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RFP - Information Technology Managed Services Provider

Request for Proposal - Download printable version of RFP here.

Information Technology Managed Services Provider (MSP)

July 1, 2025

Issued by:
Burlington Housing Authority (BHA)
PO Box 2380
Burlington, NC 27216-2380

Issue Date: June 25, 2025
Proposal Due Date: August 2, 2025, by 2:00 PM EST

Submit proposals via email with subject line: "IT MANAGED SERVICES PROPOSAL" to: vrevels@burlingtonha.org and lsaturno@burlingtonha.org 

1. Introduction

Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) invites qualified and experienced vendors to submit proposals to provide comprehensive, proactive Information Technology Managed Services. The selected vendor will deliver 24/7 monitoring, preventative maintenance, help desk support, cybersecurity, strategic IT consulting, and scalable infrastructure management.

The ideal vendor will resolve computer systems and network issues in accordance with standard and acceptable maintenance and support benchmarks.  The successful vendor will be expected to organize HELP DESK service calls efficiently and to ensure that there is NO significant computer downtime during normal working hours, generally 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday.  The vendor is expected to report on status of technology issues and communicate effectively with BHA departments.

2.  Background Information

BHA currently operates a decentralized IT environment. The infrastructure includes one (1) Lenovo VMware Hosts running two (2) Windows 2019 virtual servers.   Other detailed information about the specifications is available for review as necessary.

There are 38 Desktop PCs, 30 Laptops, and 2 Tablets in the departmental areas to be covered under the service and support agreement with the successful vendor.  These PCs are located throughout eight different buildings all within a 3-mile radius of the Administrative Office.  The addresses and locations are available upon request.  All of the desktop PCs are Lenovo.  Windows 10 and 11 Pro as we are currently working to have all workstations to Windows 11 by early Fall.  The BHA deploys NGAV and EDR (provided by current IT) as its prevalent security software.  There are two proprietary software programs being used in the BHA environment (1) SACS - Scott Accounting and Computer Services and (2) Laserfiche, a document management system.

BHA currently utilizes Microsoft Office 365 for email services.  Seventeen (17) Office E3 licenses, two (2) Business Basic licenses, and 1 Entra P1 license for a scan account.

BHA has no in-house IT department and relies entirely on external service providers.

The details describing the inventory are available to all bidding parties per request.

3. Services Required

This section summarizes the services to be provided to the BHA in this RFP. The BHA is looking for a maintenance and support program to be designed under two major categories.  These categories are PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE and AS NEEDED MAINTENANCE, to accommodate departmental computer system activities and user equipment performance.  The BHA expects the vendor proposal to define, in detail, the approach to be used in the above categories.  Distinction of time and material costs for these efforts are important to billing the BHA and future budget considerations.

  • Initial Assessment

Review of the inventory, assessment of the system architecture and equipment for efficiency, life expectancy, capacity, speed, and current processes and make recommendations for improving routine support criteria and eliminating emergency maintenance situations.  A report of this initial assessment shall be submitted by successful bidder following executed contract and each July 1st as long as the contract is in force.  This is to allow for necessary budget planning for the upcoming fiscal year.

BHA is interested in the potential of cloud services for hosting and replacing the on-premises server infrastructure.  The initial assessment should include the merits of migrating to the cloud vs. keeping the infrastructure on-premises from a budget, feature, and reliability perspective.

  • Desktop Application Support

Performance of basic support functions, including the installation of PCs, laptops, PDAs, printers, peripherals, and office software; diagnosis and correction of desktop application problems, configuring of PCs and laptops for standard applications; identification and correction of user hardware problems, with advanced troubleshooting as needed; maintenance of an updated inventory of all related computer related hardware, to make available to BHA personnel upon  request; and implementation of HELP Desk procedures under policy constraints of the successful vendor.

  • Server and Workstation Administrative Services

Management of network and computer systems including complex applications, databases, messaging, server and associated hardware, software, communications, and operating systems, necessary for performance, security, reliability, and recoverability of the systems.

Scheduling of preventive maintenance for equipment in the areas of coverage is properly and promptly performed; maintenance of records for all HELP Desk tickets for both onsite visits and telephone support is available; development of operations and quality assurance for backup plans and procedures are being followed.

Configuration management including changes, upgrades, patches, etc. is maintained; management of user logins and password security is documented; and support of software products relating to server and workstations; timely response to repair and maintenance work for the user.

  • Network Administration Services

Maintenance and support of network equipment, including switches, firewalls, routers, copiers, and other security devices is included.

Installation and maintenance of printers, scanners, network devices et al; analysis, routine configuration changes, and installation of patches and upgrades; minor cabling if needed; alert notifications in case of failure of equipment.

Proactive monitoring of network equipment, including performance indicators to report on threshold limitations; network performance and capacity management services; continuous troubleshooting is required.

Maintenance of network documentation for daily, weekly, and monthly services is required.

  • Email, Security and Backup Efforts

Maintenance of BHA email accounts using the BHA domain, adding, changing, and/or deleting BHA employee accounts as requested; maintenance of virus detection programs and spam filtering and advanced threat protection on the BHA server and user computers and laptops; performance of periodic security audits, including notification of suspected breaches of security to the BHA designated person are required.

Configuration of the BHA systems to enable remote access in a secure environment with provisions for remote access administration as requested by the BHA designee is required.  Multi-factor authentication for remote employees must be utilized.

Requirements for a data backup policy with procedures in place to handle daily, weekly, and monthly backup of the server, data and information, email and the like; program to restore systems and data from Offsite Replication if server and/or computers go down are required.

  • Email Licenses
    • Seventeen (17) Microsoft E3 (without Teams)
    • Seventeen (17) Microsoft Teams Essentials
    • Two (2) Business Basics
    • Two (2) Defender for 365 Plan 1
    • Two (2) Entra Plan 1

  • Cybersecurity: Including but not limited to:
    • Next Generation Endpoint Protection
    • Endpoint Detection and Response
    • Multi-Factor authentication for Office 365
    • MFA for Remote Access
    • Application Management with Whitelisting and Ringfencing
    • Secure Access Secure Edge solution for Central Office computers and servers also provide secure remote access to the RDS Server
    • LAN Zero Trust network segmentation
    • DNS Filtering
    • Email filtering with advanced threat protection
    • Monthly vulnerability scans and quarterly security audits
    • DMARC, DKIM, and SPF services
    • Security Information and Event Management - 90-day retention
    • Managed XDR

  • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • Backup and Disaster recovery services to provide both on-premises and offsite backup storage and recovery
    • Recovery Point Objective of 1 day
    • Recovery Time Objective of 1 day
    • 1 Year backup retention
    • Data restoration testing and documentation
    • Office 365 Backup Services - Email, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams - 1 Year retention

  • Planning

Engineering, planning and design services for major system enhancements and/or upgrades to existing systems; recommendations for future purchasing and technology needs, when requested or necessary.

Installation of new equipment, software, and transferring existing data when acquired, will be needed.

  • Not Included

The contract to be awarded does not obligate the BHA to purchase computer equipment, hardware devices, cabling, licenses, software et al from the successful vendor.  Replacement parts are not part of this contract. However, the successful vendor is expected to comparison shop at minimum 3 vendors for hardware and software and recommend to BHA best pricing when new equipment or software is required.

4. Submission Requirements

The BHA is requesting that the proposal submitted address the subjects with specificity.  We are looking for content, organized effort, and solution-oriented procedures.  The goal is a secure, smooth operation, efficient process and effective informational technology system. 

Due to the nature of this proposal, it is requested that each proposal be brief and to the point and consist of no more than 5 pages.  Each proposal shall provide the following information.

Letter of Transmittal:

The letter of transmittal must contain the following statements and information:

1. Company name, address, telephone number(s), and website.

2. Name, title, email address and telephone number of the person(s) to contact and who are authorized to represent the firm and to whom correspondence should be directed.

3. Federal and State taxpayer identification numbers of the firm.

4. A brief statement of your understanding of the services to be performed and make a positive commitment to providing services as specified.

5. The letter must be signed by a corporate officer or person authorized to bind the vendor to the proposal and cost schedule.

6. A statement indicating that the proposal and cost schedule will be valid and binding for ninety (90) days following the proposal due date and will become part of the contract negotiated with the BHA.

Profile:

1. Provide a short profile of the firm including at a minimum:

  1. Length of time in business
  2. Length of time in providing proposed services
  3. Number of clients
  4. Number of clients in the public sector
  5. Number of full-time employees and area of involvement.  Technical support, programming, consulting, sales support, administrative support
  6. Location of office to service the account
  7. Section 3, small, minority owned and woman owned business if applicable.
  8. Active Corporate Certifications or Compliance designations held. i.e. SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.

Proposal:

1. Description of the approach the firm will use in providing the services requested.  Description of how the firm is positioned to provide the services requested, with a history of experience in providing similar services.

2. Name, title, address and telephone number of three references for clients, whom similar services have been provided, including information references regarding the actual services performed, number of users and length of tenure.

3. Naming of staff resources with identification of principals and key personnel,

  1. Who are available to provide the services
  2. Experience and expertise of staff
  3. Local availability of staff is an important consideration
  4. Knowledge of Laserfiche and SACS

4. Support services questions to be addressed

  1. Help Desk Description
  2. Support availability (days of week and time)
  3. Toll free number
  4. Structure of charges for support
  5. Steps for resolving problem escalation
  6. Final authority regarding conflicts
  7. Response time and goal for resolving problems

5. Explanation of any contract termination for default or other incident in the past five years. Termination for default is defined as notice to stop services for non- performance or poor performance and issue was either litigated or not litigated.  If default occurred, list name, address, and telephone number of the party.  If NO such termination occurred for default, declare it.  The BHA will evaluate the facts and may at its sole discretion reject the vendor's proposal.

6. Scope of services beyond the RFP that the firm provides which may be of interest to the BHA.

7. Proposal summary including why the firm is pursuing the work and how it is uniquely qualified to perform the services.

Draft Contract Language

  • The vendor shall submit a draft contract.

Cost of Services

The BHA is requesting that the vendor submit a FIXED FEE service contract for a twelve-month period, with an option to renew annually for three consecutive years.  Each twelve-month period must be shown separately.  Payment schedule should also be included (i.e. monthly)

Vendors must list, specifically, any services which would not be covered in the proposal price.  The vendor shall indicate the impact, if any, of changes in the BHA's IT infrastructure (number of servers and PCs) on the fixed fee.  Identify the following for those services not under the fixed fee:

  1. A fee schedule containing the vendor hourly rates
  2. A description of how services will be billed
  3. A description of additional charges, as in out-of-pocket expenses for travel, subsistence, etc.

5. Evaluation Criteria

Criteria: Experience and Qualifications
Weight: 25%

Criteria: Service Delivery Approach
Weight: 25%

Criteria:Cost Competitiveness
Weight:20%

Criteria:Cybersecurity Capabilities
Weight:15%

Criteria:References and Reputation
Weight:10%

Criteria:Local Availability
Weight:5%

6. General Conditions

  • BHA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.
  • BHA may award the contract based on initial proposals without further negotiation.
  • All submissions become public records unless clearly marked confidential.

7. Key Dates

  • RFP Release: July 1, 2025
  • Deadline for Questions: July 11, 2025
  • Final Proposal Due: August 4, 2025
  • Award Notification: September 5, 2025
  • Contract Award effective October 1, 2025-2029

8. Contact Information

For all inquiries related to this RFP, please contact:
Linda Saturno, Accounting Manager/HR
336-226-8421 x208
lsaturno@burlingtonha.org