Request for Proposal - FAQs

Information Technology Managed Services

The following frequently asked questions are from potential vendors that we received via email regarding this RFP process. We want to make Westgate Resort’s responses available to all applicants.

Q: OVERVIEW AND CURRENT IT ENVIRONMENT “Services needed for Westgate's Corporate, Resort, and Hospitality locations: It is expected for the vendor to provide the following services for our internal Westgate Team Members. In addition, you are being brought in to operate as a Level 1 Service Department, working and collaborating with Level 2 and 3 Service Departments.” Is this to mean, the vendor brought on will supply only Level 1 support and Westgate will provide Level 2 and 3 Service?

A: Correct, the chosen vendor will be brought in to operate as a Level 1 service department and escalating to Westgate for Level 2 and 3 when necessary.

Q: SCOPE OF WORK “E. Help Desk Support - Tier 2/3”. Does this mean the vendor brought on will supply Level 2 and Level 3 Support? This seems to contradict the statement on page 3 which speaks “to working and collaborating with the Level 2 and 3 Service Departments.”

A: Tier 2/3 is the original thought for the RFP. It should read “Tier 1.”

Q: What is the contract award date?

A: The anticipated start of contract is January 31, 2022.

Q: How will the submitting vendors be advised of the acceptance or denial of their submission?

A: Each vendor will be contacted individually regarding the results of the RFP.

Q: When asked to list the number of full-time employees, and list number of years’ experience in Installation & Training, and Technical Support, would you like accumulative or individual years’ experience?

A: Please indicate them individually.

Q: Would you like the copy of our W-9 included as a separate attachment with our proposal? Or actually embedded within the Letter of Transmittal section?

A: Please include the W-9 as a separate attachment.

Q: What is the percentage breakdown of the types of incidents received?

A: Reset/Expired PWs - 15%, VPN related - 13%, Hardware - 7%, SAMS - 5.61%, Dialer - 2%

Q: How does Westgate currently evaluate success? What metrics will you measure against for this managed services partner?

A: Westgate will be evaluating based on the # of calls, Login Time, Not Ready Time, Total Wrap, Talk Time, 1st call resolution average.

Q: V. Cost of Services – Item D. - Please provide further clarification on what is meant by “transfer of data”?

A: In the event there is a change in Westgate’s IT infrastructure (hardware), any additional cost to set up and transfer the data from old to new hardware should be indicated in the fixed fee.

Q: Can you provide the ACD reports for the associated calls for the past 6 months?

A: 6-month ACD Report and 6-month FCR Detail Report

Q: What ticketing system is the chosen provider expected to utilize?

A: The chosen provider is expected to use ServiceNow; and should they have integration into the Westgate ServiceNow platform so tickets can be monitored real-time.

Q: How many total users’ company-wide would be supported by Tier 1? How many total locations?

A: There is an average of approximately 5000 users and 25 locations.

Q: Is there any network monitoring or management required?

A: There will be no network monitoring required.

Q: Is server monitoring or support included as part of the tier 1 responsibilities?

A: There will be no server monitoring.

Q: Can you provide some additional clarification as to the expectations around the following components included in the RFP?

A: SAMS POS Setup could be access requested with onboarding login credentials. If so, a login would be created for access.

A: Release Emails – Check email quarantine via Forti-mail spam Appliance

A: Hardware Configuration will not be part of the scope of work.

Q: During the initial assessment (Section A) is the chosen provider expected to compile a complete inventory for each location? Are on site resources expected?

A: No, we do not need to complete a inventory of each location.

Q: Is desktop management and patching included in the scope or is this handled by another department?

A: Management and patching is handled by the system adminstration team.

Q: Should the provider have their own RMM tools or are they expected to utilize Westgate’s provided toolset?

A: Westage will provide the RMM Tool.

Q: Referencing Section D, Remote Support, can other methods be utilized for remote connectivity?

A: Remote VPN or Zero Trust Platform would be the method of remote connectivity.

Q: Is complete Tier 1 support expected to be available 24/7/365?

A: Yes, Tier 1 support is expected to be available 24/7/365; the coverage will vary on some holidays.

Q: Is vendor management of any COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf) applications expected as part of Tier 1 support?

A: No, vendor management will be managed by Tier 2/3 Support.

Q: Will any documentation be provided as it relates to any proprietary Westgate applications?

A: Documentation will be provided for WG Applications.

Q: Will there be an SOP that outlines escalation processes, expectations, proprietary applications, etc.?

A: Yes, there will be an SOP provided outlining all processes.

Q: Will there be dedicated Westgate resources assigned as an escalation point in the event there are questions, concerns, or when other undefined problems arise? Will those resources be available 24/7?

A: Yes, a Westgate resource will be available 24/7 to assist with all questions, concerns and escalations.

Q: Outside of the expected Tier 1 level skillset, are there any other skills, that may be specific to Westgate, the agents should possess?

A: Excellent Customer Service and documentation would be major skills expected of each agent.

Q: Are there any specific skillsets that you would like to add to Tier 1 that may be of benefit or may be outsourced currently?

A: No, Engineering skills, database engineer, SQL specialist, Azure developer, etc. would fall under Tier 2 and 3.

Q: Our Help Desk services are performed primarily out of Costa Rica. All agents are English speaking and fully trained. Are Near Shore resources acceptable for this RFP?

A: The location of the resources is acceptable; if the provided service reflects a local presence.

Q: How many current employees are at Westgate?

A: There are approximately 5000 Team members that will be supported.

Q: Do you have a current Help Desk provider?

A: The Help Desk is currently supported/operated by Westgate employees.

Q: What's prompting the change to a new solution/provider?

A: There are some new projects being implemented and the WG Executive team felt outsourcing would be the best route.

Q: We provide standard English, Spanish & Portuguese speaking capabilities. Are additional languages required?

A: No additional languages are required.

Q: Please clarify – What will determine an escalation to "on site" support services?

A: Anything outside of the scope of work; There will be Westgate Resources available 24/7 to assist with all concerns.

Q: Will there be an opportunity to present our solution directly to the Westgate team? (Live / virtual)

A: If you have any documentation/Powerpoint presentation, you can send it to the westgaterfp@wgresorts.com.

Q: On page 3 of the RFP, you write “The successful vendor will be expected to organize a local help desk presence to handle service calls efficiently”. Please clarify what you mean with the term “local”. a. Do you mean a Help Desk local to the US? b. Will you accept responses from organizations whose Help Desk is located outside the US? c. Do all members of the Help Desk need to reside in the US? d. Are you asking for any on-site services?

A: When we say, “Local presence” we don’t want a user to call support and automatically know they are not local. Sometimes the systems are so revealing that a customer can decipher their support isn’t local. I will accept outside of US, and all members do not need to be local. No onsite services will be needed.

Q: Please confirm that the Tier 1 services requested in the RFP are exclusively related to end-user devices, services, and applications, in summary a Tier 1 End-user Service Desk.

A: That is correct.

Q: Please confirm that support at the infrastructure level for systems such as servers, firewalls, storage systems, hypervisors, networks, MFA systems, etc., are outside of scope for this RFP.

A: That is correct.

Q: Are there any end-users located outside the US? If yes, please identify in which countries.

A: All users are within the US.

Q: Is 24/7 support required globally?

A: Yes.

Q: In the Overview and Current IT Environment section it states: “It is expected for the vendor to provide the following services for our internal Westgate Team Members”. Are all the IT Services itemized in this section part of the vendor scope or is the scope only what is itemized in the Scope of Work section?

A: Yes, all the listed services would be part of the vendors scope of work.

Q: Please provide some specifics as to what is in scope regarding Fortimail. Since Westgate is asking for a Tier 1 service related to end-users, we need to understand what is Westgate’s service expectation regarding Fortimail?

A: Tier 1 support will only be able to verify or release quarantined email.

Q: Please provide some specifics as to what is in scope regarding PrivacyIDEA. Since Westgate is asking for a Tier 1 service related to end-users, we need to understand what is Westgate’s service expectation regarding PrivacyIDEA?

A: Tier 1 support will reset the failure counter for lockouts.

Q: Please provide some specifics as to what is in scope regarding SAMS POS setup, if applicable.

A: If SAMS setup is required, it would be a login credential during new hire onboarding.

Q: Please provide more details on the service expectation for Reservation Lockouts. Will the contracted vendor deal with end-user issues in your reservation system?

A: Tier 1 support will have a tool to unlock both user and reservation.