Tender Summary: Appointment of a Microsoft Azure Managed Service Provider

Objectives

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) invites tenders for the appointment of a certified Microsoft Azure Managed Service Provider to manage, standardise, and optimise its existing Microsoft Azure services. SANBI operates a hybrid cloud deployment model, with key systems hosted in Microsoft Azure and resource-intensive applications remaining on-premise. The appointed provider will manage this hybrid environment for maximum efficiency and productivity over a three-year contract period.

Scope of Work

The Service Provider will be responsible for the following key areas:

• Infrastructure management and monitoring: Managing resources across various environments, real-time monitoring and diagnostics (e.g., Application Insights), process automation, configuration management, and task orchestration.
• Security and compliance: Identity and access management across hybrid environments (Azure Active Directory), security management and advanced threat protection, governance and compliance aligned with SANBI ICT policies.
• Networking: Managing hybrid network solutions (Azure Virtual WAN and Azure VPN Gateway) for secure connectivity between on-premises and Azure, plus traffic management for load balancing across multiple SANBI campuses.
• Data management: Seamless data integration across hybrid environments, Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery for data protection and disaster recovery.
• Cost management and optimisation: Monitoring and optimising cloud spending, providing recommendations for resource and cost efficiency.
• DevOps and application management: DevOps integration, application performance management using Azure App Service and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
• Support and expertise: 24/7 support services and access to Azure specialists for design, implementation, and optimisation guidance.

Technical Requirements

• Must be a certified Microsoft Azure Managed Service Provider.
• Must have experience managing hybrid infrastructure and Azure tenants of equivalent size (approximately 18 virtual machines).
• Must hold Microsoft Azure certifications including: Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Azure Developer Associate, Azure Database Administrator Associate, Azure Administrator Associate, and Azure Data Engineer Associate.
• Must manage a three-year Microsoft Azure reservation for applicable SANBI systems, covering virtual machine and AKS costs.
• Must provide fixed pricing for the full three-year contract period, including professional fees (hourly rate), technical support/consulting costs, and VAT.
• Must submit project progress reports: monthly (tasks, issues, incidents, security findings, planned activities), quarterly (resource utilisation, costing, deployment, data protection), and annually (performance and backups).

Skills and Experience Requirements

• Demonstrable experience in Azure architecture design and implementation in hybrid environments.
• Proven project management skills, with a Project Manager (Delivery/Account) leading the technical team.
• Technical team skills covering: Azure administration, networking, security, DevOps, application management, database administration, software development, and management of an Azure tenant of the same size.
• Experience with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) management.
• At least five signed reference letters from current or recent clients (within the last five years), with at least three from different organisations.
• Details of at least six current or recent projects of similar nature, including scope, contract value, and client referee contacts.

Evaluation Criteria

The tender is evaluated in two stages:

• Stage 1 – Functionality (100 points): Technical merit of the proposal, experience and competencies of the Project Manager and technical team, Azure certifications, reference letters, and the scale/complexity of past projects.
• Stage 2 – Price and Specific Goals (80/20 system): Price constitutes 80 points, with up to 20 points awarded for specific goals under the Preferential Procurement Regulations, including ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (black ownership, female ownership, disability ownership).

Additional Notes

• The contract period is three (3) years, with pricing fixed for the full term.
• Bidders must comply with tax obligations and provide a Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN or Central Supplier Database (CSD) number.
• Bids must be submitted on official forms with both technical and financial proposals in a sealed envelope and on a USB.
• Late submissions will be disqualified.