SITE RFO Addendum
Rev. 3/16
Request for Offers (RFO) Addendum
RFO Number: RFO0229
Addendum Number: 1
Date of Addendum: 5/18/2017
Original Posting Due Date, Time: 5/23/2017, 2:00 PM CDT
Revised Due Date, Time: N/A
Title: Cloudera Support for Compliance
SCOPE OF ADDENDUM
Questions and Answers
Q: What is the total budget limitation of this RFO?
A: We have no specific budget limitation to share, but would remind vendors that their proposed
hourly rate for each resource must be at or below vendor’s Maximum Hourly Rate for the SITE
category for each respective resource, i.e., any Database Administration/Development
resource’s hourly rate must be at or below the vendor’s Maximum Hourly Rate for the Database
Administration/Development category, and any Architecture resource’s hourly rate must be at
or below the vendor’s Maximum Hourly Rate for the Architecture category.
Q: Please share the details of the incumbent or vendor currently providing the same services along with last year’s expenditure?
A: There is no vendor providing services for the work outlined in this RFO.
Q: It states the need for Categories: Database Administration/Development and Architecture.
Is this a project based role, or staff aug? A: This engagement is project-based. Q: Deliverable 1: Architecture
When is the next scheduled hardware refresh planned?
A: A hardware refresh is not currently planned.
How many environments do you have?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Which services are enabled on the cluster?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Number and type of data sources?
A: We are planning to ingest from several applications; the primary data sources currently
identified are application log files.
Number and type of data consumers?
A: Data consumers consist of IT and business staff.
What type of analytics are to be performed?
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Updated 4/16/14
What type of reporting is required?
o Exploratory
o Advanced
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Number of environments and which versions of Cloudera?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
What are the current services?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
How many tenants will there be in the cluster?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
How large is current Cloudera Enterprise Software support team and is the team expected to
grow? (regarding mentorship/training)
A: The current team has five members; we anticipate two additional resources during the
contract duration.
What are the skillsets of the Cloudera Enterprise Software support team members?
(Developer, Linux, etc.)
A: The current team has strong skills in networking, support, data base and reporting. The
team has participated in several Cloudera training sessions.
Is there a Product Owner(s)? (Who specifically drives the requirements?)
A: The first set of business requirements will come from MN Child Support business.
What development methodology is utilized? Agile?
A: We use waterfall and agile depending on the project.
What is the “Statewide Project Management Methodology”
A: We use waterfall and agile depending on the project.
Compliance requirements?
A: Various compliance requirements will be addressed throughout the duration of the
contract; examples of compliance requirements are HIPAA, MN Data Practices, SSA, FTI.
Any restrictions regarding who may work on the project?
A: One restriction is that all proposed resources must fall under the Database
Administration/Development or Architecture categories. See Page 1 of the RFO. Beyond that,
we are unable to address this question in an informed manner without specificity/context as
to what potential restrictions you may be referring to.
Are there anticipated milestones/timelines for each deliverable?
A: All work will be completed during the duration of the contract. Work can be conducted in
parallel, and timelines will be determined with input from the vendor that receives the
contract.
Q: Deliverable 2: Application Log ingestion
What technologies and data sources consist in the MN Child Support legacy systems?
A: MN Child Support is a mainframe application which uses Natural ADABAS.
Q: Deliverable 3: Application Integration and real time analytics
How many MN Child Support business users are expected?
A: 200 users
What BI tools are currently utilized?
A: Business Objects and Tableau
Define “real time” analytics
A: Real- time analytics is the use of data and related resources as soon as the data enters
the system. The user senses the responsiveness as immediate or nearly immediate.
Updated 4/16/14
What type of data currency?
A: We do not understand this question and are unable to address in an informed manner.
What is the current security model of the cluster?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Is there an Active Directory store for local accounts?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Authentication requirements? (AD?)
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Q: Deliverable 4: Platform Workflows
Rough estimate of # of workflows
A: This will be determined during the planning phase of Deliverable 4.
Rough estimate of # of agencies
A: There is one agency.
# of workflows per agency?
A: This will be determined during the planning phase of Deliverable 4.
Who oversees problem management and resolution?
A: MN.IT@DHS staff and the selected vendor will oversee problem management and
resolution jointly.
Q: Build:
What are the real-time analytics business use cases? What is the SLA for real-time in that
use case.
A: Identification of security outliers, fraud detection, operational alerting, etc. SLA will be
determined in design phase.
Please provide use cases for the operational reporting & ad hoc access to the data in the
data lake.
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
For the data analytics consumption describe the number of users and types of users.
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Describe the existing data sources to the CDH and the new data sources that will be needed
to satisfy the use case. Please mention type (Batch / Real time).
A: Current implementation makes use of several types of text based, application log files that
are ingested into the platform via standard batch jobs. The data is processed and then results
are made available via Impala.
Is data quality check in scope?
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Is there any in-house ETL tool (Talend for Big Data or Informatica Big Data Edition) available
which can be reused for data ingestion?
A: ETL is provided via SQL Server Integration Services.
What is the roadmap on data governance and auditing?
A: We are declining to answer this question. The relevant information will be provided to the
vendor that receives the contract.
Is reporting in scope? If so, please provide the details on the reporting tech stack, number
and types of reports.
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
What are the downstream applications?
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Updated 4/16/14
Number of extracts to be provided for the downstream systems / applications?
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Would the vendor have the opportunity to suggest and implement new tools to meet the
business needs?
A: Yes, the selected vendor can make recommendations; however, the preference is to use
the current software tools.
Stream:
o What are the sources of message for kafka, is it only server logs?
o What is the Format of messages, volume and velocity?
o What is the sink of streaming messages? Is it hdfs, hbase, other or is this to be
decided?
o Is there a preferred language for Spark programming ( Scala, Python, Java)?
o What is the nature of server logs? How many servers are input sources?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information
will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Batch:
o Are mechanisms for data acquisition from legacy systems in place?
o What are the other inputs besides logs? What is the expected frequency of ingestion,
volume and variety?
o How many down-stream systems will rely on hadoop cluster?
o Is the incoming structured data only? If not, what are the un-structured formats
(images, videos)?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information
will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Q: Run & Maintain:
What is the existing Hadoop landscape? Distribution version, number of nodes, number of
clusters , number of environments (DEV/TST/PROD), etc.
What is the number of servers in each environment?
What is the total size of data on the Hadoop cluster currently?
Is a mirror site in place at a different location for DR (disaster recovery)?
How many nodes is the kafka cluster, if it is separate?
What are the level of support services (L1-Call/ Incident intake; L2 – Infrastructure OLAs/
SLAs ; L3- Technical support to fix defects to meet the OLA/ SLA requirements) expected
from the vendor?
What are the OLAs and SLAs for this environment since this is a shared environment?
How many application are currently in this shared environment? What is the anticipated
growth plan for this environment both from the numbers of applications and other known
development plans through the 1-year duration?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Is the expected support for 24 x 7 coverage? If not, please provide the preferred support
window.
A: Support will be expected during normal working hours.
What all services / components are already configured?
What is the current security model on the Hadoop cluster?
Please provide information on any existing metadata framework?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Updated 4/16/14
Any ticketing system in place? How many priority 1 tickets were opened in the last 3 months?
A: There have been no priority 1 tickets in the past 3 months.
Q: Contract Type:
Are you in acceptance of a Fixed bid proposal for this RFP?
A: Please refer to the Cost Proposal instructions on Pages 10-11 of the RFO. As noted, we
are looking for a bottom-line total project cost (upon which the cost scoring will be based). We
are also looking for the cost for each Deliverable, as well as the hourly rates and estimated
hours that comprise the cost of each Deliverable. The bottom-line total project cost must be
the sum of the costs for the individual Deliverables.
Q: How many environments are included?
a. Test
b. Dev
c. Prod
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will
be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Q: In regard to what is to be ingested and processed by the platform, what are the
approximate number of:
a. Log files
A: There are approximately 20 log files that are currently identified.
b. Database tables
A: There are approximately 2 database tables that are currently identified.
c. Streaming sources
A: Not Applicable
d. Other?
A: Not Applicable
Q: How many of the MN Child Support legacy applications and data sources are expected to
be integrated in the architecture. Further will these be expected to be delivered with the
application integration?
A: MN Child Support is a mainframe natural ADABAS application and will be integrated during the
project.
Q: Deliverable 1: Architecture
Infrastructure: 1. Has MDHS performed an initial assessment (capacity planning) for the cluster infrastructure upgrade?
A: Yes we have done capacity planning and assessment. 2. What kind of engagement does MDHS currently have with Cloudera Professional Services?
A: MN.IT@ DHS has a system support contracts in place. System Integration: 1. What are the current legacy systems we need to integrate with? Are they COTS
applications or proprietary systems? A: Current legacy systems include both COTS and proprietary systems.
2. Are they JDBC or ODBC compliant systems? A: Systems will support JDBC and ODBC.
3. What kind of operations support can we expect from the operational teams? A: In general our systems operate 24/7 and are supported as such.
Updated 4/16/14
Q: Deliverable 2: Application Log ingestion
1. What is the business goal behind log ingestion? A: The business goal is reporting and analytics capabilities.
2. What kind of ingestion pipelines need to be built for this deliverable?(batch or real-time or both) A: Both batch and near real-time.
3. Does MDHS have any log aggregation strategy in place? A: MN.IT@DHS currently has log aggregation in place.
4. Do we have a common log format (Syslog or IIS) defined and in-use today? A: Both syslog and IIS logs are in use.
Q: Deliverable 3: Application Integration and Real time Analytics
1. What is/are the primary reporting tool(s) in use at MDHS? A: Business Objects and Tableau are reporting tools in use.
2. Is MDHS open to using any new tools which might offer performance benefits? A: The use of new tools will be considered; however, the preference is to use current software tools.
3. What is the level of support we can expect from the current BI Reporting teams if we run into any impediments during troubleshooting issues during project execution? A: Reporting teams will be available for assistance throughout the term of the contract.
Q: General Questions:
1. On-site work requirement - would the State consider relaxing that requirement to less than 100 % of the time? A: All work is expected to be performed on-site. Will the provider be responsible for all project activities, scheduling, resourcing, etc, or will the State provide a project manager to coordinate / approve the works activities, schedule, etc? A: As stated in the RFO;
“Be responsible for all project management activities and maintain deliverables on the project, including the support of infrastructure. Provide the State with bi-weekly documentation and status updates through MN.IT@DHS supervisors, managers and project managers.”
Q:
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Reference from RFP
/ Question Category
1. “Provide capacity planning and data management plan and implementation”
Please provide the architecture diagram of the existing Hadoop cluster?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
2. “Provide capacity planning and data management plan and implementation”
How many number of nodes are in the existing Hadoop cluster?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
3. “Provide capacity planning and data management plan and implementation”
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
Updated 4/16/14
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Please provide details on the kind of service running on each node?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
4. “Provide capacity planning and data management plan and implementation”
Please provide details on size of the cluster in terms of number of nodes, memory and
number of cores allocated?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
5. “Provide capacity planning and data management plan and implementation”
Please provide configuration details of each node - memory, C.P.U’s allocated for
Hadoop and OS?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
6. “Infrastructure (new cluster deployments, cluster migration, expansion, system and
software upgrades, back up and disaster recovery and security.)”
a. What is the reason for scaling the existing cluster and adding more services? A: Increase in demand for services provided to business users.
b. Please clarify if the State has considered the option of re-architecting the existing cluster if the cluster configuration is sufficient for processing the requirements? A: Recommendations to architecture are expected throughout the contract.
c. As a follow-up to (b), if ‘No’, is State open for the same.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
7. “Integration of legacy systems and data sources”
a. Please provide details (including technology stack) on existing legacy systems to which integration is expected as part of this project.
b. Are there any existing data ingestion process from legacy systems to current implementation of Hadoop?
c. If ‘Yes’ for (b), how is data being ingested to Hadoop from legacy applications at present?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
8. "Review the current security design and deployment and bring them into current best
security practices"
Please provide the security model for the existing environment.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
Updated 4/16/14
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/ Question Category
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
9. "Review the current security design and deployment and bring them into current best
security practices"
Please provide the Architecture for the existing environment.
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
10. "Review the current security design and deployment and bring them into current best
security practices"
Please clarify if remodeling the existing security layer will in-turn affect other applications?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information
will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
11. “New use cases for integration with current processes and programs.”
Please provide details on all current processes and programs
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant
information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
12. “New use cases for integration with current processes and programs.” a. Please clarify if list of new use cases has been defined and detailed. A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables. b. If yes, please provide the list with associated details
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
13. “Mentor Cloudera Enterprise Software support team members” a. What is the current size of support team?
A: Currently the team has five members.
b. Is there a specified amount of time expected to be spent with Support team on a daily or weekly basis? Please provide details. A: Mentoring of the team is expected to be provided throughout the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
14. “Review the current security design and deployment and bring them into current best security practices.” Please provide details on current best security practices followed by State at DHS. A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 1:
Architecture
Page-2
15. “Implement ingestion of data and log files from MN Child Support legacy application and
systems into Hadoop.”
a. What type of data and log files are being generated currently from MN Child Support legacy application?
A: MN Child Support is a mainframe application which uses Natural ADABAS.
Sec: Deliverable 2:
Application Log
ingestion
Page-2
Updated 4/16/14
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b. As a follow-up to above question, (a), will it be possible for State to share with vendors some sample log files. A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
16. “Implement ingestion of data and log files from MN Child Support legacy application and
systems into Hadoop.”
Please clarify if the data/logs files are structure/semi-structure/unstructured
A: MN Child Support is a mainframe application which uses Natural ADABAS.
Sec: Deliverable 2:
Application Log
ingestion
Page-2
17. “Implement ingestion of data and log files from MN Child Support legacy application and
systems into Hadoop.”
Please clarify the current format in which the data/log files are generated
A: MN Child Support is a mainframe application which uses Natural ADABAS.
Sec: Deliverable 2:
Application Log
ingestion
Page-2
18. “Implement ingestion of data and log files from MN Child Support legacy application and
systems into Hadoop.”
Please elucidate the purpose of log analysis in this context.
A: Business analytics.
Sec: Deliverable 2:
Application Log
ingestion
Page-2
19. “Provide performance tuning and benchmarking of Cloudera Enterprise Suite
implementation.”
Please provide the metrics for expected performance tuning and benchmarking?
A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Sec: Deliverable 2:
Application Log
ingestion
Page-2
20. What is the primary need for enabling real time analytics on Hadoop?
A: Business analytics.
Sec: Deliverable 3:
Application
Integration and Real
time Analytics
Page-2
21. “Plan and implement SPARK workflows, jobs and tasks” a. Please confirm if SPARK is used within current implementation set-up. b. If yes, please provide details on workflows implemented using SPARK c. If no, please elucidate the need for implementing SPARK workflows, jobs and tasks
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Deliverable 3:
Application
Integration and Real
time Analytics
Page-3
22. “The selected vendor must work on-site at DHS offices in St. Paul during normal working
hours of 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, and additional evening or weekend hours as needed to
complete the project.”
a. Please confirm if State would provide Overtime (OT) payment for work done outside normal working hours. A: Overtime will not be paid. The vendor is expected to work as many hours as are necessary to complete the project by the required deadline.
Sec: Project
Environment
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b. If response to (a) is ‘No’, please provide details on State’s planning to compensate
vendor for effort spent outside normal working hours. A: Payment for this engagement is anticipated to be deliverable-based; therefore, there will be no additional compensation for work outside of normal working hours. The vendor’s Cost Proposal should reflect all work on the project, regardless of when it may occur.
23. “work directly with the existing implementation described in the diagram below.”
Please provide details on Data currently getting ingested using Sqoop?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information
will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Project
Environment
Page-4 (diagram)
24. “work directly with the existing implementation described in the diagram below.”
Please provide details on Data currently getting ingested using Flume?
A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information
will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Project
Environment
Page-4 (diagram)
25. “work directly with the existing implementation described in the diagram below.”
Within current implementation set-up, both Sqoop and Flume are being used, hence:
a. Is there a scope for Kafka to model a data pipeline with Spark for enabling real-time analytics?
b. If response to (a) is ‘Yes’, please provide details on what Data should be taken to consideration for Kafka? A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Project
Environment
Page-4 (diagram)
26. “work directly with the existing implementation described in the diagram below.” a. Within Security Layer in current implementation set-up, please confirm if Apache
Sentry is used for Authorization purpose while Kerberos is used for Authentication. b. If response to above is ‘No’, please provide more details on the security model
currently in use. A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Project
Environment
Page-4 (diagram)
27. “Compliance with the Statewide Enterprise Architecture” Please provide details of Enterprise Architecture guidelines to be compliant with for this project. A: The Enterprise Architecture guidelines and architecture governance information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Sec: Project
Requirements
Page-4
28. “Compliance with Statewide Project Management Methodology.” What is the current Project Management Methodology to be followed and compliant with, for this project? A: We anticipate using an agile DevOps process for this project.
Sec: Project
Requirements
Page-4
29. “Compliance with applicable industry/organization standards.”
Sec: Project
Requirements
Updated 4/16/14
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Please explain what industry/organization standards are needed to be adhered to for this project. A: This will be determined in design phases associated with the deliverables.
Page-4
30. “Provide the State with bi-weekly documentation and status updates through MN.IT@DHS supervisors, managers and project managers.” Please provide list of documentations expected on a bi-weekly basis as part of this project. A: System documentation, work complete, work in next period, project management and status documentation, etc.
Sec: Responsibilities
Expected of the
Selected Vendor
Page-5
31. “At least one member of the proposed team must have the specified experience in ALL of
the following technologies”
a. Apart from the list of Technologies mentioned, are there any other Technology within Hadoop Tech Stack used within State?
b. If yes, please provide details and its usage.
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract
Sec: Responsibilities
Expected of the
Selected Vendor
Page-5
32. a. Please provide details on Volume of data being processed currently. b. What is the expected increase in Data Volume in coming years?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Data Volume
33. Please clarify if the current Environment is being used only for OLAP? A: We are declining to answer this question for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Environment
34. a. Please confirm if State has attempted real time analytics using current environment set-up.
b. If response to (a) is ‘No’, please clarify the reason for not attempting to do so. A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Environment
35. Is there a Business or Technical reason for State to choose Cloudera services? A: Cloudera was chosen during implementation of a previous project.
General
36. Please confirm that the State is responsible for the costs of acquiring any 3rd party tools /
technology required by various phases of the project.
A: The State believes that it already has all of the software products and/or technology
tools that are needed to complete the project. If the vendor feels that it requires additional
products/tools to fulfill its own needs in completing the project, those would be the
responsibility of the vendor.
Budget /
Infrastructure
37. Please specify the expected budget for vendor provided services in this project.
A: We have no specific budget limitation to share, but would remind vendors that their
proposed hourly rate for each resource must be at or below vendor’s Maximum Hourly
Rate for the SITE category for each respective resource, i.e., any Database
Administration/Development resource’s hourly rate must be at or below the vendor’s
Maximum Hourly Rate for the Database Administration/Development category, and any
Architecture resource’s hourly rate must be at or below the vendor’s Maximum Hourly
Rate for the Architecture category.
Budget
Updated 4/16/14
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38. Will any preference be given to a particular group of companies (for example, local. non-
profit, minority owned)?
A: Please see the “Preference to Targeted Group and Economically Disadvantaged
Business and Individuals” and “Veteran-Owned Small Business Preference” sections on
Page 14 of the RFO.
Contract
39. Has the State established funding for this project?
A: Funding has been allocated for this project.
Budget
40. How many State SMEs will be allocated to this project during various phases of the
project for further clarifications, reviews etc.?
A: The selected vendor is expected to work closely with our team lead and other team
members; the number of those individuals will vary during the various phases of the
project.
Subject Matter
Expertise
41. Does the vendor staff need to travel to locations other than St. Paul for project purposes?
A: Project work will be done in the St. Paul metro area.
Project Travel
42. Please confirm if Vendor is expected to provide a T&M quotation or Fixed Price proposal
for the services rendered
A: Please refer to the Cost Proposal instructions on Pages 10-11 of the RFO. As noted,
we are looking for a bottom-line total project cost (upon which the cost scoring will be
based). We are also looking for the cost for each Deliverable, as well as the hourly rates
and estimated hours that comprise the cost of each Deliverable. The bottom-line total
project cost must be the sum of the costs for the individual Deliverables.
Quote
43. a. Are there any specific type of Testing expected to be performed by Vendor as part of this project?
b. If response to (a) is ‘Yes’, please provide details A: All work will be tested prior to moving to production status. Test plan will be developed and implemented by selected vendor with oversight from State team.
Testing
44. What is the expected duration of any User Validation or Acceptance for this project?
A: User acceptance will occur throughout the contract.
User Acceptance
45. RFO states that the estimated project end date is 7/23/2018.
Is there a business reason behind this completion date? Please clarify.
A: Yes, budget restrictions.
General
46. There is limited time between when response from State is received and submission of
proposal by Vendor, hence will state be able to consider the request extending the
timeline for proposal submission from 05/23/2017 to 05/26/2017?
A: We are not modifying the RFO timeline.
Proposal Timeline
47. Please confirm that the State will provide necessary office facilities, phones, cubes,
software, etc. to the contractor onsite resources?
A: All work is expected to be performed on-site; standard office equipment will be
provided.
Infrastructure
48. a. Please confirm if Vendor can complete tasks from an offsite location.
A: All work is expected to be performed on-site. b. For Tasks worked upon from offsite location, please confirm if State will provide VPN
Work
Location/Connectivity
Updated 4/16/14
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access to the required State servers.
A: All work is expected to be performed on-site. 49. a. Please clarify if the current Cloudera Enterprise Suite was implemented by an
external Vendor(s), if so, please specify the name of the Vendor(s)? A: An external vendor assisted in the current implementation.
b. As a follow-up to above question, please clarify if Vendor(s) that assisted the State with the implementation of current Cloudera Suite, is allowed to bid on this RFO. A: All SITE vendors that are approved in both the Database Administration/Development and Architecture categories are eligible to respond to this RFO.
External Vendor
50. a. What are the different environments available for this project? b. How many Test environments will be available for vendors? c. When will the environments be made available for Vendors to start development?
A: We are declining to answer these questions for security reasons. The relevant information will be provided to the vendor that receives the contract.
Environments
51. Can a vendor, with principal office in US, execute some of the project activities from an
offshore development center outside US, like Canada?
A: All work is expected to be performed on-site.
Location
52. RFO states that the estimated project end date is 7/23/2018.
a. Is there flexibility on project end date? A: Project end date is 7/23/2018 (one year after project start).
b. If yes, please provide State acceptable tolerance threshold for extension of end date beyond 07/23/2018.
Project Schedule
53. Please clarify if State expects Vendor to propose a minimum Team Size
A: As stated in the RFO, “[t]he team may be comprised of one or more resources” and
“[t]he team may be comprised of as many or as few resources as are necessary to
complete the project.”
Project Team
54. a. Does State require the Vendor to conduct JAD (Joint Application Development/Design) sessions to detail any requirements?
b. If response to (a) is ‘Yes’, please clarify if State expects a specific duration for a Requirement Definition phase? A: Planning and design work are expected to be required activities throughout each deliverable.
Application Design
Sessions
55. a. How many Business Staff will need to be trained as part of this project? A: Formal training is not required as part of the project; we are expecting the vendor to provide ongoing mentoring and knowledge transfer to the state team throughout the course of the project.
b. Can we assume all training will happen in St. Paul or should we plan for travel? If so, which locations? A: Mentoring and knowledge transfer will occur at the work location in St. Paul.
c. Can we propose train the trainer based training? A: See above; formal training is not required.
Business Staff
Training
56. a. How many Technical Staff will need to be trained as part of this project? A: Formal training is not required as part of the project; we are expecting the vendor to provide ongoing mentoring and knowledge transfer to the state team throughout the course of the project.
b. Can we assume all training will happen in St. Paul or should we plan for travel? If so,
which locations? A: Mentoring and knowledge transfer will occur at the work location in St. Paul.
Technical Staff
Training
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Reference from RFP
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c. Can we propose train the trainer based training? A: See above; formal training is not required.
57. Please confirm that no bonds or damages are required under this RFO.
A: We are uncertain what you mean by this question. Please refer to the RFO and to your
SITE Master Contract to determine requirements.
Contract
58. Please provide duration of Warranty support expected from Vendor for this project
A: We will discuss this with the selected vendor during contract negotiations.
Warranty
59. As the RFO talks about Cloudera installation, please clarify whether state has already
considered leveraging Cloudera (organization itself) for purpose of installation and
configuration?
A: We have considered it, but opted to go forward with the RFO process.
Support
60. Since Vendor responses are to be sent via email, please clarify if there’s a maximum size
limit beyond which responses sent as attachment would not be delivered successfully to
State email id.
A: The default file size attachment limitation is 20MB for most email systems. You will
typically receive an error message from your email system indicating that you have
exceeded the size of an acceptable attachment.
RFO Response
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This addendum shall become part of the RFO and should be returned with, or acknowledged in, the
response to the RFO.
RESPONDER NAME:
SIGNATURE:
TITLE:
DATE: