No. | Question | Section & Page | Answer |
1 | Phase I Pilot Requirements Summary references Required go-live date no later than 2 months after contract negotiations. When will requirements gathering and design sign off take place? Is it expected that all requirements and delivery of the Pilot take place in this required 2 month period?
| Section 3.1.1 Page 12 | Yes. |
2 | Phase I Pilot Requirements Summary references 24x7 availability. Does the current City of Buffalo data center support this level of coverage? | Section 3.1.1 Page 12 | The City of Buffalo currently does not have 24x7 availability but is looking for a configuration that may enable us to go 24x7 in the future. |
3 | Both Sections mention “TBD”, has a final number been derived yet? | Section 3.1.2 & 3.1.3 Page 13 | No. |
4 | What is the expected number of reports the vendor provide? Is there a description of each report? What phases would each report be required? | Section 3.2.5 Page 16 | The City is looking for a Respondent that already has a proven track-record in executing a project like this for a municipality of our size.
Given that fact, we expect an experienced Respondent to document in their bid how many reports are typical for a City of our size. Also, we expect the Respondent to propose when each report would be delivered in which phase.
|
5 | For initial product set-up, the successful Vendor will be required to install a version of it core software and any partnered products as part of the City’s demonstration environment. Is this an initial set-up prior to that of Section 3.1.1 Phase I Pilot? Please Provide Project Milestones of the different environment and phases according to the required delivery time lines in Section 3 of the RFP.
| Section 3.3.1 Page 18 | No. |
6 | At what point, relative to the award date, will the hardware environment be provided? Does this include access to the ACD and VRU? | Section 3.3 Page 18 | Upon agreement with the winning Respondent of what the required data processing equipment will be, the City will immediately order the equipment. The data processing hardware installation will be coordinated with the requirements of this project.
The telephony related equipment is being bid out under a companion program and will be ready to comply with the agreed to schedule for this project.
|
7 | "All formal training is based on a particular methodology..." What is the methodology used by the City of Buffalo? | Section 3.4.2 Page 20 | The City is looking for a Respondent that already has a proven track record in executing a project like this for a municipality of our size.
Given that fact, we expect an experienced Respondent to document in their bid what formal training methodology that they will use. The City does not have a specific methodology of its own.
|
8 | RFP Time Line. Will the City extend the Proposal Due date as the response to questions is two day prior to the proposal due date? There are several questions that are material to
| Section 4.1 Page 21 | No. The deadline for posting answers to questions is 7/9/07 but, if possible, we will attempt to post answers as soon as possible after the Vendor’s conference. |
9 | In regards to “15% of the Contract Price 60 days after the City determines Pilot Project Completion.” What are the completion criteria for pilot project completion? | Section 4.10 Pg 25 | Refer to section 3.1.1 for the list of steps required to be completed for Phase I roll-out. The City shall deem the pilot project complete when it is there a seamless transition of our existing system into the newly implemented CRM-CM system which includes staff training and case management.
|
10 | There is no mention of required font type or size for the Proposal. Is there a required font and size for the proposal? Also is there a max page count for the Proposal? | Section 5 Page 25 | Please use Arial 12 point font. There is no max page count for the proposal. |
11 | “Vendors are advised that the City will not purchase hardware or equipment under a contract resulting from this RFP, but will purchase required hardware and equipment separately, through the City’s normal procurement process.” What is the average response time for the purchase of hardware with the “City’s normal procurement process”? This information will help in determining project schedule
| Section 5.4.6 Pg 31 | The City of Buffalo will review and determine its specifications to meet the required needs of this project and purchasing purposes. It is the City of Buffalo desire to have all hardware selected, ordered and delivered before installation and configuration of CRM software. If not we will used existing hardware in our current call center. |
12 | “Each application tier should be the best fit for the specific function and should fit within the City of Buffalo's’ enterprise-wide technical architecture standards.” Are these standards available for review? | Section 5.4.6 Pg 32 | The City does not have a set of modern enterprise-wide technical architecture standards. The City’s technical architecture standards are of a 1980’s MIS vintage. |
13 | Does the City have an off-site of on-site at City Hall data center | Section 5.4.6 Pg 32 | The City of Buffalo will house the CRM Software solution at a City hall data center currently know as the Mayor’s Call & Resolution Center. |
14 | Given the 24x7 availability requirement, does the City have a Disaster Recovery Site? | Section 5.4.6 Pg 32 | The City is currently configuring our Disaster Recovery Site off site with the County’s 911 Emergency Center that service s the City of Buffalo or City of Buffalo Fire Department’s dispatch center both of which are off site.
|
15 | Is there a requirement for the hardware purchased to reside in the City data center or will off-site server hosting be acceptable to the City? | Section 5.4.6 Pg 32 | The City is open to having the hardware hosted and maintained off-site. In the case where the Respondent’s technical solution does not match the City’s standards, it is the strong preference of the City that the hardware be hosted off-site at the winning vendor’s facility. |
16 | If an Oral Presentation is required, when would an oral presentation be requested and how much lead time will be given? | Section 6.1.2 Page 39 | Vendor(s) selected by the City of Buffalo to provide a demonstration will be notified on or before Wednesday July 25, 2007. The selected vendor(s) demonstration will be on Wednesday August 1, 2007 in Buffalo City Hall. This may be subject to change. |
17 | It is our understanding that a Bid Bond will be required with the submission of this Proposal. Please clarify that the Bid Bond needs to be in an amount to cover only Phase I of this RFP (Pilot Phase) or does it need to cover all Phases?
| Section 18 Page 112 | If the dollar amount exceeds $250,000 only a bid bond is acceptable, and must be submitted with your proposal in the amount of 10% of the entire proposal. |
18 | Will the vendor be disqualified from the RFP process should they not meet the conditions of the bid bond in section 7.1?
| | The general requirements must be met to submit a proposal. |
19 | Will the vendor be disqualified from the RFP process should they not meet the conditions of the bid bond in section 7.2?
| | Section 7.2 is pertaining to Performance Bonds not Bid Bonds. If the City requests a performance bond they must have one. |
20 | Will the City waive all or some of the required bid bond amount if the vendor demonstrates a strong history of financial viability and earnings growth? | | The bid bond requirements are clear and will be submitted with the proposal; any dollar amount over $250,000 must be have a bid bond only for 10% of the dollar amount, per section 7.1 page #42. |
21 | Will the City waive all or some of the required performance bond (below the 50% bond currently suggested in section 7.2) if the vendor demonstrates a strong history of financial viability, earnings growth, and a history of delivering a quality product and performance?
| | The performance bond page 42, section 7.2 there are alternative as stated but if the total dollar amount exceeds $250,000 those alternatives must be submit to council for approval. |
22 | Will the City waive all or some of the required performance bond (below the 50% bond currently suggested in section 7.2) if the vendor provides a more favorable payment schedule to the City? | | Vendors should read this section, Section 7.2, and submit a request in writing for review and approval for alternative to performance bonds prior to bid submission. Please follow the established protocols. |
23 | Will an extension be issued to the current RFP due date of July 11th? | | No extension to the current RFP due date have been granted. If any are to be granted they will be posted on the RFP web site. |
24 | Can the vendor dial into the pre conference meeting scheduled for June 27th via a teleconference?
| | No provisions have been made to dial into the pre-vendor conference. |
25 | Will the City publish answers to all vendor questions before July 9th? | | The deadline for posting answers to questions is 7/9/07 but, if possible, we will attempt to post answers as soon as possible after the Vendor’s conference. |
26 | Is a performance bond necessary if the vendor supplied application is “off the shelf” rather than a custom built application and thus reduces risk to the City?
| | A performance bond is a requirement of our bid, see bonding requirement and exceptions Section 7.2 of RFP. |
27 | Does the City provide services for any partners outside of the City’s jurisdictional boundaries? If so please identify the partner and the services provided. | | The City does not currently provide services for any partners outside of the City’s jurisdiction. This may be an option in the future, i.e. private utilities and other government entities. |
28 | Can the City please provide more detail around their vision on how the system would measure the attainment of financial objectives related to service delivery?
| | The City is looking for creative ideas from the Respondents’ of this RFP on how it might meet this objective. |
29 | Can the City provide the technical specifications for the mobile hand held devices referenced on page 12? | | The City has not yet selected that technology. The winning Responder for this project will have input on that subject into the City’s decision-making process. |
30 | On page 12 of the RFP the City states the following requirement: Integration with telephony technology required (IVR, VRU). Can the City please provide a description of their current / proposed telephony environment? | | The City of Buffalo is currently undertaking a major refresh of its information technology (IT). Under that umbrella program, the City’s entire telephony service is being replaced with a CISCO, SKNY, Call Manager solution. That telephony project is being coordinated with this project through the telephony project. |
31 | Can the City please verify the user count for each of the project phases for estimating and infrastructure sizing purposes? | | Can you please define what you mean by user count and the types of privileges define for types of users. Also do you mean individuals or departments? |
32 | Does the City have a document management system in place today or any plans to purchase one in the near future? If so, could the City please identify the system or systems under consideration? | | The City of Buffalo is executing a best-of-breed information technology (IT) strategy. Under that strategy, the City has selected LaserFiche as its document management system. In parallel with this project, under the larger umbrella of a total IT refresh a companion program to this is undertaking a LaserFiche implementation for some of its Departments. |
33 | Can the City please provide a list of service level expectations for the services associated “Administering the system” for the 2 year period? Example: Operation of hardware, Addition, deletion and profiling of users, creation of new workflows and SR scripts, etc. | | The City is looking for a turnkey solution. It expects that each respondent will detail the service levels that it will design the City’s program too. |
34 | Would the City consider and extension on the proposal due date? The reason for the request is that the window of time between the posting of answers 7/9 and the due date for proposal 7/11 does not provide vendors with enough time to incorporate feed back in their proposals. | | The deadline for posting answers to questions is 7/9/07 but, if possible, we will attempt to post answers as soon as possible after the Vendor’s conference. |
35 | Can the City provide electronic examples of the Mayor’s CitiStat reports? Can the City provide a detailed description of the KPIs being captured and measured? The City of Baltimore provides public access to their CitiStat environment through the web. Can or does the City of Buffalo provide the similar access through the web? http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/news/citistat/reports.html | | The CitiStat meetings are video recorded and broadcast on the local government cable channel. In addition, the City of Buffalo currently provides public access to CitiStat environment through the web at http://www.city-buffalo.com/Home/Leadership/Mayor/CitiStat_Buffalo
The key performance indicators that are tracked within CitiStat vary by department and relate to labor productivity. |
36 | What is the budget for this project? | | The City of Buffalo believes it has sufficient funds to undertake this project. |
37 | How was the budget established? Through what process? | | The budget for this program was derived by looking at what other peer City’s had paid for similar programs. |
38 | Please confirm the time and place of the Vendor Conference on June 27 for the 311 CRM-CM Proposal. | | Please be advised the date time and location for the vendor conference is on Page 6 of the 311 CRM -CM RFP.
|
| | | |
