competitive procurement for: rfp c000519: …to litigation and other adversarial matters...

i.

COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT FOR:

RFP C000519: EDISCOVERY SOLUTION

ITS' PROCUREMENT WEBSITE: https://its.ny.gov/competitive-procurement-opportunities

DESIGNATED CONTACT FOR INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSIONS

Tim Casella Contract Management Specialist

Bidders with RFP-related questions or extraneous terms must submit them to ITS, using the Vendor Questions and Extraneous Terms Form that is an attachment to this RFP, via electronic mail sent to the designated contact for this RFP

at: [email protected]

No other method of inquires will be accepted. Administrative issues pertaining to sending/receiving email through the designated mailbox may be reported at (518) 473-9341.

ITS ADDRESS FOR PROPOSAL DELIVERIES

Address to:

NYS OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT SUPPORT UNIT

If US Post Office standard and US Post Office overnight mail, use:

ATTENTION: Tim Casella, PO BOX 2062, ALBANY, NY 12220

If UPS and FedEx express delivery overnight and ground service, use:

ATTENTION: Tim Casella, EMPIRE STATE PLAZA, SWAN STREET BUILDING, CORE 4, ALBANY, NY 12223

If Hand Delivery to front desk:

ATTENTION: Tim Casella, EMPIRE STATE PLAZA, SWAN STREET BUILDING, CORE 4, 1ST FLOOR LOBBY,

ALBANY, NY 12223

https://its.ny.gov/competitive-procurement-opportunities

ii.

Event Date

1 Request for Proposals Release January 11, 2019

2 Deadline for filing Mandatory Intent to Bid February 8, 2019

3 Deadline for Submission of Vendors’ Questions

February 8, 2019

4 Issuance of Response to Submitted Questions (Estimated)

February 22, 2019

5 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DUE DATE March 5, 2019 @ 2:00 PM ET

6 Bidder Demonstrations (Estimated) Week of April 1, 2019

iii.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPENDICES AND ATTACHMENTS ........................................................................................... V

ATTACHMENTS ............................................................................................................................. V

SECTION 1 - AGENCY OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................1

THE NYS OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES ............................................ 1

Mission, Vision, and Values Statement................................................................................................. 1 Formation of ITS .................................................................................................................................... 1

SECTION 2 - PURPOSE .................................................................................................................2

2.1 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) ................... 2 2.2 QUANTITIES AND GROWTH POTENTIAL ................................................................................ 4 2.3 DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS ................................................................................... 5 2.5 MINIMUM BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS ....................................................................................... 5

SECTION 3 - SCOPE OF WORK ...................................................................................................7

3.1 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................... 7

3.1.1 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS: .................................................................................................. 7 3.1.2 NON-MANDATORY (DESIRABLE) REQUIREMENTS ................................................................... 17

3.2 KEY PERSONNEL ..................................................................................................................... 24

3.2.1 CONTRACT MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ..................................................................... 24 3.2.2 SERVICE MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): .......................................................................... 25 3.2.3 DATABASE MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ...................................................................... 25 3.2.4 SERVER MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ........................................................................... 26 3.2.5 WEB SERVICES MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ............................................................... 26 3.2.6 NETWORK MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ...................................................................... 27 3.2.7 TRAINING MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ....................................................................... 27 3.2.8 CLIENT SOFTWARE INSTALLATION MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): ................................ 28

3.3 DELIVERABLE MILESTONES .......................................................................................................... 28

3.3.1 DELIVERABLE PAYMENT MILESTONES: .................................................................................... 28 3.3.2 DELIVERABLE ACCEPTANCE: ..................................................................................................... 28

3.4 SERVICE LEVEL REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 28

3.4.1 TECHNICAL SUPPORT, MAINTENANCE, AND HELP DESK SERVICES:......................................... 28

SECTION 4 - ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION ............................... 30

4.1 INFORMATION TO BE COMMUNICATED IN WRITING OR BY E-MAIL ......................................... 30 4.2 SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN QUESTIONS ...................................................................................... 30 4.3 SUMMARY OF POLICY AND PROHIBITIONS ON PROCUREMENT LOBBYING .............................. 30 4.4 FILING BY BIDDERS OF MANDATORY INTENT TO BID ................................................................. 31 4.5 ACCURACY OF BIDS ..................................................................................................................... 31 4.6 EXTRANEOUS DOCUMENTATION AND TERMS ........................................................................... 31 4.7 BIDDING OF SUBCONTRACTORS, AND CONTRACTOR OBLIGATIONS ......................................... 32 4.8 VENDOR RESPONSIBILITY QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................................ 32

iv.

4.9 IMPORTANT BUILDING ACCESS PROCEDURES FOR VISITORS AND HAND DELIVERIES ............... 33 4.10 BID LIABILITY AND LATE SUBMISSIONS ....................................................................................... 33 4.11 BID VALIDITY ............................................................................................................................... 33 4.12 BID OPENING RESULTS, NOTIFICATION OF AWARD, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR DEBRIEFING ...... 33 4.13 BIDDER DEMONSTRATIONS ........................................................................................................ 33 4.14 ITS BID PROTEST POLICY ............................................................................................................. 34

SECTION 5 - DELIVERY, FORMAT, AND CONTENT OF BIDS ................................................ 35

5.1 PROPOSAL DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS .............................................................................. 35 5.3 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS ................................................................ 36 5.4 COMPLETENESS OF FINANCIAL PROPOSALS ................................................................. 37 5.5 MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS ....................................................................................................... 38 5.6 SPECIFIC TECHNICAL, FINANCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROPOSAL

REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................... 38

SECTION 6 - METHOD OF AWARD, EVALUATION AND SCORING METHOD ...................... 39

6.1 METHOD OF AWARD ................................................................................................................ 39 6.2 OVERALL BID EVALUATION PROCESS ............................................................................... 39 6.3 EVALUATION AND SCORING METHOD ............................................................................... 39

6.3.1 ADMINISTRATIVE EVALUATION (PASS/FAIL):........................................................................... 39 6.3.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL + BIDDER DEMONSTRATION EVALUATION (70 POINTS): .................... 40 6.3.3 FINANCIAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION (30 POINTS): .................................................................. 41 6.3.4 PRELIMINARY CALCULATION OF COMBINED TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION

SCORE:.................................................................................................................................... 41 6.3.5 FINAL CALCULATION OF COMBINED TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION SCORE: ....... 42

v.

APPENDICES AND ATTACHMENTS

Appendix A – Reserved

Appendix B – Reserved

Appendix C – ITS Standard Contract Clauses

Appendix D – CJIS Security Policy

Appendix E – MWBE 102, Quarterly MWBE Compliance Report

Appendix F – EEO 101, Workforce Employment Utilization/Diversity Compliance

Report

Appendix G – Glossary of Terms

Appendix H – Personnel Request Form

Appendix I – MetaData

Appendix J – Deliverable Acceptance Form

ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1 – Proposal Checklist

Attachment 2 – Mandatory Intent to Bid

Attachment 3 – Functional Requirements Matrix

Attachment 4 – Vendor Questions and Extraneous Terms and Conditions Form

Attachment 5 – NYS Required Certifications

Attachment 6 – Consultant Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement

Attachment 7 – Firm Offer Letter and Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Attachment 8 – Lobbying Forms All-in-One

Attachment 9 – Equal Employment Opportunity Staffing Plan – EEO 100

Attachment 10 – Minority/Women Owned Business Utilization Plan – MWBE-100

Attachment 11 – MWBE and EEO Policy Statement

Attachment 12 – Consultant Disclosure Forms A & B

Attachment 13 – Reserved

vi.

Attachment 14 – Encouraging Use of New York State Businesses in Contract

Performance

Attachment 15 – Contractor Certification to Covered Agency, ST-220-CA

Attachment 16 – Bidder Information Form

Attachment 17 – Minimum Bidder Qualifications

Attachment 18 – Technical Proposal Form

Attachment 19 – Workers Compensation and Disability Insurance Requirements

Attachment 20 – Financial Proposal Workbook

Attachment 21 – Bidder and Subcontractor Customer References

Attachment 22 – Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire

Attachment 23 – Vendor Assurance of No Conflict of Interest

Attachment 24 – Reserved

Attachment 25 – Affirmative Statements

Attachment 26 – Use of SDVOB Certification

Attachment 27 – FOIL and Litigation Disclosure

Attachment 28 – EO 177 Certification

NYS Office of Information Technology Services

Request for Proposals RFP C000519 eDiscovery Solution

Page 1

SECTION 1 - AGENCY OVERVIEW

THE NYS OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Mission, Vision, and Values Statement

MISSION To create and deliver innovative solutions that foster a technology-enabled government to best serve New Yorkers

VISION To lead the nation in serving citizens, businesses, and visitors through world-class technology

VALUES Accountability, Citizens, Innovation, Integrity, People, Transformation

Formation of ITS

In 2012, New York consolidated information technology (IT) functions and service delivery from over 52 State agencies into a single agency in the largest IT consolidation in State government history. The ITS workforce of approximately 4,000 professionals serves over 120,000 end users. Historically, IT systems and applications were primarily decentralized within individual State agencies supported by internal agency teams working with disparate IT tools, methods, and varied technical platforms. Now, ITS is transforming IT across the State to offer world-class service that provides a consistent and high-quality experience for end users and citizens using an IT environment that:

• Maximizes existing resources

• Meets agency business needs with world-class customer service

• Creates a talented, innovative IT workforce

• Increases accountability

• Provides cost savings

Bidders seeking more information about ITS may review the ITS website at http://www.its.ny.gov.

http://www.its.ny.gov/



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SECTION 2 - PURPOSE

2.1 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) This RFP is issued by the New York State Office of Information Technology Services (the "State," or “ITS”) and will result in a Contract between ITS and the successful Bidder (the terms “successful Bidder” and “Contractor” are used interchangeably throughout this document and its accompanying documents), selected through the RFP procurement process. The offering submitted by a Bidder in response to this RFP is referred to interchangeably as either a "Bid" or a "Proposal." The resulting Contract will be referred to as the “Contract” or "Agreement." The Contract will be managed by ITS. ITS is responsible for administering the RFP process and leading the Proposal evaluation process, as well as executing and administering the Contract resulting from this RFP and providing technical support. ITS, and the winning Bidder for this RFP, shall respectively individually be known as a "Party" to the aforesaid Contract, and collectively as the "Parties" thereto. The New York State (NYS) Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to seek proposals from responsive and responsible Contractors for there is a growing need to manage the collection, organization and review of collected documents with respect to litigation and other adversarial matters (eDiscovery). New tools, such as Microsoft's Office365 currently used by the State, allow agencies to gather email more efficiently than before. Improvements are needed, however, to allow review of collected data more efficiently. The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM1), represented in the diagram below, is a baseline protocol against which eDiscovery toolsets are measured.

1 Electronic Discovery Reference Model (c) 2017 edrm.net



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ITS currently uses the Office365 eDiscovery Center tool with respect to email only, to identify, preserve and collect email – what are known as “left side EDRM” tasks (orange, red, purple, and a portion of blue). ITS is seeking Bids for a solution which will, desirably, perform left-side eDiscovery tasks, but will also provide New York State the ability to conduct meaningful review, analysis, organization, processing, redaction and production tasks – or the “right-side" (blue, turquoise, and green) EDRM” tasks – for both email and non-email electronically stored information (“ESI”). Any tool with right-side EDRM capabilities will also need to have a robust “legal hold” or case management module or function built in, for review and workflow of litigation and other adversarial matters. Included within the required "right-side" EDRM eDiscovery activities are:

• advanced analytic searching of the data,

• mass categorizing of data by subject matter or business need,

• technology assisted review (using algorithms to better search and find data),

• de-duplication and near de-duplication of data,

• programmatic redaction (on the fly),

• production into shareable forms of legally admissible data,

• production into litigation or other adversarial matter-ready data forms,

• reliable auditing,

• workflow mechanisms, and



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• employee work product reporting (logging, etc.).

ITS envisions ideally using a web application on a concurrent licensing model, with authorized State government entities such as New York State agencies, or potentially in the future, authorities or local governments, acquiring licenses and accessing the tool through the Internet, accessing data stored on existing government file shares or on existing government Microsoft One Drive or SharePoint applications, with the ability of the government entity compliance officers to “import” this data into the web application. Bidders’ solutions should be able to integrate not only with Microsoft's Office 365 software currently used by the State, but also similar types of recognized cloud or on-premises-based online office suites used by large enterprises like the State that are competing with Office 365 to which the State might migrate in the future. Any solution must integrate with ITS' platforms and technologies, as described in greater detail in this RFP. The State seeks to use Commercially Available Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products and services, with limited customization, which will run On-Site at the ITS Data Center. The solution must allow ITS to provide timely, innovative, high-quality, and cost-effective eDiscovery services to authorized New York State government entities. The eDiscovery solution will accomplish this goal by integrating and automating processes and data, and by delivering information and services over the web. ITS envisions the eDiscovery solution being highly configurable with robust features that enable a flexible, collaborative, secure working environment with automated workflows. The eDiscovery solution must be flexible enough to accommodate future growth and changing business needs. The winning Bidder must provide expert knowledge transfer and high-quality training to administrators and staff. Through this procurement, the State seeks to acquire an industry leading eDiscovery package and support solution. The successful Bidder must have an organization capable of supporting this product throughout the term of the Contract. The State’s intent is to make use of the standard functionality within a COTS software eDiscovery solution to the maximum degree possible. The on-premises eDiscovery solution must fit into the overall infrastructure and architecture of State systems and provide a scalable design to allow for future growth. The Bidder must describe in its Bid an ongoing support plan that includes a description of Software Support Service Levels for all requirements identified in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP. The Bidder’s response must include details on its approach to problem resolution and software maintenance. As described in greater detail below, Bidders must provide significant training options offered with their bids, with the costs for same subsumed within their overall bid prices at no additional cost, and including at least the following training services:

• implementation services;

• knowledge transfer, including how the State may grow usage of the solution;

• at least two (2) end user training sessions per user scheduled at times selected by the user;

• increases in the overall number of end user training sessions provided as the number of users of the solution increases (e.g., if the State adds another twenty (20) users, the winning Bidder provides another end-user training class);

• refresher training; and

• train-the-trainer training.

2.2 QUANTITIES AND GROWTH POTENTIAL ITS currently supports at least fifty-two (52) New York State agencies in their use of Microsoft O365

eDiscovery Centers to perform left side EDRM tasks, including collecting and exporting email data for



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review. ITS alone has exported 18 Terabytes of data from O365 since 2014, and it is expected that

various other agencies have exported a similar volume of data. Additionally, ITS maintains a repository of

more than 5 Petabytes of unstructured data from which ITS and other agencies pull data for review. The

proposed solution must allow ITS to apply left-side EDRM tasks to this unstructured data, rendering it

searchable.

The volume of email and non-email ESI that is culled, reviewed and exported is expected to grow

exponentially as the proposed solution is implemented. Bidders' solutions must provide the type of

scalability of performance and capacity that would allow the State to leverage the awarded solution to

apply all EDRM tasks to this email and non-email ESI. As described further below, Bidders must describe

how their solutions are scalable to allow exponential growth beyond the volume of data described above.

2.3 DEFINITIONS Definitions for certain terms in this document, and its appendices and attachments, can be found in the "Glossary of Terms" Appendix to this RFP.

2.4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS It is the intention of ITS to quickly implement the solution described by this RFP by minimizing contract negotiations after award. By bidding, Bidders represent and warrant: (a) that they have reviewed all attachments and appendices to this RFP, including the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP, and (b) their understanding that it is ITS' intention to enter into a contract with the winning Bidder that is substantially similar to this RFP's Contract Terms and Conditions attachment.

2.5 MINIMUM BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS The "Prime Contractor" is the successful Bidder who holds a Contract with ITS pursuant to this RFP, undertakes to perform the complete Contract, may use one or more Subcontractors to carry out specific parts of the Contract, but has full responsibility for the Contract's completion. The following are the Mandatory Minimum Bidder Qualifications that must be met by the Prime Contractor* on any Contract or Contracts resulting from this RFP. If these requirements are not met, the State shall deem the Bid as non-responsive and eliminate the Bidder from further consideration. As described in more detail in the Contract Terms and Conditions that are attached to and part of this RFP, the State has established the following minimum qualifications to ensure that only qualified and reliable Bidders be considered for Contract award. A Bidder submitting a Proposal shall have the burden of demonstrating to the State's satisfaction that it meets the qualifications and can perform the work in order to be considered for Contract award. (Please use the Minimum Bidder Qualifications attachment to this RFP to provide this information).

1. As described in more detail in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP, all

Bidders must, at time of Bid submission and throughout the term of the Contract, be registered with the NYS Department of State as an entity authorized to conduct business in New York State, or at the time of Bid submission have filed an application for authority to do business in New York State with the New York State Secretary of State. Such application must have been approved prior to Contract Award. Each Bidder must provide its NYS Department of State Registration Number with its bid if possible, but no later than time of Contract Award. (For details concerning this requirement, refer to information available at: http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/index.html and http://www.dos.ny.gov/cnsl/do_bus.html. To register with the Secretary of State, contact: http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/contact.html).

http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/index.html

http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/contact.html).



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The Contractor must notify the State immediately in the event that there is any change in the above corporate status.

2. The Bidder represents and warrants that it possesses adequate staffing resources, financial resources and organization to perform the type, magnitude and quality of work specified in this RFP.

3. The Bidder represents and warrants that it offers a COTS eDiscovery system which will form

the basis for meeting the business and operational requirements as set forth in this RFP.

4. The Bidder represents and warrants that it has all title, interest and rights to the eDiscovery system and underlying source code (except open source) or that it is otherwise legally authorized to directly license, sub-license, create derivative works, escrow, publicly display and perform, distribute, and modify the proposed product(s).

5. The Bidder must have a minimum of five (5) years of experience providing EDRM services of similar size and scope to ITS requirements as set forth in this RFP, including product support and maintenance services, to entities of more than 25,000 potential sources within the continental US. Each Bidder must include with its Bid three (3) prior engagement descriptions of this experience. If a Bidder cannot technically meet this requirement as written for reasons such as corporate re-structuring, and is relying on operations of a parent company, subsidiary, predecessor entity, or other entity for purposes of satisfying this requirement, Bidder is required to provide a full explanation describing such relationship and how it satisfies this requirement, including information confirming that Bidder's senior management personnel have been actively and normally engaged cumulatively for the Bidder and/or another firm or firms in which they also served as senior management personnel for at least the past five (5) years, and that Bidder in its current configuration has been in business for at least twelve (12) months. ITS in its sole reasonable discretion will determine whether such other entity experience satisfies this requirement, and reserves the right to ask for additional information or require a Contract performance guarantee and/or other assurances from such other entity(ies) or the Bidder. ITS’ determination as to whether such cumulative experience meets the minimum qualifications shall be final.

*PLEASE NOTE: The Prime Contractor may combine its experience with the experience of any proposed

Subcontractor to meet the minimum Bidder qualifications set forth above. ITS reserves the right to reject the

experience of the Subcontractor should ITS, at any time, find that the Subcontractor’s experience is

inadequate or that the Subcontractor is otherwise non-responsible at which time the Prime Contractor’s Bid

may be found non-responsive and eliminated from further consideration. After award, should ITS find that

either the Prime Contractor combined with or separate with its proposed Subcontractor(s) does not meet the

minimum Bidder qualifications set forth above, ITS may rescind the award and proceed to the next lowest

Bidder.





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SECTION 3 - SCOPE OF WORK 3.1 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1.1 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:

Bidder responses to the Mandatory Requirements, with any accompanying documentation, should be separated by Section and Subsection. Responses must identify which section is being answered. By bidding, Bidders are in effect already answering “Yes” and affirming that their solutions provide the mandatory functionality. Bidders must provide a detailed description of how their proposed solution can solve each of the functional requirements. In other words, ITS is seeking specificity concerning how the Bidder’s solution addresses these items. All responses should include as much detail on the proposed solution’s capability as reasonably possible, including documentation such as flowcharts; technical, administrative, or user documentation or manuals; and/or specific performance criteria (e.g. identifying x-number of documents and y-number of seconds or minutes, as well as other quantitative values).

1. In General:

What are the eDiscovery and other software platforms that you will be utilizing for this

engagement? Please describe in detail with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

2. Matter Management:

The State identifies a Case/Matter Management capability as the ability to track matters from trigger

event through conclusion and record disposition. New York State is comprised of various State

agencies and authorities, which likely contain business units and local affiliated entities. Matter

types can be projects or cases related to one or more of the following Electronically Stored

Information (ESI) needs: affirmative or defensive litigation, labor relations, affirmative action,

criminal investigations, Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, third party document requests,

or other.

a. Mandatory: Matter Fields: The matter object must contain at a minimum the following fields: Matter Name, Matter Description, Matter Owner-Agency, Matter Owner-Business Unit, Matter Project Lead, Matter trigger date, Matter start date, Matter end date, list of custodians/sources, list of reviewers, list of data load events, list of data production events, list of redaction events, list of Technology Assisted Review Phases, list of Matter Privileges, list of Matter Tags, and list of review folders.

b. Mandatory: Matter Creation: When creating a new matter, the proposed solution must be able to populate these fields through a GUI or in a more automated process based on an import file. The import file would be generated by an agency’s Enterprise Legal Management Solution, or an agency's Legal Hold Application.

c. Mandatory: Matter Retention: The proposed solution will permit users to work on

matters over multiple sessions, saving their work after each session, until the user

indicates work has been completed. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's

capabilities for users to interact in this manner with matters on an ongoing, session-

saved, basis.



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d. Mandatory: Security Administration: Matter security administration must allow for the creation of scenario-based security roles, such that the standard case activities are allowed/disallowed based on the security roles associated to a user and/or groups of users’ granular security needs. These basic case security groups must be available to all new matters, as templates or with the ability to copy the basic security settings from one case to another and applied via a GUI, a delimited file, integrated with MS Active Directory or Office 365, as applicable.

e. Mandatory: Account Management: ITS provides various support services to its

customers, including work with trusted partners, third-parties and agencies outside of the ITS-managed infrastructure. In some instances, ITS will not have access to one or more of the following: customer Active Directory, email ESI, and/or non-email ESI. In these instances, the solution must have an option to allow all ITS customers using this solution to manage and review their cases, regardless of whether they are part of the ITS-managed infrastructure.

f. Mandatory: Auditing: The proposed solution must track all user activity and provide audit reports of user activity, including what action was taken and the date and time of the action. Auditable events must consist of:

i. Document loading summary such that a batch loading report will provide date of load, document counts, the name of the loader, and number of problem documents.

ii. Document loading detail such that each document will identify which batch the document came from, and who loaded that batch.

iii. Tag/Foldering summary such that at the end of the day, week, or month, a count of how many documents each reviewer tagged or placed in a folder is available.

iv. Tag/Foldering detail such that each document has a tag or folder history of who made the decision about the document and when. This information must also be searchable.

v. User Tag/folder history such that given a user there is the ability to identify each document that the user placed a value on. This needs to be searchable during the review phase.

3. Litigation Hold:

a. Mandatory: Consolidated View: The proposed solution must provide that all correspondence—notifications, questionnaires, reminders, and escalations—are stored in one place, making it easier to monitor and track all aspects of a hold.

b. Mandatory: Automate Communications: As global reminders and prompts for next actions ensure smooth project progress, the proposed solution must provide an option to place custodians on silent hold to avoid automated communications to them about the project.

c. Mandatory: Understand Your Progress: The proposed solution must provide dashboards with pivot charts that allow analysis of custodian activity and overall project status.

d. Mandatory: Mitigate Risk: The proposed solution must create a complete, detailed audit trail, such that every legal hold action—such as a hold notice, response, confirmation, escalation, and release—is tracked.

e. Mandatory: Hold notices: The proposed solution must have a method to streamline the email notification process as different notices can be sent immediately or



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scheduled for delivery to custodians and system administrators, and to quickly create hold notices and send them to relevant custodians and system administrators.

f. Mandatory: Reminders: The proposed solution must eliminate the need for manual follow-up as reminder email notices can be scheduled for delivery to nonresponsive custodians.

g. Mandatory: Escalations: The proposed solution must maximize compliance and simplify the legal hold process, including that if custodians are not responsive, delivery of email escalation notices to their managers can be scheduled.

h. Mandatory: Notice library: The proposed solution must allow the achievement of greater consistency and efficiency across the legal hold process as hold notices can be saved as templates in the Notice Library for reuse.

i. Mandatory: Mail-merge: The proposed solution must reduce manual efforts and deliver customized custodian notices by creating templates that will automatically populate variable fields such as case name and custodian name.

j. Mandatory: Automated tracking and reporting: The proposed solution must provide that in a single view, administrators will have immediate visibility into the status of all legal hold notices across all cases, and that administrators can drill down by case to view the status across all custodians.

k. Mandatory: Custodian portal: The proposed solution must provide that custodians can easily track all their legal obligations in one place, with access to individual portals that summarize their active, pending, and released holds in a single view.

l. Mandatory: Custodian survey: The proposed solution must provide an ability to: easily capture information critical to a case, thereby expediting the interview process; create and issue to key custodians, surveys containing single-choice, multiple-choice, or free form text questions; and to create templates and save them to a Notice Library for reuse.

m. Mandatory: Seamless integration with downstream eDiscovery processes: The proposed solution must provide that a Legal Hold Module is part of the eDiscovery Platform providing users a single product for the entire electronic discovery lifecycle, such that users can issue legal holds, and then collect, process, analyze, and review case data all within the same application, ensuring a defensible electronic discovery process.

4. Scalability:

a. Mandatory: Data Growth: The proposed solution must be scalable such that it is capable of allowing exponential growth beyond the metrics described in section 2.2, "QUANTITIES AND GROWTH POTENTIAL" section of this RFP.

b. Mandatory: Matter Growth: The proposed solution must be designed such that the

number of matters can grow from 1 to 25,000 matters without a deprecation of performance.

c. Mandatory: Document Growth: The proposed solution must be designed such that a matter can grow from 0 to 1 million searchable documents while a keyword search query still returns the documents hits within 5 seconds.



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d. Mandatory: Ingesting New Data: Bidders must provide a high-level technical document:

i. describing how the proposed solution prevents the loading of new data from interfering with the performance of current matters, clearly identifying which functions can be load-balanced across server farms, and which functions are bound to single servers;

ii. describing whether the proposed solution allows splitting a matter index across multiple servers for faster document lookup; and

iii. describing how the proposed solution performs the following features without interfering with the performance of other users working on current matters. The list of features, including but not limited to Document OCR, Page Imaging, Document Indexing, TAR processing, Redaction Processing, Pre/Post Processing functions, Case Backups, Case imports, Mass Tagging, and Reporting.

e. Mandatory: Performance - Adding Documents: The proposed solution must be able to add new documents without impacting a reviewer’s ability to use the current system. The proposed solution must be able to ingest 100,000 documents and run a complex search query that returns 10,000 documents in under 5 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail all of the ingestion activities and how they impact solution performance. The documentation must identify the ingestion volumes, and or file types that would result in a need to scale up any processing engines.

f. Mandatory: Performance - Running Production: The proposed solution must be able to run export productions without impacting a reviewer’s ability to use the current system. The proposed solution must be able to TIFF 10,000 pages and run a complex search query that returns 10,000 documents in under 5 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail all of the ingestion activities and how they impact solution performance. The documentation must identify the ingestion volumes, and or file types that would result in a need to scale up any processing engines.

g. Mandatory: Performance - Optical Character Recognition (OCR): The proposed solution must be able to OCR documents without impacting a reviewer’s ability to use the current system. The proposed solution must be able to OCR 20,000 pages and run a complex search query that returns 10,000 documents in under 5 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail how they have designed their solution to minimize the impact of OCR tasks on solution performance. The documentation must identify the any OCR volumes that would result in a need to scale up any processing, or search engines.

5. Collection/Preservation:

a. Mandatory: Email Collection: The proposed solution must provide the ability to collect data from Office 365 or similar commonly used email platforms. The collection process must be either directly integrated into the solution or involve exporting data from Office 365 and then ingesting it into the solution. Given a list of mailboxes the collection tool must collect all emails items from the email platform within a given date range and preserve all email metadata as it existed in Office 365. The email metadata fields will include but not be limited to: DOCID; BEGDOC; ENDDOC; BEGATTACH; ENDATTACH; ATTACHRANGE; PARENTDOC; CHILDDOCS; COMMENTS; NATIVEFILE; SOURCE; CUSTODIAN; FROM; TO; CC; BCC; SUBJECT; DATERCVD; TIMERCVD; DATESENT; TIMESENT; CALBEGDATE; CALBEGTIME; CALENDDATE; CALENDTIME; CALENDARDUR; ATTACHMENTS; NUMATTACH; RECORDTYPE; FOLDERLOC; FILENAME; DOCEXT; DOCTYPE;



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TITLE; AUTHOR; REVISION; DATECREATED; TIMECREATED; DATEMOD; TIMEMOD; FILESIZE; PGCOUNT; IMPORTANCE; METADATA; MSGINDEX as described in the Metadata Appendix to this RFP.

b. Mandatory: PC Collection: The proposed solution must provide the ability to collect and store files from a custodian’s computer. The collection process must be either directly integrated into the solution or involve use of a third-party collection method that ingests the data into the solution. The proposed solution must maintain a list of File signatures (MD5 or SHA values) that demonstrate the file copy was successful. The proposed solution must have a method for identifying problem files such as file locks, and a method to recollect only those files. The proposed solution must maintain the system metadata of the file at the time of collection, including the path of the files being collected as described in Uniform Naming Convention (UNC) format.

c. Mandatory: Network Share Collection: The proposed solution must provide the ability to collect files from network file repositories in a NetApp, Isilon, 3Par, and Windows Server. The collection process must be either directly integrated into the solution or involve use of a third-party collection method that ingests the data into the solution. The collection must allow for full folder collections, and targeted collections. The proposed solution must maintain a list of File signatures (MD5 or SHA values) that demonstrate the file copy was successful. The proposed solution must have a method for identifying problem files such as file locks, and a method to recollect only those files. The proposed solution must maintain the system metadata of the file at the time of collection, including the path of the files being collected as described in UNC format.

d. Mandatory: Native File Metadata Preservation: The proposed solution must

provide the capability to upload, store and generate imaged documents and electronic files up to 2 GB each (e.g., audio files, photographs, images, videos, other binary or ASCII files). The solution must preserve all file metadata that is contained in the native files such as, but not limited to: DOCID; BEGDOC; ENDDOC; BEGATTACH; ENDATTACH; ATTACHRANGE; PARENTDOC; CHILDDOCS; COMMENTS; NATIVEFILE; CUSTODIAN; ATTACHMENTS; NUMATTACH; RECORDTYPE; FOLDERLOC; FILENAME; DOCEXT; DOCTYPE; TITLE; AUTHOR; REVISION; DATECREATED; TIMECREATED; DATEMOD; TIMEMOD; FILESIZE; PGCOUNT; IMPORTANCE; METADATA; MSGINDEX, EDITING FORMATS, FONTS as described in the Metadata Appendix to this RFP.

6. ESI Processing:

New York State identifies Processing Data as the process of taking ESI and getting the data ready

to be reviewed.

a. Mandatory: Ingestion Report: The proposed solution must maintain records of all data loads. The log must at a minimum include the following pieces of information: source custodians; number of documents; the number of searchable documents; the number of problem documents identified by type of problem; the number of non-searchable documents; the load start timestamp; timestamps for each phase of processing; and the account of the person loading the data.

b. Mandatory: Data load Folder: The proposed solution must have a processing workflow which creates a virtual folder based on the batch name and places all processed documents for that batch into that folder. The folder needs to be created, and named automatically based on the data processing job.



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c. Mandatory: Performance - OCR'ing Image Source Content: Based on the solution server sizing requirements, the proposed solution must be able to OCR 30,000 pages in under an hour. Bidders must describe in technical detail what would be required to double the number of pages that could be OCR'd in an hour.

d. Mandatory: Performance - OCR'ing Redacted Text: The proposed solution must take 60 minutes or less to OCR 10,000 pages of redacted text. Please describe in detail the components and licensing that your solution would require to perform this type of OCR'ing with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

e. Mandatory: Performance - Ingesting NSF-formatted Data: The proposed solution must be able to index a Lotus Notes (NSF) file up to 30 GB in size. Bidders must describe in technical detail any design solutions that would allow the proposed solution to decrease the time required to index this data.

f. Mandatory: Performance - Ingesting Standard Office Files: The proposed solution must be able to import 50 GB of standard office files (e.g. .doc, .odt, .xls, .ppt, pdf, etc.) in under an hour. Bidders must describe in technical detail any design solutions that would allow the solution to decrease the time required to import this data.

g. Mandatory: Performance - Loading TIFF Images: The proposed solution must be

able to import 15 GB of image files and metadata (EDRM XML standard) in less than an hour. Bidders must describe in technical detail any design solutions that would allow the solution to decrease the time required to import this data.

h. Mandatory: Performance - Creating Linear Review Folders: The proposed solution must be able to, during the data ingestion phase, create a “Linear Review” folder, based on pre-determined criteria. The folder must be named to identify the production batch and that it is intended for linear review. Please describe in detail which solution features are required to perform this type of folder creation with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

i. Mandatory: Performance - Creating Workflow Review Folders: In a 1 million document database the proposed solution must be able to populate 10 folders with 10,000 random sampled documents in under 5 minutes. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to create these random filled folders.

7. Review:

a. Mandatory: Performance - Running Fuzzy Searches: In a 1 million document

database, the proposed solution must be able to perform a fuzzy search for the word "coat" in under 45 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this query.

b. Mandatory: Performance - Running "Find Similar Document" Searches: In a 1 million document database, the proposed solution must be able to perform a find similar document search in under 2 minutes. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this query.

c. Mandatory: Performance - Running Wildcard Searches: In a 1 million document database, the proposed solution must be able to run the following wild card search "abbr*" in under 30 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this query.



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d. Mandatory: Performance - Running Complex Boolean Searches: In a 1 million document database, the proposed solution must be able to run the following search ((("Pig" NOT piglet) OR ("marker" NOT "highlighter")) within 25 "Pen") in under 1 minute. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this query.

e. Mandatory: Performance - Reviewable File Format List: The proposed solution must provide a Reviewable File Format List (that is, a list of all file formats that, when ingested into the review tool, will provide searchable text). Please describe in detail with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

f. Mandatory: Performance - De-duplication: When loading 100,000 documents the proposed solution must be able to complete the deduplication phase in under 2 hours. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to perform this task.

g. Mandatory: Dynamic Tag and Folder Creation: The proposed solution must have the ability to allow reviewers to create tag sets and document folders prior to, and during, the review phase. The solution must allow reviewers to tag individual documents with one or more tags. The solution must have the ability to allow for multiple document tagging based on manual selection, all documents returned from a search query, or all documents that exist in a folder. The proposed solution must allow for the ability to hide some confidential tags and the documents containing these confidential tags from various security roles. Bidders must describe in detail what actions would be required to perform this task.

h. Mandatory: Performance - Bulk Tagging: The proposed solution must be able to tag 1 million documents with a specific value in under 5 minutes. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to perform this task.

i. Mandatory: Performance - Dynamic Creation of Document Images: The proposed solution must be able to dynamically PDF and/or TIFF a 100-page document in less than 5 minutes. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to perform this task.

j. Mandatory: Performance - Navigating Between Documents: In a 1 million document database, the proposed solution must be able to navigate between documents in under 2 seconds. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this task.

k. Mandatory: Performance - Creating Document Clusters: In a 1 million document database, the proposed solution must be able to process the documents into create categories/clusters in under 1.5 hours. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions would be required to run this task.

l. Mandatory: Text Box, and Full-Page Redaction: The redaction tool must provide the

ability to create a box around sections of text and mark them for redaction. The solution must be able to identify the reason for the redaction. The solution must also allow for one-click full page redaction. Redactions must have a toggle-on and toggle-off ability such that the full document can be viewed during review, and then the ability to turn on the redaction sets at the time of production to prevent all access to the information contained behind the redaction. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to run this task.



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m. Mandatory: Inverse Redaction: The redaction tool must provide the ability to place

large segments of the page or document in a redacted state and then allow for the inclusion or text. This feature is useful when a large portion of the document needs to be redacted but a small section of the interior of the document contains text that must not be redacted. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to run this task.

8. Analysis:

a. Mandatory: Technology Assisted Review: The proposed solution must have the ability to electronically classify documents based on input from reviewers. The solution must expedite the organization and prioritization of the document collection. The electronic classification may include broad topics pertaining to responsiveness, privilege, and other designated issues. Bidders must describe in detail what actions would be required to perform this task.

b. Mandatory: Performance - Finding Near-Duplicate Documents: The proposed solution must take a maximum of 10 seconds to find all the near duplicate documents when there is one primary document and up to 50 near duplicate documents. Please describe in detail the amount of time it takes to perform this type of search with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

9. Production:

a. Mandatory: Performance - Producing Image Production of 25,000 Pages (Standard Letter Pages): The proposed solution must take a maximum of 24 hours to Image 25,000 pages from a set of native files. Please describe in detail the amount of time it takes to perform this type of conversion/printing process with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

b. Mandatory: Performance - Running Daily Work Product Reports: The proposed solution must be able to produce a reviewer statistics report. The report must contain at a minimum the following fields: Review name, user time, document views, documents tagged, and searches run. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to run this task. Bidders must also describe all reviewer statistic options

c. Mandatory: Performance - Running "Document Privileged" Reports: The proposed solution must be able to produce a privilege log that contains at a minimum the following fields: sender, recipients, subject, sent, received, document create, filename, and privilege reason. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to create this privilege log.

d. Mandatory: Performance - Running Export Batch Reports: In a 1 million document case, the proposed solution must be able to produce an 200,000 document production of native files, full text and metadata (EDRM XML) in 1 hour or less. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to run this task.

e. Mandatory: Performance - Making Near-Native Production of 25,000 Pages: In a 1 million document case, the proposed solution must be able to produce 200,000 page production of image files, text and metadata (EDRM XML) in 1 hour or less. Bidders must describe in technical detail what actions are required to run this task.



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f. Mandatory: Performance - Making Native Production of 25,000 Pages: The proposed solution must take 60 minutes or less to make a native production of 200,000 records. Please describe in detail the amount of time it takes to perform this type of native production and any technical issues that might cause delay in the export production.

10. Training and Support:

With the costs for same subsumed within their overall Bid prices (i.e.: at no additional cost), Bidders must provide at least the following training services:

a. Mandatory: Models: The proposed solution must provide Training and Support models, including but not limited to: implementation services; on-site training, remote training; knowledge transfer, including how the State may grow usage of the solution; refresher training; and train-the-trainer training. Please describe in detail with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

b. Mandatory: Manuals: The proposed solution will allow the creation of searchable user

manuals and training manuals accessible online by users of the system. Please describe in detail how your proposed solution will allow online access to training manuals.

c. Mandatory: Performance - Training Tutorials: The proposed solution must provide a specific number of hours of training tutorials made available per reviewer, with at least two (2) end user training sessions per user, scheduled at times selected by the user, and with increases in the overall number of end user training sessions provided as the number of users of the solution increases (e.g., if the State adds another twenty (20) users, the winning Bidder provides another end-user training class). Please describe in detail with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

d. Mandatory: Performance - Solution Support: As further described in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP, the winning Bidder must provide its highest level of support, which shall include but not be limited to, a Project Support manager to manage support calls; 24 hours per day, 365 days per year; 1-hour call back; and a process for problem escalation that ends in no more than three leaps at executive staff. Including hours of operation, premier support options and all other optional support offered, and considering the support requirements listed in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP, describe the levels of support you provide for your proposed solution. Please describe in detail with the specific types of documentation referenced above.

11. Disaster Preparedness (D-R):

a. Mandatory: Performance - Point-in-Time D-R Recovery: The proposed solution must provide the ability to make case snapshots for recovering to a point in time that occurs during data review. Bidders must provide documentation describing how this functionality works within their proposed solutions, and the impact to the current case performance when the solution makes case snapshots. In addition to the specific types of documentation referenced above, your documentation must address the following four (4) topics:

i. Information about how other customers of your solution have used case snapshots. ii. Information about how often case snapshots run in your solution. iii. Information about past experiences with snapshots.



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iv. Information about how you quantify the impact of case snapshots for your solution.

b. Mandatory: Performance - Onsite Backup D-R Recovery: The proposed solution must be able to perform a full back up on a 1 million document case in under 4 hours. Bidders must describe in technical detail any design solutions that would speed up the database backup time.

c. Mandatory: Performance - Implementing Backup/D-R Functionality: The proposed solution must be able to restore from backup a 1 million document case in under 4 hours. Bidders must describe in technical detail all requirements for backing up the database and recovering from backup.

12. Additional General and Technical Requirements:

a. Mandatory: Availability: The proposed solution must be accessible to users accessing

it through the State network on a 24/7 basis outside of planned downtime, solution

upgrades and scheduled maintenance, with the capability of achieving 99.9% uptime

availability at go-live and retaining that capability and achieving and maintaining the

service levels described in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP.

Please describe in detail your proposed solution's availability capabilities.

b. Mandatory: Configurability: The proposed solution must be highly and quickly

extensible and configurable to support changes to forms, entity attributes, and other data

items to support flexible changes to the State's business requirements. Please describe

in detail your proposed solution's configurability capabilities.

c. Mandatory: Reporting: For any of the reports referenced in the Mandatories section of

this RFP (including reports concerning matter type; matter summary; audits; ingestion;

work product; document privileged; and export batch), the proposed solution must

distribute those reports and their content by providing the capability to view them online

or export from the solution. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's report

viewing and exporting capabilities.

d. Mandatory: Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): The proposed solution's software

must be designed, based, and implemented on a flexible, modular, service oriented

architecture. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's SOA software design.

e. Mandatory: Operating System Capability: The proposed solution must be able to run

on at least one of the following operating systems, and will support upgrade capability to the current version of the operating systems: IBM Power AIX, Microsoft Windows 2012 or 2016 server, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux (“RHEL”). When not specifically identified, the operating system must not be more than (two) 2 major release versions from the current version. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's operating system requirements and abilities.

f. Mandatory: Relational Databases: The proposed solution will support at least one of

the following relational databases (RDBMS), and will support upgrade capability to the current version of the RDBMS: Oracle version 12.c (must run on AIX), or Microsoft SQL Server 2014. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's relational databases capabilities.



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g. Mandatory: Web Servers: The proposed solution will support at least one of the following web servers: Microsoft IIS, Red Hat HTTP (Apache), Oracle HTTP, or IBM HTTP. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's web server capabilities.

h. Mandatory: Application Servers: The proposed solution will support at least one of the

following application servers: Red Hat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, Oracle WebLogic, IBM Web sphere, or Microsoft .NET. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's application server capabilities.

i. Mandatory: Web-based User Interfaces: The proposed solution will provide a web-

based user interface compatible with current versions or higher of the internet browsers: Internet Explorer; Google Chrome; and Microsoft Edge. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's web-based user interface capabilities.

j. Mandatory: Online Help: The proposed solution will include will include online help for

application software. The Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP describe in greater detail the types of support that the winning Bidder must provide. But for this mandatory requirement, please describe in detail your proposed solution's online help capabilities.

k. Mandatory: Security Compliance: As further described in the Contract Terms and

Conditions attached to this RFP, the solution must be compliant with State security policies and standards. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's security capabilities, in relation to those State policies and standards.

3.1.2 NON-MANDATORY (DESIRABLE) REQUIREMENTS

Bidder responses to the Non-Mandatory (Desirable) Requirements, with any accompanying

documentation, must be separated by Section and Question, and note which is being answered.

1. Matter Management:

a. Desirable: Matter Management Integration: The proposed solution should provide the ability to integrate its matter management functionality with an alternative Case Management product that a New York State entity might already be using. Integration would consist of a connection to custom or off-the-shelf CRM products such as Oracle CRM, Oracle's Siebel CRM or Oracle's Peoplesoft CRM, mySAP CRM, Salesforce.com CRM, Microsoft SQL database, and/or delimited or XML export files. The Bidder should identify which of these products its proposed solution could integrate with and how. Does your proposed solution support Matter Management Integration, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Matter Types: The proposed solution should be able to track the type of matter, so that reports can be generated per agency based on the matter types. The proposed solution should also provide a mechanism to add matter types after initial deployment. A matter type could include but not be limited to: Defensive, Offensive, AAA Investigation, LR Investigation, Foil. Does your proposed solution support Matter Types, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.



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c. Desirable: Matter Summary Reports: The proposed solution should be able to create reports of all matters associated with varying levels of organization, including those associated with an individual user, business unit, and/or customer agency. Reports should include at a minimum Matter Name, Matter Owner, ESI Identification Phase Status, Preservation Phase Status, Collection Phase Status, Data Load Status, Data Custodians, Review Status, Matter Volume, Matter Start Date, Matter End Date, list of Matter Facts, and Key Players. Additionally:

i. The proposed solution should provide a method of scheduling these reports to be run and emailed to matter owners (individual, business unit, entity).

ii. The proposed solution should provide a method of dynamically creating these reports.

Does your proposed solution support Matter Summary Reports, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

d. Desirable: Multiple Isolated Teams Reviewing the Same Case Data: The proposed solution should allow for Case Data source to be reviewed independently by a second/different case team such that the document actions taken by one case team cannot be seen other case teams. Does your proposed solution support Multiple Isolated Teams Reviewing the Same Case Data, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

e. Desirable: Matter Cloning: The proposed solution should provide the ability to clone matters, such that all data, tag sets, privilege sets, and default folders are cloned. The values of the tag sets, search terms, privilege sets, and documents associated to the folders should not be presented to the new matter reviewers. Does your proposed solution support Matter Cloning, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

f. Desirable: Adding Key Players: The proposed solution should provide an ability to add the key players involved in a matter. This would include, but not be limited to: the matter lead, members of the matter team, the business unit responsible for the matter, members from the opposition team, plaintiffs, respondents, and third-party players.

i. The solution should integrate with Microsoft Office 365 – or with a similar, widely used email platform - Address lists so that internal players can be linked to their Official contact information; and

ii. The solution should record: name, email address, phone numbers, physical location address, position, and matter role.

Does your proposed solution support Adding Key Players, as described above? If yes,

please describe in greater detail.

g. Desirable: Matter Facts: The proposed solution should provide the ability for a Matter manager to create a list of facts during the lifecycle of the case. This list should be a specific type of folder which will be turned into matter folders. These specialty folders will be produced during Summary case reporting as a list of the facts and the counts of documents in those folders. Does your proposed solution support Matter Facts, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

h. Desirable: Team Created Documentation: The proposed solution should have the ability for members to load documents such as authorizations, meeting notes, memos, document requests, subpoenas, motions, and motion results into a team Work Product folder. This work product folder will not be included in normal searches, but will be searchable as a



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special search set. Does your proposed solution support Team Created Documentation, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

i. Desirable: Workflows: The proposed solution should allow for the creation of workflows. The solution should have a process of building the following workflows:

i. When a document is tagged with a specific value an email is sent to the Matter lead with a link to the document.

ii. At the end of the day if new documents are added or removed from a confidential folder or a confidential tag the matter lead should get a report of the document changes.

iii. The ability to schedule document loads in sequence. iv. The ability to schedule document outgoing productions to run in sequence. v. The ability to configure jobs to automatically email members during the various

phases of the loading or production cycle.

Does your proposed solution support Workflows, as described above? If yes, please

describe in greater detail.

2. Scalability:

a. Desirable: Distributed Processing of TIFF Images (Mass TIFFing): Please demonstrate how your proposed solution can distribute the processing of TIFF images to decrease production time, without impacting the performance on the current system. Does your proposed solution support Distributed Processing of TIFF Images (Mass TIFFing), as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Distributed Processing of the OCR Engine (Mass OCRing): Please demonstrate how your proposed solution can distribute the processing of its OCR engine to decrease production time, without impacting the performance on the current system. Does your proposed solution support Distributed Processing of the OCR Engine (Mass OCRing), as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Ingesting New Data: Please produce a high-level technical document that shows how the proposed solution allows for splitting a case document index across multiple servers for faster document lookup. This list should include but is not limited to Document OCR, Page Imaging, Document Indexing, TAR processing, Redaction Processing, Pre- and Post-Processing functions, Case Backups, Case imports, Mass Tagging, and Reporting. Does your proposed solution support Ingesting New Data, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

3. ESI Processing:

a. Desirable: Automatic Document Foldering: The solution should provide an option for automatically adding new documents into virtual folders based on specific search criteria. Does your proposed solution support Automatic Document Foldering, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Issue coding of Ingestion Errors: The solution should have a feature that issues codes on loading document ingestion errors such as but not limited to: encrypted documents, unknown file type, and no content. Does your proposed solution support Issue coding of Ingestion Errors, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.



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c. Desirable: Baseline MD5 Removal: The solution should allow NYS to provide a list of MD5 values for the files that exist after a standard computer install. This list is like the NIST list to remove system files. These documents should be identified in a report at the time of data ingestion similar to the DE-NIST report. Does your proposed solution support Baseline MD5 Removal, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

4. Review:

a. Desirable: Stemmed Searching: In the context of information retrieval Stemming is the process for reducing inflected (or sometimes derived) words to their stem, base or root form -- generally a written word form. The stem need not be identical to the morphological root of the word. The review tool should provide the ability to perform stemmed searches of English words. For example, if the user wanted to find the stemmed results for swam the tool would also search for swum, swimming, swims, swimmer, and swimmers. The solution would also display the stemmed variations back to the reviewer so the review can determine which variations are appropriate. Does your proposed solution support Stemmed Searching, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Thesaurus Searching: In the context of information retrieval, a thesaurus (plural "thesauri") is a form of controlled vocabulary that seeks to dictate semantic manifestations of metadata in the indexing of content objects. A thesaurus serves to minimize semantic ambiguity by ensuring uniformity and consistency in the storage and retrieval of the manifestations of content objects. The solution should be able to randomly split all the documents from one folder into multiple folders based on a single user operation. For example, if a folder contained 5,000 documents and the user had 5 workflow folders the user wanted to populate, the reviewer should be able to select the input folder and the 5 output folders and click a button called populate which would randomly fill the 5 output folders as evenly as possible with the 5,000 documents from the input folder. Does your proposed solution support Workflow Folder Splitting, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Organizing Documents into Workflow Folders: The solution should be able to break each set of newly ingested documents into linear review workflow folders based on document volume. The data loader would identify how many workflow folders need to be created and the solution would build the folder and place an equal number of documents into each folder. Does your proposed solution support Organizing Documents into Workflow Folders, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

d. Desirable: Data Federation: Matters should allow for data federation, such that if Matter A contains data that is also responsive to Matter B then that data can be made available to Matter B, without having to process the data a second time. Does your proposed solution support Data Federation across cases, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

e. Desirable: Devices: The proposed solution should be platform independent and support

various devices, including but not limited to personal computers (PC), tablet computers, and mobile devices. The proposed solution must also work on a VMWare Virtual Desktop infrastructure (VDI) session with 2 CPU and 4GB ram. Please describe in detail your proposed solution's device capabilities. Does your proposed solution support all devices, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.



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5. Collection/Preservation:

a. Desirable: Personal Computer (PC) Collection deNisting: The solution should be able

to use the NIST list of MD5 values to exclude system files from the PC collection. Does

your proposed solution support PC Collection deNisting, as described above? If yes,


b. Desirable: Automated Differential Recollection File Systems: The solution should have functionality that allows it to recollect only files with new file signatures. This functionality should be on-demand or on a scheduled basis. Does your proposed solution support Automated Differential Recollection File Systems, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Network Share Collection: The solution should have the following functionality for Network Share Collection:

i. Inclusion based on Active Directory access writes of the custodian; ii. Inclusion based on keyword search terms; and iii. Single source inclusion.

Does your proposed solution support Network Share Collection, as described above? If yes,


6. Analysis:

a. Desirable: Find Similar Documents Searching: The solution should have a Find Similar Documents search which is the ability of the search tool to find documents that have a statistical similarity based on content. This functionality is useful when the reviewer finds an exemplar document and wants to return all near variations. Does your proposed solution support Find Similar Documents Searching, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Federated Searching Across Cases: The solution should provide Federated

Searches Across Cases. This functionality will allow the reviewer to construct one search and then run that search against selected cases. The resulting documents should then be either comingled or remain separated depending on the reviewer needs. Does your proposed solution support Federated Searching Across Cases, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Paragraph or Page Proximity Searching: The solution should provide syntax to allow for proximity searching within a paragraph or within a page, which is a way to search for two or more words occurring within a certain number of words or characters from each other. Does your proposed solution support Paragraph Page Proximity Searching, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

d. Desirable: Near Duplicate Identification: The solution should provide a mechanism for determining near duplicate documents, in that a document should be able to be identified as an anchor or pivot document to which other documents are compared and identified as variations from it. Does your proposed solution support Near Duplicate Identification, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.



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e. Desirable: E-mail Thread Selection and Review: The solution should provide a mechanism for selecting all e-mails in an e-mail thread and reviewing them. Does your proposed solution support E-mail Thread Selection and Review, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

f. Desirable: An Ability to verify Predictive Coding training sets to audit Junior Reviewers: The predictive coding process involves up front work for senior reviewers. The predictive coding engine should preserve the documents that were tagged as used as the exemplars by the senior reviewer. This set of documents should be capable of being made available as a training set to new reviewers so we can test whether they are applying tags accurately. Does your proposed solution support an Ability to verify Predictive Coding training sets to audit Junior Reviewers, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

g. Desirable: Predictive Coding Analysis Reports: Please provide the analysis reports that show how the predictive coding has determined a set of documents to be relevant, and non-relevant. Does your proposed solution support Predictive Coding Analysis Reports, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

7. Redaction:

a. Desirable: Redaction Reason Metadata: When a redaction is applied to a document the redaction issue should be identified within the area of redaction. These redaction reasons should exist as metadata associated to the document. If multiple redactions were applied to the document all distinct redaction reasons should be associated to the document in a delimited format. For example: If the document contains three confidential sections that all need to be redacted, the associated metadata might be something like: Privacy; HIPAA; and SS#. Does your proposed solution support Redaction Reason Metadata, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Text Search Redaction: The redaction tool should allow the user to run text searches, then either automatically redact all matching text (and associated image) in the document or allow the reviewer to click through the hits and determine if the specific text should be redacted based on content. Does your proposed solution support Text Search Redaction, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Regular Expression Redaction: The search tool should allow for regular expression pattern matching and redact standard content such as social security numbers or phone numbers. For example, if the redaction search string for a document were ###-##-#### then all social security numbers in the document would be redacted. Does your proposed solution support Regular Expression Redaction, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

d. Desirable: Multiple Redactions Per Document: The redaction tool should allow for different redaction sets to be applied to a document to allow for different export versions to be produced dependent on the receiving parties of the documents. Does your proposed solution support Multiple Redactions Per Document, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

e. Desirable: Metadata Redaction: The review tool should allow for the redaction of portions of a document metadata. For example, if a name is identified as a sender or recipient and the name needs to be redacted then the metadata that contains the sender's name must also be identified and redacted at export. Does your proposed solution support Metadata Redaction, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.



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8. Production:

a. Desirable: Print Page Options: The print production should allow for printing of letter, legal, and non-standard paper sizes in both landscape and portrait orientation. Does your proposed solution support Print Page Options, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

9. Training Support:

a. Desirable: Solution Upgrade Training: Additional training to the State should be available if upgrades impact the solution's user interface. Does your proposed solution support Solution Upgrade Training, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

10. Solution Development:

a. Desirable: Software Development Add-Ons: The solution should have a software development environment such that the State and/or third-party developers can add on workflows and integrate additional functionality to meet the needs of the State. Does your proposed solution support Software Development Add-Ons, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Ad-hoc Administrative Queries with an SQL primer: The solution should provide read-only access to the backend databases for ad-hoc administrative queries. A document describing the tables and fields should be available. Does your proposed solution support Ad-hoc Administrative Queries with an SQL primer, as described above? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

11. Desirable Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Support: The proposed solution must contain functionality to allow the State to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Law, including, but not limited to:

a. Identifying and collecting responsive documents; b. Identifying and collecting responsive documents; c. Creating workflows; d. Reviewing and Redacting documents for statutory exemptions such as those stated in e. New York Public Officers Law sections 87 and 89; f. Tracking deadlines; g. Generating Automatic responses; and h. Mail merges and templates for ease in preparing standard responses.

Please describe in detail how your proposed solution provides these capabilities with the specific

types of documentation referenced above.



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12. Legal Defensibility of Your Solution:

Desirable: Defending the Solution in Court: All functions of the proposed solution

should be legally defensible. Please describe in detail how your proposed solution meets

this requirement. Specific to the predictive coding mechanism of your solution, bidders

should provide references and documentation showing successful defense in court. The

documentation described above should specifically address at least 3 of the following 5

topics:

i. The types of cases for which predictive coding would be useful. ii. The techniques the solution uses for getting opposition and courts to agree to

predictive coding. iii. Examples of the solution used in court. iv. Citations to court decisions successful defense of the solutions’ predictive coding. v. A description of how your solution’s software meets these requirements.

13. Additional Desirable Items:

a. Desirable: Configurability: The solution should provide a capability for the State to

configure and brand its interface with New York State-specific branding. Does your proposed solution provide such a capability? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

b. Desirable: Performance Tuning: The solution should allow for the possibility of running high volume stress tests. ITS utilizes Micro Focus Performance Center 12.5. Does the proposed solution allow for Performance Center, or does the proposed solution have an alternative method of testing to make sure the solution is optimized across load balancing clusters? If yes, please describe in greater detail.

c. Desirable: Reporting: For any of the reports referenced in the Mandatories section of this

RFP (including reports concerning matter type; matter summary; audits; ingestion; work

product; document privileged; and export batch), the solution should have the ability for

users to define the time interval for the content of the reports, i.e. Daily; Month to date;

Monthly; Quarter to date; Quarterly; Year to date; Annually; Year to Year (M1Y1 vs. M1Y2);

or Multi-Annually. Does your proposed solution provide such a capability? If yes, please

describe in greater detail.

3.2 KEY PERSONNEL The selected Bidder must provide a single point of contact for the roles listed below. These points of contact may be, but are not required to be, the same individual. The contact person(s) must be able to respond to requests for assistance consistent with the terms of the Software Support Services Levels defined in the Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP, and must be available by phone or email during ITS' normal business hours (9am -5pm United States Eastern time zone, Monday through Friday).

3.2.1 CONTRACT MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Contract Manager must have at least five (5) years’ experience in this role.

The Contract Manager is responsible for the following activities:



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a) Manage all onboarding, maintenance, and offboarding activities required to satisfy the requirements of the RFP, including but not limited to Network installation, Security configuration, Database installation, Server installation, Client installation support, Web Services, Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) integration, and State infrastructure integration.

b) Communicate status and schedule of all onboarding and offboarding activities. c) Communication of State resource roles required to perform offboarding, maintenance, and

onboarding activities, and an estimate of the total time requirements needed for installation, and a weekly estimate for maintenance activities. The maintenance estimates should include indication of expected utilization increases that would increase the need for more resources.

d) Communicate status and schedule of all initial technical, user, and train the trainer sessions per the RFP requirements.

e) Contract issue resolution as needed and requested by ITS.

f) Adherence to the requirements of the "NOTICE / SINGLE POINTS OF CONTACT /

AUTHORIZED SIGNATORIES / CREDITS PENALTY FOR SOLICITING UNAUTHORIZED

TRANSACTION DOCUMENT SIGNATURES" section of the Contract Terms and Conditions

attachment to this RFP, including the requirement to interact with ITS concerning management of

the contract ensuing from this RFP and no other governmental entity, and to respect, at the risk of

forfeiting a monetary reimbursement to ITS, ITS' online list of authorized signatories as the only

persons who may contractually bind ITS in any manner.

3.2.2 SERVICE MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Service Manager must have at least five (5) years’ experience in this role.

The Service Manager is responsible for the following activities:

a) Work with the ITS designee to document and ensure prompt and adequate resolution to all problems related to the implementation, operation and maintenance of the solution with respect to all functionality and features agreed to in the RFP.

b) Develop an escalation process for reported problems or issues related to use of solution. The escalation process must consider legal deadlines and ensure resolution timeframes that meet court ordered deadlines. This should include but not be limited to, resolution of issues, root cause analysis and identification of all outages or application failures that could result in loss of data or critical erroneous production results.

c) Provide issuance of credits when appropriate, and developing service level metrics and reports. d) Review service level exceptions, determine contributing factors and institute changes through a

continuous improvement process. e) Maintain a list of State specific configuration changes and make sure all solution providers are

aware of these variations so they can provide proper focused support solutions. f) Produce Service Level Reports that compare results with negotiated Service Level Agreements g) Validation that if a component of the State infrastructure changes which will result in a solution

upgrade, that the upgrade is documented, tested, and rolled out in a coordinated manner with the State.

h) Validation that if the solution requires an upgrade then the upgrade is validated against the State infrastructure and all required upgrades are managed to meet State change control requirements.

i) Provide regular updates about all new service features the solution provider may offer, and new releases of existing features, if applicable to the Services provided.

3.2.3 DATABASE MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Database Manager must have at least five (5) years’ experience in this role.

The Database Manager is responsible for the following activities:



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a) Working with the ITS designee to document the solution installation process, and ensure adherence

to all database security standards, and State database standards. b) Working with the ITS designee to document the solution maintenance process, and ensure

adherence to State database standards. c) Maintenance is expected to be limited to Corrective (solution does not work as expected), Adaptive

(meet the needs of a changing infrastructure), and Perfective (support application enhancements). Day to day maintenance is expected to be performed by State resources, but support will be required to ensure the State is performing best practice and maintaining the solution per solution provider recommendations.

d) Provide documentation of all database administration activities required in support of the proposed solution. This documentation should include but not be limited to early detection of database issues; performance metrics of an active solution (based on past installations of similar size and complexity); best practice documentation for database sizing, configuration, and growth; best practice documentation for disaster recovery.

e) Answer all questions posed by State Database administrators, with respect to operation, maintenance, reporting and enhancements.

3.2.4 SERVER MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Server Manager must have at least three (3) years’ experience in this role.

The Server Manager is responsible for the following activities:

a) Work with the ITS designee to document the solution installation process, and ensure adherence

to all, server security standards, and State server management standards. b) Working with the ITS designee to document the solution maintenance process, and ensure

adherence to State server management standards. c) Corrective (solution does not work as expected), Adaptive (meet the needs of a changing

infrastructure), and Perfective (support application enhancements) maintenance. Support of ITS in its day-to-day maintenance solution is involved in any of the maintenance levels listed above.

d) Provide documentation of all server administration activities required in support of the proposed solution. This documentation should include, but not be limited to, early detection of server issues, performance metrics of an active solution based on past installations of similar size and complexity; best practice documentation for sizing, configuration, and growth; best practice documentation for disaster recovery.

e) Answer all questions posed by State Server administrators, with respect to operation, maintenance, reporting and enhancements.

3.2.5 WEB SERVICES MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): Minimum Qualification: The Web Services Manager must have at least three (3) years’ experience in this role.

The Web Services Manager is responsible for the following activities:


to all web service security standards, and State Web Services standards. b) Work with the ITS designee to document the solution maintenance process, and ensure adherence

to State Web Services standards. c) Provide documentation of all Web Services administration activities required in support of the

solution. This documentation should include, but not be limited to, early detection of server issues, performance metrics of an active solution based on past installations of similar size and complexity;



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best practice documentation for sizing, configuration, and growth; best practice documentation for disaster recovery.

d) Answer all questions posed by State Web Service administrators, with respect to operation, maintenance, reporting and enhancements.

3.2.6 NETWORK MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Network Manager must have at least three (3) years’ experience in this role.

The Network Manager is responsible for the following activities:


to all network security, and State Networking protocols. b) Work with the ITS designee to document the solution maintenance process, and ensure adherence

to State Networking standards. c) Providing documentation of all network administration activities required in support of the proposed

solution. d) Answer all questions posed by State Network administrators, with respect to operation,

maintenance, reporting and enhancements.

3.2.7 TRAINING MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT): Minimum Qualification: The Training Manager must have at least three (3) years’ experience in this role.

The Training Manager is responsible for the following activities:

a) Work with the ITS designee to document the training solution proposed for ITS technical staff to

administer, maintain, and use the proposed solution. Identify any certification programs that are available. Identify all suggested pre-requisite training programs that ITS staff should have prior to supporting your solution. Document all online technical and end user training solutions that are available for your solution. Document any blogs, collaboration sites, social media, or users groups devoted to providing answers towards solution problems, enhancements or best practices with respect to the applications being provided in support of the RFP.

b) Provide ITS technical staff training on application maintenance, best practices, advanced feature use, and end user support of the proposed solution.

c) Work with ITS designee to produce any changes to the standard end user training, such that the end user training program is designed to meet the best practices needs of the State end users.

d) Provide End User Training for the initial group of end users. e) Provide Training and support ITS Trainers so they can provide end user training for any new ITS

customers of the RFP solution. f) Work with the ITS designees to provide additional in person or online training when additional new

feature requires training updates. g) Providing documentation of all network administration activities required in support of the proposed

solution. h) Answer all questions posed by State Designees with respect to Training, FAQs, and best practices

in support of all features proposed in the RFP.



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3.2.8 CLIENT SOFTWARE INSTALLATION MANAGER (OR TITLE EQUIVALENT):

Minimum Qualification: The Client Software Installation Manager must have at least three (3) years’ experience in this role.

The Client Software Installation Manager is responsible for the following activities:


to client installation security standards, and State Client installation practices, and protocols. b) Work with the ITS designee to document the solution maintenance process, and ensure adherence

to the State Client installation standards. c) Providing documentation of all Client installation activities required in support of the proposed

solution. d) Answer all questions posed by the State Client Installation team with respect to installation of all

client solutions required to support all features proposed in the RFP.

3.3 DELIVERABLE MILESTONES

3.3.1 DELIVERABLE PAYMENT MILESTONES: ITS will make payments on a milestone basis to the winning Bidder who, as Prime Contractor, becomes Party to a Contract signed by both Parties and approved by the NYS Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the NYS Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). ITS' Contractor payments will be made based on acceptance of proposed milestone Deliverables and in conformance with the description in the "Deliverable Payment Schedule" section of the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP, and in the Milestone Deliverable Descriptions appendix to this RFP.

3.3.2 DELIVERABLE ACCEPTANCE: Acceptance by ITS of completed work products and services (“Deliverables”) will be in accordance with the "Deliverable Acceptance" section of the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP, including use by Contractors of the Deliverable Acceptance Form attached to this RFP.

3.4 SERVICE LEVEL REQUIREMENTS

3.4.1 TECHNICAL SUPPORT, MAINTENANCE, AND HELP DESK SERVICES:

Bidders must describe in their Bids the manner in which they will provide software support service levels conforming to the descriptions in the "SOFTWARE SUPPORT SERVICES LEVELS" section of the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP. As litigation and investigation matters run on a 24/7 basis, the Solution Provider must provide 24/7 technical support to ITS personnel. As described in the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP, ITS personnel will provide End User Support to the users of the proposed solution. Bidders' offered support should include providing Best Practice advice on how to use the functionality provided and outlined in the RFP. Bidders must describe how their support will include application maintenance for adapting to State infrastructure changes, such as software, and server upgrades; and how Bidder will provide change control information, have technical discussions if any of the products in the solution require an upgrade, or release with an enhancement. With respect to change management Bidders will provide their product roadmap documentation, which would give early warning of proposed enhancements and their expected release dates. Bidders' support will also include and describe product support and maintenance whenever the solution is not working as intended.



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For a complete description of the support services Bidders must describe and provide in their Bids, please see the "SOFTWARE SUPPORT SERVICES LEVELS" section of the Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP.



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SECTION 4 - ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION

4.1 INFORMATION TO BE COMMUNICATED IN WRITING OR BY E-MAIL All Bids submitted in response to this RFP and all questions, communications and submissions to ITS must be written in the English language with quantities expressed using Arabic numerals. All prices shall be expressed, and all payments shall be made, in United States Dollars ($ USD). Any Bid or submission received that does not meet the above criteria may be rejected at the sole option of ITS. ITS has established a procurement website for the purpose of disseminating information relating to this procurement. Vendors are encouraged to monitor the website, whose URL is provided on the beginning pages of this RFP. ITS shall provide all information, responses to Bidder questions, RFP clarifications and amendments, clarification of process rules and other communications concerning the solicitation in writing through the website or by electronic mail to vendors. Administrative issues pertaining to sending/receiving email through the designated mailbox may be

reported at the telephone number listed at the beginning of this RFP.

4.2 SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN QUESTIONS

Any questions related to this RFP or requests for clarification must be submitted via electronic mail sent to the designated contact for this RFP at the email address identified at the very beginning of this RFP, by the date and time specified in the Calendar of Events. Neither phone nor fax inquiries will be accepted. Administrative issues pertaining to sending/receiving email through the designated mailbox may be reported at the telephone number identified on the cover page of this RFP. The submission must cite the particular page, section and paragraph number, where applicable. ITS has provided an Inquiries Template form for Vendor Questions and Extraneous Terms, attached to this RFP. In submitting questions or extraneous terms by electronic mail regarding this RFP, Bidders must follow the format and provide content in the manner specified in that form. Note: Vendors are encouraged to submit questions as early and often as necessary during the Question and Answer period, but no later than the deadline for submission of vendor’s questions specified in the Calendar of Events.

4.3 SUMMARY OF POLICY AND PROHIBITIONS ON PROCUREMENT LOBBYING

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law §§139-j and 139-k, this solicitation includes and imposes certain restrictions on communications between the procuring agency and Bidders during the procurement process. Bidders are restricted from making contact, from the earliest notice of intent to solicit offers/Bids through final award and approval of the procurement Contract by ITS and, if applicable, the Office of the State Comptroller (“restricted period”), to other than designated staff unless it is a contact that is included among certain statutory exceptions set forth in New York State Finance Law §139- j(3)(a). Certain findings of non-responsibility can result in rejection for Contract award and in the event of two findings within a four-year period, the Bidder shall be debarred from obtaining governmental Procurement Contracts. Further information about these requirements can be found on the OGS website: https://ogs.ny.gov/acpl/. Forms are attached to this RFP in a "Lobbying Forms All-in-One" form, and/or may be obtained from ITS.

https://ogs.ny.gov/acpl/



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4.4 FILING BY BIDDERS OF MANDATORY INTENT TO BID Bidders must file a mandatory notice of Intent to Bid, using the relevant attachment hereto, via electronic mail sent to the designated contact for this RFP at the email address identified at the very beginning of this RFP, by the date and time specified in the Calendar of Events. Filing a notice of Intent to Bid does not obligate Bidders to submit a proposal. But failure to submit an Intent to Bid will disqualify a vendor from submitting a proposal.

4.5 ACCURACY OF BIDS Bidders are responsible for the accuracy of their Bids. All Bidders are directed to take extreme care in developing their Bids. Bidders are cautioned to review their Bids carefully prior to Bid submittal, as requests for Bid withdrawals of any type are not likely to be granted. All exceptions and deviations must be noted in Bids and no adjustments may be made after award is issued. If a Bidder submits its Bid ahead of the submission deadline, it may submit an amended Bid any time prior to the Bid Submission Due Date indicated in the Calendar of Events.

4.6 EXTRANEOUS DOCUMENTATION AND TERMS Bids must conform to the terms set forth in this Solicitation. Bidders must ensure that their Bid submissions contain no extraneous documentation, sales literature, or other documentation. Extraneous terms or material deviations (including additional, inconsistent, conflicting or alternative terms) may render the Bid non-responsive and may result in rejection of the Bid. Extraneous terms submitted on standard, pre- printed forms (including but not limited to: product literature, order forms, license agreements, contracts, or other documents) that are attached or referenced with submissions shall not be considered part of the Bid or resulting Contract, but shall be deemed included for informational or promotional purposes only. Each proposed extraneous term must be specifically enumerated in writing and specify the particular RFP section that Bidder proposes to modify and the reasons why the change would be in the best interest of the State. Any extraneous terms must be submitted during the Question and Answer time period as identified in the RFP Calendar of Events, using the Vendor Questions and Extraneous Terms Form attached to this RFP. Extraneous terms submitted after this Question and Answer time period including as part of the Bidder's Bid will not be considered. No extraneous term shall be incorporated into the Contract unless expressly accepted by ITS in writing. Acceptance and/or processing of a Bid shall not constitute acceptance of extraneous terms. EXTRANEOUS TERMS MUST MEET ALL THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED: a) The extraneous term must have been submitted during the Question and Answer time period as identified in the RFP Calendar of Events. b) The extraneous term must be accepted by ITS in writing. c) ITS will not entertain any exceptions to Appendix A - Standard Clauses for New York State Contracts. During the course of the Contract resulting from this RFP, any subsequently created documents designed to effectuate terms of the Contract such as transaction documents, statements of work, letter agreements, project change requests, or other such documents must either include or are deemed to include the phrase that the base Contract itself has precedence over any other terms. The Contract Terms and Conditions attachment to this RFP includes additional requirements as to any extraneous terms proposed by Contractor during the term of the Contract resulting from the RFP.



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4.7 BIDDING OF SUBCONTRACTORS, AND CONTRACTOR OBLIGATIONS While Bidders may submit Bids that include Subcontractors, upon award, the Bidder shall be and remain the Contractor for this engagement. As Contractor, the Bidder is responsible for meeting all Contract obligations set forth in the solicitation and Contract, including all Appendices, Attachments, and any subsequent amendments mutually agreed to in writing between the Parties. All Subcontractors proposed by Bidders must be identified either in the Bidder's Bid, or, no later than the time of Contract agreement, and must be acceptable to ITS. The Bidder remains the single point of contact for ITS and the party that will execute the Contract. Where applicable, the Bid may identify the Subcontractor proposed to perform certain RFP requirements, but such identification does not relieve the Contractor of any responsibility for performance under the Contract with ITS. As Contractor, the Bidder shall provide a written copy of all subcontracts and third-party contracts to ITS upon request and include a certification that it has fully disclosed all terms and conditions of such contracts and will disclose any amendments which occur subsequent to the original submission. Failure to provide such information when requested shall constitute a breach of the Contract. Any waiver of breach as a result of Contractor’s failure to furnish information required in this paragraph shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach. The Contractor may request the State’s approval to submit redacted copies of such subcontracts and third-party contracts from which trade secrets or proprietary information has been removed pursuant to the provisions of the Contract concerning trade secret materials.

4.8 VENDOR RESPONSIBILITY QUESTIONNAIRE The State is required to conduct a review of prospective Contractors (Bidders) and Subcontractors with anticipated expenditures at $100K or more to provide reasonable assurances that the Bidder is responsive and responsible. A For-Profit Business Entity Questionnaire (hereinafter “Questionnaire”) is used for non-construction contracts, and is designed to provide information to assess a Bidder’s responsibility to conduct business in New York based upon financial and organizational capacity, legal authority, business integrity, and past performance history. By submitting a Bid, Bidder agrees to fully and accurately complete the Questionnaire. The State recommends each Bidder file the required Questionnaire online via the New York State VendRep System. To enroll in and use the VendRep System, Bidder should refer to the VendRep System Instructions and User Support for Vendors available at the Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) website, http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/index.htm or to enroll, go directly to the VendRep System online at https://portal.osc.state.ny.us. Bidders opting to complete the paper questionnaire can access this form and associated definitions via the OSC website at: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/forms_vendor.htm. If a Bidder has on file with New York State, in the manner described above, a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire that is current to within six (6) months of its Bid submission, then Bidder need not submit a new Questionnaire, except that the Bidder must update its Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire within ten (10) business days of the State’s request that it does so. If Bidder does not have on file with New York State, in the manner described above, a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire that is current to within six (6) months of its Bid submission, then Bidder must submit a Questionnaire as described with its Bid. The Bidder acknowledges that the State’s execution of any Contracts under this RFP will be contingent upon the State’s determination that the Bidder is responsible, and that the State will be relying upon the Bidder’s responses to the Questionnaire, in addition to all other information the State may obtain from other sources, when making its responsibility determination.

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/index.htm

https://portal.osc.state.ny.us/

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/forms_vendor.htm



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4.9 IMPORTANT BUILDING ACCESS PROCEDURES FOR VISITORS AND HAND DELIVERIES

To access Core 4 in the Swan Street Building, all visitors must check in by presenting photo identification at the Security Desk and must comply with other requirements. Bidders who intend to hand-deliver Bids should allow extra time to comply with these procedures. Bidders hand-delivering their Bids should ask the security personnel at the ITS Security Desk to call the Designated Contacts indicated in this RFP or the Procurement and Contracts Support Unit. Building Access procedures may change or be modified at any time. This also applies to Bidders who use independent courier services. Bidders assume all risks for timely, properly submitted hand deliveries.

4.10 BID LIABILITY AND LATE SUBMISSIONS Specifics concerning Bid formats and methods of delivery are described in the "DELIVERY, FORMAT, AND CONTENT OF BIDS" section of this RFP, below. The State of New York will not be held liable for any cost incurred by the Bidder for work performed in the preparation and production of a Bid or for any work performed prior to the formal execution of a Contract. Bids must be received by ITS on or before the date and time indicated in the Calendar of Events. Bidders assume all risks for timely, properly submitted deliveries. Bidders are strongly encouraged to arrange for delivery of Bids to ITS prior to the date of the Bid opening. LATE BIDS SHALL BE REJECTED. The received time of Bids will be determined by the time at the location receiving the Bids utilizing a time/date stamp. NO CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO BIDS RECEIVED AFTER THE STATED DATE AND TIME. All materials submitted by Bidders become the property of the NYS Office of Information Technology Services and may be returned to Bidders only at the sole discretion of ITS.

4.11 BID VALIDITY Bids must remain open and valid and, effective, firm and irrevocable, for at least 270 days from the Bid opening date, unless the time for awarding the Contract is extended by ITS. A Bid shall continue to remain an effective offer, firm and irrevocable, subsequent to such 270-day period until ITS makes a tentative award and secures OSC approval of the Contract or the Bidder withdraws the Bid in writing.

4.12 BID OPENING RESULTS, NOTIFICATION OF AWARD, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR DEBRIEFING

All Bidders will be notified, in writing, of their selection, or non-selection. The tentative awardee will be advised of selection by ITS through the issuance of a formal written correspondence indicating a proposed award. Should ITS and a tentative awardee be unable to reach agreement as to the terms of the Contract within a reasonable time, as determined by ITS, ITS may withdraw the award and proceed to the next lowest Bidder. Once an award has been made, Bidders may submit a written request for a debriefing as to why their Bid did not result in an award. The written request must be received by the ITS Sole Designated Contact identified on the cover page of this RFP no later than fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the award announcement. The purpose of the debriefing is to provide information to each Bidder about the scoring and evaluation of the requesting Bidder’s Bid. ITS will not provide Bidders with information about another Bidder’s Bid. This is also an opportunity for a Bidder to learn how to improve future Bids.

4.13 BIDDER DEMONSTRATIONS Upon notice by the State, select Bidders (as described in and limited by the subsection "Bidder

Demonstration Assessment" to the section of this RFP below concerning Evaluation Methodology) will be

required to demonstrate their solution at a designated New York State location, date and time. The purpose

of this demonstration is to impart an understanding of how specific services will be provided, to substantiate



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the information contained in the Bidder’s Proposal, and for the Bidder to further explain and demonstrate its

proposed solution, experience, and capabilities. After ITS provides those select Bidders with Bidder

Demonstration presentation packages, ITS will provide those Bidders a specified time period to ask

additional questions regarding the Bidder Demonstration requirements. ITS' answers to all questions of a

substantive nature will be provided to all such Bidders either through email or through the procurement

website ITS has established for the purpose of disseminating information relating to this procurement.

4.14 ITS BID PROTEST POLICY The State of New York strives to assure a fair, open and competitive procurement process. To file a Bid Protest, vendors must timely follow the procedures for filing a Bid protest set forth in the ITS Bid Protest Policy which can be found at: https://its.ny.gov/document/bid-protest-policy.

https://its.ny.gov/document/bid-protest-policy



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SECTION 5 - DELIVERY, FORMAT, AND CONTENT OF BIDS

5.1 PROPOSAL DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

All Bids must be submitted so that they are received by the ITS Sole Designated Contact at the address specified on the cover page of this RFP by the date and time specified in the Calendar of Events listed at the beginning of this RFP.

Faxed Bids and electronic submission will not be accepted. Bids received by the State after the Bid due date and time specified in the Calendar of Events will be disqualified. If Bid packaging labels are not sufficient to identify the contents, ITS reserves the right to open packages for the purpose of identifying the source and contents of the package. All materials submitted by the Bidder become the property of the New York State Office of Information Technology Services and may be returned only at the sole discretion of ITS. If using a commercial delivery company that requires that their shipping package or envelope be used, Bidder’s Proposal must be placed within a second sealed envelope labeled as detailed below. This will ensure that Bidder’s Proposal is not prematurely opened. Complete Bids in response to this RFP are to be packaged, sealed and submitted to the NYS Office of Information Technology Services. Bids must be addressed to:

NYS Office of Information Technology Services Finance -- Procurement and Contract Support

Swan Street Building, Core 4, Floor 2 Albany, New York 12223

All Bids must have a label on the outside of the box or package itemizing the following information:

1. BID ENCLOSED (preferably bold, large print, all capital letters)

2. Bid Name and Bid number (eDiscovery Solution RFP# C000519)

3. Bid Opening Date and Time (See above - Calendar of Events - e.g., January 1, 2000, 11:00 a.m.)

4. The number of boxes or packages (i.e., "1 of 2"; or "2 of 2"; etc.)

A Bidder must allow extra time to comply with the Building Access procedures in effect at the Empire State

Plaza when hand delivering Bids or using deliveries by independent courier services. Bidder assumes all

risks for timely, properly submitted deliveries.

5.2 BID FORMAT AND CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

Bidder’s must submit a complete response to this RFP in conformance with the format, content and

administrative requirements set forth below. Failure to submit all of the following information will render

the Bidder’s Bid non-responsive. Minor omissions deemed not critical may be corrected at the sole

discretion of the State.

Table of Contents: Each package must include a Table of Contents.



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Index Tabs: Each major section of the Bid must be labeled with an index tab that completely identifies

the title of the major section as it is named in the mandatory Table of Contents.

Page Numbering: Each page of the Bid must be dated and numbered consecutively within each section

submitted by the Bidder.

• See the Attachment to this RFP captioned "Bid Checklist."

5.3 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS

To be considered responsive, a Bidder must submit a complete Proposal that satisfies and

addresses all requirements stated in this RFP.

A Bidder’s Proposal must be organized in three (3) separate parts: (1) Administrative Proposal, (2)

Technical Proposal, and (3) Financial Proposal (collectively referred to herein as “Submissions”).

The Table of Contents must clearly identify the location of all material within the Submissions by section

and page number. Each Submission will be evaluated separately. Each Submission must indicate its

content and be labeled, as applicable: ADMINISTRATIVE PROPOSAL, TECHNICAL PROPOSAL, or

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL.

1. Hard copies:

a. Each Bidder must submit a total of three (3) separate bound hard (paper) copies, one (1) of which must contain original notarized signatures, for each of the Administrative, Technical, and Financial Proposals. Bidder must also supply five (5) additional hard copies of the Technical Proposal.

b. The hard copy of the Administrative, Technical, and Financial Proposals must be separately sealed and labeled. The official name of the Bidder’s organization(s) as well as the name and number of the RFP must appear on the outside front cover of each copy. If the Proposals are submitted in loose-leaf binders, this information must also appear on the spine of the binders.

2. Electronic copies:

a. Each Bidder must also submit two corresponding searchable electronic media copies for each of their Administrative, Technical, and Financial Proposals on clearly-labeled USB 2- or 3- compliant Flash Drives. All Technical and Financial Proposal submissions must be stored in unlocked files in file formats used in recent versions of Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. The electronic versions of Administrative Proposal submissions must be stored in unlocked files in file formats used in recent versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Adobe Acrobat's pdf format. Originally signed documents and drawings may be provided in Adobe Acrobat's pdf format, provided that the Bidder has submitted the documents containing the original signature elsewhere in its submission. Bidders must seal these electronic versions within the package for the corresponding hard copy.

b. The electronic copy of the Administrative, Technical, and Financial Proposals must be separately sealed and labeled.



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3. Bidders must segregate cost information in their Bids within their Financial Proposals, only. Bidders may NOT include any cost information from their Financial Proposals in in either the hard copy or the electronic submission of the Technical or Administrative Proposals. Inclusion of such cost information in the Technical or Administrative Proposals will result in disqualification of the Proposal.

4. The Financial Proposal must not contain any material that is applicable to the Technical Proposal in either the hard copy or the electronic submission. Inclusion of such information in the Financial Proposal may result in the disqualification of the Proposal.

5. In the event that there are any inconsistencies between the electronic Submissions and the hard copy Submissions, or between multiple hard copy Submissions for each of the three (3) parts of the Proposal, the original, wet ink, hard copy will be deemed controlling by ITS when reviewing each Proposal.

6. Please ensure the Administrative, Technical, and Financial Bid packets contain no

unrequested documentation, sales literature or other terms. Additional term(s) submitted on

standard, pre-printed forms (including but not limited to: Product literature, order forms, license

agreements, Contracts or other documents) that are attached or referenced with submissions

must not be considered part of the Bid or resulting Contract, but will be deemed by ITS to have

been included for informational or promotional purposes, only. This information must be submitted

in a separate sealed envelope labeled as “Supplemental Information”.

7. All Bids and accompanying documentation become the property of the State of New York and must not be returned.

8. Bidders are responsible for the accuracy of their Bids. All Bidders are directed to take extreme care in developing their Bids, and are cautioned to carefully review their Bids prior to Bid submittal.

5.4 COMPLETENESS OF FINANCIAL PROPOSALS When completing this RFP's "Financial Proposal" Workbook spreadsheet, Bidders should follow the instructions below. The pricing provided within the Financial Proposal must include ANY AND ALL fees, charges, or costs for the duration of the Contract, including:

• All direct and indirect costs, as well as all overhead, fees, and profit, including, but not limited to: o Labor, material, license and equipment costs. o Administrative, reporting or other requirements, transition costs, overhead costs, and profit. o Anticipated, regularly incurred travel costs, parking fees, and any other ancillary fees and

costs (permits, licenses, insurance, etc.). o Services not explicitly stated in these specifications but necessarily attendant thereto, as

applicable to the associated item for which the rate/fee is being quoted. o With the exception of increases allowed under the terms of the Contract that is attached to

and part of this RFP, all proposed pricing will be considered the maximum price for the entire duration of the resulting Contract (firm offer).

o All proposed prices must be firm for 270 calendar days (from date of Bid submittal). o The accuracy of calculations and formulas used to generate the proposed pricing is the

responsibility of the Bidder. o All proposed costs must include all services required to meet the applicable RFP

requirements.



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o All terminology used in the Financial Proposal must be consistent with and correspond to the terminology used in the Bidder's Bid(s).

o Individual worksheet instructions are provided at the bottom of each worksheet.

As described in the Price Escalation section of the Contract Terms and Conditions appendix to this RFP, Bidder pricing shall remain fixed as bid for the initial ten (10) years of the Contract, and, if the Contract is thereafter extended, shall be subject to an annual increase capped and calculated as the lesser of two percent (2%), or the percent increase in the National Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) as published 120 days prior to each Contract year in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., 20212. In the event that the National Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is no longer available, another similar substitute Index acceptable to ITS shall be used in its place.

5.5 MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS Provided that each Bid submission meets all of the mandatory requirements of this RFP, Bidders may separately submit more than one Bid for the purpose of offering alternative solutions. Bidders are cautioned that because of the possibility of any one Bid being deemed non-responsive, that each of any multiple Bids submitted must be complete in itself, and must not reference or incorporate portions of any other Bid submitted by Bidder. Bidders who submit multiple Bids must provide, in a separate section in each Bid submitted to ITS, a summary of the differences between the Bidder's multiple Bids. Multiple Bids received from the same Bidder will be separately evaluated by ITS as if each Bid were the sole submission of the Bidder. 5.6 SPECIFIC TECHNICAL, FINANCIAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Please see this RFP's "Bid Checklist" attachment for any additional, specific Technical, Financial, and Administrative Requirements.



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SECTION 6 - METHOD OF AWARD, EVALUATION AND SCORING METHOD 6.1 METHOD OF AWARD

ITS will make an award for the services described in this RFP on a “Best Value” basis. Best Value means that the proposal that optimizes quality, cost, and efficiency among responsive and responsible Bidders and is consistent with the best interests of the State of New York shall be selected for award (State Finance Law, Article 11, Section 163).

6.2 OVERALL BID EVALUATION PROCESS ITS expects to award this engagement to one (1) Bidder, and intends that all Bids will be evaluated uniformly and consistently, ensuring Bidders that each has an equal opportunity to be considered. Bidders may be requested to clarify contents of their Bids. No Bidder will be allowed to alter its Bid or add new information after the filing date. Minor omissions may be corrected at the discretion of ITS. In addition to evaluating the material submitted by the Bidder in response to this RFP, ITS reserves the right to consider any and all additional sources of information and to use that information in determining its final Bid selection.

6.3 EVALUATION AND SCORING METHOD

Evaluations will consist of three (3) separate parts, consisting of:

(1) Administrative/Completeness Review; (2) evaluation of a Bidder's Technical Proposal, which shall include evaluation of the Bidder's written Technical submission, and of the Bidder Demonstration; and (3) evaluation of a Bidder's Financial Proposal.

Each component will be evaluated separately and independently in accordance with the RFP as further described below. The relative weights of each part of the Proposal are as follows:

6.3.1 ADMINISTRATIVE EVALUATION (PASS/FAIL):

a. Prior submission of mandatory Intent to Bid review: In order to qualify to submit a Proposal in response to the RFP, a prospective Bidder must submit a mandatory intent to bid as described above in the "FILING BY BIDDERS OF MANDATORY INTENT TO BID" section of this RFP. ITS will find non-responsive and reject any Bidder proposals by Bidders that did not submit a mandatory intent to bid.

b. Completeness review: After the Bid opening, each Bid will be screened for completeness and conformance with the requirements as specified in RFP section above captioned, "DELIVERY, FORMAT, AND CONTENT OF BIDS," and the Proposal submission requirements as outlined in the "Bid Checklist" attachment to this RFP. Bids that do not meet or are materially deficient in meeting the submission requirements as set forth in this RFP, and/or have omitted material documents with their submissions, in the sole opinion of the State, may be rejected, deemed non-responsive, disqualified from further consideration for award, and the Bidder notified accordingly. In the event of minor omissions, Bids may tentatively be deemed to pass the Completeness Review awaiting clarifying or additional information. However, Bids that tentatively pass the Completeness



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Review can be disqualified and deemed non-responsive if it is later found that the Bidder did not meet these requirements or if the Bidder subsequently fails to correct the minor omission. c. Minimum Bidder Qualifications review: Assuming administrative submission requirements have been met as described above, then a Bidder's completed Minimum Bidder Qualifications attachment to this RFP will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis to determine whether the Bidder has satisfied the minimum qualifications described in the "Minimum Bidder Qualifications" section of this RFP. Bids that fail to meet the Minimum Bidder Qualifications will be deemed non-responsive, will not be further evaluated, and the Bidder will be notified accordingly. Even Bids passing this evaluation may still be disqualified at a later date if it is later determined that the Bidder did not meet all of the RFP minimum Bidder qualifications and should not have qualified to be considered further. Any minimum qualification not met by all Bidders may be waived at the sole discretion of ITS. d. Affirmative Mandatory Requirements review: Assuming administrative submission requirements have been met as described above, then a Bidder's answers to each of the Mandatory Requirements described in this RFP will be reviewed as part of this Administrative Evaluation on a Pass/Fail basis not with respect to their detailed content, but solely to ensure that the Bidder has answered affirmatively, "Yes," that the Bidder's proposed solution will meet each requirement. Bids that answer "No" to any of the Mandatory Requirements will be deemed non-responsive, will not be further evaluated, and the Bidder will be notified accordingly. Any Mandatory Requirement not met by all Bidders may be waived at the sole discretion of ITS.

6.3.2 TECHNICAL PROPOSAL + BIDDER DEMONSTRATION EVALUATION (70 POINTS):

All Bids passing all of the components of the Pass/Fail Administrative Evaluation described above will then move to the Technical Proposal Evaluation process. This evaluation focuses on the Bidder’s capability, the architecture and system processes match, and functionality match to the State’s requirements. Evaluation will include comprehensive review of the answers to each Bidder’s "Functional Requirements Matrix," "Technical Proposal," and "Minimum Bidder Qualifications" responses to this RFP. The Technical Proposal evaluation process consists of the following steps:

a) Fuller Evaluation of Meeting Mandatory Requirements (Pass / Fail): The technical evaluation

team will comprehensively review each Technical Proposal to ensure that when the Bidder has affirmatively answered "Yes" and thereby agreed to meet ALL of the Mandatory Requirements as prescribed in the "Minimum Bidder Qualifications" and "Functional Requirements Matrix" attachments to this RFP, the Bidder's full answer to the Mandatory question actually constitutes a "Yes" in practical effect. Failure to agree to meet ALL of the mandatory specifications set forth in the Technical Proposal Requirements will result in a Bidder’s disqualification from further consideration. But a Bidder who passes this step will proceed to the written technical proposal assessment.

b) Written Technical Proposal Assessment (60 Points): This phase of the Technical evaluation will

involve comprehensive review and evaluation of the Bidder’s Technical Proposal, Functional Requirements Matrix, and Minimum Bidder Qualifications responses to the RFP. The technical evaluation team will review all aspects of the Bidder’s written Technical Proposal, apply the evaluation criteria developed, and score accordingly. In their written Technical Proposals, Bidders must refer to their completion of the Functional Requirements and Minimum Bidder Qualifications attachments to this RFP to help the State's evaluation team understand how each of the requirements will be met. Ambiguities will negatively impact Proposal scoring. This part of the Technical evaluation is worth 60 points.

a) Bidder Demonstration Assessment (10 Points): Bidders may be invited by ITS to participate in

an oral Bidder Demonstration as described earlier in this RFP and as further described below.



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Eligibility to provide a Bidder Demonstration to ITS is determined as follows: After ITS completes the Administrative Evaluation of Bids, and has completed a preliminary scoring of the Technical and Financial Proposals, ITS in its sole discretion may invite those Bidders whose preliminary scores are within ten (10) points of the top preliminary proposal score to provide ITS a Bidder Demonstration. All Bidder Key Personnel are strongly encouraged to attend and present. Questions and demonstration requests may include background, relevant experience, and situational business-related questions as well as demonstrations of how Bidder’s solution would meet the business challenges described in the RFP. The State will set the agenda and will use this process to clarify and evaluate the Bidders’ Proposals. Bidder staff in attendance must fully understand the Proposal submitted, be able to address concerns and comments, and be able to provide additional information regarding the original information provided within the Bidder’s Proposal. Oral presentations will be held in the Albany, New York area.

i. Each Bidder will be assigned by ITS a specific date for their demonstration, and a specific

time limit, typically 60 to 120 minutes.

ii. Each Bidder will be given the same specific scenarios by the State to demonstrate within an allotted time frame. For features that have not yet been built into the system, a mock up showing how the feature would look and operate is required from the Bidder.

iii. Each Bidder is responsible for bringing all electronic equipment necessary to execute its

demonstration.

Bids not scoring within ten (10) points of the top preliminary proposal score and not selected to provide ITS

with a Bidder Demonstration will not be further evaluated, and the Bidder will be notified accordingly.

6.3.3 FINANCIAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION (30 POINTS):

Bidders' completed Financial Proposal workbooks (see the "Financial Proposal" attachment to this RFP) will be opened by the State and reviewed for responsiveness to the financial requirements. Each responsive Proposal that meets the Financial Proposal requirements will be evaluated and receive a financial score. Evaluation will be based upon a comparative analysis of all Bidders' life cycle costs, assuming a 10-year useful life, for software, implementation services, maintenance and support, and estimated optional services costs as calculated on that tab in the "Financial Proposal" attachment to this RFP. The Financial Proposal with the lowest financial cost will be given the maximum number of points (30 points). All other Proposals will receive a proportionate score to the Proposal with the lowest cost, according to the following calculation: Financial Score = (30 points) X (Lowest Financial Cost / Bidder’s Financial Cost).

Example Bidder A Bidder B Bidder C

Proposed Price 1000 800 1200

Points awarded 24 30 20

6.3.4 PRELIMINARY CALCULATION OF COMBINED TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION SCORE:

Scoring from this Section of the RFP's "Technical Proposal Evaluation" subsection and "Financial Proposal Evaluation" subsection will be subtotaled to determine Proposal susceptibility to award.



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6.3.5 FINAL CALCULATION OF COMBINED TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION

SCORE:

All scoring will be tallied, and the Bidder with the highest Combined Evaluation Score may receive a tentative award, subject to successful contract negotiations and approval of the contract by the Attorney General and Office of the State Comptroller. In the case of Bidders with the same Combined Evaluation Score, the Bidder with the lowest financial score shall be eligible for Contract award. When price and other factors of Bidders with the same Combined Evaluation Score are found to be substantially equivalent, ITS will select the winning Bidder at its sole discretion.