RHP Digital Partner

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done RHP is a housing organisation who currently own and manage around 10,000 homes across West London. The organisation aims to be a digital housing association and encourage its customers to use digital services for advice and self-service functions. RHP's website is one of the main channels used by customers, allowing users to self-serve with functions such as managing payments and repairs. RHP is looking for a partner to work alongside its Technology and Transformation team to ensure the existing services are kept healthy while continuously delivering modern tailored solutions to its customers. Problem to Be Solved RHP is currently finalising the re-platforming of its website moving from Craft CMS to Umbraco. The project is not delivering any significant functional or architectural changes; neither support and maintenance is part of the scope. Furthermore, RHP’s future strategy is to move to continuous delivery of digital services. RHP is, therefore, looking for a partner to provide Application Development and support for its Web Environment infrastructure. The partner will also assist with the deployment of the re-platformed website, including the transition of the remaining on-premise services to Azure cloud services within the UK region. Who Are the Users As a tenant/homeownerUser I can book/reschedule/cancel/view my repairs. As a tenant/homeownerUser I can see information about planned works related to a property. As a tenant/homeownerUser I can make/manage credit card and or direct debits payments. As a tenant/homeownerUser I can see and print invoices and statements. As a tenant/homeownerUser I can manage my-account. As a staffUser I can manage customer's accounts on their behalf. As a CMSUser I can manage and publish content. As a User I can choose the channel I want to access my digital services. Early Market Engagement Early market engagement was held in Q1 2020 with a number of suppliers to help RHP build its requirements. The procurement was put on hold in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation. RHP has, then, commissioned an external organisation to assess the Web environment architecture as well as work alongside the technology team to draft a complete set of service requirements, which are being used as the basis for this procurement exercise and will be shared with the three shortlisted bidders as part of the assessment phase. Work Already Done RHP has worked with a supplier to re-design its website from Craft-CMS to Umbraco-version-7.0-content-management-system. The developed solution kept most of the existing functionalities to manage repairs and payments. It, however, introduced an interface with Microsoft-Dynamics using Azure-service-bus/logic-app. The website is currently hosted by Wirehive-datacentre. RHP has plans to transition it to Azure and require support with the migration and transformation activities, as well as ongoing management and support to maintain the availability of the Web-service. Finally, the currently proposed design includes Infrastructure-as-a-Service-(IaaS)-components, however, RHP is looking for a partner who would help shape the final designs, potentially including Platform-as-a-Service-(PaaS) features. Existing Team RHP Technology & Transformation team is composed of two System developer, one Infrastructure manager, one Support analyst and four Project managers. An updated structure, including Design / Business analysts, architecture and data management roles, is being discussed and the final decision is expected for this autumn. Supplier management is currently supported by RHP’s Procurement Business Partner. Current Phase Not applicable Work Location RHP is based in 8 Waldegrave Road, Teddington - TW11 8GT, however, remote working is welcome for this contract. Working Arrangments Remote work is welcome for this contract as long as provisions are made for team collaboration. Attendance of face to face meetings may be required in the future when both parts agree this would be beneficial to achieve the best outcome for RHP's users and or customers. Note that travel expenses must be included in the proposed costs. Security Clearance Not required. Additional T&Cs Specific-clause defining how parties will be sharing and managing confidential-information. RHP would like to include a KeyPersonnel clause that will cover: a) Identification of a certain number of roles as “KeyPersonnel”; b) the Supplier shall inform RHP how short-term cover of key personnel will be managed; c) RHP shall have the right to request the Supplier to replace any resource with another acceptable to RHP. The deployment-of-the-website will be classified as a discovery-phase and a break-clause will be included, allowing the interruption-of-the-contract if: a) the deployment of the website is deemed-not-possible-for-any-reason; b) revised-contractual-prices-exceed-a-cap to be agreed by the parties. Skills & Experience Have experience in providing a fully managed service, including 24/7 monitoring and support. Have experience in delivering pro-active Windows Server support including monitoring and patching. Have experience in maintaining and developing an Umbraco CMS solution, providing support with content delivery in addition to understanding the out-of-box functionality supplied by Umbraco. Have experience providing cloud-based database administration skills. Have experience in supporting ASP.NET solutions. Have experience in cloud-based web applications, with extensive knowledge around C#, ASP.NET, REST API & Azure SQL services. Have experience in delivering scalable solutions using the Microsoft Azure stack. Have experience in providing services compliant with GDPR, PCI DSS, Cyber Security and Accessibility regulations. Have experience in developing applications to OWASP standards that will later be PEN tested ahead of production environment in major releases. Have experience in backup management through the use of Cloud tooling. Have experience in migrating applications and databases from IaaS to PaaS services. Have experience in providing testing software changes for system and security testing utilising repeatable test suites. Have experience in adopting and managing technical solutions developed by third parties. Have experience in working with blended new and old technology, maintain the health of the legacy while building new solutions. Nice to Haves Have experience of developing software using DevOps practices using test driven development, continuous integration, and deployment, preferably in an Azure DevOps environment. Have experience providing up-to-date PHP and MySQL development skills. An understanding of Microsoft Dynamics based systems. A detailed understanding of Identity Management and Office365 services to help understand issues that may exist within other elements of the RHP infrastructure. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Describe the team who will be doing the work and their specific skills/experience in relation to the delivery of digital services. Demonstrate the ability to adopt the technical-solution developed by third-parties, gain a detailed understanding of legacy-solutions to allow ongoing support and further development; and where applicable enhance the solution-and-methodology. Explain your capability/capacity to mobilise and scale a team depending on the complexity of the work to be delivered. Detail how you plan to manage standard Process, Procedures, measurements metrics and reporting. Detail how you will identify opportunities to continuously improve the product/service through on-going changes or innovative approaches. Price and value for money. Presentation of a proposed approach and schedule to deploy the website into live. Cultural Fit Criteria Detail how you ensure transparent and collaborative working across multiple Stakeholder Groups and other suppliers. Explain how you manage your team / resources, staff rotation, attrition and under performance. Explain how do you manage the wellbeing of your team including safe working practices during the Covid-19 pandemic? Explain how you will successfully perform knowledge transfer and handover of completed pieces of work to RHP's personnel. Demonstrate your ability to provide a caring and inclusive environment to employees and customers. Explain how is your culture aligned with RHP's? Organization size and growth plans Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 20% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range