PBX & Key Telephone Systems, Equipment and Realted Services

Questions & Answers

IFB 6100041793

PBX & Key Telephone Systems, Equipment and Realted Services

# / IFB Page Number / IFB Section Reference / Question / Answer
1. / General / n/a / Is there a specific format that is being requested for submitting a bid? If so, where can we find the details? / Bids must be submitted via the PASupplierPortal. Please see Part I, Sections I-8 and I-20 & Part II, Section II-8.
2. / 34 / Calendar of Events and Part I, Section I-6 / In the Calendar of Events the Deadline to submit questions has a date of 09/05/2017, but in Section I-6 Questions there states there is no set timeleine for submittal of questions. Please clarify. / Suppliers may submit questions up to the due date. The Commonwealth will make every effort to respond to questions after the due date.
3. / General / n/a / What is the estimated cost of the PBX and Key Telephone Systems project? / While there is not an estimated budget at this time, the historical spend for the existing contracts is $4,558,533.44
4. / General / n/a / Has the Department allocated funding for the PBX and Key Telephone Systems yet? If so, through which source (budget, CIP, state/federal grant etc)? / The funding sources for the contracts resulting from this IFB are specific to each Commonwealth agency. Funding is approved prior to an agency’s issuance of a purchase order.
5. / 22 / Part IV, Section IV-I / Would it be possible to name the three greatest challenges the Department is having with the current solution? / No, since the type of telephone system is determined at the agency level. Note that all responsive and responsible bidders will be awarded a contract.
6. / 22-34 / Part IV, Section IV-3 / Which other systems will have to integrate or interface with the PBX and Key Telephone Systems, and will the State provide incumbent vendors for each system? / None at this time.
7. / 25-27 / Part IV, Section IV-3.B / Which operating platform does the Department currently use? / Is desired for PBX and Key Telephone Systems? / The operating platforms used varies by agency. Please see Appendix O, PBX and Key Telephone Systems Data. Also, please refer to existing contracts:

8. / 22 / Part IV, Section IV-3 / What is the number of users anticipated for the PBX and Key Telephone Systems? / This will vary by agencies and is dependent on their specific requirements.
9. / General / n/a / Who is the technical contact and/or project manager for the PBX and Key Telephone Systems? / Each agency has a specific telecommunications point of contact.
10. / 22-34 / Part IV, Section IV-3 / Can the Department elaborate on any additional drivers behind this acquisition that may not be addressed in the IFB? / Please see Part IV, Section IV-1 and IV-2, on page 22,. Additionally, the existing contracts set forth in the answer to Question Number 7 expire this year.
11. / General / n/a / Does the State anticipate procuring any services related to the effort? For example: IV&V, QA, Staff augmentation, integration, solicitation prep, etc. If so, what, when and how? / The only services related to this procurement are set forth in Part IV, Section IV-3,Requirements, on pages 22-34.
12. / 6 / Part I, Section I-11 / Can we use a different purchasing vehicle other than COSTARS if there is no cost involved? / The Commonwealth does not understand the question. COSTARS is a purchasing vehicle that allows COSTARS members to procure supplies and services from contracts resulting from this IFB. Information relating to the COSTARS Program is located at Part I, Sectoin I-11, COSTARS Program and
13. / 20 / Part III, Sections III-2 and III-3 / What is the timeframe to select a vendor? / Bid Tabulation will be posted immedaitly following the due date of the IFB. Any Bidder who meets the minumium qualifications will recive a contract. Please refer to Part II, Section III-2 and II-3.
14. / General / n/a / Has funding been approved? / Refer to the answer to Question Number 4.
15. / Appendix O / What constitutes a small, medium and large key/PBX key system in the pricing section?
Can you advise us the minimum/maximum number of users per level as well as trunking requirements?
How do you want labor and support shown for the different size systems? / Site sizes are defined as follows (users):
Large: 500
Medium: 100-499
Small: 100
Trunkingrequirements and number of users are determined by the individual agency.
Labor and support should be priced by the hour.
16. / 22 / VI-3 / Do you require digital phones or could IP phones replace current digital sets? / IP Phones will be an acceptable replacement; however, the final decision will be made nby the individual agency after they have reviewed a vendor’s proposal.
17. / 22 / VI-3 / Do any of the agencies have Vmware or Hyper V installed that could be used for voice applications? / None that we are aware of.
18. / 23 / IV-3 A vi(2) / What type of ACD systems are you currently using? How do we acquire information? / ACD is not a part of this procurement. This will be handled by a separate contract.
19. / 23 / IV-3 A(vi)(2) / What type of IVR systems are you currently using? How do we acquire information? / IVR is not a part of this procurement. This will be handled by a separate contract.
20. / 26 / IV-3 B(v)(1) / The telephone system must include audio text as well as facsimile and forms software that can query caller for information to be transcribed at a later time. Could you explain these features? / A forms voicemail box prompts callers for specific information, such as name, address, etc, as seperated recorded messages. It will then combine all the recordings into a single audio file. Audio text is a reference to text-to-speech transcription.
21. / 26 / IV-3 B(vi)(2) / For the Call Accounting solution, is it to be optionally priced based on small, medium and large systems? / Yes.
22. / 27 / IV-3 B(ix) / Can you please explain "Call Tracing" ability? / Call trace allows for harassing or threatening calls to be traced back to the specific number the call was made from.
23. / 20 / III-6 / Are there any network service opportunities? / No, there are no network services opportunites.
24. / 20 / III-3 / What is the timeframe to complete each site or the project as a whole? / Agenices will place orders as services are needed. Timeframes will be addressed as part of the statement of work.
25. / Appendix O / For the Centrex locations, can you give us direction? Do you want to keep them as they are or convert them to a telephone system? If converted to a telephone system, do you want to keep all of the existing telephone numbers? Are any of the Centrex lines currently going into a telephone system? / These locations are using Centrex as the “trunking” for their key systems. Replacement or modification of these services are at the discretion of the ordering agency and will be communicated to the vendor as part of the statement of work.
26. / Appendix O / For telephone sets, do you want unit pricing for the different set types? (i.e. digital, IP, single line, 8-button, 16-button, etc)? / Yes.
27. / Appendix O / Do the users require voice mail? / Not all users will require voicemail, but voicemail is a requirement of any new system.
28. / 23 and 31 / III-3 A(vi)(2) and III-3 E(iii) and (i) / Please clarify - wouldn't the ACD/IVR systems be replaced with the new systems?
It appears that there is going to be a separate contract for IVR & ACD applications and THEY CANNOT be procured under this contract? Even if it would be in the best interest of the Commonwealth?
Does the Commonwealth want maintenance on the old systems or ability to provide T&M support? / ACD/IVR is not a part of this procurement.
Any new systems will utilize the commonwealth’s ACD contract for these services.
Any exisiting services may require maintenance at the request of individual agencies. Refer to Part III-3.E(iii) and (iv).
29. / 31 / III-3 E(iii) and (i), iii & iv / ACD systems are typically proprietary and inherent to the phone system and if the existing ACD systems are, then they would have to be replaced with the system. IVR's may be external, but if they aren't then they would also require replacement. / ACD/ IVR is not a part of this procurement. Any new systems will utilize the commonwealth’s ACD contract for these services. Any exisiting services may require maintenance at the request of individual agencies.
30. / 23 / viIII-3.B(xi) / Pricing needs to include installation- BUT is it accurate to say that cabling pricing are quoted when equipment is requesting from an agency? / If cabling is required, agencies will request pricing during quoting process.
31. / 31 / III-3.E, I iii & iv / The Contractor must, if elected by the Commonwealth agency, service an installed telephone system until the expiration of its contract. Commonwealth is requesting at no cost to the Commonwealth, the most recent software upgrades during the warranty period. Is the contractor supposed to include warranty for the two years of the base contract and then renewal prices for each option year? / Pricing should only include base years. Agencies will request additional pricing, if necessary, if/when contract is renewed.
32. / General / n/a / Are there any requirements for SBE/MBE/WOBE participation on this contract? / No, there are not.
33. / 17 / II-1 / Is Costar participation mandatory or optional for the contractor? / COSTARS participation is optional.
34. / 25 / IV-3.B(i) / How will the Commonwealth compare prices, since there is significant area of overlap. Will PO's be issued for pricing submitted herein or will each requirement be competitively solicited from the vendors on this contract? / The agencywill request quotes from Contractors when there is a need to procure products and/or services. Agencies will perform a best value determination before issuing a Purchase Order.
35. / 32 / IV-3.E(2) / Please define what remote alarm capabilities are required. / At the Telecommunications Management Office discretion, the vendor should provide the commonwealth the ability to receive automated notifications of systems failures.
36. / General / n/a / Please provide information regarding the future, strategic IT initiatives of the Commonwealth which may impact the services, support, and equipment provided via this contract vehicle. / The Commonwealth does not disclose this information.
37. / 30 / IV-3D(i) / What is the Commonwealth's minimum requirements referencing CAT6e? / Unless otherwise specified, cabling requests will use CAT6 or CAT6e.
38. / 33 / IV-3.D(xi)(3) / On site locations that will be reusing existing cabling – Is there a minimum standard requirement that the Commonwealth will use on existing cabling? / This will be at the discretion of the ordering agency.
39. / 30 / IV-3.D / Is CAT6A to be considered in any of the bid requirements for this IFB? / This will be at the discretion of the ordering agency.
40. / 34 / IV-3.G / Are WebEx training sessions acceptable as needed? / Yes.
41. / 39 / V.11(f) / Would WebEx demonstrations be acceptable based on the possible geographic limitations of the product being demonstrated? / Yes.
42. / 58 / V.34 / Can you please look at section V .34- there are two a, b, c under this section? / The second set of a.b.c should be g, h and i.
43. / 5 and 18 / I-8 and II-8 / Just to verify the following is the list of documents that need to be submitted in order to be deemed responsive? 1. Appendix B, 2. Appendix C, 3. Manufacturers Letter, 4.Appendix D, 5. Manufacturer Price List, 6. Appendix F. / Bidders must submit the applicable documents mentioned within Part II, Requirements.
44. / Appendix I, SLA #2, #3 and #4 / Metric Inclusions state "All ServiceNow tickets". Can you please clarify for SLA#2 what is defined as a Major Malfunction and Outage Incident? Is it every ticket that is opened up with vendor to be resolved within a 4 hour window? / A Major malfunction is described in the metric inclusion for SLA#4, Major malfunction Response. A minor malfunction is described in the metric inclusion for SLA #3, Minor Malfunction Response.
45. / 26 / IV-3.B(viii) / You are asking for SIP trunk compatability. Can the licenses for SIP trunks and the Session Border Controller be added upon request of a new system? You have no quantities in there at this time / Yes. Quantities will bebe added through the contract change process.
46. / Appendix O / What is the purpose of Appendix O? Can we configure the key systems with 20 phones 50 phones and 250 phones, and for the PBX can we do 50 stations , 200 and 1000? On the trunks for key some potts and T-1 for the codes the PBX. / Appendix O is a representation of the commonwealth’s services, as it relates to the existing contract.

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