performance and/or ‘fit’ within the Macomb environment of contracted staff do not meet expectations. The College also reserves the right to cancel the contract/MSA in its entirely if, at the College’s sole discretion, determines the vendor’s bench skills and competencies can no longer meet the needs of Macomb Community College (see section 11.c and 11.s of this RFP).

10.CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Information contained in proposals may be subject to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests.

11.RIGHT TO REQUEST ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

MCC reserves the right to request any additional information, which might be deemed necessary after the completion of this document.

12.PROPOSAL PREPARATION COSTS

The Vendor is responsible for all costs incurred by the Vendor or his/her subcontractors in responding to this request for proposal.

13.STANDARD FORMS AND CONTRACTS

Any forms and contracts the Vendor proposes to include as part of any agreement resulting from this proposal between the Vendor and MCC must be submitted as part of the proposal. Any forms and contracts not submitted as part of the proposal and subsequently presented for inclusion may be rejected. This requirement includes, but is not limited to, the following types of forms: subcontractor, franchise, warranty agreements, maintenance contracts, and support agreements.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”

10.PROPOSAL TO BECOME PART OF AGREEMENT This RFP, Vendor’s response and any subsequent written communications, along with any formal, signed agreement will become part of the contract documentation governing performance of this project. Where conflicts exist, the later dated document will govern.

11.GENERAL CONDITIONS

a) Vendor as Independent ContractorThis is not an Agreement of partnership or employment of Vendor or any of Vendor's employees by MCC. Vendor is an independent Vendor for all purposes under this Agreement.

b) Conflict of Interest/DisclosureNo company or corporation in which an employee of the College has a direct or indirect interest shall transact business with the College unless such interest is disclosed to the Purchasing Department prior to entering into any contract or agreement with the College. Further, the employee shall not take part in the negotiations for or approval of such contract or agreement.

c) Use of Qualified and Experienced PersonnelVendor agrees at all times to maintain an adequate staff of experienced and qualified employees for efficient performance under this Agreement. Vendor agrees that, at all times, the employees of Vendor furnishing or performing any services shall do so in a professional, work-person like, and dignified manner.

d) Equal Opportunity EmployerVendor shall be an equal opportunity employer and shall conform to all Affirmative Action and other applicable requirements; accordingly, Vendor shall neither discriminate nor permit discrimination in its operations or employment practices against any person or group of persons on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or sex in any manner prohibited by law.

e) Compliance with Rules and RegulationsVendor agrees that all persons working for or on behalf of Vendor whose duties bring them upon MCC's premises shall obey the rules and regulations that are established by MCC and shall comply with the reasonable directions of MCC's officers. MCC may, at any time, require the removal and replacement of any of Vendor's employees for good cause.In the event of such a removal, the Vendor shall, within fifteen (15) days, fill this representative vacancy. Regardless of whom the Vendor has designated as the representative, the Vendor organization remains the ultimate responsible party for performing the tasks and responsibilities presented in this Agreement.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”f) Site Damage

Vendor shall be responsible for the acts of its employees and agents while on MCC's premises. Accordingly, Vendor agrees to take all necessary measures to prevent injury and loss to persons or property located on MCC's premises. Vendor shall be responsible for all damages to persons or property caused by Vendor or any of its agents or employees. Vendor shall promptly repair, to the specifications of MCC, any damage that it, or its employees or agents, may cause to MCC's premises or equipment; on Vendor's failure to do so, MCC may repair such damage and Vendor shall reimburse MCC promptly for the cost of repair.

g) In the Event of an AccidentVendor agrees that, in the event of an accident of any kind, Vendor will immediately notify the College’s Police Department and furnish a full written report of such accident if requested.

h) Non-interference with Institution OperationsCollege's operations must continue uninterrupted throughout the completion of the work contemplated herein. Certain portions of the work must be performed and completed in such order as directed by MCC's representative as to permit the orderly operation of MCC's activities. Vendor shall review the work to assure that operations will not impede the utilization of the facilities.

i) Campus Identification RequiredVendor and its employees are required, each day while work is being performed on campus, to check in with Campus Security and receive the necessary campus identification.

j) Responsibility for Personal PropertyMCC shall have no responsibility for the loss, theft, mysterious disappearance of, or damage to, equipment, tools, materials, supplies, and other personal property of Vendor, its employees, Subcontractors, or material persons.

k) Copyright IndemnityThe awarded Vendor shall indemnify and hold MCC harmless from any claim that a product or accessory or its use, infringes on another person or company’s patent, copyright, trade secret or other property right.

l) General IndemnityTo the fullest extent permitted by law, the Vendor shall indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Macomb Community College and its agents, employees, officers and successors, from and against any claims, causes of action, damages, losses and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys fees, arising out of or resulting in any way from Vendor’s performance of this contract, provided that such claim, cause of action, damage, loss or expense is attributable to bodily injury, sickness, disease or death to any person, including employees or agents of the Vendor, subcontractor, or construction manager, or to injury to or destruction of tangible property including loss of

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”use resulting there from, but only if caused in whole or in part by a negligent act or omission of the Vendor, a subcontractor, the construction manager, anyone directly or indirectly employed by them or any for whose acts they may be liable, regardless of whether or not such claim, cause of action, damage, loss or expense is caused in part by a party indemnified hereunder. Vendor shall not be obligated to hold harmless, indemnify or defend Macomb Community College or its agents, employees, officers, or successors if any claim, cause of action, damage, loss or expense arises from the sole negligence or fault of a party indemnified hereunder.

Vendor shall assume the defense of Macomb Community College pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 5.16 within fourteen (14) days of receipt of written notice. Any legal cost or expense, including attorney’s fees incurred by Macomb Community College for enforcement of its rights under paragraph 5.16 between the time by which Vendor should have assumed Macomb Community College’s defense and the time when Vendor assumes Macomb Community College’s defense shall be reimbursed by Vendor. Any legal cost or expense, including attorney’s fees, incurred by Macomb Community College in the successful prosecution of any litigation or arbitration seeking to enforce the provisions of paragraph 5.16 or in negotiating a settlement of such claim, shall also be reimbursed by Vendor.

m) Submitting Disputes to ArbitrationShould the parties agree to submit claims, disputes or other matters arising out of this Agreement to arbitration, they may do so only with the specific, written agreement of all parties, including Macomb Community College.

n) Advertising / PermissionVendor shall not use, in its external advertising, marketing programs, or other promotional efforts, any data, pictures, or other representation of MCC except on the specific written authorization in advance of MCC’s Purchasing Agent. Vendor will limit and direct any of its advertising on MCC’s premises to MCC’s student media and bulletin boards, and shall make arrangements for such advertising through the Student Activities Department. Vendor shall not install any signs or other displays anywhere on MCC's premises unless in each instance the prior written approval of MCC's Purchasing Agent has been obtained. However, nothing in this clause shall preclude Vendor from listing MCC on its routine client list for matters of reference.

o) Survival ClauseThe terms, conditions, representations, and warranties contained in this Agreement shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

p) Governing LawThis Agreement, and all matters or issues collateral to it, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the State of Michigan.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”q) Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements or understandings, written or oral, prior to signing of a contract.

r) Effect of RegulationShould any local, state, or national regulatory authority having jurisdiction over Macomb Community College enter a valid and enforceable order upon the College which has the effect of changing or superseding any term or condition of the Agreement, such order shall be complied with, but only so long as such order remains in effect and only to the extent actually necessary under the law. In such event, this Agreement shall remain in effect, unless the effect of the order is to deprive the College of a material part of its Agreement with the Contractor. In the event this order results in depriving the College of materials or raising their costs beyond that defined in the Agreement, the College shall have the right to rescind all or part of this Agreement (if such a rescission is practical) or to end the Agreement term upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the Vendor. Should the Agreement be terminated under such circumstances, the College shall be absolved of all penalties and financial assessments related to cancellation of the Agreement.

s) TerminationIn the event that either party shall fail to maintain or keep in force any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the aggrieved party may notify the other party in writing via certified mail of such failure and demand that the same be remedied within ten (10) business days. Should the defaulting party fail to remedy the same within said period, the other party shall thereupon have the right to terminate this Agreement by giving the other party thirty (30) days written notice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, due to lack of State or County funding, MCC may at any time during the life of this Agreement, terminate same by giving thirty (30) days notice in writing via certified mail to Vendor. In addition, if at any time a voluntary petition in bankruptcy shall be filed against the Vendor and shall not be dismissed within thirty (30) days, or if the Vendor shall take advantage of any insolvency law, or if a receiver or trustee of the Vendor's property shall be appointed and such appointment shall not be vacated within thirty (30) days, MCC shall have the right, in addition to any other rights of whatsoever nature that it may have at law or in equity, to terminate the contract by giving (30) days notice in writing of such termination.

t) AssignmentThis Agreement or any part thereof shall not be assigned or subcontracted by Vendor without the prior written permission of MCC; any attempt to do so without said prior permission shall be void and of no effect.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”u) Ownership of Documents

All plans, studies, documents and other writings prepared by and for Vendor, its officers, employees and agents in the course of implementing this Agreement, except working notes and internal documents, shall become the sole property of MCC upon payment to Vendor for such work, and MCC shall have the sole right to use such materials in its sole discretion without further compensation to Vendor or to any other party.

v) Employment of Other Vendors, Specialists or ExpertsVendor will not employ or otherwise incur an obligation to pay other vendors, specialists or experts for services in connection with this Agreement without the prior approval of MCC.

w) Warranty of Fitness for a Particular PurposeThe College has presented detailed technical specifications of the particular purpose for which the network and technology is intended. The College has provided detailed descriptions and criteria of how the system can be defined to accomplish a particular purpose. The College has also defined the exact procedures and techniques to be employed in testing whether the system has achieved the defined performance of this particular purpose. Given this advanced preparation concerning, and documentation about the College’s particular purpose, the Vendor at the time this Agreement is in force has (1) reason and opportunity to know the particular purpose for which products are required, and (2) that the College is relying on the Vendor’s experience and knowledge of these products to provide those which are most suitable and appropriate. Therefore, the Vendor warrants that the system is fit for the purpose for which it is intended as described in this document.

x) Non-Collusion CovenantThe Vendor hereby represents and agrees that it has in no way entered into any contingent fee arrangement with any firm or person concerning the obtaining of this Agreement. In addition, the Vendor agrees that a duly authorized Vendor representative will sign a non-collusion affidavit, in a form acceptable to the College that the Vendor firm has received from the College no incentive or special payments, or considerations not related to the provision of automation systems and services described in this Agreement.

y) Vendor Not an Agent of InstitutionMacomb Community College retains all rights of approval and discretion with respect to the projects and undertakings contemplated by this Agreement. Vendor, its officers, employees and agents shall not have any power to bind or commit MCC to any decision.

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”

APPENDIX “A” – MANDATORY BID RESPONSE FORM

TO: Macomb Community College July 31, 2015 14500 Twelve Mile Road Warren, MI 48088

ATTENTION: Purchasing Administrator

The contractor, in compliance with the Request For Proposal for Microsoft Engineer/Support Services having examined the RFP documents and being familiar with the scope of required services, including the availability of materials and labor, hereby proposes to furnish and install all labor, materials, tools, equipment and all services to provide work described herein in accordance with the RFP documents for the amounts stated below. Bid pricing shall remain valid for 90 days from bid opening to allow for funding authorization and contract review.

Contractor, if awarded a contract, agrees to commence work upon receipt of a written “Notice to Proceed/Letter of Intent” / Purchase Order and to fully complete the work in a mutually agreeable time. Contractor understands that the College reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive any informalities therein.

A.1 Bench size and consultant/engineer availability

For each of the disciplines below, please indicate the number of qualified staff that would be available to the college on four weeks’ notice and on 4 hr notice to assist in resolving emergency outages. The same engineer can be denoted in more than one category.

MICROSOFT DISCIPLINE

# engineers available on

30 day notice

# engineers available on 4 hour notice, 7 AM – 8 PM, 7 days/wk (emergency only)

Active Directory (2008 & 2012)System Center Suite:

SCCMSCOMSCSMSCVVMSCDPM

Hyper-VAzure StorSimple

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”Windows Desktop 7, 8.1Windows Server 2008Windows Server 2012SharePoint 2010SharePoint 2013Exchange 2010/2013Office 365 SQL Server 2008SQL Server 2012SQL Server 2014

A.2 Cost Quotation

Using the table below, define the hourly costs per discipline and the minimum fee/hours for each engagement. If the hourly costs for the second year of the contract are different from the first, replicate the table below to segregate the costs by contract year.

The College expects to consume 500-2000 hours per year.

MICROSOFT DISCIPLINE

M-F 8 AM – 5 PM, 30 day notice

Off-hour & weekend

premium rate, booked on 4

hour notice, 7 AM – 8 PM, 7

days/wk

Minimum hours

per engagement

Travel Costs, if any, per

day

Active Directory (2008 & 2012)System Center Suite:

SCCMSCOMSCSMSCVVMSCDPM

Hyper-VAzure Windows Desktop 7, 8.1Windows Server 2008

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”Windows Server 2012SharePoint 2010SharePoint 2013Exchange 2010/2013Office 365 SQL Server 2008SQL Server 2012SQL Server 2014

A.3 Miscellaneous

Check all that apply and provide amounts in the space provided.

[ ] A minimum number of hours per year. State amount: ________

[ ] A minimum number of hours per discipline per year. State amount: ________ [ ] Prepayment (retainer) amount. State amount: ________

[ ] Other (list and expand as required):i. __________________________________________________

______ii. __________________________________________________

______

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RFP # 5931 5/18/2023

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT SERVICES:

Microsoft Engineer/Support Services“Bench”

DECLARATION. The undersigned agrees to the provisions of contract documents and hereby affix authorized signature(s):

Signature(s):_____________________________________________________

Title:____________________________________________________________

Company Name:__________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________

City: __________________________State_________Zip Code____________

Telephone Number:________________ Fax Number:___________________

E-mail address: __________________________________________________

Print Name of Signature: ___________________________Date: __________

IT IS MANDATORY OF ALL CONTRACTORS TO RETURN THIS SHEET FULLY COMPLETED WITH THEIR PROPOSAL.

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