NEW TOR – VOIP TELEPHONY INTEGRATION WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS AND COOEXISTENCE WITH SKYPE FOR BUSINESS
Standard Bidding Documents
PROCUREMENT OF NON-CONSULTING SERVICES
PURCHASER: AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM, SOUTH AFRICA
TITLE OF PROCUREMENT: VOIP TELEPHONY INTEGRATION WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS AND COOEXISTENCE WITH SKYPE FOR BUSINESS
Procurement Number: RFB/ APRM/EU/VTI/08B/2021
SECTION I. BID INVITATION (RFB – REQUEST FOR BID)
Procurement Number: RFB/ APRM/EU/VTI/08B/2021
In December 2020, The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) received financing from the European Union (EU) in support of a three-year project. This project takes place within the framework of the African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGA-SP), consistent with the Africa-EU Partnership 2020-2023. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the achievement of Aspiration 3: ‘An Africa of good governance, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law’ and Aspiration 6 ‘An Africa, whose development is people driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children’ of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Under this grant and project, the APRM hereby seeks to procure the services of an experienced to reconfigure the current Skype for Business VoIP Telephony system to coexist with MS Teams.
Since the decision of Heads of State to transition to virtual working methods as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the APRM has integrated digitalization in its processes and systems. Transitioning to a virtual workspace has created opportunities for APRM to unlock the potential of technology to drive its Digital Transformation initiatives and accelerate the use of digital technologies [such as Microsoft Teams] to convene meetings much efficiently than would have been the case otherwise.
The transition to virtual working method requires access to standard video conferencing tools. The existing system lacks the audio-conferencing capabilities which have necessitated the need for APRM to reconfigure the current Skype for Business VoIP Telephony system to coexist with MS Teams.The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is the champion of good governance on the continent. Its mandate emanates from the APRM-NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance. It was founded in 2003 as a tool for experience sharing, reinforcing best practices, identifying deficiencies, and assessing capacity. Its mandate emanates from the APRM-NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance
The African Peer Review Mechanism invites eligible firm/Service Provider services for the reconfiguration of VoIP Telephony integration with existing Microsoft Teams and coexistence with Skype for Business.
The bids shall submit the following documents- Preliminary examination to determine.
- Valid tax certificate or equivalent document
- Valid business registration documents – Must be licensed company with valid certificate of incorporation.
- Provide power of attorney must be signed by authorised person.
- The tender shall be valid for a period of 60 days from the date of opening/ closing- A statement indicating so to be provided.
- Audited financial accounts for the period 2019 and 2020
- Statement that they have not been debarred by African Union.
Bidders MUST comply with the above Preliminary Examination Requirements
Interested firms may obtain further information from:
The Project Coordinator.
African Peer Review Mechansm, Private Bag x09, Halfway House, 1685,
Physical Address: 230 15th Street, Randjies Park, 1st Floor, Midrand, South Africa ; Tel: +27 11 256 3400/01/29 ; Fax: +27 11 256 3456 during working hours or through Email: tenderinfo@aprm-au.org copy to Email: info@aprm-au.org
A complete set of the Solicitation documents in English language may be downloaded from the APRM Website. Clarifications must be made at least seven (7) days before the closing date. All response to clarification shall be posted on APRM portal.
MODE OF SUBMISSION
Application MUST be submitted through email: ([email protected]) or physically to the address below on or before 6th October 2021 at 1200hrs South Africa Time
Project Coordinator
African Peer Review Mechanism
Private Bag x09, Halfway House, 1685
Physical Address: 230 15th Street, Randjies Park, 1st Floor
Midrand, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 256 3400/01/29
Fax: +2711 256 3456
E-mail: [email protected]
Submissions to be titled: RFB/ APRM/EU/VTI/08B/2021 Request for Bid for the” FOR CONFIGURATION OF VOIP TELEPHONY WITH EXISTING MICROSOFT TEAMS AND COEXISTENCE WITH SKYPE FOR BUSINESS)”; The submission to be made to the following email.
Project Coordinator
African Peer Review Mechanism
Private Bag x09, Halfway House, 1685
Physical Address: 230 15th Street, Randjies Park, 1st Floor
Midrand, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 256 3400/01/29
Fax: +2711 256 3456
E-mail: [email protected]
The deadline for submission of proposals is 26th October 2021 at 12:00 hours local time (South Africa Time), Late submission shall not be accepted and shall be rejected.
The tender shall be valid for a period of 60 days from the date of opening/ closing.
SECTION II: BID SUBMISSION SHEET
{Complete this form with all the requested details and submit it as the first page of your bid.
Ensure that your bid is authorised in the signature block below. If any documentation is
attached, a signature and authorisation on this form will confirm that the terms and
conditions of this bidding document prevail over any attachments. If your bid is not
authorised, it may be rejected.}
We offer to provide the Services detailed in the Terms of Reference/Statement of
Requirements, in accordance with the terms and conditions stated in this bid document.
and subsequent contract.
| BID ADDRESSED TO EMPLOYER |
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| DATE OF BID |
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| PROCUREMENT NUMBER |
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| SUBJECT OF PROCUREMENT |
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| FIXED TENDER SUM (STATE CURRENCY) | |
| STATE CURRENCY IN ZAR |
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We confirm that we are eligible to participate in this procurement process.
The validity period of our bid is: _______________ days/weeks/months from the time and
date of the submission deadline.
We confirm that the rates quoted in the financial proposals are fixed and firm for the
duration of the validity period and will not be subject to revision or variation.
We understand that you are not bound to accept the lowest or any bid you may receive.
Services will commence within _______________ days/weeks/months from date of
Contract.
Services will be completed within _______________ days/weeks/months from date of
Contract.
Dated this ________________ day of ________________ 20______.
[signature] [in the capacity of]
Duly authorised to sign Bid for and on behalf of ________________________________
Must have the power of Attorney
SECTION III. TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR VOIP TELEPHONY INTEGRATION WITH MS TEAMS AND COOEXISTENCE WITH SKYPE FOR BUSINESS
PROCUREMENT NUMBER: RFB/ APRM/EU/VTI/08/B2021
1)BACKGROUND
In December 2020, The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) received financing from the European Union (EU) in support of a three-year project. This project takes place within the framework of the African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGA-SP), consistent with the Africa-EU Partnership 2020-2023. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the achievement of Aspiration 3: ‘An Africa of good governance, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law’ and Aspiration 6 ‘An Africa, whose development is people driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children’ of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Under this grant and project, the APRM hereby seeks to procure the services of an experienced service provider to reconfigure VoIP Telephony infrastructure to work with existing MS Teams and Skype for Business.
Since the decision of Heads of State to transition to virtual working methods as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the APRM has integrated digitalization in its processes and systems. Transitioning to a virtual workspace has created opportunities for APRM to unlock the potential of technology to drive its Digital Transformation initiatives and accelerate the use of digital technologies [such as Microsoft Teams] to convene meetings much efficiently than would have been the case otherwise.
The transition to virtual working method requires access to standard video conferencing tools. The existing system lacks the audio-conferencing capabilities which have necessitated the need for APRM to reconfigure the current Skype for Business VoIP Telephony system to coexist with MS Teams.
2)DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) received funding from European Union (EU)’ to establish and strengthen digital capacity at the APRM.
3) OBJECTIVES
The main objective is to equip APRM staff and stakeholders with the right set of audio-visual conferencing tools / platform to collaborate and share experiences.
4)SCOPE OF THE ASSSIGNMENT
The scope of this work shall cover the acquisition and implementation of the following:
- Upgrade APRM gateway and renew licenses.
- Reconfiguration of gateway devices to work with Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business.
- Allocation of DID numbers to each end user (67 Number of end users). Please note that porting of numbers to another service provider is not part of the scope of the project.
- Training and enablement.
5)DELIVERABLES
The period of execution of the entire project will be a maximum of 21 days from the date of signing the contract and the period of contract maintenance and support period starting shall be 3 months from the APRM’s acceptance date (i.e. after all the installations, configuration and testing of the MS Teams and Skype for Business). Service providers should submit a time schedule of the entire project transition period.
The steps and deliverables for this project are described below.
| Project Milestone | Responsibilities | Expected Timeline |
| Phase I – Requirements Definition and Planning | ||
| Detailed Proposal
Project Plan |
|
1 day
|
| Phase II – Deployment and Integrations | ||
| Software reconfiguration and
Integration. |
|
10 days
|
| Phase III – Complete Transition, Testing and Maintenance | ||
| Acceptance of the VoIP Solutions
|
§ Acceptance Testing
§ Launch § Training § Technical Support/ Maintenance |
1 week.
1 day 2 days 3 Months |
Phase 1: This covers the preliminary work, configuration, upgrading and provisioning of the systems as specified. This is the installation and configuration aspect of the deployment which covers configuration of software and hardware required for the successful implementation of the proposed setup. At this stage the service provider is expected to do the following:
Pre-Installation
- Provide detailed work plan with timelines specifying installation design, deployment plan, routing plan and other detailed activities.
Actual Configuration
- Gateway Maintenance Renewal & Teams License
- Renewal of licenses for Audiocodes Mediant 800B Support Contract for 2 years, Advanced Hardware Replacement (AHR) Service and AudioCodes Customer Technical Support
- Upgrading Microsoft Teams license for SILK and OPUS vocoders.
- Reconfiguring Microsoft Teams for voice calls and coexistence with Skype for Business. The bidder is required to configure teams to work with existing Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP).
- Migration of end user data and number assignment.
- Complete the delivery, installation and configuration within a month from the award of the contract.
Phase 2: The final phase of the deployment includes the training, testing of the equipment and maintenance as described below.
TRAINING AND ENABLEMENT
Following the deployment, the service provider should deliver a training session(s) for the relevant IT staff members who will either use or manage the system. Bidders must dispense training so that there is appropriate and adequate knowledge transfer that would make end-users fully conversant with the proposed solutions. Comprehensive training material must be provided to the staff being trained; video is preferred. The APRM reserves the right to reproduce the training materials for subsequent in-house training of other staff. The service provider should submit the training manual prior to the service commencement period.
TESTING AND COMMISSIONING
The selected service provider shall conduct series of test for at least 2 weeks prior to inspection.
The acceptance test procedure shall be in accordance with the following:
- Must be undertaken for a period of one week and ensure that system is in good working condition during the agreed test period.
- The performance tolerance level agreed upon is attained during testing.
- Upon commission the Service Provider will be required to provide free support for a period of three months to ensure the system is working optimally
MAINTENANCE UPON COMMISSIONING
- Service Providers shall provide separate costing for support / maintenance on all services.
- Provide an escalation list and procedure in reporting fault and downtimes.
- Service Providers must immediately advice APRM of any known defects ahead of time.
- Service Providers must be available to assist immediately if the software is not configured properly /equipment is faulty.
6)TIME FRAME /DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT
The assignment should be completed within twenty-one (21) days, maintenance and support for 3 months.
7)QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES OF THE FIRM AND EXPERTS
- Firm
Reconfiguration of VoIP system requires a high level technical/professional expertise; therefore, successful firm is required to have the following qualifications:
- Minimum of three years (3) relevant experience installation, configuration and deployment of Microsoft Voice
- Portfolio / History of Firms the successful bidder has worked with in past.
- Demonstrated competency in deployment, configuration and commissioning of VoIP Telephony.
- Experience in managing project.
- Capacity to provide voice services.
- The firm is required to provide detailed description of the proposed solution.
- Technical Requirements of the software
The service provider is required to conduct site inspection, submit proposal with detailed work plan specifying installation design and detailed activities. The solution must have the capacity to accommodate 67 end users. Bidders are required to take note of the following:
- Gateway: Audiocodes Mediant 800B
- Desk phones: Yealink HD T48G and Yealink HD T40P Skype for Business Complaint desk phones
- Soft Clients: MS Teams, Lync Call Attendant, SfB desktop and mobile client and minimum number of concurrent calls must not be less than 20..
- Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) Switches: Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Series 48 Port.
- Battery backup / UPS: APC Smart-UPS SRT On-Line [Model: SRT5KRMXLI UPS Capacity: 5 & 6 kVA].
- Internet Telephony Service Provider (VoIP / Lines): 50 Mbps Dedicated Vox Telecom fibre (Primary link) and 100 Mbps Stem fibre (Secondary link) configured with QoS for VoIP.
The technical requirements and evaluation criteria are as follows:
| Specifications | Mandatory |
| Microsoft Teams Tenant, Skype for Business Setup & Configuration – Coexistence with existing On-premises SfB as APRM transition from the existing SfB to O365 MS Teams. The system will run in parallel with existing skype for business. | PASS/FAIL |
| Microsoft Call queue setup and Configuration for reception | PASS/FAIL |
| Hybrid Setup and configuration | PASS/FAIL |
| Support Contract S2/S21 ACTS 9×5 | PASS/FAIL |
| AudioCodes Customer Technical Support (ACTS 9X5) | PASS/FAIL |
| Advanced Hardware Replacement (AHR) Service | PASS/FAIL |
| 1 SAN External Certificate | PASS/FAIL |
| Microsoft TEAMS-upgrade license Includes license for SILK and OPUS vocoders. | PASS/FAIL |
| MS Teams Basic End User Training | PASS/FAIL |
These shall be examined on a PASS/FAIL Criteria.
PS: The bidders are required to quote based on the existing SBC / Gateway i.e., Audiocodes mediant 800B, however, bidders are at liberty to recommend or propose additional alternative solution/ equipment.
8)FACILITIES AND SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CLIENT
The APRM Secretariat shall provide access to all information for the bidder to carry out the assignment adequately. Additional information is provided in the published Annexure
10) PAYMENT SCHEDULE
The assignment will be conducted in 21 days (inclusive weekends & public holidays) and firm will be paid upon certification of satisfactory work as per work plan and endorsed by APRM Continental Secretariat.
| Item | Deliverable | Payment fraction of the contract |
| Acceptance of configuration of MS Teams integration and Skype for Business coexistence with existing VoIP infrastructure |
100% |
11)GENERAL INFORMATION
All consultancies will be advertised on an equal opportunity basis. Applicants should be nationals of AU Member States.
13) EVALUATION CRITERIA
Evaluation of Bids: The evaluation of bids will use the following methodology:
- Preliminary examination to determine eligibility (as defined below) and administrative compliance to this Invitation for Bids on a pass/fail basis.
- Detailed evaluation to determine commercial and technical responsiveness ( Clause 7) ; and
3 Financial comparisons to determine the evaluated price of bids and to determine the lowest evaluated cost bid.
Bids failing any stage will be eliminated and not considered for award of contract.
Lowest Evaluated Cost Bid: The lowest evaluated cost bid shall be the lowest priced bid, which is eligible and substantially responsive to the commercial and technical requirements of the Purchaser and shall be recommended for award of contract.
Award of Contract: Award of contract shall be by placement of a contract
Right to Reject: The Purchaser reserves the right to accept or reject any bid or to cancel the bidding process and reject all bids at any time prior to contract award.
13.1) SELECTION PROCESS
Compliance with the minimum requirements
| Compliance with the technical specifications as provided – The bidder must meet the minimum technical requirements before further evaluation. Only those who have passed the preliminary examination, and satisfied clause 7 above shall be subjected to selection process. |
|
MANDATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA |
| One stop firm based in Africa with experience in VoIP deployment.
MUST provide up-to-date Curriculum Vitae and supporting documents for the Technical Experts |
| Evaluation criteria | Max. Point | Score |
| Experience: (Experience of the firm)
Company Profile and Expertise of the company: · Minimum of three years (3) relevant experience in the area of VoIP (10 marks) · List of three previous works of similar nature [Provide evidence] · (15 marks): ü Experience in configuring MS Teams with Audiocodes. ü Ability to deliver on tight deadlines. · Excellent planning and organizational skills (10) |
35 | |
| Technical Qualification (Experts) for the proposed team
· Attach the relevant testimonial (CV, Professional certifications) (10 marks) · Team member’s expertise shall not be less than 3 years’ experience (10 marks) · Specifications [Mandatory – Refer to the section – Technical Requirement ] · Team member’s expertise shall at least cover the following areas (15 marks): VoIP, Audiocodes, Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business |
35 | |
| Detailed Proposal:
· Responsiveness to the Terms of Reference, Ability to provide detailed project plan with timelines. Methodology to include breakdown of responsibilities of the team, deployment & configuration, testing, maintenance and complete transitioning to the new VoIP solution. · Training Plan (15 marks) |
30 | |
| Total Score | 100% | |
| The minimum technical score shall be 70% |
The minimum technical score shall be 70% and above. Only bidders who score the minimum score shall be considered for financial evaluation
14) FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
The bid should be accompanied by a detailed financial proposal, with a clear breakdown of the various activities and their cost in USD currency.
15)REPORTING
The firm shall report directly to the Project Coordinator and will submit all deliverables as per the ToRs.
16) RESERVATIONS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
APRM reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/output is incomplete, not delivered, or for failure to meet deadlines. In the event of the producer ending the contract prior to delivering all agreed upon products, a portion of the payments shall be returned to the APRM. The reference group undertakes to maintain confidentiality on all information that is not the public domain and shall not be involved in another assignment that represents a conflict of interest to the prevailing assignment. The reference group shall undertake to refrain from promoting any political or religious beliefs in the documentary movie which is the subject of this contract.
17)CLARIFICATION
Clarification can only be sought through Email: [email protected] during working hours- Monday to Friday time 8.00am to 5.00pm hours local time at least seven days before closing. Response shall be published on APRM portal. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR BID THROUGH THIS EMAIL
MODE OF APPLICATION/ SUBMISSION & DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED BY FIRMS
The consultant should submit an expression of interest, containing a technical proposal and a Financial proposal. The technical proposal should, among others, list the profile of the consultant, understanding of the ToRS, understanding of the methodology, detailed workplan, references and contact persons.
The financial proposal should give a cost breakdown per milestone and take into consideration all expenses.
The proposal should be in USD and inclusive of all taxes and other statutory obligations as may apply.
The Technical & financial Proposal clearly marked: PROCUREMENT NUMBER: RFB/ APRM/EU/VTI/08B/2021: FOR PRODUCTION AND DESSIMINATION OF POPULAR VERSION FOR THE STUDY ON GOVERNANCE, GENDER AND PEACEBUILDING Shall be submitted through Email: [email protected] on or before 26th October 2021 at 1200hrs South Africa time. The REOI shall be opened immediately after the closing date and time before 26th October 2021 at 1200hrs South Africa time.
All applications in writing should be accompanied by up-to-date certified Curriculum Vitae and supporting documents (Relevant Academic Certificates & reference letters) (Note: do not send originals) addressed to:
African Peer Review Mechanism
Private Bag XO8, Halfway House
Physical Address: 230 15th Road, 1st Floor,
Randjespark, Midrand, 1685,
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 256 3401
Send Bid to Email: [email protected]
Late submission shall not be accepted and shall be rejected.
Section IV. Contract Form
THIS AGREEMENT made the _____ day of __________ 20_____ between ________________ [insert name and address of Purchaser] (hereinafter called “the Purchaser”) of the one part and ________________ [insert name and address of Supplier] (hereinafter called “the Supplier”) of the other part:
WHEREAS the Purchaser invited bids for certain goods and ancillary services, viz., [brief description of goods and services and Procurement Number] and has accepted a bid by the Supplier for the supply of those goods and services in the sum of [contract price in words and figures] (hereinafter called “the Contract Price”).
NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH AS FOLLOWS:
- In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the same meanings as are respectively assigned to them in the Conditions of Contract hereinafter referred to.
- The following documents shall be deemed to form and be read and construed as part of this Agreement in the listed order of precedence, viz.:
(a) Agreement;
(b) Technical Specifications;
(f) Bid Form and the Price Schedule submitted by the Bidder;
(g) Purchaser’s Notification of Award of Contract; and
- In consideration of the payments to be made by the Purchaser to the Supplier as hereinafter mentioned, the Supplier hereby covenants with the Purchaser to provide the goods and services and to remedy defects therein in conformity in all respects with the provisions of the Contract
- The Purchaser hereby covenants to pay the Supplier in consideration of the provision of the goods and ancillary services and the remedying of defects therein, the Contract Price or such other sum as may become payable under the provisions of the contract at the times and in the manner prescribed by the Contract.
IN WITNESS whereof the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed, delivered by (for the Purchaser)
Signed, sealed, delivered by (for the Supplier)
NEW TOR – VOIP TELEPHONY INTEGRATION WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS AND COOEXISTENCE WITH SKYPE FOR BUSINESS
