Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-002775/EN)
Nature of contract:
Procedure: Not applicable

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name addresses and contact point(s):
Ministry of Defence
MOD Abbey Wood, Elm 3b, #4342
Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
United Kingdom
Contact points(s): Ryan Miller
For the attention of: Miller Ryan
Email: Ryan.Miller731@mod.gov.uk
Internet Address(es):
General address of the contracting authority:
Address of the buyer profile:
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2) Type of the contracting authority:
I.3) Main activity:
I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities/entities:
The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No
Section II: Object of the contract:
II.1) Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority/entity:
Business Management System
II.2) Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance:
SERVICES
Service category: Air transport services of passengers and freight, except transport of mail
II.3) Information on framework agreement
The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement:NO
II.4) Short description of nature and scope of works or nature and quantity or value of supplies or services:
MOD – DE&S Request for Information (RFI) – Business Management System
To gather information on the different digital solutions that are available in the marketplace and to understand their capability to deliver the key requirements detailed in this RFI.
Short description of requirement: DE&S has an existing BMS tool and therefore some or all of the data within that tool may need to be migrated to a new solution. Therefore, suppliers should note the following:

1) Staff Numbers (equates to potential users) – 12,000 DE&S staff.
2) Business Processes Maps – 251 created as Microsoft Visio documents
3) Existing data volume(s)
a) 4,226 documents equating to approximately 20.44 GB split into various types:
b) Read-only supporting documents (Procedure, Policy, instruction).
c) External Web links
d) Fillable content template/forms
4) Existing build – SharePoint Online 2019 (cloud hosted via Microsoft Office 365) using core Office Applications (Word, Excel Forms) for document generation, Power BI for extracting management information and Visio SP tool with JAVA script for editing and viewing business process maps.
N.B – The volumes noted in Point 2 and 3 (a) are best estimates only, volumes are expected to increase over time.
DE&S are developing a requirement for a BMS to act as a central access point to all Policy, Business Process documentation and Procedural information.
Responses should be sent to Ryan.Miller731@mod.gov.uk and Laura.Crowe104@mod.gov.uk by 17:00 on 03 March 2023.
Information Requested Disclaimer: The information contained within this RFI is requested to inform a potential future procurement strategy. No formal procurement process has been launched. Any resulting procurement will be conducted competitively, and all information provided in response to this RFI will be held in confidence.
You must not take this Request for Information to mean confirmation that the Authority shall launch a procurement or award a contract for this requirement. The Authority is publishing this announcement without any commitment to issue a tender or place a contract. Accordingly, any expenditure, work or effort undertaken before contract award is a matter solely for the commercial judgement of potential suppliers.
Lots: The contract is divided into lots: No
II.5) Common procurement vocabulary (CPV):
72320000, 48000000
II.6) Scheduled date for start of award procedures and duration of the contract
II.7) Additional information:

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1) Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.2) Conditions for participation
III.2.1) Information about reserved contracts

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about European Union funds
The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no.
VI.2) Additional information

DE&S has an existing BMS tool and therefore some or all of the data within that tool may need to be migrated to a new solution. Therefore, suppliers should note the following:

1) Staff Numbers (equates to potential users) – 12,000 DE&S staff.
2) Business Processes Maps – 251 created as Microsoft Visio documents
3) Existing data volume(s)
a) 4,226 documents equating to approximately 20.44 GB split into various types:
b) Read-only supporting documents (Procedure, Policy, instruction).
c) External Web links
d) Fillable content template/forms
4) Existing build – SharePoint Online 2019 (cloud hosted via Microsoft Office 365) using core Office Applications (Word, Excel Forms) for document generation, Power BI for extracting management information and Visio SP tool with JAVA script for editing and viewing business process maps.
N.B – The volumes noted in Point 2 and 3 (a) are best estimates only, volumes are expected to increase over time.
DE&S are developing a requirement for a BMS to act as a central access point to all Policy, Business Process documentation and Procedural information.
Key Functional Requirements: Content Design & Usability
FR 1 – An automatic table of contents/navigation (Main Menu/Home Screen)
FR 2 – A standardized look and feel (visual consistency) across all BMS pages/screens.
FR 3 – The capability to ensure any change to standard look and feel, will automatically update all BMS pages.
FR 4 – Interactive Business Process maps – ability to select a process step, navigate each process step, zoom in or out on a process step and access any linked content.
FR 5 – Content related pop-up help/training guidance on how to use BMS when navigating different areas/webpages.
FR 6 – An Option to view documents in a separate Tab within a Web browser.
FR 7 – Capability to download various document types, (PDF, HTML etc.).
FR 8 – An option to export BMS content into various formats i.e., PDF, CSV, Text.
FR 9 – An option to print BMS content as a hardcopy
FR 10 – An option to insert a URL/Hyperlink in a BMS page to link to other areas or webpages.
FR 11 – Capability to bookmark content/relevant webpages for easier access.
FR 12 – An option to browse BMS from a Home Screen or another BMS webpage and navigate to further content via the page that is being viewed.
FR 13 – Hover text when placing a mouse cursor over a page tab, button, or link to provide a definition of the selected item.
Key Functional Requirements – Metadata
FR 14 – The option to apply Metadata Labeling terms / Tags to all content.
FR 15 – An option to sort/ filter content based on the linked Metadata terms.
Key Functional Requirements – Search Functionality
FR 16 – A search functionality with the capability to search across the BMS using multiple filters, Metadata labels /tags to return accurate search results based on the criteria selected.
FR 17 – Text support/proofing prompts when searching against multiple filters.
Key functional requirements – Content creation & Navigation
FR 18 – A standard master template for managing all content creation, editable by a BMS Admin User only.
FR 19 – The capability for specific BMS areas (Draft content creation, Master content template, Test environment etc.) to be accessible to specified BMS user roles
FR 20 – An option to move/mark items that are withdrawn – so they remain records but are not visible to all BMS users.
FR 21 – The option to Work on content amendment collaboratively with multiple BMS user roles.
FR 22 – The capability for a specified BMS user role to digitally flag processes/documentation that have recently changed to inform all BMS users.
FR 23 – The option to create, amend and/or delete a URL/hyperlink.
FR 24 – The capability to check the validity of all URLs / Hyperlinks within the BMS.
FR 25 – The option to create, amend and/or delete content links.
FR 26 – The capability to create a report to check the validity of all content links.
FR 27 – A content review area to approve/reject changes prior to (go-live).
Key functional requirements – Change Request process
FR 28 – A digitized change request process accessible by all BMS user roles.
FR 29 – The option to submit a change request via a webform/digital template.
FR 30 – The option to review all submitted change requests and their status.
FR 31 – The option to assign a change request to a function owner (specific user).
FR 32 – The option for a Function owner to be able to authorize content creation or amendments.
FR 33 – The ability to escalate a change request following initial submission.
FR 34 – The option to digitally authorize content creation or amendments.
FR 35 – The ability for a BMS Admin review check to be supported by tooling to reduce manual checks.
FR 36 – The capability for a specified BMS user role to automatically notify and update originator of an approved change/amendment.
Key functional requirements – Content Review Cycle
FR 37 – A content review cycle to ensure all BMS content can be reviewed at specified review dates.
FR 38 – The ability to set a next review date for a document, process, policy, webpage content etc.
FR 40 – The ability to record an outcome of a review as Metadata.
FR 41 – The capability to automatically capture MI information on review cycle e.g., can filter by latest dates to see the content that is coming up for review.
FR 42 – The ability for to alert a content owner when their content is coming up for review or is overdue.
FR 43 – The ability for BMS to notify a content owner when content can be destroyed.
FR 44 – An audit trail for all content to in alignment with ISO 19001 Certification.
Non-functional – MI / Data Reporting
NFR 1 – The ability to capture meaningful MI on BMS site usage figures and generate MI stats on specific areas of interest.
NFR 2 – The capability to automatically update Power BI on-demand with MI information.
NFR 3 – The capability to generate meaningful stats relating to the Change Request process.
NFR 4 – The ability to generate meaningful stats relating to process documentation in BMS.
Non-functional requirements – General
NFR 5 – The ability to support DE&S records management polices and procedures, while ensuring adherence to the laws and regulations concerning access, retention, and storage of data.
NFR 6 – The capability to proof/check all Spelling and Grammar for created content.
Non-functional requirements – Accessibility
NFR 7 – The ability to access various content in different formats i.e., Text, Diagrams, Video, Audio.
NFR 8 – The option to complete templates/forms in various ways i.e., download, complete online, voice dictation.
NFR 9 – The capability for the BMS solution to be accessible via a Mobile Device with all pages scaled for touch screen use.
Non-functional requirements – User Profile(s)
NFR 10 – The capability to maintain User Profile, Domains, Functions and Operational Command lists from a master data source.
NFR 11 – The capability to create a Joiners, Leavers, and Mover’s process manage BMS user profiles.
NFR 12 – An automated change alert capability so a user is updated to changes in BMS content, based on their user profile previously viewing the content.
BMS question set:
Solution
1. Does your company offer a solution which meets the initial BMS functional and non-function requirements set? If not, what is the required effort (cost and time) to deliver all the required capabilities?
2. What type of technology stack and code platform is your solution based on?
3. How would you categorise your solution offering SaaS, IaaS or PaaS?
4. Can you specify if the solution is compatible with MoD Cloud (Amazon Web Service and/or Microsoft Azure) or offered as on-premise only?
5. Do you have a level of confidence that your solution is underpinned by technology that will be future proof for a minimum of 5 years i.e., enable the development and implementation of emerging business requirements and end user needs?
6. Can you provide a high-level overview of the planned lifecycle of your solution, for the next 5 years?
7. Does your solution have the option to build Business Processes within BMS and drill down on a process step to link to supporting documentation or linked processes?
8. Does your solution have an end-to-end process within BMS for submission, management, review, and reporting of all change requests?
9. Does your solution have the ability to gather MI data and transpose it into Power BI?
10. Does your solution have the ability to find and retrieve documentation or data based on multiple search parameters including use of specified Metadata terms?
Licensing
11. What is the licensing schema / model(s) for your solution and indicative licensing constraints for the product, including any volume / enterprise licensing models and blocks of concurrent users?
12. How are licensing costs for the solution calculated?
13. What additional software/services are required to support your solution, is there a reliance on any 3rd party software?
Service Management Support/Wrap
14. Does your solution have the provision of service support provided by a vendor for the solution, ranging from a full support agreement to a bespoke support service?
(Please detail the standard support packages you offer for the solution):
o Response times for a P1, P2 or P3 incident etc.
o Daily support coverage and availability, including these in both local time and GMT.
o Scope of service offered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd line support or just 2nd or 3rd line.
o Cloud Hosting/configuration
o Change request process for development/ configuration changes.
Interoperability
15. Does the solution offer bespoke development, if so, how is this managed within the confides/limitations of the solution?
16. What do you perceive are the key benefits or employing your solution to develop a BMS?
17. What are the main limitations of your solution offering? i.e., technical, functional or any other limitations?
18. Is your solution able to integrate with core Microsoft product within O365, particularly SharePoint Online and PowerBI?
19. Does you solution have the capability to create end to end workflows i.e., a Change request process, a review cycle process?
Training
20. What training packages (standard or bespoke) available for technical and non-technical users as part of any BMS implementation with your solution?
Data Security
21. Can you confirm that you hold the required security clearance to deliver a BMS solution up to official sensitive in classification?
22. Will any solution comply with GDPR Regulations?
23. What are the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) arrangements for your products?
24. Do you have experience managing data from partnering Defence Nations and working within their governance protocols (ITAR)?
25. Does your cloud infrastructure offer UK hosting for all “data centers”, “regions” and “availability zones” in alignment with MOD IT security policy?
26. What is the Disaster Recovery plan and Business Continuity process for your solution?
Delivery estimates – schedule
27. Can you provide a high-level plan/schedule to show an estimate of the time needed to deliver key project phases, scoping, planning, design, and implementation?
28. What is your standard implementation model?
29. Can you provide information of your approach to potential complex data migration where data is migrated from legacy systems to your solution?
Pricing
30. Based on the level of complexity described are you able to provide:
o Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) pricing in £GBP, ex VAT.
o A breakdown of the product, implementation, configuration, training, and recommended service support offering.
o Details of any foreign exchange rate used to generate the £ GBP figures, if applicable.
31. Identify any other additional costs and pricing to deliver the service or solution.
Assumptions and Dependencies
32. Please provide any assumptions you have reached or dependencies you have considered when considering the questions within this RFI.
33. What would be the standard expectations for the role of DE&S during the initial planning, development, and deployment of a BMS with your solution?
The Contracting Authority intends to use an e-Tendering system in this procurement exercise, please visit www.contracts.mod.uk for full details and to register your interest in this procurement.

VI.3) Information on general regulatory framework
VI.4) Date of dispatch of this notice: 30.1.2023