STATE OF WASHINGTON

“the consolidated technology services agency” RCW 43.105.006

WASHINGTON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

1500 Jefferson Street SE l Olympia, Washington 98504-1501 l (360) 407-8700

DATE: January 29, 2018

TO: All Potential Vendors

FROM: Michael Callahan, RFQ Coordinator

SUBJECT: Amendment #1 to T18-RFP-022 – Cisco Products and Services

Summary:

This document is prepared by the Washington State Consolidated Technology Services (CTS) and shall serve as the sole official reply to Vendor Questions submitted in response to RFQ T18-RFQ-022.

Questions and responses are numbered for ease of reference only and are in no particular order or priority. Questions and comments have generally been stated as they were received except that some questions have been modified to maintain vendor confidentiality or to reduce redundancies. The answers may only explain or clarify some aspect that is already addressed in the RFQ. Some of the answers may also supplement or change what was previously stated in the RFQ or in an appendix. It is important that Vendors review all questions and answers.

General Information:

Vendors are advised to obtain and thoroughly review the complete, formal RFQ located at: http://watech.wa.gov/procurement-announcements.

Vendor Questions and Official Answers

# / Question / CTS Response
1 / Is CTS seeking responses from the Manufacture, Value Added Resellers (VAR), or both? / CTS would accept responses from either Value Added Resellers or the Manufacturer.
2 / In Section 1.7 the Cisco Products and Services RFQ is currently an “optional” Contract.
a.  How will this contract differ from NASPO and other contracts?
b.  Can you please define “optional”?
c.  Will CTS be leveraging other contract vehicle(s) to source Cisco products and services?
d.  Once the Cisco Products and Services Contract becomes “optional”, how will CTS determine which contract to use? / a.  CTS does not have master contract authority, and the resulting contract will be for CTS use only.
b.  The resulting contract shall be an optional use contract in that CTS may use the contract as needed, but is not obligated to use it to make purchases throughout the term.
c.  It is unknown at the time whether or what other contracts CTS may utilize.
d.  CTS will utilize the resulting contract as needed.
3 / Can you please provide a sample invoice as described in Section 4.6? / Section 4.6 Invoice Requirements details what CTS expects to appear on Vendor invoices submitted to CTS for purchases it makes. There is no sample invoice.
4 / With regard to Section 6.6, please define “provisioning” and delineate what is required of the ASV to provision products/services. / Provisioning means to provide all things necessary under the contract and RFQ.
5 / Under Sample Contract Section 53, Subcontractors:
For respondents who are resellers of the Cisco product and services, can CTS clarify that Cisco is not considered a subcontractor of resellers, and that default has to be caused by reseller, and not Cisco – including any default under a direct agreement held with CTS – in order for resellers to be liable for any damages or termination for default? / Per Section 3.15 Contract Requirements vendors are to submit exceptions to Appendix B Proposed Contract with its response as detailed in Section 3.15.
6 / Under Sample Contract for Indemnification and Save Harmless, and Confidential Information
Can CTS clarify if it is their intent to consider Cisco a “subcontractor” of the respondents who are resellers? Resellers can cover claims for a disclosure, damages, or bodily injury directly caused by it, but not by a third party. Resellers also do not have access to the same information and data that Cisco may have as the software provider. / See answer to question number 5.
7 / Will the CTS remove “Software License” Sections 34-44 of the Sample Contract? Respondents who are resellers of the software licenses, are not the publisher, nor are resellers legally allowed to grant the license. Any license grant comes from Cisco, subject to the terms and conditions of their direct agreements with CTS. / See answer to question number 5.
8 / Some of the line items requested are end of sale by Cisco.We have the current option of quoting remanufactured parts, is this acceptable? If not, please inform us what you would like us to do. / Section 5.2 (M) Product Manufacture requires all Products supplied under the contract to be of new and original manufacture.
9 / Appendix E, Section A.7 Software. The items listed here are product categories and not actual part numbers. These categorieshave many options and licensing levels.How would you like us to quote this section? / The part numbers included in Appendix E are intended to be a sample list and are not all inclusive. The respondent is able to add, modify or delete items as appropriate for that product category to reflect what the respondent has available for purchase so long as they do not change the format of the table to add, remove or modify the number and type of columns. Please provide specific part numbers, descriptions and pricing for the items that relate to the product categories listed.
10 / Appendix E, Section A.9 Training. We are not a Cisco Learning Partner and do not offer certification classes. Would simply quoting the price of Cisco Learning Credits to complete these courses be an acceptable response? / Yes. Submission of training credits in lieu of specific training classes are acceptable provided the amount of credit allotted can be used for Cisco sponsored classes/certifications and covers in full the entire cost of the desired Cisco class/certification.
11 / Regarding Section 3.4 Response Contents: The Response must contain information responding to all mandatory requirements contained in this RFQ, completed client references*, and must include the signature of an authorized Vendor representative on all documents required in the appendices. There is no reference form in the bid packet, and the TOC link is inactive. It is not listed on the website either. Will you provide? / There is no Client Reference requirement for this RFQ. The citation to a client references is an artifact.
12 / Will the chosen partner be responsible for existing SmartNet contracts already established and if so, when will this expire? / No.
13 / What contract term does CTS/WATECH usually procure for SmartNet? 1 year, 3 year or 5 year? / It varies depending on the equipment, the expected end-of-life for the equipment, and CTS’ expected use pattern of the equipment.
14 / Are the dates co-termed into existing contracts or are the expiration dates spread out? (SmartNet) / Most are co-termed, some are not.
15 / Are we to include maintenance & warranty pricing in each line item, or are we to assume that’s something to add on future potential bids? The sample contract that was sent over has terms in it that make it seem like all hardware must be maintained and warrantied. The current pricing request structure doesn’t really make it possible to respond with Smartnet maintenance included. / Smartnet will be purchased separately, and thus, Appendix E, Section A.10 Smartnet should be completed. CTS will request additional SmartNet coverage for equipment purchases at its discretion.
16 / Would WaTech grant a 2 week extension of the acquisition due date? / No.
17 / Appendix E – Cost Model – For evaluation purposes, would it be feasible to have a quantity identified for each of the noted parts within Appendix E? When an acquisition is open ended, Cisco views them as potential conflicts with existing Master Contracts such as NASPO. The inclusion of Most Favored Nation clauses in contracts such as NASPO precludes Cisco from authorizing any discounts beyond those that are published within NASPO. If quantities are specified, additional discounts could be presented in the bid response thereby making the overall financials more attractive to the State. / The intent of this procurement is to allow for the purchase of items on an as needed basis. Thus no specific quantities are known at this time.
18 / Appendix E Sections A.1 - Switches, A.2 - Routers, & A.4 - Cards includes parts that are End of Sale.Section 5.2 explicitly states that no used or refurbished parts will be sold. Would WaTech remove these parts or provide alternative parts to be quoted? / The part numbers included in Appendix E are intended to be a sample list and are not all inclusive. The respondent is able to add, modify or delete items as appropriate for that product category to reflect what the respondent has available for purchase so long as they do not change the format of the table to add, remove or modify the number and type of columns.
19 / Given the various licensing options for each product listed in section A7- Software of Appendix E it would be impractical to include all options within the pricing model presented. Would WaTech provide the specific license/part number they would like quoted? / The part numbers included in Appendix E are intended to be a sample list and are not all inclusive. The respondent is able to add, modify or delete items as appropriate for that product category to reflect what the respondent has available for purchase so long as they do not change the format of the table to add, remove or modify the number and type of columns.
20 / In Section A.8 – Professional Services, the products listed are based on specific scopes of work i.e. NOS and consultation or specific Bill of Materials i.e. Installation Support and therefore the specific SKUs may not have a static MSRP making it impossible to provide a quote that could be analyzed equally between submissions. Could WaTech either remove this section or provide a sample Statement of Work for evaluation purposes only? / Sample Statement of Work is attached.
21 / Section A.9 Training – There are many training classes associated with the noted certifications identified in this section. Would WaTech consider changing this section to include training credits such as the following part number TRN-CLC-XXX? / Submission of training credits in lieu of specific training classes are acceptable provided the amount of credit allotted can be used for Cisco sponsored classes/certifications and covers in full the entire cost of the desired Cisco class/certification. The part numbers included in Appendix E are intended to be a sample list and are not all inclusive. The respondent is able to add, modify or delete items as appropriate for that product category to reflect what the respondent has available for purchase so long as they do not change the format of the table to add, remove or modify the number and type of columns.
22 / In section 4.10 (M) Software End User Agreement subsection 4.1.4 it states that Cisco must agree to participate in the contract negotiations with CTS. Contracts are negotiated between the authorized reseller and the purchaser. Would WaTech remove this requirement for the manufacturer to be involved in the execution of the final contract? / CTS understand that the reseller and CTS will execute the contract. What section 4.10 requires is for Cisco to be involved in the negotiation of the software license which will be between Cisco and CTS.
23 / In section 5.5 (M) Vendor Replacement of Defective Shipments it states that the Vendor must replace Product Shipments found to be defective by Customer within seven (7) business days from notification by purchaser. Per Cisco’s policy, the interval for replacement product shipments is ten (10) business days after the receipt of the RMA. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/general/warranty/English/901DEN__.html
Would WaTech remove this requirement or change the interval to ten (10) business days from the receipt of the RMA? / For purchases in which the default 90-day warranty is applicable, CTS will accept replacement of defective products within 10 business days. In instances where Smartnet is purchased, the period should be in accordance with the Smartnet rules not the default 90-day warranty.