Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to supply, host, install, maintain, and support the uMngeni Water Services (UWS) Moodle e-learning platform for a period of four years. The solution aims to provide a stable, highly available, and functional e-learning environment that supports facilitated and open courses accessible via the internet both nationally and internationally. Additionally, the platform will be integrated with UWS's Student Information System (UWSIS) to streamline training management processes.

Scope

The scope encompasses:

• Provision of cloud hosting infrastructure support, including server provisioning, security, backup, disaster recovery, and performance management.
• Installation, configuration, and support of the Moodle LMS (Open-Source version).
• Ongoing maintenance, application support, and integration with other UWS applications.
• Support for incident and problem management, security, and compliance.
• Provision of training and support services as needed.
• Potential collaboration with other service providers for infrastructure or application support.
• Adherence to project management standards and service lifecycle management, including change, incident, and release management.

Technical Requirements

Application Support & Maintenance

• Full responsibility for Moodle application layer support, including configuration, plugins, themes, and integrations.
• Support and maintenance of Moodle releases aligned with the official Moodle release calendar.
• Application error management, escalation of database issues, and security hardening.
• Integration with WhatsApp Business Platform for operational communication, with costs treated as pass-through.

Hosting Infrastructure Support

• Provision of secure, scalable cloud hosting (AWS/Azure or equivalent) with high availability (minimum 99.9% uptime).
• Management of database environment, backups, disaster recovery, SSL certificates, and security hardening.
• Infrastructure components include web server, operating system, network, and security configurations.
• Monitoring of infrastructure health, with issues escalated to the infrastructure provider.

Support & Service Levels

• Incident response within defined KPIs, including acknowledgment and resolution times based on incident priority.
• Helpdesk support via email and telephone.
• Support for Moodle administration, content management, and user support.
• Adherence to ITIL v3 framework for service lifecycle management.

Additional Technical Requirements

• Implementation of security measures, including vulnerability management and intrusion detection.
• SSL deployment, email relay configuration, and compliance with legislation such as POPIA.
• Support for integration with external systems, including WhatsApp API.
• Provision of training services on a time-and-material basis as needed.

Skills Requirements

• Proven experience in deploying and supporting Moodle LMS in cloud environments.
• Expertise in cloud infrastructure management (AWS, Azure, or equivalent), including high availability architecture.
• Strong knowledge of Moodle application support, plugins, themes, and integrations.
• Experience with ITIL-based service management, incident, problem, and change management.
• Qualifications and experience of key personnel, including project managers and technical specialists.
• Capability to support integration with communication platforms like WhatsApp Business.
• Ability to provide training and documentation tailored to user needs.
• Compliance with legislative frameworks and best practices related to ICT and data security.