Environment Overview
The information below outlines the general demographics of Skills for Change.

Office Locations and number of staff:

791 St Clair Ave West, Toronto, M6C 1B7 (head office) – 60
30 Weston Road, C204, The Stockyards, Toronto, M6N 0A7 – 10
65 Overlea Boulevard, Unit 250 and 260, Toronto, M4H 1P1 – 25
Remote : 10

Service Requirements
As part of this RFP, Skills for Change has requirements for the services as listed below. We realize that not every MSP will be able to provide all the services listed below, but we encourage you to respond
regardless. It is also understood that the services below may not fully incorporate all required services, and that additions will be negotiated on a case by case basis.

● Major Projects in pipeline (short term, 6 months or less) –
o Migration from Google Suite to Microsoft 365 suite, which includes but not limited to,
▪ User account creation, management and migration
▪ Design an information and data sharing process on the system
▪ Conduct staff training, onboarding, troubleshooting and problem solving
o Salesforce system changes rollout

▪ Work with the Salesforce consultant and internal teams to support the rollout of
changes to the Salesforce based client management system

● Help Desk Support – The MSP should offer Help Desk support for normal incidents during office hours, urgent response and repairs 24/7
● Server & Network System Monitoring – The MSP must provide 24×7 monitoring of SfC’s server & network system with proactive communication and escalation protocols based on the severity of any
unscheduled outages.
● Patch Management Services & Preventative Maintenance – The MSP must provide management of critical security and system patches to all servers and systems on the network to ensure SfC’s IT systems and resources are properly managed and maintained.
● Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery – The MSP must be able to support SfC’s ability to recover with effective backup and redundancy services to support this need.
● Remote Backup – The MSP must execute a nightly backup plan for the critical servers, including a regularly-tested recovery process.
● Email System Management – Skills for Change requires the management and administration of SfC’s email system for all users.
● Antivirus, AntiSpam & Antispyware Protection – Provide and support solutions to defend against security threats including phishing, malware, spam, viruses.
● On-Site Support – When needed, the MSP should have the ability to deploy onsite resources to assist in issues which cannot be resolved through remote access to in-house systems.
● Networking Support – Skills for Change requires proactive management and monitoring of our switches, firewalls, routers and Wi-Fi systems, and other networking equipment as identified.
● Security Systems Monitoring – MSP must provide proactive monitoring and management of SfC’s security systems, including firewalls, intrusion prevention, secure remote access, and any implementations of advanced security solutions Skills for Change may utilize.
● Vendor Management – The MSP should be able to to manage other vendors which may be contracted for by Skills for Change and serve as the key point of contact unless escalated.
● Warranty and Asset Inventory Management – Skills for Change expects the MSP to maintain a hardware and asset inventory that includes Desktops, Laptops, Servers, Printers/Scanners, Fax
Machines, and notify Skills for Change of any potential service or warranty issues. The MSP must also assist with managing the lifecycle of SfC’s devices and maintain an equipment inventory to ensure our systems are always current.
● Software Licensing Control – Oversight of automatic renewal of software applications and maintenance of appropriate documentation.
● Procurement Management – The MSP must assist with the sourcing of competitive quotes, advise on selection of commercially rated equipment, equipment preparation and rollout, equipment returns and warranty management.
● PC Deployment – Delivery and setup of machines on-site.
● Desktop and Laptop Support – MSPs must include their ability to support existing and future desktop and laptop hardware. This includes maintenance and repair, replacement for failed equipment, and the acquisition and provisioning for new equipment as needed.
● Printers, Copiers and Scanners -The MSP must be able to support existing printers, copiers and scanner related network-printing issues.
● Desktop Software Standardization and Software Licensing and Upgrades – MSP must have a process for identifying standardization and management of desktop images and ensuring that staff are using current products as well as current OS and browser versions.

● Lifecycle Management of Hardware Units – The MSP should have processes for end-of-life notification, replacement, and asset decommissioning/disposal.
● Break Fixes and Installation – The MSP should offer planned and on-call break/fix services, including emergency response to server issues.
● Move, Add, Change (MAC) – Skills for Change is looking for the MSP to help with any changes to the location, configuration of existing equipment or software, and installation of additional equipment or software as needed.
● Mobile Device Support – In addition to laptops and desktops, some staff use mobile phones and tablets. The MSP will need to support secure provisioning (and ongoing support of that provisioning) of any mobile device into the company network. In the event the device is lost, the corporate mail and contact data should be able to be easily wiped from the device while preserving individual’s personal information. A Mobile Device Management strategy / system recommendation should be considered and included in response to this RFP.
● Reporting – The MSP should provide relevant reporting not only based on their performance from a help desk perspective but also regarding system health, uptime, and assist in keeping an accurate
hardware inventory to inform ongoing planning of maintenance, warranties, and refresh schedules.
● Technology Strategy Planning – The MSP will work with current IT staff to develop a long-term strategic technology plan. The plan will take advantage of new and existing technologies to produce a pragmatic and effective future roadmap that enables the organization to fulfill its overall mandate in the community.
● Account Management – The MSP must offer an internal escalation process in tandem with Skills for Change to ensure the ability to have multiple points of contact available if needed depending on
the items or issue encountered.
● Project Management – The MSP should be able to offer project management and technical engineering resources to assist with technical projects as identified by the MSP or Skills for Change.
● Solution Design – The MSP must provide solution packages (e.g., hardware, software, licensing) and associated consolidation of data.
● Service Levels – The MSP should identify service level agreements or objectives and report back on a regular basis to Skills for Change on their ability to meet these agreements or objectives.
● IT Policy Review and Development – The MSP should be able to assist in the development of customized policies related to the use of technology.
● Hosting – The MSP should offer services relative to hosting or co-location of equipment, either directly or through partners.
● Onboarding and Offboarding Staff – The MSP must have a process and procedure in place to onboard or offboard team members in a timely and efficient manner.
● Scalability – The MSP must be able to offer a model where scaling up or down from a systems and cost perspective is simple and nimble.
● Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – MSP must be able to provide and manage a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) solution to provide an easy-to-use method to verify user identities at login and to protect logins with multi-factor authentication.
● End-User Security Awareness Training – The MSP should offer Security Awareness Training to teach SfC’s staff and employees about current threats, terms, standards, and compliance to help them avoid a security incident.
● Vulnerability Testing – The MSP should offer vulnerability tests, both internally and externally, to determine what flaws and potential threats exist from the outside, or perimeter, of SfC’s business network.

● Computer Labs and Resource Centers – The MSP will provide full support to maintain all computer labs and resource centers at the different locations and provide ongoing support when required to ensure continued service availability of equipment including computers, projectors, smart boards, sound systems and cameras.
● Door Access Card Control System – Configure and administer the door access card control system, create and revoke access cards/codes as required.
● CCTV – Installation, configuration and support of the CCTV system to ensure ongoing security surveillance and data protection.
● Phone system – install, configure and support the VOIP system

Response Process

Clarifying Questions
Please submit any clarification questions regarding the RFP to the Primary RFP Contact as indicated below by April 21, 2023

Primary RFP Contact
Please direct all inquiries regarding to this RFP to:
Zeeshan Sumrani
Chief Strategy, Innovation & Growth Officer
Skills for Change
zsumrani@skillsforchange.org

Response Delivery Instructions
Skills for Change requires responses to this request for proposals to be delivered in writing. You may attach documentation to support your answers, if necessary.

Please submit all responses via electronic delivery no later than 2023/04/21 to the Primary RFP contact.

Any response received after the delivery date specified, will not be considered without prior written or
electronic approval.

Please complete the attached forms (Attachment A and Attachment B), a proposal document, pricing breakdown, and a version of any master services agreement or other contract that would be utilized if
chosen.

Selection Criteria & Process

Skills for Change will evaluate the responses based on multiple criteria and will select the best overall solution to fit its needs. Skills for Change is not obligated to select the lowest price bidder. All responses will be evaluated in the following areas:

● Completeness of solution
● Expertise and experience
● Demonstrated customer service quality and support
● Previous relevant experience
● Vendor strength and stability
● Account management
● Reporting capabilities
● Financial considerations

Selection Process
All responses will be evaluated as received and included in the following process:

● Review and scoring of the responses, as well as clarification of information as deemed necessary by the evaluation team.
● Identification of 2–3 final candidates to conduct in-depth review of capabilities, including on-site interviews and presentations.
● Conducting site visits and/or reference calls as deemed appropriate by the evaluation team. Skills for Change looks forward to reviewing your response and would like to thank you in advance for your
participation. The Managed Service Provider selection project is very important to our continued success and represents a major focus of effort for Skills for Change. We appreciate and value your input, expertise, and feedback.