Cloud-based Information Management Platform

Tender description

Summary of the work LiveWest are seeking a partner to deliver consultancy services to implement a modern cloud-based Information Management Platform to coalesce data from 27 structured and unstructured legacy systems, the creation of reports/dashboards, training and ongoing support with the scalability and adaptability to incorporate future source systems and meet future data requirements. Expected Contract Length 3-6 months for implementation (post go-live the supplier will provide 3 three years support) Latest start date Thursday 2 January 2020 Budget Range a maximum of £500,000 including VAT for implementation. Expenses and price for 3 years for support and maintenance post go live to be negotiated. Why the Work is Being Done LiveWest has established a requirement for a modern cloud-based information management platform to coalesce data from 27 structured and unstructured legacy systems with the scalability and adaptability to incorporate future source systems. LiveWest is seeking a partner to provide consultancy services relating to designing and implementing a Information Management Platform and subsequent creation of c.600 reports and dashboards, training and ongoing support. The chosen supplier, in conjunction with LiveWest, will design and deliver a solution to meet our immediate requirement while considering LiveWest’s future ambitions to embrace technological advancements to increase insight and drive strategic decision making. Problem to Be Solved Phase1 replace existing multi-source reporting functions with a single validated repository to maintain existing reporting capabilities Phase2 develop cross-departmental reporting and master data management Phase3 predictive analytics to meet future ambitions. Phase2&3 are future developments outside tender's scope. LiveWest want a long-term partnership to deliver a programme of works. Outcomes of Phase1: Use Microsoft technologies Report requirements gathering Ingest multiple sources into single cleansed layer Recreate c.600 existing reports/KPIs Granular access control using Microsoft Azure Active Directory Data visualisation On domain and mobile access Training, documentation and clear handover Advise on future readiness and Phase1 items Ongoing support Who Are the Users Staff at all levels of the business require the ability to run reports based on a single validated data set created from multiple source systems to allow business decisions to be made. Users and uses will range from the Board and Executive Leadership Team running high level reports to inform strategic decision making, to operational staff running granular reports making day to day assessments. After Phase1 the Business Intelligence team will be responsible for reports and KPIs, the Data Quality team will be responsible for data quality and integrity and the Business Systems team will be responsible for the infrastructure. Early Market Engagement LiveWest undertook a proof of concept to increase our understanding, review the available technologies and clarify the methodologies used for delivery. The lessons learned from the proof of concept has confirmed our preference for Microsoft technology. The tangible outputs of the proof of concept will not be carried forward. Work Already Done LiveWest undertook a proof of concept to increase our understanding, review the available technologies and clarify the methodologies used for delivery. The lessons learned from the proof of concept has confirmed our preference for Microsoft technology. The tangible outputs of the proof of concept will not be carried forward. Existing Team The successful bidder will work with internal teams including Business Intelligence (subject matter experts), Business Systems (technical resources), Project Management, Data Quality, the Head of Information Management and other departments throughout the organisation for to gather requirements and the documenting of existing reports and key performance indicators. Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience of reporting requirements gathering • Demonstrate experience of cloud-based Information Management Platform design, development, implementation, enhancement and maintenance • Demonstrate experience of successful delivery working in complex environments • Demonstrate experience of testing • Demonstrate experience of Microsoft Azure stack • Demonstrate experience of granular security configuration using Microsoft Azure Active Directory • Demonstrate experience of data modelling • Demonstrate experience of report development • Demonstrate experience of dashboard development • Demonstrate experience of data visualisation (PowerBI) • Demonstrate experience of working collaboratively • Demonstrate experience of knowledge transfer • Demonstrate experience of delivering formal training on data ingestion, data modelling and data visualisation • Demonstrate experience of ingesting data from Ingres, OpenEdge, MSSQL 2008 onwards, and Business Objects • Demonstrate experience of working with source systems where data is not timestamped and delta loads are required • Demonstrate ability to provide 24/7 support of live services to agreed SLAs • Demonstrate experience of delivering on domain and mobile access to Information Management Platform and generated outputs • Demonstrate experience of predictive analytics • Demonstrate experience of transitioning to business as usual including supplying quality documentation • Demonstrate experience of planning to ensure future enhancements can be implemented without impacting live services Nice to Haves • Have previous experience in social housing • Have previous experience in local government • Demonstrate experience of ingesting streamed data from internet of things enabled devices Work Location To facilitate requirements gathering, collaborative working, training and knowledge transfer the successful bidder will be required to work on site. The majority of work will be undertaken at our head office (1 Wellington Way Exeter, EX5 2FZ) the project may also necessitate work to be undertaken at our other offices (Tolvaddon Business Park Camborne, TR14 0HZ and 3 Filers Way, Weston Gateway Weston-Super-Mare, BS24 7JP). Remote working may be negotiated for specific parts of the project. Working Arrangments Our offices are open from 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, internet access will be provided and onsite facilities can be booked as required to meet the needs of the project. There may be an expectation to work extended hours to support the project. Security Clearance The supplier will have access to sensitive business information and tenant's personal data, therefore a Non-Disclosure Agreement will be required and the supplier will follow best practice and LiveWest procedures to ensure data protection and security is paramount at all stages of the project and once the solution is live. Additional T&Cs Standard contract with any agreed variations No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 10 Proposal Criteria • Provide details of the proposed delivery methodology and approach to reporting requirements gathering • Provide details of the proposed technical strategy, design and architecture of the Information Management Platform, including resources, security, connectivity, management and visualisation • Provide details on provisioning, configuring and validating the resources and associated security • Provide details on establishing connectivity to 27 data source systems • Provide details of collaborative data model design with the company’s business intelligence team • Provide details of the development and implementation of ingestion pipelines of all data from 27 source systems • Provide details on creation and population of raw, trusted and refined layers • Provide details on connection to and configuration of data visualisation solution • Provide details on recreation of all existing reports to be compared against existing reports for validation, developed using paired programming to ensure maximum knowledge transfer • Provide details of project management • Provide details on the data visualisation solution to allow data transparency and maximise ease of use at all levels of the business • Provide details on best practice being followed in design, implementation and documentation • Provide details on how future development will not be restricted by design decisions in phase 1, eg we require the ability to ingest external data sources and use predictive analytics • Provide details on training and knowledge transfer through collaborative working and where necessary formal training, to ensure the company is as self-sufficient as possible • Provide details on minimising the cost of cloud resources and subscriptions. Cultural Fit Criteria • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we are here to help our customers' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we care how people feel' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we work with our customers to find solutions' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we value feedback' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we are fair, open, transparent and communicate honestly' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we do what we saw we will do' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'customer focused - we take time to listen to and understand our customers' individual needs' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we are resilient, we aren't afraid of change' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we celebrate success and learn from our experiences' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we embrace differing viewpoints' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'We question, we encourage constructive challenge' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we are innovative and creative' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'we take every opportunity to learn, develop and improve' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we try new ideas' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'challenge convention - we address causes not symptoms and take action to solve problems' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'together we deliver - we don't waste money' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'together we deliver - we take ownership and create pace' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'together we deliver - we make opportunities to collaborate' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'together we deliver - we are inclusive, we treat everybody with respect' • The supplier shall demonstrate the LiveWest value 'together we deliver - we work together to improve outcomes' Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 10% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. Have any contractors been engaged in the Proof of Concept work? The proof of concept was carried out by a third party consultancy working with a team from LiveWest to aid discovery and learning with regards to potential technologies and delivery approach. 2. Will access to systems be allowed from our laptops or will LiveWest be providing IT At the project kick off we will agree the most appropriate and secure approach. 3. Is an Agile approach expected in the delivery of circa 600 reports as priorities change and opportunities for rationalisation arise LiveWest are prepared to consider all project management methodologies. 4. Is the third party consultancy in a position to bid for this task or are they expected to work client side with LiveWest? The third-party consultancy is not currently working with LiveWest. As this is an open tender if the third-party consultancy is on the framework they are not precluded from submitting a tender. 5. You mention that you have undertaken a proof of concept, can you confirm if this was done in house or did you use a third party consultancy and if so are they able to bid for this work? The proof of concept was carried out by a third party consultancy working with a team from LiveWest to aid discovery and learning with regards to potential technologies and delivery approach. The third-party consultancy is not currently working with LiveWest. As this is an open tender if the third-party consultancy is on the framework they are not precluded from submitting a tender. 6. Please can you provide more details on what specific provisions are required, if successful, for the requirement of 24/7 support of live services? I.e. is it 1st, 2nd, or 3rd line support or indeed support that covers multiple (or all) such levels? Through appropriate knowledge sharing/transfer and specific training provided by the supplier over the course of the implementation LiveWest intend to be self sufficient for business as usual items but require a support mechanism to provide specialist support for tier 2 and tier 3 items. Specific service level agreements will be covered during negotiations including anticipated response times to tier 2 and tier 3 items. 7. With respect to the circa 600 reports, that are required to be designed and implemented, do legacy/manual versions of these exist already? Or are they to be built anew? The majority of legacy reports currently exist and are delivered via 2 SSRS instances. These are maintained and administered by the Business Intelligence Team and made available to end users via email subscription and permission controlled self service. A significant proportion of the reports are duplicated across legacy systems (i.e. 1 report from each legacy system to answer the same question) and it is envisaged that some of these could be merged as part of the migration. New reports will be compared with the existing reports for validation of the pipelines, ingestion, data layers, data model and the reports themselves. 8. If there are pre-existing reports, please can you advise as to what format are they in (in excel?) ? The existing reports are built using a combination of stored procedures and report specific queries in SSMS with layout/design handled via VS SSDT. They are typically delivered to the end user in Excel or Word format. 9. Where do they reside? The majority of reports reside on SSRS instances. Where they are not, they have been created using database/service specific tools such as Business Objects. 10. How are they currently shared? Are they automatically generated from various data sources, or do they have a team of reporting analysts manually generating them? The reports are generated on a schedule with specified recipients who receive the output via email and are also available via self service. The Business Intelligence team maintain and administer these reports but do not run them manually for end users. 11. To what extent do you intend for the supplier to provide technical implementation services versus consultancy services? The expectation is that the supplier provides advice on the technical solution and implementation, to be reviewed by LiveWest, and once signed off, be delivered to the agreed design by the supplier with clear training, knowledge transfer and documentation to enable LiveWest be self-sufficient once the project transitions to business as usual.