Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to secure a service provider capable of hosting and managing the municipality's telephone system and internet services for a period of three years. The goal is to ensure reliable, secure, and scalable communication and connectivity infrastructure that supports the municipality's operational needs, including voice, data, and unified communications, with high availability and compliance to security standards.

Scope

The scope of work includes:

• Provision and hosting of enterprise-grade telephone (UCC PBX) and contact center solutions, including system design, installation, configuration, integration, commissioning, and support.
• Implementation of SD-WAN and internet connectivity with dual links (fibre and LTE) at multiple sites, including the main municipal building, disaster recovery site, libraries, and other municipal facilities.
• Deployment of Fortinet security architecture, including FortiGate firewalls with SD-WAN, intrusion prevention, web filtering, VPN, and centralized management.
• Provision of remote teleworker services, mobility solutions, teleconferencing, auto-attendants, voice logging, and unified messaging.
• Provision of project management, training, support, and maintenance over the contract period.

Technical Requirements

The technical specifications include:

• Hosted enterprise IP PBX with capacity for at least 150 desktop users and 20 mobile/remote users, supporting features like softphone integration, call forwarding, auto-attendants, and voice logging compliant with POPIA.
• SD-WAN connectivity with dual links per site, configured for automatic failover, load balancing, and application-aware routing, supporting high availability with 99.9% uptime.
• Fortinet FortiGate firewall appliances supporting NGFW, IPS, web filtering, VPN, QoS, and centralized management, appropriately sized for current and future needs.
• Secure remote teleworker and mobile device integration, including single-number contact, Wi-Fi VoIP, and in-building mobility solutions.
• Voice logging system with AES encryption, audit trails, redundancy, and compliance with relevant regulations.
• System scalability, redundancy, disaster recovery, and high availability architecture aligned with industry standards (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V).
• Adherence to change management, project management methodologies (e.g., PMBOK, PRINCE2), and ICT best practices.

Skills Requirements

The bidder must demonstrate:

• At least three years of experience in supplying, installing, and managing SD-WAN, VoIP, and enterprise communication solutions, with proven implementation in at least two institutions within the last two years.
• Certification from OEMs such as Cisco, Juniper, Huawei, or Fortinet, including networking and security certifications (e.g., CCNP, CISSP, ISO standards).
• Provision of detailed CVs of key technical staff, including network engineers, security specialists, and project managers, with relevant certifications and experience in MPLS, VPN, SD-WAN, and unified communications.
• Demonstrated project management skills, with a proven track record of delivering similar projects on time and within scope, supported by references.
• Capability to provide ongoing support, maintenance, and training, with a dedicated single point of contact for incident management.