data center services - questions and answers

Data Center Services - Questions and Answers

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WebReference Information Question Answer Text

104/18 Appendix I, Agency

Overview DADSSince DADS applications are moving to other platforms, when is the migration from the 2066-0B1 planned to be completed?

The DADS applications referred to are the applications that are migrating off the UNISYS mainframe in coordination with HHSC. There is no current plan to migrate off of the IBM mainframe.

204/18 Appendix B, Section, 1.3 The Operating System for the OAG IBM Enterprise

3000 7060-H30 is listed as VSE 2.6.2. Attachment 12A, row 151 says it is VSE 2.3. Which one is correct?

Confirmed as version 2.6.2

304/18 Exhibit 10, Equipment

AssetsIn Appendix B, page 4, there is the mention of a 9672-R36 Coupling Facility but there is no reference in Exhibit 10 for this hardware. Please clarify.

This is referenced in Exhibit 10, Mainframe Leased tab, row 30.

404/18 General For transformation planning, please define by agency

the timeframes when an agency cannot be migrated to a new data center and the maximum outage time that each agency could allow.

Timeframes are not available at this time. It is the intent that outage disruptions would be kept to a minimum. Service Providers should propose their own estimates based on their experience and knowledge and information provided in this RFO. Service Providers should state any assumptions with regard to this topic in their Offers.

504/18 General For transformation planning, does DIR have a Timeframes are not available at this time. It is the intent that

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maximum outage time each agency could allow for an equipment migration (this could be by high level application groupings, by agency, etc.).

outage disruptions would be kept to a minimum. Service Providers should propose their own estimates based on their experience and knowledge and information provided in this RFO. Service Providers should state any assumptions with regard to this topic in their Offers.

604/18 Exhibit 4 Pricing is requested for four Towers as defined in the

Instructions-Part 1 page 4 Section 2.1 Potential Scope of Services, but the base case as identified in Attachment 4-C-1 is provided for two Towers, Mainframe and Servers. Since the State is evaluating four Towers independently, we request a base case for each of the four Towers that the vendor is expected to price.

Pricing is not requested for four towers. Pricing and the Base Case are provided for two towers. The Cross Functional activities are included in the Mainframe and Server towers.

704/18 Attachment 4-C1,

Mainframe Tab, row 22The value of Row 22, Major Services – Contracts Software, drops from $28M to $8M over the 7 years. We understand the reduction in year 2 due to the elimination of the Unisys mainframe. Please explain the remaining year over year reductions.

These amounts reflect the Hardware line item and are a result of the Price Performance factors described in 4-C.2.

804/18 Attachment 4-C1,

Mainframe TabPlease describe the various cost components (rent, utilities, maintenance, equipment, etc.) that make up Occupancy / Facilities as found in Row 31.

These are DIR Customer Facilities and are retained.

904/18 Attachment 4-C1, Server

TabPlease describe the various cost components (rent, utilities, maintenance, equipment, etc.) that make up

These are DIR Customer Facilities and are retained.

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Occupancy / Facilities as found in Row 31.

1004/18 Exhibit 4-C.2, Section

3(b)Please define the term ‘assume leased assets’? Does the term assume mean assign and will the Service Provider be responsible for all terms and conditions in the lease that is being assumed?

Existing asset leases that will be assigned to the Service Provider. Yes, it is anticipated that these leases will be assigned and the Service Provider will be responsible for all terms and conditions.

1104/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.1 Is it DIR’s intent that invoices for assumed leased

equipment is forwarded directly to DIR for payment or that the Service Provider will pay the invoice?

Service Provider will pay invoice.

1204/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.1 This Service Provider assumes our monthly invoice for

Assumed Equipment Leases will contain a fee or markup. Please confirm.

The Service Provider has the option to include additional fees for Assumed Equipment Leases as part of the Base Charge.

1304/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.2 This Service Provider assumes our monthly invoice for

Hardware Maintenance for Existing Equipment will contain a fee or markup. Please confirm.

The Service Provider has the option to include additional fees for Hardware Maintenance as part of the Base Charge.

1404/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4 The language states that the New Application Server

Hardware Services Charges shall be charged based on Capital Expenditures, which does not include hardware or software maintenance. However, the Application Server Asset Plan on which the charges are also based upon includes applicable maintenance. This Service Provider assumes that hardware and software maintenance associated with the application servers in

Hardware and software maintenance should be included in the New Application Server Hardware Services Charges.

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the Application Server Asset Plan should be included in the New Application Server Hardware Services Charges. Please confirm.

1504/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4 This Service Provider assumes that lease charges on

New Application Servers are also a part of the Capital Expenditures, and therefore, also a part of the New Application Server Hardware Services Charges. Please confirm.

Correct.

1604/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4. &

5.2.5Section 5.2.5 states that assets purchased by the Service Provider as part of the Application Server Asset Plan will be owned by the Service Provider. If DIR exercises its right under Section 5.2.4 to procure Application Servers directly from a third party, this Service Provider assumes that DIR will own the asset and be responsible for the applicable hardware and software maintenance. Please confirm.

DIR may elect to have the Service Provider provide hardware and software maintenance on these assets, regardless of ownership.

1704/18 Exhibit 4 Fees, Section

5.3 (b)This Service Provider assumes the term “LAN Attached Devices” equates to the number of non-data center devices providing IT services to DIR, DIR Customers, and Authorized Users in Agency facilities. We further assume that DIR will provide the Service Provider with an updated quantity of LAN Attached Devices on a monthly basis. Please confirm these assumptions as well as provide the toolset name(s) DIR uses to collect this information.

The “LAN Attached Devices” is defined in Exhibit 4. The number of LAN Attached Devices listed in the RFO is a self-reported number provided by each agency which may or may not have been collected via a tool. DIR anticipates working with the Service Provider to determine the appropriate tools and methodologies for capturing this data.

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1804/18 Attachment 4E The last row in the table, Disaster Recovery Capability

has a value in the third column of Planned Exercises. This implies that hardware exists at a contracted or otherwise available facility. Please confirm.

The last row in the table, Disaster Recovery Capability has a value in the fourth column of Plan & Facilities No Formal Exercise. This implies either a “Hot Site” or a “Cold Site” definition, where “Hot Site” implies hardware exists and “Cold Site” implies no hardware exists. Please confirm.

The Server Complexity Matrix is intended to provide a broad categorization for application servers. As such the descriptions provided are general in nature and there are not more detailed underlying definitions for sub-categories such as Disaster Recovery.

1904/18 Appendix A, Section 1.1 Please clarify the bullet point “Install and utilize IBM

Tivoli Workload Scheduler”. Is the Service Provider expected to install and utilize Tivoli Workload Scheduler for one or more agencies? If the answer is Yes, please provide the agency names and the corresponding equipment upon which the software should be installed.

This is a general reference to software that allows automation, planning, and control of an agency or enterprise production workload. There is no statewide standard for this type of software. Agencies that currently use Tivoli software are listed in Attachment 12A.

2004/18 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-50 Please explain how this requirement (E2.3-50) relates to

the requirement identified in Appendix A, Section 1.1, “Install and utilize IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler.”

Appendix A, Section 1.1 is a general reference to software that allows automation, planning, and control of an agency or enterprise production workload. There is no statewide standard for this type of software. The Service Provider will clarify whether it intends to use all or parts of the various DIR Customer software listed in Attachment 12A or propose

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the installation of an alternative system post transition.

2104/18 Appendix A, Section 2.2 Please specify the equipment that is located in ADROC

that must be moved in Exhibit 10.Any equipment listed in Exhibit 10 is assumed to be a candidate for migration to a consolidated data center.

2204/18 Appendix G, Section 1.1 Please provide Help Desk metrics for all agencies for

the past 12 months, i.e., number of calls per month, number of calls transferred to Level 2 or Level 3 support, duration of calls, and first call resolution of Level 1 calls, that would be considered in the Service Provider’s scope of work.

Level 1 Help Desk processes are specific to each agency and there is no statewide standard. The due diligence process will provide an opportunity for the down selected Service Providers to outline specific areas that the Service Provider may want to interrogate further. Level 1 end user support Help Desk functions are not considered in-scope for this RFO.

2304/18 Appendix G, Section 1.2 Please provide the Help Desk tool used by each agency,

including the version number and modules installed.Help Desk tools used by each agency varies. Some agencies have tools as illustrated by the examples in Appendix G - Section 1.2 and others do not have any tools at all. Server based tools are reflected in Attachment 12A. The due diligence process will provide an opportunity for the Service Provider to outline specific areas that the Service Provider may want to interrogate further.

2404/18 Exhibit 1, E1-148 There is no definition of New Application Server

Hardware Service Charge in Section 5.2.1 of Exhibit 4. Please clarify.

See Section 5.2.4 of Exhibit 4.

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2504/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4,

1st Paragraph, 1st Sentence

Please provide a definition of New Application Server Hardware Service Charge in Exhibit 1.

See #3 of the Service Provider Instructions in Exhibit 1.

2604/18 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4,

1st Paragraph, 1st Sentence

Please provide a definition of Application Server Asset Plan in Exhibit 1.

See #3 of the Service Provider Instructions in Exhibit 1.

2704/18 Instructions 2, Section 2.2 Since DIR prefers that all facilities and services be

provided within the State of Texas, how will solutions meeting this preference be evaluated compared to those proposing services based outside the State of Texas? Would DIR consider the addition of language to Instructions 3, Evaluation Criteria, such as Section 4.2, Business Relationship Terms, which gives additional consideration to Service Providers which meet this stated DIR preference?

The Evaluation Process is included in Part 3 of the Instructions. Additional information on the Evaluation Process will not be released during the RFO process.

2804/18 Instructions 2, Section 4.1 Will DIR consider closing the submission of questions

to April 21 and answering all questions by May 5? This will allow Service Providers the opportunity to fully assess all answers prior to finalizing a response to the RFO.

The schedule will not be modified.

2904/18 Exhibit 1, E1-215 The definition of “Standard Work Hours” is 150 per

month. Does this mean State employees currently work 37.5 hour work weeks? If so, are salaries based on 37.5 or 40 hours worked?

Standard Work Hours is used in the context of determining FTP resources utilized as described in Exhibit 4, Section 14. No, this does not mean State employees currently work 37.5 hour work weeks.

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Do employees receive any compensation for working between 37.5 and 40 hours weekly?

3004/18 Exhibit 11 The new Exhibit 11, Software Assets for Mainframe,

notes in Row 2 that “This is a sample of scripts and applications used to support elements of the infrastructure or automating system programmer functions.” When will a complete listing for all agencies be made available?

The information provided in Exhibit 11 is the detail that will be available prior to the May 31 Proposal Due Date. Additional, more detailed questions on specific areas may be addressed in the due diligence phase.


Overview OAG-CSWe have noted a CPU upgrade from a 2084-303 to a 2084-304. However, in Attachment 4D1, Resource Baselines, the MIPS stay flat for 10 years. Which CPU was used for the Resource Baseline data?

The 2084-303 was the machine used for the Resource Baseline data. The Resource Baseline data for MVS workloads is Application Hours, not MIPS, as defined in Exhibit 4 Section 5.1a.

3204/18 Exhibit 2.7, E2.7-33 Please describe how auditing batches via record control

information is currently accomplished.There is no statewide standard for auditing batches; the process varies by agency. It is anticipated that these processes will be documented in the Policies and Procedures Manual. The agency profiles in Appendix I provide all the information regarding this topic available at this time.

3304/18 Exhibit 2.7, E2.7-47 thru

E2.7-49Please define the current quality check process, i.e., frequency, sample size, corrective action process for identified issues and other processes required.

There is no statewide standard for the quality check process; the process varies by agency. It is anticipated that these processes will be documented in the Policies and Procedures Manual. The agency profiles in Appendix I provide all the

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information regarding this topic available at this time.

3404/18 Mainframe & Servers/

Exhibit 2.3 SOW Server & Mainframe ServicesE2.3 - 85

E2.3 - 85 states that the Service Provider’s responsibilities include “1.1. Teleprocessing systems management”. Please define “teleprocessing systems management”

Teleprocessing requirements include mainframe related functions for VTAM, NCP, and TCP/IP system support. The Service Provider is also responsible for TCP/IP support related to the Service Provider LAN network environment.

3504/18 Database Support/

Exhibit 2.3 SOW Server & Mainframe ServicesE2.3 - 159

E2.3 - 159 states that the Service Provider’s responsibilities include “1. Providing and supporting common modeling Software tools.”Please define "common modeling Software tools” and provide examples

In this instance, “common modeling software tools” refer to database modeling software tools used by database administrators during the data analysis, data modeling, and database design processes. Some examples of database modeling software are: ERwin, PowerDesigner, and ERStudio. Note: These are examples and are not endorsements or recommendations.

Current database modeling tools vary by agency and are listed in Exhibit 12. It is anticipated that the state could standardize on a common set of modeling tools for use by all agencies. Service Providers should indicate their proposed modeling tools in their Offers.

3604/18 Storage Management/

Attachment 4E Server Complexity Matrix

Regarding Attachment 4E, row 9 Storage Management, please define the three levels of complexity identified.

The Server Complexity Matrix is intended to provide a broad categorization for application servers. As such the descriptions provided are general in nature and there are not more detailed underlying definitions for sub-categories such as Storage Management.

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3704/18 Servers/

Exhibit 10 Equipment Assets

In addition to the server data provided in exhibit 10, please provide the following:1. Number of CPU's 2. Processor speed3. Processor utilizationIf this detail cannot be provided at this time, can you provide averages by platform.

Service Providers should derive their own estimates based on industry benchmarks and server models.

3804/18 Servers/

Exhibit_10_Equipment Assets

In addition to the data provided in Exhibit 10, please provide the amount of server hardware system memory. If this detail cannot be provided at this time per server, please provide an average per server for this environment.

DIR does not plan to publish additional information on this topic. Service Providers should use server models to estimate.

3904/18 Support Center/

Exhibit 2.1 E2.1-47

Please provide the approximate number of State personnel that will require training for the Service Provider's Problem Tracking System. Please confirm that this is 'Train the trainer' training

This is 'train-the-trainer' training. You can estimate three (3) per agency.

4004/18 Disaster Recovery/

Exhibit 2.1 E2.1-315

Please provide a listing of the Agencies that do not have a comprehensive DR Plan and for which the Service Provider will need to develop DR Plans.

An estimated number of Agencies that do not have a comprehensive DR Plan is not available. Additional information concerning agency DR Plans may be available for some agencies in the Data Room.

4104/18 Support Center/


Please clarify whether it is the intent of the DIR for the Service Provider to provide technical support and advice to Authorized Users as is typically provided through a Level 1 Help Desk.

End user calls for daily support will originate with the Help Desk(s) in the respective DIR Customer organizations. If that Help Desk is unable to resolve a problem and determines that it may involve Services provided by the Service Provider

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then the ticket will be referred to the Support Center.

The Service Providers Support Center is not considered a Level 1 Help Desk for end users.

4204/18 Mainframe & Server

Software/


The definition of Software as provided in the RFO includes Application Software. Please clarify the DIR's intent for this requirement in supporting Software that has been internally developed by the State.

The software referred to in Exhibit 2.2 cell E2.2-133 refers to internally developed code that is related to systems management functions. It is not the expectation of DIR that any internal business applications are to be supported by the Service Provider. It is anticipated that Service Providers may use their own tools or 3rd party software to replace internally written code where the functionality is compatible.

4304/18 Servers/

Exhibit 10 Equipment Assets

Currently the State Agencies appear to have Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows 2003 and Novell (NDS domains?) servers. Please provide the following information: 1. A breakdown of Agency Domains2. Are the Agencies setup with separate Windows Domains that have trusts with each other, or are they all standalone domains? 3. Is there a plan to have one Statewide Domain?

1) The due diligence process will provide an opportunity for the down selected Service Providers to outline specific areas that the Service Provider may want to interrogate further.

2) All agency domains are currently standalone domains.

3) There is no plan for a statewide domain, but this may be addressed in the future.

4404/18 Instructions – Part 3,

Background, Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria, 2.1 DIR Information, Page 4 of 18

Consolidation will require application and network upgrades, modifications, and possibly replacement. Applications and networks are out of scope of this RFO according to Instructions – Part 3, Background, Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria, section 2.1 DIR

Service Provider should detail its assumptions related to its planned consolidation. All identified up-front, nonrecurring expense associated with the consolidation need to be documented and quantified in Attachment 4-A, tab One-Times. Any expenses related to applications and network need to be included. DIR will work with the Service

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Information.

Question: Who pays for these changes and how does the Service Provider assure active participation in support of its Transition/Transformation Plan?

Provider to determine if any of these One-Time Charges should be paid directly by DIR and not included as part of this Agreement.

4504/18 Attachment 4-C.1,

Financial Base CaseBoth applications and data networks will be impacted by data center consolidation. This impact will come in the form of an up-front, nonrecurring cost in support of transition and an impact to the ongoing run rate, that is, an increase or decrease in the run rate.

Question: Who is responsible for the nonrecurring applications and network costs associated with supporting the Transition Plans, and how is the impact to the ongoing run rate addressed?

Service Provider should detail its assumptions related to its planned consolidation. All identified up-front, nonrecurring expense associated with the consolidation need to be documented and quantified in Attachment 4-A, tab One-Times. Any expenses related to applications and network need to be included. DIR will work with the Service Provider to determine if any of these One-Time Charges should be paid directly by DIR and not included as part of this Agreement.

As described in Attachment 4-B, Network equipment at a DIR Consolidated Data Center or Service Provider Facility will be the responsibility of the Service Provider.

DIR expects the Service Provider to document and assist DIR in quantifying the recurring impacts on DIR’s retained expenses and will incorporate these impacts into the Business Case.

4604/18 General Is there a time commitment for agencies to transition

into the consolidated data center? If so, what is the time DIR has not developed a migration schedule to the consolidated data center(s). There is no current timeframe

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commitment?

If there is a time commitment for agencies to transition into the consolidated data center, what incentives or penalties are in place to ensure transition occurs in that time period?

commitment for specific agency transitions. Service Providers should propose an optimal recommendation based on their experience and knowledge and information provided in this RFO and include this in the Transformation Plan. Service Providers should state any assumptions with regard to this topic in their Offers.

4704/18 Attachment 4-C.1,

Financial Base CaseThe Financial Base Case does not appear to cover all of the services requested in the RFO; for example, the Web Portal, standardized SLAs, and disaster recovery (DR) across all agencies (it appears many servers are not currently covered by a DR today).

Question: How is the Service Provider compensated for these additional services? Is the expectation that these are also funded through savings?

Yes, DIR expects the net savings to be inclusive of an uplift in delivered Services.

4804/18 Instructions – Part 3,

Background, Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria, 2.1.1 Statutory Authority, Page 4 of 18

Does amendment a) to HB 1516, which says that the DIR “shall manage the operations of statewide technology centers that provide data center services or disaster recovery services for two or more state agencies,” mean that a state agency with a technology center that does not serve TWO or more state agencies is exempt from the consolidation? If so, does this exempt any of the 27 priority departments or any of the

The 27 Agencies identified in the RFO and the data centers identified in Exhibit 7 are covered under HB1516 and are not exempt from this procurement.

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31 data centers identified for consolidation in the RFO?

4904/18 Exhibit 6, Governance

Model, 2.1.4 DIR Transition/ Transformation Manager, E6 - 53 and E6 - 55

The DIR Transition/Transformation Manager’s responsibilities are stated as “Overseeing implementation of the Transition Plan and the Transformation Plan including managing overall technical and personnel tasks related to Transition and Transformation” (E6 - 53) and “Managing Transformation Plan tasks” (E6 - 55).

Question: Does this mean DIR expects the DIR Transition/Transformation Manager to manage the Service Provider’s personnel at the task level? If not, please clarify the expectation of these two statements.

It is not the intent of DIR to manage the Service Provider personnel at a task level. The DIR Transition/Transformation Manager will monitor Service Provider execution of the Transition Plan and Transformation Plan, including plan work tasks related to human resource management.

5004/18 Appendix C, Server

Environment Services, 1.7 Messaging and Collaboration Environment, Page 7 of 10

Please provide a list of all of the agencies, hardware assets, and the timeframes in which all agencies’ assets will be transitioning out of the data center consolidation deal into the Statewide Messaging and Collaboration Service Offering deal.

What adjustment will be made in the Financial Base Case in regard to this transition and migration?

a) Email asset information is included in Exhibit 10. Timeframes for migration are still being developed and will be posted as they are completed.

b) No adjustments are being made to the Base Case. Pricing should assume no decrease of baseline volumes due to Messaging.

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5104/18 Attachment 3-C, Critical

Deliverables, 6.0 Individual DIR Customer Transition – Initial Plan, Page 5 of 8

Is the intent of this deliverable to be a) a single document describing the initial plans for the transition of a generic DIR Customer or b) one document per DIR Customer (assumed to be 27), specific to each DIR Customer?

If the latter, how is the Service Provider expected to address transition dependencies related to two or more Agencies? For instance, the transition of Agency A could be accomplished more efficiently if Agency B is transitioned first; should we consider each DIR Customer independently from all others for this exercise?

a) The intent is to have a Transition Plan for each agency as proposed by the Service Provider’s response to this RFO.

b) The Service Provider will be required to begin management of all Services and transition all Affected Employees on the proposed Commencement Date. The Transition Plan for each agency should include the tasks the Service Provider and the agency will need to accomplish in order to complete transition of the management of Services, facilities and staff. Transition activities also include addressing Critical milestones for delivering Services.

5204/18 Master Services

Agreement, 4.2 Transition Services, (b) Transition Plan, Page 4 of 94

This section states, in part: “Service Provider shall address and resolve any questions or concerns DIR may have as to any aspect of the updated or final detailed plans and shall incorporate any modifications, additions or deletions requested by DIR.”

Question: How is the Service Provider to be compensated for increased cost of transition associated with DIR customer-required additions, deletions, and modifications?

Service Provider should propose a methodology for price adjustments due to DIR changes.


Agreement, 9.7 Software Currency, (d) Updates by DIR, Page 38 of 94

This section states: “DIR and the DIR Customers have the right, but not the obligation, to install new Upgrades, Major Releases or Minor Releases, replace or otherwise make any other changes to Software for

The Policies and Procedures Manual and Change Management procedures will prescribe the processes that agencies and the Service Provider will follow in order to introduce changes into the environment. These processes

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which DIR is financially responsible under this Agreement.”

Question: Is it the State’s intention that these changes can be made without prior discussion with and agreement by Service Provider personnel? If this is the case, how does the State intend to compensate the Service Provider in the event the changes a) cause disruption to the Service Provider’s ability to provide services within agreed SLAs, or b) otherwise result in costs over and above those contemplated in the Charges?

will be jointly developed and followed by all Parties.

5404/18 Appendix C

Page 4 of 10

Reference: 1400 MSDOS services are stated for retirement on March 2007 due to an application rewrite.

Question: A portion of the specified services are part assumed to be part of the IEE/HHSC transition. Is there a schedule for when these specific remote servers are no longer required? Or, are the 1400 MSDOS servers stated for retirement on March 2007 these same servers?

The 1400 MSDOS servers are the servers that will be retired as HHSC completes the migration from the UNISYS mainframe, which includes the IEE transition. The current HHSC plan calls for these servers to retire by March 07.


Overview TEAThere is a mention in the tables that SAS and other applications are being migrated to other platforms. What are these platforms and is there a time table for this move?

The TEA SAS Mainframe Migration project moves all SAS programs and datasets off the IBM mainframe and on to IBM AIX servers listed in Exhibit 10. TEA plans a division by division migration of datasets beginning August 2006 and completing July 2007.

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564/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-171 Please confirm the Service Provider is responsible for

an end-to-end test plan and back-out plan for the Service Provider’s changes only, and not all changes being made by the DIR Customers.

The statement is correct for changes for which the Service Provider is responsible; however, the change management process should include a confirmation that test plans and back-out plans exist for all changes, including those initiated by DIR Customers.

574/20 Exhibit 5, E5-72 This Service Provider understands that transitioned

State employees are not subject to State of Texas background check, “including fingerprinting, drug testing and/or criminal history” as stated in cell E5-31. When DIR does require this activity, who is responsible for funding the requirement?

Cell E5-31 and E5-72 are two different items.

The intent of Cell E5-31 is for waiver of Service Provider’s requirements of background checks as a condition of a job offer from the service provider.

Cell E5-72 references the requirement by some state agencies for certain background checks, etc. for employees performing their data center services.

Policies and procedures will indicate particular requirements for background checks for specific agencies. Background checks will be a cost to the service provider.

584/20 Exhibit 5, Employee

Benefits Comparability Matrix, 1.3 Holiday Leave

Please explain the total number of holidays each employee receives. What is the difference between floater days, optional days, and skeleton crew days?

State employees receive 17 holidays which includes both federal and state holidays. Federal holidays observed total 12*. State holidays observed by state agencies total five (5). (*Included in federal holiday count are three days which are: the day after Thanksgiving; and the day before and the day after Christmas.)

Holidays that fall on a Saturday or Sunday are not observed (are lost) for that year.

Skeleton crew days are those holidays on which the agency is required to remain open with adequate staffing to conduct

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business. Employees who actually work on a national holiday or a state

holiday will be allowed compensatory time off during the 12-month period following the date of the holiday worked.

Optional holidays are specific religious or other holidays that are not formally observed by state agencies. Those holidays may be observed by requesting employees but in lieu of another holiday. For example, an employee wishing to observe Cesar Chavez Day on March 31, 2005 must work the state holiday on April 21, 2005** to make up for the holiday time taken on March 31, 2005. (**In other years additional state holidays may be available as makeup, but in 2005 the June 19th and August 27 holidays fall on a weekend.)

Floater holidays are not part of the state holiday schedule. A list of state holidays (which includes federal, state and

optional holidays) can be accessed at: http://www.hr.state.tx.us/Compensation/holidays06.html)


Benefits Comparability Matrix, 6.0 Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP)

What is the rate (percent of payroll) the state uses to calculate Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) for eligible employees?

Is Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) the total of the $1,026.86 maximum state contribution AND an extra 6%? Or, is the 6% the State's contribution to the Employees 401(a) program that all employees (including those not on BRP) receive?

BRP is equal to 5.85 percent of the FICA wages (not to exceed $16,500 annually) and the approximate 6 percent retirement contribution. The maximum benefit of $1,026.86 includes the maximum percent of FICA wages in the amount $965.25, plus the additional retirement contribution. (See page 35 (or page 31 if printed) at the following link: http://sao.hr.state.tx.us/Rules/HRInventoryFinal.pdf)

http://www.hr.state.tx.us/Compensation/holidays06.html

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604/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-130 This Service Provider assumes we have the

responsibility for moving all programs, for which the Service Provider has production support responsibility, in a controlled and documented manner from the highest level Application development and test environment (Pre-production) to the production environment. This Service Provider also assumes that DIR and DIR Customer’s will have the responsibility to move all programs within the Application development and test environment. Please confirm.

This is correct; however, some agencies currently have an automated change control tool for the promotion of program code. In these cases, it is the intent to work with the Service Provider so that these agencies can continue to use these tools.

614/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-284 Please provide the security access control tools for data,

Software, and networks used by DIR and DIR Customer’s in support of their current security policies, standards and procedures.

Security access tools vary by agency. Mainframe and server based tools are reflected in Attachment 12A. Service Providers should indicate if they are proposing specific tools in their Offers.

624/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-359 What is the DIR approved list of media? Current magnetic media varies by agency. Service Providers

should use their experience and knowledge coupled with the equipment models listed in Exhibit 10 to determine this information.

634/20 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-50 Please provide a list of production control and

scheduling software currently used by each agency.Production control and scheduling tools used by each agency varies. Mainframe and server based tools are reflected in Attachment 12A. Service Providers should indicate if they are proposing specific tools in their Offers.

644/20 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-156 This Service Provider assumes that DIR, DIR

Customers, and Authorized Users (logical DBAs and The Policies and Procedures Manual will prescribe the process that agencies and the Service Provider will follow in

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application support staff) will provide the Service Provider with sufficient information in order to archive data? Please confirm.

order to archive data. These processes will be jointly developed and followed by all Parties

654/20 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-287 Please define the meaning of the following requirement:

“… retaining the capability to read files on long retention media.”

The Service Provider is responsible for determining that a tape can be physically read using whatever means required and that there are no media errors through the end of the data retention period.

664/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-357 Please provide a list of source code control software

currently used by each agency.Source code control tools used by each agency vary. Mainframe and server based tools are reflected in Attachment 12A. Service Providers should indicate if they are proposing specific tools in their Offers.

674/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-320 This Service Provider is requesting any quantitative

information on data backups, i.e., tape counts, backup requirements, archive requirements, off site copy requirements, etc.

The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. Refer to Attachment 4D for tape quantities The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

684/20 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-242 This Service Provider is requesting any detailed WAN

network information; site by site; pipe size, utilization, etc. between Agency locations and their current data center.

Additional information concerning this topic may be available in the Data Room for some agencies.

694/20 Support Center/ Please provide a listing of the specific Problem

Tracking System software (vendor, version) that is in use by each State agency that will require an interface

Problem Tracking tools used by each agency varies. Some agencies have tools as illustrated by the examples in Appendix G - Section 1.2 and others do not have any tools at

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Exhibit 2.1 E2.1-43 to the Service Provider's system. all. Server based tools are reflected in Attachment 12A.



Please provide details about External Media including platform, quantities, current age, and type (tape, optical disk, etc) and subtype (18 track, 36 track, etc)

Service Providers should use their experience and knowledge coupled with the equipment models listed in Exhibit 10 to determine this information.

714/20 Storage/


E2.3-207 states "Periodically retrieving randomly selected data files to verify that data can be recovered." Does this include data that is classified as confidential or legal data?

The Service Provider is responsible for determining that a tape can be physically read and that there are no media errors, regardless of contents.

724/20 Storage/


E2.3-219 states "Purchasing and maintaining adequate supplies for the External Storage Media" Please provide usage statistics for external storage media by type and platform.

Service Providers should use their experience and knowledge in addition to the information contained in the RFO and Data Room to estimate this information. Service Providers should state any assumptions with regard to this topic in their Offers.

7304/25 Exhibit 2.7, E.2.7-73 Please clarify what is meant when referring to ‘other

electronic means.’In this context, “other electronic means” refers to electronic methods such as file transfer, posted to a site for retrieval, etc.

7404/25 Attachment 3-A, Service

Level MatrixIs the current mode of operations performance values identified in the service level matrix being achieved today? Are tools currently in place at each agency to measure the service level compliance for each service level identified in the service level matrix?

There are some generic measures being recorded by agencies for availability, time to respond, and problem resolution. Measurement methodologies vary from manual to automated. There are varying degrees of measurement taking place for the remainder of current metrics at agencies. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

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7504/25 Exhibit 6, E6-287 We assume that cell E6-287 should be italicized.

Please confirm.The requirement at cell E6-287 is for a response in the column titled "Comply (Y/N)" and in the event that the response is "N" in that column, then a response compliant with the request is to be recorded in the column titled "Service Provider Response. A "Y" response in the "Comply (Y/N)" column should not be accompanied by a response in the "Service Provider Response" column.

7604/25 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-16 Please clarify that the Service Provider can close the

Incident to the reporting Agency Level 1 Help Desk and release responsibility when it is determined that the Service Provider is not responsible for resolution of the Incident.

Due to the inter-relationships of services, it is the intent that the Service Provider will remain responsible for the status of a problem until it is determined, and agreed by all parties, that a problem is corrected, resolved, or clearly out of scope. It is not the intent that the Service Provider provide Level 1 support for out of scope Towers (e.g., desktop support, phone support). The final incident disposition and release of responsibility is determined and authorized by the DIR Customer.

7704/25 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-19 Will DIR consider changing the responsibility of

coordinating problem tracking efforts and notification to Authorized Users to the reporting Agency Level 1 Help Desk?

It is anticipated that most problem tracking will be coordinated with the Agency Level 1 Help Desk. However, there may be circumstances that named “Authorized Users” will also have to coordinate with the Support Center (e.g., calls from an Applications Group related to migration of code from test to production).


Incident to the reporting Agency Level 1 Help Desk and release responsibility when it is determined that the Service Provider is not responsible for resolution of the

Due to the inter-relationships of services, it is the intent that the Service Provider will remain responsible for the status of a problem until it is determined, and agreed by all parties, that a problem is corrected, resolved, or clearly out of scope.

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Incident. It is not the intent that the Service Provider provide Level 1 support for out of scope Towers (e.g., desktop support, phone support). The final incident disposition and release of responsibility is determined and authorized by the DIR Customer.


Incident to the reporting Agency Level 1 Help Desk and release responsibility when it is determined that the Service Provider is not responsible for resolution of the Incident.

Due to the inter-relationships of services, it is the intent that the Service Provider will remain responsible for the status of a problem until it is determined, and agreed by all parties, that a problem is corrected, resolved, or clearly out of scope. It is not the intent that the Service Provider provide Level 1 support for out of scope Towers (e.g., desktop support, phone support). The final incident disposition and release of responsibility is determined and authorized by the DIR Customer.

8004/25 Instructions 4 Are 11x17 page dimensioned foldouts allowed in

proposal?Yes.

8104/25 Exhibit 5, E5-22 How many employees are currently on leave of

absence?No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006.

8204/25 Exhibit 5, E5-23 How many employees are currently on military leave? No additional information on this topic will be available prior

to May 31, 2006.

8304/25 Exhibit 5, E5-101 How many companies are currently providing Affected

Contractors to in scope work? How many Affected Contractors are the contracting companies providing by

1&3) The number of companies currently providing Affected Contractors is not available, therefore it is not known if the companies are certified HUBs.. 2a) The

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agency and are expected to transition to the Service Provider? Are these contracting companies certified HUBs?

number of Affected Contractors is identified in Attachment 5A. 2b) Refer to Exhibit 5 – Cell E5-15.


Benefits Comparability Matrix, 13.0 Parking

Will the State continue to provide parking for Affected Employees and Affected Contractors until transformation is completed for each agency?

Transitioned employees will have access to state parking in accordance with each agency's parking guidelines until transformation is completed.

8504/25 Attachment 5A The Affected Personnel specified in the tabs (1-28) do

not contain any FTEs designated as Physical Data Base support staff. Please provide.

There is no separate column or designation of physical database support. The support is included within the following columns: Mainframe/Technical Support, and Application Servers/ Unix, Wintel, Novell, Other

8604/25 Appendix B, Section 1.3 Please describe the specific limitations which have

forced the agencies to continue to use the following technology platforms:

2003-116 RRC2003-215 TYC

7060-H30 OAG.

If the limitation was strictly due to financial reasons, can this Service Provider assume that an upgrade to newer technology can be accomplished without changes to affected applications? If not, are these platforms currently meeting the required service levels or will they be excluded from service level calculations?

RRC: No specific limitations. There is a current project to upgrade COBOL application code to a version compatible with z/OS. This code upgrade project is scheduled for completion in August 2006; however, the current RRC mainframe hardware will not support any additional operating system upgrades. To complete the migration to z/OS more current hardware will be required.

TYC: No specific limitations; Hardware upgrades are normally driven by VSE release levels. There is no current plan to migrate to another OS.

OAG: No specific limitations; although there is no current plan to migrate to another OS.

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The effect of an upgrade to a different platform would be evaluated based on the Service Provider's recommendation and impact to existing systems. Any recommendations must account for system programming and JCL changes required and be approved.

These platforms are meeting the current service levels and they are expected to be included in the service level calculation.

8704/25 Exhibit E2.7-72 thru E2.7-

73What is the maximum number of inserts in any one package? Please provide additional information regarding the number of different inserts used per month.

The agency profiles in Appendix I provide all the information regarding this topic available at this time.

8804/25 Appendix A, Section 3,

first paragraphThis Service Provider would like to have immediate access to the Winters Complex data center facility and the Office of Attorney General (OAG) data center facilities at Promontory Point to determine the viability for use and the cost of improvements.

High level floor layouts and pictures of the data centers are located in the Data Room. Information from the engineering assessments will be available no later than May 12, 2006.

Tours will not be scheduled until after the clarification sessions and prior to the amended response due date.

8904/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-89 Please define the term efficiency as stated in the

requirement: “Providing regular monitoring and reporting of system performance, utilization, and efficiency.”

In this context, “efficiency” means improvement in resources, time and/or costs to provide similar units of work.

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9004/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-123 Please provide historical information for the past 12

months regarding server and disk growth by agency.No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006. If the question relates to pricing assumptions, pricing should be provided assuming no resource baseline growth (see Attachment 4D).

9104/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-137 Since table creation (and hence data loading) is not

included in the physical database administrator role, stress testing and performance tuning cannot be the sole responsibility of the physical DBA. Please confirm.

For the Production and Pre-production Test Environments (defined in Exhibit 1), table creation and data loading are Service Provider responsibilities.

For Development and Initial Test Environments, table creation and data loading are agency responsibilities.

Stress testing and performance tuning are joint responsibilities.

9204/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-199 Please describe the current DIR standards for labeling

media?There currently is not one method followed by all DIR Customers. 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 6, Subchapter C can serve as a reference for what would be expected at a minimum.

State Government: (http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=13&pt=1&ch=6&rl=96 ) . Additionally see 13 TAC, Chapter 7, Subchapter C,

Local Government: (http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p

http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=13&pt=1&ch=7&rl=76





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_tac=&ti=13&pt=1&ch=7&rl=76).

Any external barcodes must be linked to a mechanized catalogue which will contain the aforementioned information.

9304/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-208 Please describe the current media disposition

requirements for DIR?There is not an enterprise DIR Customer or State of Texas rule that specifically addresses the destruction of media except in the context of removal of data from data processing equipment that is being transferred or disposed of (SB255 - 79th R). SB 255 was added to section 2054.130 of the Texas Government Code http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.010.00.002054.00.htm#2054.130.00 . Additionally, the guideline is referenced at the DIR website http://www.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/saleortransfer/index.htm . TAC Rule 202.23 also addresses "Removal of Data from Data Processing Equipment." Exhibit 17A - Section 3 of this FRO gives direction to additional requirements that are to be followed when disposing of media.

9404/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-232 Besides labeling and packaging, please describe other

special preparation required for the migration of media to offsite locations.

Particular processes vary by agency. The Policies and Procedures Manual will prescribe the process that agencies and the Service Provider will follow for the migration of media to offsite locations. These processes will be jointly developed and followed by all Parties.

Please refer to TAC 202 for a general overview of Information Security Safeguards.

http://www.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/saleortransfer/index.htm%20

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.010.00.002054.00.htm#2054.130.00



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9504/25 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-246 Please describe the type of restrictions that the State of

Texas may have regarding the disposal of media (tape, optical).

There is not an enterprise DIR Customer or State of Texas rule that specifically addresses the restricted destruction of media except in the context of removal of data from data processing equipment that is being transferred or disposed of (SB255 - 79th R). SB 255 was added to section 2054.130 of the Texas Government Code (http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.010.00.002054.00.htm#2054.130.00 ). Additionally, the guideline is referenced at the DIR website http://www.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/saleortransfer/index.htm . TAC Rule 202.23 also addresses "Removal of Data from Data Processing Equipment." Exhibit 17A - Section 3 of this RFO gives direction to additional requirements that are to be followed when disposing of media.

9604/25 Attachment 5A The Affected Personnel specified in the tabs (1-28) do

not contain any FTEs designated as working on Projects. Please provide.

All project related FTE’s are included in the Cross Functional, Infrastructure Change Support, and Mgmt/Admin columns.

9704/25 Network Assets/Exhibit

10 Equipment AssetsIn addition to the assets listed in Exhibit 10, please provide an inventory of network equipment (make and models) for the LANs at the 31 datacenter locations.

Network equipment associated with the data center LANs is listed in Exhibit 10. Additional information concerning this topic may be available in the Data Room for some agencies.

9804/25 HR Will the State please provide employee demographic

data, either in summary form (by Agency/Location/Job Position) or individually (identifier in lieu of names)? At a minimum, the following information is requested: 1. Average Age, 2. Length of State Service

No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006.

http://www.dir.state.tx.us/pubs/saleortransfer/index.htm



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3. Base Salary, 4. Number of employees by job title and/or job function

9904/25 Mainframe/

Appendix B Mainframe Environment Services

In addition to the information provided in Appendix B, 3.1 TxSDC Utilization Summary and 3.2 Agency Mainframe Utilization Summary, please provide the following. 1. The number of batch jobs per month by agency and processor within agency. 2. The number of batch abends per month by agency and processor within agency. 3. The number of code promotions to production per month. 4. The number of tape mounts per month by agency.

The level of detail published in Appendix B and each agency's Appendix I of the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

10004/25 Mainframe/


In addition to the information provided in Appendix B, 1.3 Texas State Data Center (Mainframe) and p.6 Agency Data Centers Mainframe, please provide the following: 1. Number of LPARs by machine and agency. 2. Number of DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ Queue Managers, Websphere Application Servers, number of ISV databases, by agency and processor within the agency. 3. Number of guests on the VM machine and number of LPARs on the VSE machines.

The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time.

10104/25 Mainframe/ Regarding Appendix B, 3,1 TxSDC Utilization

Summary and 3.2 Agency Mainframe Utilization Summary, please define the following:

Refer to the definitions in Exhibit 4 Fees for 1&2.

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1. "Application Tapes in Storage". Does this mean off-site storage? 2. "Application Tapes in Storage-Virtual Tape Storage"

3. "Occupied Automated Application Tape Slots"

The definition for “Occupied Automated Application Tape Slots”: the daily average number of slots in Automated Tape Units at the Data Center(s) allocated to application data during the applicable measurement period. This is not a billable Resource Unit however, the information has been provided in Attachment 4D (Other Volume Metrics).

10204/25 3rd Party Contracts/

Attachments 12A Third Party Software, 12B Third Party Services Contracts, 12C Third Party Equipment Maintenance

Does the State have any 3rd Party supplier contracts currently in negotiations that would not be available in the Data Room? If so, please provide a list and description of those contracts.



Software/

Exhibit 2_2 E2.2-32

Please provide a list of current DIR or DIR customer testing environments.

Testing environments vary by agency. A definitive list is not available.

104 04/25 Assets/

Exhibit 10

Equipment Assets

Exhibit 10 has assets on the 'Leased' tabs marked as 'Owned' in the spreadsheet. Please clarify whether those assets are owned or leased?

The assets marked as “Owned” in the “Lease” tab are owned by the respective entity. All of the assets in the “Leased” tab marked as “Owned” are located either at TXSDC or ADROC.

10504/25 Assets/ Information on the lease schedules appears to be

missing. Will the DIR provide an update to the Exhibit No additional information on this topic will be available prior

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Exhibit 10

Equipment Assets

which will complete the schedule? to May 31, 2006.

10604/25 Assets/

Attachment 12-A, 12-B, 12-C

Many of the products show an expiration date that is in the past. Can the DIR please clarify the status of those products and services?

The information was captured at a point in time (December 2005) and will not be updated prior to May 31, 2006.

10704/25 Mainframe/

Appendix B_Mainframe Environment Services.doc section 3.2 Agency Mainframe Utilization

Could you please provide MIPS and GB's per application for the Unisys Mainframe along with the migration date off of the Mainframe for each application?

The HHSC agency profile in Appendix I provides all the information regarding the UNISYS migration project available at this time. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

10804/25 Appendix A, Data Center

Overview, 1.0 General Description, Page 4 of 11 and

Instructions – Part 3, Background, Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria, 2.1 DIR Information, Page 4 of 18

Maximizing data center and associated infrastructure consolidation is only possible when standards in hardware, software (OS and middleware), policies, and procedures are in place across the entire environment. In Appendix A Data Center Overview, section 1.0 General Description, the RFO states that aside from San Angelo, “other data centers in the state are managed independently by the State Agency IT organizations.” Further, paragraph 1.0 states, “The core mission is to provide infrastructure services and support, to enable cost efficiencies and to drive IT standards within the Agency or across State of Texas’s global IT community.” Yet in Instructions – Part 3, Background,

DIR is the State agency responsible for setting IT standards through a rule making process. DIR also develops guidelines as needed to address technology direction. DIR expects the Service Provider to recommend best practices.

Exhibit 6 describes the Governance process for the Services. DIR will work with the awarded Service Provider and the agencies in reviewing and proposing standards for the consolidated data center(s).

Proposed standards to be implemented for Data Center Services should be described in the Service Provider’s

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Objectives, and Evaluation Criteria, section 2.1 DIR Information, the RFO states that “IT strategic planning and IT standards development and direction” is not included in this procurement.

Question: What authority does the Service Provider have in regard to requiring the agencies to adhere to standards? What procedures, mechanisms, or incentives and penalties are in place to facilitate agency acceptance of all DIR standards knowing that agencies currently have their own technology standards? Who pays to bring an agency’s infrastructure up to required DIR standards?

Technical Solution.

Costs for conversion to a recommended standard should be incorporated into the implementation costs in accordance with the pricing instructions outlined in Exhibit 4 and associated attachments.

Service Providers should state any assumptions with regard to this topic in their Offers.

10904/25 General Which agencies have signed the interagency agreement,

and what are the bilateral commitments by DIR and each of the 27 agencies?

What is the priority in which they will be transitioned?

When will DIR post a copy of the interagency agreement?

a) All of the 27 agencies have signed interagency agreements.

b) There is not a prescribed order for transition. Service Providers are expected to use their experience and the information provided in the RFO in proposing optimal Transition and Transformation Plans.

c) The signed interagency contracts will be made available in the Data Room.

11004/25 General Will the Service Provider be able to assist in the

prioritization of the transition of agencies? If the prioritization is directed by the DIR only, what guarantee does the Service Provider have that the 27

HB1516 required DIR to prioritize the agencies that must participate in the consolidation. Of the State agencies impacted by this legislation, DIR has prioritized the initial 27 agencies as listed in the RFO as the participating agencies.

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agencies will participate in the Service Provider’s prioritization? What is the incentive or penalty to get the agencies to participate?

HB1516 legislates that prioritized agencies must participate.

The Service Provider is expected to propose their optimal Transition & Transformation Plans for these 27 agencies.


Agreement, 7. Service Levels, 7.1 General, (b) Service Level Performance Standards, Page 21 of 94

Please provide detailed information on statewide service levels that are currently being met by all agencies.

Currently, there are no statewide standard for service levels except those existing at TxSDC. It is the intent to standardize on the service levels as specified in Exhibit 3.

11204/25 HR Provisions

Exhibit 5.2.1

Page 19 of 35

Ref# E5-13

Reference:

Service Provider Employment Offers to Affected Employees and Contractors

Question:

When will position descriptions for state employees and contractors be provided with skill levels, location, and shift information?


113 4/27 Exhibit 2.7, E.2.7-49 What equipment is used today to validate the MICR line?

TWC uses the "Signa Measure Ink Tester" for this purpose. HHSC does not have equipment for this purpose. TDCJ uses preprinted check stock. Other agencies may have other equipment for this purpose.

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114 4/27 Attachment 4-C.2 Financial Base Case Assumptions, Page 4, Base Case Retained Expenses

Are any of the current Mainframe software agreements fixed term licenses?

Will the State of Texas retain the financial responsibility for these agreements, and negotiate any additional fees required by these vendors based on the completion of this RFO?

Does a listing of these fixed term vendor agreements exist, and if so where may they be found?

Does the State of Texas want to retain the financial responsibility for these agreements at expiration or move the agreements under this Service Provider’s financial responsibility?

License terms have not been determined at this time. Information may be available in the Data Room for some agencies. DIR does not intend to retain financial responsibility for the software agreements as described in Attachment 4-B.

115 4/27 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2.4 The language states that the New Application Server Hardware Services Charges shall be charged based on “prorated monthly” Capital Expenditures. Over what time period does DIR anticipate spreading the one-time purchase price for a New Application Server?

For pricing purposes, the Service Provider should assume a four year amortization of New Application Server Hardware Services Charges Capital Expenditures. However, DIR may choose to adjust the amortization life at a later date.

116 4/27 Exhibit 4, Section 5.2, 3rd Paragraph, 1st Sentence

Please define “system management” for the life cycle of the Services.

As described in Exhibit 4, Section 5.2, 3rd Paragraph, 1st sentence, systems management for the lifecycle of the Services is specified in the Statements of Work (Exhibit 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.7).

117 4/27 Master Services Agreement, Section

Section 11. Fees, Paragraph 1 General, Subparagraph (b) DIR Cost Recovery Component – Upon review of

The Base Charges in Attachment 4-A should not include the DIR Cost Recovery Component.

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11.1(b) Exhibit 4, there appears to be no specific requirement to include a DIR Cost Recovery Component in the prices. Please confirm that the prices quoted in Exhibit 4 are exclusive of a DIR Cost Recovery Component.

118 4/27 Mainframe & Servers/

Appendix B Mainframe Environment Services, Appendix C Server Environment Services

Appendices B & C list hardware for mainframes and servers respectively. Please supply the lease streams (monthly cost and lease end) for all of the Mainframe and Server hardware.

As mentioned in Attachment 4-C.2, a reconciliation of the base year expense to the RFO asset listings is ongoing. This reconciliation includes building the supporting lease schedules for the Mainframe and Server hardware. This information will not be available until after May 31, 2006.

119 4/27 Servers/

Appendix C-Server Environment Services

Page 4 of Appendix C states that approximately 1400 MSDOS servers will retire in March 2007 as part of a major application rewrite.1. What is the new platform(s) for the rewritten applications?2. Are the servers counts (baselines) included in exhibit 10 and attachment 4D where the application rewrites will reside?3. The MSDOS servers are included in Attachment 4D Resource Baselines and Attachment 4A Pricing Forms. Given the March 2007 retirement date of those servers, should those be removed from the baselines and pricing forms?

The 1400 MSDOS servers are the servers that will be retired as HHSC completes the migration from the UNISYS mainframe, which includes the IEE transition. The current HHSC plan calls for these servers to retire by March 2007. Some of the workload will migrate to the HHSC SOA/UCE environment described in the HHSC Appendix I. The current SOA/UCE environment is included in Exhibit 10, and it is anticipated that additional requirements will be accommodated through ARCs/RRCs.

The DOS servers are removed from the baselines at the end of Year 1. Although the plan is for these servers to be retired in March 2007, for contingency purposes given the possibility of delays in the current plan, DIR has requested pricing for these through the end of the first full contract year (8/08). The impact on pricing of the timing of the actual

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retirement of these servers will be addressed in negotiations.

120 4/27 Mainframe/

Appendix B_Mainframe Environment Services.doc section 1.3 last paragraph

Appendix B indicates completion of migration from the Unisys mainframe in FY08 yet the Resource Baseline shows MIPS thru FY09. Please clarify the conflicting information.

Although the plan is for the Unisys mainframe to be retired in FY08, for contingency purposes given the possibility of delays in the current plan, DIR has requested pricing for the Unisys through FY09. The impact on pricing of the timing of the actual retirement of the Unisys will be addressed in negotiations.

121 4/27 Master Services Agreement, 20.6 Termination for Service Provider Degraded Financial Condition, Page 86 of 94

Recognizing that these services are rated on a subjective analysis, if the Service Provider’s current rating is below the minimum specified in Master Services Agreement section 20.6, should the Service Provider respond to the RFO, and if so, how will this rating be evaluated within the selection process?

DIR encourages all qualified companies to respond to the RFO. DIR will evaluate all qualified responses. If a Service Provider believes the provisions of any Section of the Master Services Agreement impose an unacceptable risk to it, the Service Provider may propose alternative language in accordance with the Service Provider Instructions relevant to the Master Services Agreement. It is not DIR’s intent to eliminate any qualified Service Provider from consideration as a result of any single change to the Master Services Agreement. DIR encourages all bidders to identify and document their issues or concerns of the Master Services Agreement and provide appropriate suggestions as allowed in the Service Provider Instructions described below.

The Service Provider Instructions to the Master Services Agreement provide, in part, the following guidance. Service Providers should review the complete instructions in detail.

If the Service Provider cannot agree to a contractual provision as written, the Service Provider must make its

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specific required revision to the language of the provision by striking out words or inserting required language to the text of the provision within the copy of the draft. Any new text and deletions of original text must be clearly reflected through the use of Microsoft Word’s “track changes” function.

Immediately after a proposed revision, the Service Provider must add a concise explanation concerning the reason for the required revision.

If Service Provider is unwilling to accept a particular provision under any circumstances, such complete rejection must be indicated by a mark-through of the entire provision using Microsoft Word’s “track changes” function. A concise explanation for the rejection shall be included immediately following the deleted provision, with such explanatory text bracketed, formatted in italics and preceded with the term “[Explanation: ”.

Service Providers should note that the evaluation criteria and weight to be used in determining the best value for the State are specified in the RFO Instructions Part 3. Part 3 provides that DIR’s evaluation of the Terms and Conditions comprise 10% of the evaluation and include (1) the Service Provider’s willingness to accept DIR’s contract terms and conditions; and (2) the Service Provider’s ability to propose terms that are appropriate to the dynamic and competitive environment in which the State operates, and provide DIR with maximum flexibility in terms of the Services provided and the

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reasonableness of the fees charged.

The following is a high level summary of the evaluation components and weightings. The complete evaluation criteria are as stated in the RFO Instructions.

Quality of Service (Technical) 30% -- proposed solution; service levels; commitment to improvement

Business Relationship Terms 20% -- ability to support environment; experience; methods; financial stability; references; value added services

Terms and Conditions 10% -- as summarized above

Financial 30% -- fees proposed; approach for termination of the service arrangement

Human Resources Solution 10% -- commitment to Affected Personnel

122 4/27 General Will there be an opportunity for Questions and Answers during the pre-proposal conference next week (May 5)?

Yes. DIR will take questions and give verbal answers during the second pre-proposal conference.

123 5/2 Appendix B, Pages 12-14 and various Agency Overviews in Appendix I

For each agency that will have print and mail packages to be included in the response (HHSC, TDCJ, TWC, and TxDOT) please clarify the mail package specifications:

In addition to the information contained in Appendix I for each agency, see the Print Information Summary included in Addendum 3. This level of detail is the level of detail available at this time.

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Total packages mailed annually, and type of mail package (checks, statements, etc.)

Frequency of mailing Spikes in volume during certain times / volume

fluctuations that occur between job runs Contents of mail package (outer envelope, BRE, insert,

etc.) Type of print (duplex/ simplex, 2 up, etc.) Average page count Location where this job currently is processed

124 5/2 Attachment 5A Please provide a cross reference list of agency names to the agency number.

This will be provided in the Data Room.

125 5/2 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-190 Please describe the current data replication environments that exist within the DIR, DIR Customer, and Authorized User environments today?

Data replication processes vary greatly by application. The following are examples of data replication in select agencies:

TEA uses a nightly batch process to move data via IBM's DB2 from their mainframe in the TxSDC to an AIX reporting server in their headquarters building in Austin using their dedicated T-1s.

GLO uses Network Appliance's Snap Mirror to nightly to replicate all of their non-GIS SQL data from their Network Appliance Data Filer in their headquarters building in Austin to a DR Network Appliance Data Filer in the ADROC via a dedicated 100Mb microwave link.

HHSC's Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) application uses GTSM (GTech Management System) to replicate between five servers (located at ADROC and WTDROC (TxSDC), for high availability and DR.

HHSC’s SOA/UCE environment uses Oracle RAC to

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replicate its SOA/UCE databases within the existing environment for high availability.

HHSC’s UNISYS environment uses EMC's SDRF (Symmetric Remote Data Facility) to perform real-time replication of the Unisys mainframe's production removable disk packs data to an external device (located on the same floor).

A complete list of data replication processes by agency is not currently available. The due diligence plan provides a method for the Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

126 5/2 Exhibit 17, E17-15 This Service Provider assumes the cell titled Service Provider Response should be shaded and a response is not required other than a Y/N in the cell titled Comply (Y/N). Please confirm.

Correct.

127 5/2 Exhibit 10, Equipment Assets; Tab – Mainframe Owned; Rows 72, 74, 75 and 78

Equipment used for processing incoming mail is identified. Is it DIR’s intent that the Service Provider receives and processes incoming mail? If so, please provide additional information regarding this requirement.

Processing of incoming mail is not considered part of the Services. The equipment was incorrectly included in Exhibit 10.

128 5/2 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-249 Please provide an estimation of the total number of pages expected for bulk printing requirements and what percentage must be available to agencies by 8:00 am the following morning.

See Print Information Summary included in Addendum 3 for additional Print/Mail information concerning volumes. The percentage that must be available by 8:00 am is unknown at this time. The due diligence plan provides a method for

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Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

129 5/2 Attachment 12-A, Third party software, rows 281-466

Since TDCJ has multiple mainframe processors, please provide the system software stack for each of the TDCJ processors.


The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further

130 5/2 Exhibit 2.2, E2.2-199 thru E2.2-211, Attachment 5A

The Affected Personnel specified in the tabs (1-28) of Attachment 5A do not contain any FTEs designated as being responsible for software license management and compliance. Please provide.

There is no separate column or designation for software license management and compliance support. The support for the in-scope areas of Mainframe and Servers is included within the following columns: Mgmt/Admin and/or Cross Functional.

131 5/2 Appendix I for the following Agencies: CDADS, HHSC, OAG, OAG-CS, RRC, TDCJ, TWC, TxDOT, and TYC

How many database instances, CICS regions, and LPARs are currently being run on each of these agency’s IBM mainframes?


132 5/2 Support Center/

Instructions Part 3- 2.5Exhibit 2.1, Sect 4.0

The RFO Scope of Work Overview table states that a Support Center for in-scope data center services is within the Service Provider's scope while a Help Desk for Tier I – all services and Tiers II and III – retained services are Out of Scope. However, in Section 4.0 of Exhibit 2.1 it is stated that the Service Provider is

It is not the intent for the Service Provider to provide Level 1 Help Desk support for agency calls. Agency end-user calls will be triaged within the agency. However, once an agency reports a problem to the Service Provider Support Center, due to the interrelationships of services, it is intended that the Service Provider will remain responsible for the status of a

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responsible for providing a Support Center for all Authorized User calls pertaining to both Calls that relate to the Services and Calls that do not arise from or relate to the Services. 1) Please clarify the State’s intent regarding the Support Center and whether the Service Provider’s responsibility is for all State of Texas DIR Tier I Help Desk or Support Center calls.2) If the intent is for the Service Provider to provide Tier I Support Center services please provide the following information:- How many FTE’s are doing level 1 today? - How many Help Desk FTEs are currently at each Agency? - How many Agencies does NGTSI provide Help Desk services for? - What are the call volumes for each Agency? - What is the call volume by application? - What hours of support is provided by the Help Desk for each Agency? - Do the Agencies have a knowledge repository? - If so, will the Service Provider have access to the repository? - Will Authorized Users call the Help Desk directly?

problem until it is determined, and agreed by all parties, that a problem is corrected, resolved, or clearly out of scope.

133 5/2 Mainframe & Server Software/


The definition of Software as provided in the RFO includes Application Software. This requirement as stated implies the Service Provider is required to provide Level 1 Help Desk services to Authorized Users for Software. Please clarify if this is the intent of

It is not the intent for the Service Provider to provide Level 1 Help Desk support for agency calls. Agency end-user calls will be triaged within the agency. Due to the interrelationships of services, it is intended that the Service Provider will provide support, advice, and assistance to

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the DIR. Authorized Users (e.g., application programmers, project managers, etc.)

134 5/2 Exhibit 2.2 8.2-5 page 25 E2.2-134

Will the DIR please clarify the Software support requirements specific to supporting internally developed Software and for correcting Software?

It is the intent that the Service provider will provide support for Software, excluding Applications expressly supported by DIR Customers, as described in E2.2 Section 8.2, including correcting Software. Examples of internally developed Software are included in Exhibit 11.

135 5/2 Exhibit 2.3 P 23 E2.3-136 Please provide the following regarding the Database support in E2.3-136:1. a list of Databases including type (DB2,Oracle, MSSQL), version, size (GB or TB), and usage. 2. indicate if DB is HA (clustered) and what the clustering technology is used (MSCS, Oracle RAC, etc).3. include which systems (by name or row) these DB's exist on.

The databases are listed in Attachment 12A.

The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006.

136 5/2 Attachment 5A Affected Personnel

In Attachment 5A, using Tab 1 as EXAMPLE: The .70 under Print Ops/Support is made up of 4 components, .20, .20, .10, & .20, Cells E27-E29 & E31 respectively. For ALL tabs in Attachment 5A, please provide the following:1. Do the numbers represent 1 staff member or multiple staff members performing that function?2. How many staff members are assigned to print per tab, and does the number in the cell indicate one person for an 8 hour shift?

1. The numbers represented in each row represent a staff member performing a percentage of their time (.20 = 20%, .10 = 10%, etc.) in the fulfillment of the respective tasks and activities within a functional area (i.e., Print Ops/Support, Tape Support, Storage Management, etc.). If the number displayed in a row is 1.0, then a staff member is contributing 100% percent of their work time in the fulfillment of the respective tasks and activities within a functional area.

2. The total number in the last row of each respective column represents the number of staff members assigned to a

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3. What shifts are those people working? 4. How many hours per shift and what days? 5. What are their job titles, i.e., Operator, Shift Manager, Supervisor, Lead, etc.?

functional category (i.e., Print Ops/Support, Tape Support, Storage, etc.). is represented by the total number in the last row of each respective column. Each staff member is assumed to be working one shift, rather than multiple shifts.

3. The shift information was not obtained, nor represented in Attachment 5A.

4. The hours per shift and days were not obtained, nor represented in Attachment 5A.

5. No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006.

137 5/2 RFO Documents/MSA Page 17 and Table of Contents

Attachments 7A,7B are referenced in the MSA, however they are not included in the RFO. Please explain.

The DIR Facilities referenced in Section 6.1(a) - Service Facilities are contained in Exhibit 7- Sites. There is not an expectation that Attachment 7-B (Service Provider Facilities) be submitted with the May

31, 2006 RFO Proposal. That document would be completed as part of the final contract. We would expect that any proposed Service Provider Facilities either data center or support centers be included in the appropriate technical solutions, transition plans or transformation plans submitted in response to Instructions - Part 4.

138 5/2 Appendix I

For example: on page 7 of 23 of OAG-CS under Application Matrix “see OAG-csd sitar application attachment.”

Throughout these documents for many agencies a reference is made to SITAR data that is being provided, however, it doesn't appear to be included in the RFO documents. Can the State please provide this detail so we can properly analyze the workload requirements?

SITAR stands for Statewide IT Assessment Report. The agencies used an extract from SITAR as the starting point for describing their applications in Appendix I. The only SITAR data included in the RFO is the application documentation in Appendix I- Agency Overviews.

An update to the OAG-CS Appendix I, including the referenced “OAG-csd sitar application attachment” will be

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posted on the DIR website in accordance with RFO Addendum 3 posted on the ESBD.

139 5/2 HR/

Affected Personnel Attachment 5A

For the purpose of Agency oriented Transformation plans, can DIR identify the agencies represented by DIR Customer Numbers in this exhibit?

This information can be viewed in the Data Room.

140 5/2 Facilities/

Appendix A - Data Center Overview Section 3.0 High Level Center Profile

Can the prospective Service Providers visit the three State Data Centers identified as available for use by the Service Provider?

High-level floor layouts and pictures of the data centers are located in the Data Room. Information from the engineering assessments will be available no later than May 12, 2006.

Tours will not be scheduled until after the clarification sessions, which are identified in Instructions - Part 2, "Conduct Demonstration and Clarification Sessions with Service Providers: June 22, 2006 - June 30, 2006" and; prior to the amended response due date, which is identified in Instructions - Part 2, "Receive Service Providers' Amended Proposals: July 10, 2006 - July 17, 2006 ".

141 5/2 General How are staff members listed in HR Appendix A for the Print Operation assigned on a shift schedule, i.e., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, especially as related to the agencies they support?

This respective information was not collected for Attachment 5A.


142 5/2 Master Services Agreement, 4.5 Use of Third Parties, (a) Right of

Section 4.5 (a) of the Master Services Agreement states that “this is not a requirements contract and DIR and the DIR Customers shall not be required to obtain their

Exhibit 4 details the obligation, criteria and schedule for the payment of services provided by the Service Provider.

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Use, Page 11 of 94 requirements for any of the Services from Service Provider …”

Question: Does the DIR or the State of Texas recognize any obligation on its part to reimburse the Service Provider for any up-front costs should no services be procured (for example, performing an Asset Inventory, establishing a Web Portal, developing transition plans, and so forth)?

Section 4.5 (a) of the Master Services Agreement also states: "To the extent DIR or a DIR Customer obtains from DIR contractors, or provides to itself, any of the Services, the Charges and Termination Charges shall be adjusted downward in accordance with Exhibit 4, to the extent applicable, or equitably adjusted downward in proportion to the portion of the Services that Service Provider shall not be providing to the extent that Exhibit 4 does not provide for such reduction."

Attachment 4-A to Exhibit 4 requires the Service provider to detail proposed charges and timing to compensate the Service Provider for Services delivered. Specifically, Service Providers' attention is drawn to Exhibit 4 at 4.0 Annual Base Charges which states: "The Annual Base Charges for each Contract Year are set forth in Attachment 4-A and are the fixed charges to DIR for Service Provider's provision of the Services in accordance with the levels of Resource Unit (RU) usage included in the Monthly Resource Baselines... The Annual Base Charges, as adjusted pursuant to Section 5 of this Exhibit 4, shall fully compensate Service Provider for providing the Services at the Resource Unit usage levels of the Monthly Resource Baselines..."; and, Exhibit 4 at 7.0 One-Time Charges which states: "The Charges shall include One-Time Charges set forth in Attachment 4-A payable ... billed to DIR upon DIR's Acceptance of the applicable Milestones".

143 5/2 E2.1 – 428 How many total users will need to be trained annually? There is no annual estimate of ongoing training. We envision that additional train-the-trainer training will be

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1.1 Ongoing Training for Authorized Users

Will the ongoing training include the training described in Exhibit 2.1 E2.1-47 - Service Provider's Problem Tracking System training?

provided when there is a significant change in technology that would warrant additional training. We estimate that the initial train-the-trainer training for Exhibit 2.1 E2.1-47 to be three (3) staff per agency.

The additional 'as needed' train-the-trainer training will include the Problem Tracking System.

144 5/4 Exhibit 2.1, E2.1-143 Please provide DIR’s expectation of the tools to meet the requirement: “Such automation will also provide for integration and linkage to other Applications that need to be updated as a result of changes, ….”. Is it DIR’s expectation that the Service Provider will be responsible for initially gathering all of the interdependencies between all Applications and maintaining such interdependencies within the Service Provider’s change management environment?

It is the intent that the Service Provider will ensure that support applications, such as those listed in E2.1-143, remain synchronized when changes occur.

It is DIR's expectation that the Service Provider will establish a configuration management database (CMDB) that contains the linkages of business applications to system resources (hardware/software) in order to effectively manage both change management and outage impacts/notifications. To the extent that application interdependencies are necessary for the Service Provider to do problem and change management they must be maintained in the CMDB.

145 5/4 Exhibit 2.7, E2.7-13 Please specify the retention time frames required for secure document storage.

E2.7-13 refers to providing a secured, controlled area for the storage of stock on hand, and the storage of printed documents during the print and mail processes (e.g., checks, warrants, ID cards). It does not refer to the long-term retention of printed documents.

146 5/4 Exhibit 2.3, E2.3-196 & Which of the 27 agencies requires microfiche? What vendor(s) does the State use to create the microfiche

Attachment 4D indicates the agencies that utilize microfiche. The Service Provider will be responsible for delivering

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E2.3-246 currently? Could electronic storage with an appropriate protective backup substitute for microfiche?

(magnetic media or FTP) the electronic output to the microfiche vendor. The current state third-party vendor for microfiche is Centex. Individual agencies could agree to substitute electronic storage/retrieval for microfiche at their discretion.

147 5/4 Facilities Please provide the rate the State will charge the Service Provider for use of State facility space for both data center and office space.

As described in Exhibit 4, Section 20, DIR will only charge the Service Provider for facility space if the Service Provider continues to use DIR Customer Data Centers or DIR Customer Remote Facilities beyond the agreed upon date in the Transformation Plan. If this were to occur, the rate will be determined on a fair market value basis depending upon the specific facility.

148 5/4 Instructions to Exhibit 4, E-4 Instructions, E4-6, page 8 of 16

E-4 states: "The Service Provider will reimburse the DIR Customer for prepaid software licenses and maintenance." 1. Please clarify if the DIR includes OS software acquired as part of the acquisition of hardware to be a prepaid license, if so please provide the value of the software? 2. What, if any, hardware maintenance has been prepaid and what is the remaining value as of the Commencement Date?

This information is being collected and may not be available prior to May 31, 2006. Once collected, DIR will determine if OS software acquired as part of the acquisition of the hardware will be included as part of the reimbursed prepaids.

149 5/4 Sites/

Exhibit 7 Sites

Exhibit 7 provides detail on equipment by site. Please provide the number of users per city or if that detail cannot be provided at this time, please provide the


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average number of users for rural locations. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

150 5/4 Security/

Exhibit 2.2 SOW Cross-Functional equipment and Software Services, Section 8.3

Is the existing Anti-Virus infrastructure for servers also in support of the workstation environment? If so, what actions should the service provider take to size AV for just the servers?

Anti-virus implementations vary by agency. Anti-virus servers are listed in Exhibit 10. It is the Service Providers responsibility to support these servers as requested. The Service Provider is responsible for all aspects of protecting in-scope application and utility servers from virus attacks.

The DIR Customer is responsible for protecting their desktop environment from virus attacks. It is also their responsibility to clean viruses from their desktop environment. It would be a joint Service Provider and DIR Customer responsibility to control the spread of a virus should one enter the environment.

151 5/4 Security/

Attachment 12A Third Party Software (server tab)

How many HIDS sensors are deployed? No additional information on this topic will be available prior to May 31, 2006. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

152 5/4 Security/

Attachment 17-C Security Plan Assessment Procedures, Section 8.0

Attachment 17-C Section 8.0 states “Service Provider must perform to a level as depicted in the outcome of the Assessment. The level is a price point better than the upper 25th percentile of the peer group.”

The peer group is determined at the time of the assessment, and will include well-managed suppliers performing similar services.

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Please identify who is included in the peer group.

153 5/4 Instructions Exhibit 4, page 7-8 of 16

Reference:

Select pricing assumptions….

Question:

Please clarify the quantity of costs associated with software/hardware licenses and maintenance considered prepaid?

This information is being collected and may not be available prior to May 31, 2006.

154 5/9 Attachment 4-C.2 Financial Base Case Assumptions, Page 4, Base Case Retained Expenses

Are any of the current Mainframe computers currently scheduled for upgrade to a larger processor prior to the completion of the RFO agreement? If a list of scheduled upgrades exists, where may it be found?

Based upon OAG-CSD's current mainframe performance and utilization metrics, OAG-CSD does not plan to exercise the option to upgrade the CPU to a model 2084-304 in FY07, as was mentioned in the Appendix I-OAG-CS.

TDCJ is scheduled for the upgrade of the IBM Z900 model 2064-102 to a model 2064-103 in June 2006.

No other agencies are planning a mainframe processor increase through the end of the current biennium (Aug, 2007).

155 5/9 Exhibit 5, E5-5 When will DIR release the Affected Employees roster? What data (e.g. job title, salary, tenure, location) will it contain?

The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. Additional information on Affected Employees will be made available before the clarification sessions. The additional information will include state classification, salary, years of state service, location, and

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shift.

156 5/9 Exhibit 5, E5-2.7 How long has the State been performing background checks for new State employees?

Background check requirements vary by agency. As examples, the criminal justice and health service delivery agencies have long-standing requirements for background checks for employees with access to certain data and records, while other agencies may not require background checks. The Service Provider will be required to perform background checks for personnel that deliver service to agencies that require such checks. DIR may require background checks for all personnel that deliver services under the contract.

157 5/9 Projects/

Exhibit 9 Current & Planned Projects, Sect 1.0

Clarification and implications (cost) of the statement “All existing Agency projects are considered Services and do not qualify for the definition of Projects as New Services”.

In the preparation of the RFO, DIR’s assessment of existing projects did not identify any Project, as Project is defined. Accordingly, work not qualifying as a Project is considered a part of the Services, and completion of existing projects is therefore assumed to be included in the base charge. Exhibit 9 may be refreshed in the event that a qualifying Project is identified, and applicable Project pricing will then apply.

158 5/9 Baselines/

Attachment 4D Resource Baselines

The Attachment 4D Resource Baselines document contains monthly baselines for the stub period which is different in some cases than the monthly baselines for the Base Year and Year 1. For example, the monthly baseline for MVS Application CPU Hours is 1,823 for the stub period and 5,212 in the Base Year and in Year 1. However, in other cases such as the Unix Low Complexity Servers, the monthly baseline is the same

No. The stub period baselines are lower than Year 1 due to an existing outsourcing contract that does not expire until 8/31/07. The difference in volumes between the stub period and Year 1 reflect the volumes currently being managed under the existing outsourcing contract.

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for the stub period as in the Base Year and Year 1.

Should we assume the monthly baselines for the stub period are the same as the Base Year - with the exception of the Unisys MIPs and DASD baselines which are retained by the State during the stub period?

159 5/9 Web Support/

No specific reference

Is Web Usage Monitoring/URL Filtering implemented in the environment now and if so does any part of it fall within the scope of the RFO?

Web URL filtering and web usage statistical monitoring is implemented differently at each agency. These services are generally not considered to be an in-scope services, however, in some agencies web filtering and web statistical reporting is work that is performed by the systems administration group and therefore to "stand in that agency's shoes" the work will be performed by the Service Provider systems administrators. In some agencies, this work is done by the LAN group or by the agency webmaster. In these agencies, the Service Provider's systems administrators may still be required to provide some ad hoc support. Several agencies use WebTrends software to gather website usage statistics and Websense URL filtering software as reported in Exhibit 12A. The Service Provider will be required to support (install, patch, etc.) these base software packages.

160 5/9 General We are subcontracting to a large prime. Can I have subcontractors? If not can I enter into a joint venture? The purpose is to combine our training and web portal skills to offer an increased capability.

The prime contractor is responsible for subcontracting decisions. It may subcontract part of its responsibilities under the contract,, but the prime contractor remains responsible for contract performance and must submit the

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proper HUB Plan forms.

161 5/9 How will agencies manage the renewals, augmentations and new product purchases for network security solutions like:

- network IPS appliances- host IPS software agents- URL content management appliances- Vulnerability management?

Security appliances are not included in the in-scope inventory. Software that runs on a server and the server hardware is in-scope.

162 5/9 Please provide details as they pertain to the network, both existing and proposed (understanding some facility may remain in the 600+ cities)

Please breakdown by facility the existing telco services and network connectivity.

Network topology information has been made available in the RFO or in the Data Room. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

163 5/9 Please clarify ownership of IT assets before and after award?

Will all assets be retained by the state?

The State will retain owned assets until refresh. The Service Provider will assume leased assets at Commencement. The Service Provider will support all assets at Commencement. See Attachment 4B of the RFO.

164 5/9 Do subcontractors have to submit a Notice of Intent to Respond?

No, the Prime Contractor will submit the Notice of Intent.

165 5/9 Is it the intent of the State to retain Microsoft Premier Support agreements, since they are not transferable?

DIR recognizes that the existing software contracts have different terms and conditions relating to transferability or assignment. MSA Section 6.4 and 6.5 directly address these

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circumstances. During the clarification sessions, individual contracts will be addressed in more detail.

166 5/9 Which engineering firm was selected to assess each data center (i.e., electrically, mechanically, etc)?

DFW Consulting Group

167 5/9 Please clarify whether the agency personnel that support the current data center local area networks (LANs) are within the count of Affected Employees, and if so what category are they in.

No, LAN personnel are not within the count of Affected Employees. Networks are out of scope.

168 5/9 Are all of the opportunities limited to the Austin area?

Are any of the opportunities related to temporary staffing?

No.

No. The Prime contractor proposes the staffing. The Prime could sub-contract.

169 5/9 What are the geographical opportunities that would be available?

Does the vendor have to be located in Austin?

The RFO states that data centers must be in Texas. Support services could reside elsewhere in the United States and must be detailed in your response.

No.

170 5/9 Will there be a standard benefit package for employees? The RFO requires a comparable employment package for employees transitioning to the Service Provider. Exhibit 5 of the RFO requires the Service Provider to provide a description of the Service Providers offered benefit package.

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MSA Section 8.3 provides the requirements.

171 5/9 What is the process for the Governor to approve the possible alternate sites for Data Center consideration?

The Governor does not have to approve the proposed sites for the Data Centers. HB1516 provides for the creation of the Technology Center for Data Center and Disaster Recovery Services. As specified in the RFO, The TxSDC Data Center site in San Angelo must be one of the sites, and other sites must be in Texas.

Technology Centers, other than the Technology Center for Data Center and Disaster Recovery Services, must be approved by the Governor before they can be created.

172 5/11 Appendix B, Section 3.2, Table

The table in Section 3.2 under TWC mentions that Manual Application Tape mounts have a monthly average of 88,574. Does this number include only ‘manual’ tape mounts performed by a person? Or, does it also include mounts performed by the installed VTS? If so, how many are actually performed by a person?

It has been verified that the tape mounts reported for TWC includes the virtual tape mounts. The correct amounts are:

Total mounts for Dec 05 = 106,193 (VTS, ATL, and manual)

Manual Mounts for Dec 05 = 18,531

173 5/11 Instructions 2, Section 4.1. Conduct Demonstration and Clarification Sessions with Service Providers: June 22, 2006 – June 30, 2006. Please provide a sample agenda for this event, including location and any limitation on the number of Service Provider participants.

An agenda, location details and limitations on the number of Service provider participants for the Demonstration and Clarification Sessions will be provided to respondents of the RFO after the RFO response deadline of May 31 2006.

The location will be in Austin, Texas.

174 5/11 Data Security/ There is now specific reference in the RFO on What It may be assumed that each agency maintains some level of

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No specific reference type of security is provided for PII/PHI (Personal Identifiable Information / Personal Health Information) data. Please provide the following:1. Which systems does PII/PHI data reside on?2. What type of security is in place for that data today?

personal data that can be considered PII or PHI data, however, information on the specific systems is not currently available. The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

Service Providers should address how they plan to address Data Security in general and include in the operational processes and the Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM).

The PPM will prescribe the process that agencies and the Service Provider will follow in order to meet data security requirements. It is anticipated that each agency will have a supplement in the PPM to address specific agency needs. These processes will be jointly developed and followed by all Parties.

175 5/11 Facilities/

Appendix A - Data Center Overview Section 3.0 High Level Center Profile

Please identify if the DIR will make any office space available in State facilities for use by the Service Provider. If so please identify how much office space will be available and in which State facility.

This question covers three categories of facilities.

1) At the SDC in San Angelo, there is 7000 sq ft of office space available and additional unconditioned raised floor area that may be used for office space. Tours of the facility will be scheduled after the response deadline. The SDC facility will be available for use by the Service Provider.

2) On the Commencement Date, Transitioned Employees will continue to be allowed to use office space that they currently occupy. Transitioned Employees, now Service Provider staff, will be allowed to remain in the facilities to

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continue support of the contracted services. This includes use of the data center facilities and existing office space and workstation equipment required to maintain services. Based upon the agreed to migration schedule in the Consolidation Plan, the Transitioned Employees will be migrated to the Consolidation Facilities. Transitioned Employees that will continue to support onsite services at agency facilities, after migration, will need to be identified. A process will be established, following TBPC guidelines, for on-going use of state facilities. This process will be similar to other contracted staff used by state agencies.

3) Should the Service Provider propose the use of other state facilities as Consolidation Facilities, as identified in the RFO, DIR will work with the Service Provider, TBPC and the onsite agencies in determining the process and, if applicable, any related charges for use of the facilities.

176 5/17 Attachment 4-C1, Mainframe Tab

Where in the Mainframe Base Case is the current cost for forms and other print materials located?

These are included as part of the Miscellaneous Expense line item. See the Print Information Summary included in Addendum 3 for additional print related information.

177 5/17 Attachment 4-C1, Mainframe Tab, row 33

Please provide the percentage of postage which currently qualifies for presort and the percent of postage that is co-mingled of the value of $10.816M per year found in Row 33 for Postage

The level of detail published in the RFO is the level of detail available at this time. The due diligence plan provides a method for Service Providers to outline specific areas they may wish to interrogate further.

178 5/17 Exhibit 2.7, E2.7-91 Do we need to quote material cost? If we need to quote material, please provide size, quantity, drop schedule

Material costs need to be included as referenced in Exhibit 4-B Financial Responsibility Matrix. For additional

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and other specifications. Is the material cost reflected in the Base Case? Does any of the print and mail require color?

information on print, please review Exhibit 1 - Print Information Summary that was added to the RFO as part of Addendum 3 on May 3, 2006.

179 5/17 Pre-Proposal Conference #2, Due Diligence, Site Visits (Data Centers)

Will DIR reconsider the amount of time that will be available to a Service Provider to visit a data center from four to eight hours and from three Service Provider personnel to five in a limited number of cases ( four or less) if the Service Provider specifically designates those data centers in their proposals?

The Due Diligence Rules of Engagement are intended to allow access to state personnel, information, and sites in a controlled manner during the procurement process. DIR will work with the Service Providers in allowing access to the required State resources in order to complete the best proposals. Service Providers are not limited to a single site visit over the Due Diligence period and may request multiple visits. Service Providers should propose their Due Diligence requirements for DIR to review and consider, but should plan to follow the Due Diligence Rules of Engagement at this stage.

180 5/17 Transition of Services What are the contractual obligations of Northrup Grumman to assist in the transition of services to a new Service Provider at the termination of the Northrup Grumman contract? We are specifically interested in:

Type of assistance

Accessibility to Northrup Grumman (prior to and during transition)

Minimum and/or maximum amount of assistance

Assistance period (minimum and/or maximum time for

Termination obligations for the current contract can be found in the DIR - Texas State Data Center Master Contract Appendix A, Section 10; and Amendment 1 Schedule W. These documents are located on the DIR website at

http://www.dir.state.tx.us/wtdroc/cont_dro.htm

DIR - Texas State Data Center (TxSDC) Master Contract



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transition of services)

Anything unique to a specific site such as San Angelo

Use of existing tools by the State or by a new Service Provide

181 5/17 Master Services Agreement, 15.14 Previous Contracts, Page 74 of 94

1. Please specify the necessary information to meet the requirement for written disclosure of previous contracts in default or breach with in the last 5 years.

2. How will DIR and the evaluation committee evaluate this response for accuracy of full disclosure?

3. Will Service Providers’ responses be scored in the evaluation process?

4. Based on Service Providers’ responses, could the Service Providers be disqualified from this procurement for lack of disclosure or deemed unsuitable for this procurement?

5. Because the scope of this deal is only within the State of Texas, would DIR consider limiting these disclosures to

1. With respect to covered contracts and agreements, Service Provider should disclose the nature, extent and context of the breach or default, including, subject to applicable confidentiality restrictions, the other party or parties to the affected contract or agreement, the status of the dispute and whether any financial payment was made by Service Provider or its subcontractors to resolve the dispute. Contracts and agreements covered by this provision include any contracts and agreements related to information systems facilities, equipment or services that the Service Provider or any of its Affiliates or Subcontractors have with DIR, the State or any other Entity. Capitalized terms are defined in the Definitions section of the RFO.

2. DIR expects full disclosure from the Service Provider and may seek to ascertain the accuracy and completeness of the Service Provider’s disclosure from various sources available to DIR.

3. These responses may be evaluated under Section 4.2, Business Relationship Terms, of the evaluation criteria described in RFO Instructions-Part 3.

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State of Texas contracts only? 4. Yes.

5. No.

data center services - questions and answers

Technology

service providers

service equipment migration

service providerprovider

unisys mainframe

server towers

mainframe tab utilities

service new data center

agency timeframes