Information technology services

Tender description

Hardware and software value-added resellers shall provide services to procure the hardware assets and software licensing required to deliver and operate the IT services and environment. The VARs shall offer catalogues of third-party software, hardware and support; provide associated best practice guidance, procurement and logistics service; give Network Rail access to a range of services including asset tagging, delivery, user handover and removal of packaging. Hardware and software value added resellers shall provide services to procure the hardware assets and software licensing required to deliver and operate the IT services and environment. The VARs shall offer catalogues of third-party software, hardware and support; provide associated best practice guidance, procurement and logistics service; give Network Rail access to a range of services including asset tagging, delivery, user handover and removal of packaging. Guidance and best practice: The supplier shall take steps to understand Network Rail's business and with an awareness of emerging market trends, provide best practice expertise to assist Network Rail in the following: — making strategic investment decisions on core hardware and software products to leverage best value from our estate, — reduce the total cost of ownership of the hardware and software estate, — proactively make recommendations on the management of our hardware and software estate to ensure compliance and optimisation. Hardware: As a consumer of hardware, the Network Rail shall be able to procure a wide range of physical IT assets and peripherals including but not limited to: — desktops, — laptops, — mobile devices, — servers, — storage, — network equipment, — security infrastructure, — appliances (hardware with software or firmware that is designed to provide a specific computing resource), — audio visual equipment — peripherals and accessories, — data centre infrastructure, — printers. Value-add services: The supplier shall provide value added services with regard to hardware, including but not limited to: — asset tagging, — logistics, — warranty and/or handover of warranty, — storage and stock management, — pass through support. Asset tagging: — the supplier shall provide an asset tagging and management service for physical assets with asset details communicated back to NR. Logistics: — the supplier shall deliver software and hardware to NR workplaces and end user and/or third parties’ locations across the UK, — the supplier shall have a defined operating model with regards to both hardware and software provision, including how the supplier operates with their supply chain to deliver to UK wide geographical locations, — the supplier shall adhere to Network Rail safety standards when delivering to NR locations (see standards schedules for details), — the supplier shall have the ability to create and ship bundles of equipment as defined by NR, e.g. laptop, mouse, bag, Kensington lock. — the supplier shall remove and dispose of product packaging if applicable, — the supplier shall replace incorrect, damaged or DOA (dead on arrival) goods within a defined timescale (typically 3-5 days with SLAs to be defined at time of order). Warranty and/or handover of warranty: — the supplier shall provide details of a mechanism to defer the start of the warranty period for any product until the product is deployed to the Network Rail customer or to transfer the warranty to third parties on delivery to the third party. Storage and stock management: — the supplier shall be able to store stock until required as well as provide a pre-purchase service, ordering stock in advance and storing it on NR’s behalf to ensure that orders can be fulfilled with a minimum lead-time (typically 3-5 days). Pass through support: — the supplier shall provide the capability to manage the pass through of support and maintenance services for hardware to the manufacturer with standards, and SLAs to be defined at time of order. This will include but is not limited enterprise support agreements, — the supplier shall provide the capability to manage pass through guaranteed repair (break-fix) services for hardware using manufacturers accredited engineers and under manufacturer’s warranty where applicable. Software: As a consumer of software licenses, the Network Rail shall be able to procure a wide range of software licenses but not limited to the following: — operating systems, — commercial software licensing.