PUBLIC NOTICE
                                                              SOQ 23-010
 
IT Support & Supplemental Staffing
 
            The Parish of Jefferson, authorized by (Resolution No. 141561), is hereby soliciting a Statement of Qualifications (General Professional Services Questionnaire) from persons or firms interested in providing Information Technology Support and/or Supplement Staffing for the Department of Electronic Information Systems (EIS) and Telecommunications.
           
Deadline for Submissions: 3:30 p.m., May 5, 2023
 
 
Back Ground & General Scope:
 
The Parish shall select a limited number of qualified Technology Service Firms to provide technical support services and supplemental staffing for their areas of expertise for the technology systems & related services listed herein. Responding firms shall indicate the services for which they can provide expert support and supplemental staffing.
 
The Parish Electronic Information Systems Department includes 28 full-time employees and five full-time contractors supporting the five divisions within EIS (Network/Systems, Development, Support, GIS, and Telecommunications) responsible for supporting a range of technology resources used by 3,000 Parish employees and the public. In addition, parish EIS staff supports two data centers, hosting over 100 virtual servers on HPE hardware, HPE SANs and backup appliances, and 1,900 Windows 10 and 11 endpoints across 125 connected facilities.
 
The technology systems, services, software applications, and projects for which technical support may be needed are listed below. Respondents are encouraged to submit proposals for the services listed below that they are best suited to support. Respondents may submit a proposal for one or more target areas, knowing it is unlikely one firm has expertise in each area. For each target area selected, proposers should detail how they are uniquely qualified to provide support and shall submit prior experience, employee resumes, references, etc.
 
To be considered, the Parish requires bonified Information Technology firms with a depth of qualified professionals with three or more years’ proven experience supporting one or more of the target areas:
 
Data Center Support/Services

Vmware
Veeam
HPE Infrastructure (Synergy, Nimble, 3PAR, Store Once)
Window Server 2016 & newer
Linux OS

Network Support

Fortinet (NG Fortigates, FortiManager, Access Points, VPN)
Ruckus Access Points
Cisco Routers, switches & Meraki
SD-WAN technology
Layer 2 & 3 routing, BGP protocol 
 
Database Support

Oracle 19c (application server, RAC, WebLogic 12.2.2, Enterprise Manager, Forms)
MS SQL 2016 & newer
DB Visit

Microsoft

Exchange 2016 and newer
Office 365 (including, but not limited to: eDiscovery, Exchange, Defender, Teams, and SharePoint)
Office 365 Development and App integration

SharePoint
Power Platform, BI, and Automate

Active Directory and related domain services
WSUS
Azure
DFS file management

Application Support (Development & Maintenance)

.NET in-house applications
OpenText eDocs Document Management and workflow routing

Telecommunications

Avaya VoIP support (Avaya Aura on-prem)
Telecom carrier invoice auditing services

GIS

ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9 and newer
ArcGIS Server 10.9.1 and newer
ArcGIS Portal Server 10.9.1 and newer
ArcGIS online 4.24 and newer
ArcGIS Administrator

Cybersecurity

Assessments
Penetration testing
Forensics Investigation
Incident Response
Awareness and Training

As Needed Ancillary Services

Data Center & facility wiring (fiber, copper, coaxial), boring, testing, and repair. Firm must have up-to-date CAD software documenting wiring in detail and the ability to bore. 
Data Center electrical services. Firm must have up-to-date CAD software documenting site plan wiring in detail.
Project Management
Strategic Technology Planning  
Minimum Requirements for Selection 
In addition to supporting the technology target areas, responding firms may include staffing augmentation in their proposal based on one or more of the positions/skill sets listed herein. Respondents must submit employee resumes of their personnel for each position. In addition, some positions require verifiable certifications, as indicated. Below are the minimum qualifications needed to support each position.   
 
Server Technician - Strong knowledge of Windows Server operations; knowledge of MS Exchange; VMware management software; configuring and maintaining geo-redundant data centers; restoring backup data; data replication to and from cloud services. Technician should have the following certifications: VCP6 or better for VMware; MCSE Windows Server 2016 or newer; MCSE Exchange 2012 or newer. Additionally, the proposed contractor must supply a server tech with a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Master Accredited Solutions Expert (Master ASE) certificate. 
Network Administrator/Technician – strong knowledge of Fortinet & Cisco routers, switches, firewalls, and Avaya VoIP services; VPN, Ruckus & Fortinet access points, Ubiquiti, and 802.1x wireless. Verifiable recent experience managing a similar-sized network is required. Network Admin/Technician should have the following certifications: CCNA or higher. 
Oracle Database Administrator – strong knowledge of Oracle database setup, configuration, patching, upgrading, tuning/optimizing version 19c RAC/standalone databases; strong knowledge of Linux OS as a host for Oracle database including shell scripting, file system maintenance, and setup, system monitoring, and upgrades; experience with using Oracle to maintain ESRI GIS data; strong knowledge of Oracle RMAN backup/restore procedures and synchronization; experience with Oracle Cloud and MS Azure; ability to troubleshoot database, network and operating systems for performance problems or enhancements. Follow Oracles best practices for security, patching, setup, and maintenance; experience with Enterprise Manager setup, configuration, and database management; Experience with virtualization setup and maintenance; work with users to provide access to the database and support for both home grown and COTS applications; experience with Oracle Web Logic management, configuration, and maintenance; ability to manage and perform disaster recovery procedures; knowledge of Oracle security management; knowledge of Maintaining a 24/7 high availability database; knowledge of database programming for application enhancements; knowledge and administration of Oracle Mobile Server; knowledge of Oracle forms and reports running on Weblogic; knowledge of Oracle licensing; manage the use of database memory. Technician should have the following certifications: Oracle Database Administrator Certified Associate. 
Microsoft Support Technician – strong knowledge of Microsoft servers and networking, including Domain Controllers, DNS, Active Directory, Group Policy, Windows Updating Services, Server Failover Clustering; Distributed File Systems; Exchange 2016 and newer; Office365. Technician should have the following certifications: MCSE. MCSE Exchange 2016 and MCSE Server 2016 or better are preferred. 
Programmer/Analyst - extensive experience designing, writing, and updating source code using Visual Basic, C#, HTML, and SWIFT.   Strong SQL, PL/SQL development experience. Knowledge of JDBC and ODBC; experience with HTML programming. 
PC/Help Desk Technician – strong knowledge of current Microsoft Windows desktop OS and related software; experience with Remote Desktop software; imaging, configuring, and troubleshooting Windows OS; experience installing Ethernet wiring. Technicians shall have the following certifications: A+ required, and Network+ is preferred. 
 
Evaluation Criteria
 
 
The following criteria shall be used to evaluate the Statements of Qualification the firms/individuals submit:
            (A)  Experience and Personnel qualifications - 30 points
            (B)  Scope of Services – 30 points
            (C)  Responsiveness to SOQ – 5 points
            (D)  Innovative Concepts – 20 points
            (E)  Financial Profile – 10 points
 
Past and current professional accomplishments, for which references from clients or former clients and information gathered by inspection of current or recent projects may be considered - 5 points
 
 
The person or firm submitting a Statement of Qualification (General Professional Services Questionnaire) must identify all subcontractors who will assist in providing professional services for the project, in the professional services questionnaire. Each subcontractor shall be required to submit a (General Professional Services Questionnaire) and all documents and information included in the questionnaire.  (Refer to Jefferson Parish Code Ordinance, Section 2-928)
 
All persons or firms (including subcontractors) must submit a Statement of Qualifications (General Profession Services Questionnaire) by the deadline. The latest professional services questionnaire may be obtained by contacting the Purchasing Department at (504) 364-2678 or via the Jefferson Parish website at www.jeffparish.net.  This questionnaire can be accessed by hovering over “Business and Development” on the website and clicking on the Professional Services Questionnaires option under “Doing Business in Jefferson Parish”.
 
Submissions will only be accepted electronically via Jefferson Parish’s e-Procurement site, Central Bidding at www.centralauctionhouse.com or www.jeffparishbids.net.  Registration is required and free for Jefferson Parish vendors by accessing the following link: www.centralauctionhouse.com/registration.php.
 
No submittals will be accepted after the deadline.
 
Affidavits are not required to be submitted with the Statement of Qualifications, but shall be submitted prior to contract approval.
 
Disputes/protests relating to the decisions by the evaluation committee or by the Jefferson Parish Council shall be brought before the 24th Judicial Court.
 
ADV: The New Orleans Advocate:  April 5, 12, 19, & 26, 2023