Request for Information

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION / NOTICE OF INTENT TO DESIGNATE SOLE SOURCE/SOLE BRAND
The Purchasing Division is publishing this notice pursuant to the Broward County Procurement Code section, 21.25, Sole Source/Only Reasonable Source, and 21.26, Sole Brand. The Purchasing Division intends to award a contract without competition if it is determined to be in the best interest of the County.
This Request for Information (RFI)/Notice of Intent to Designate Sole Source/Sole Brand is intended to ascertain whether the commodity or service specified below is currently available from multiple providers/brands. The following products and services are thought to be available from only a single source/brand.
Background/Services Required: Broward County is seeking Sole Brand Designation for the procurement of ServiceNow’s IT Service Management (“ITSM”) and Operations software to standardize ITSM across County’s various agencies by providing a single solution, which allows for cost containment, training and maintenance efficiencies and an enterprise knowledge base. The suggested cloud-based ITSM platform solution should encompass subscriptions, support, maintenance and professional services including, but not limited to, the following:
1.  Provides over 185+ native application connectors including PeopleSoft Asset, Finance, and Human Capital Management modules, AWS Services, Azure Cloud products, Microsoft products (such as Exchange, Entra, One Drive, SCCM, SharePoint, and  Teams), and Oracle products as required by the County.
2.  Provides product sets required by the County which include IT Service Management, IT Operations Management, HR Service Delivery, Workplace Service Delivery, Integration Hub, Customer Service Management, Field Service Management, App Engine, Automation Engine Strategic Portfolio Management, IT and Enterprise Asset Management, Platform Encryption, Security Operations, and Telecommunications Service Management, and Inventory.    3.  Provides Artificial Intelligence (AI), GenAI capabilities which continue with increased integration into every workflow on the vendor's solution platform. With the County’s growth in the number of digital services, an expected increase in the number of incident requests, (employees and customers) may use a variety of self-service options relying on future Generative AI, to improve the ability of understanding user intent, provide knowledge from the data on the vendor's solution platform, and generate proper responses for resolution. Embedded within, and continuing to grow, vendor's solution supports AI integrated services.   4.  A comprehensive API catalog supporting ongoing development and seamless integration to an extensive set of applications. Vendor's solution maintains a supportive AI Large Language Model (LLM) knowledge base aiding users and technical staff in finding solutions and information.   5.  A Low-Code Application Platform which provides an App Engine Studio, Creator Workflow, and Integration Hub allowing for the safe and efficient scaling of cross enterprise applications. The App Engine employs a large variety of out-of-the-box components and templates.  Allows for multiple agencies begin to acquire the knowledge across a standardized platform.
DETERMINATION OF OTHER INTERESTED VENDORS: The intent of this RFI/Notice is to determine if there are any other interested and qualified vendors that meet or exceed the specifications and requirements for the products or services described in this notice. Any such vendor must submit the following information: 1. The name of the interested party; and 2. A detailed explanation consisting of documentation showing that there are other qualified sources for the identified services herein.   Prospective Vendors are requested to provide information regarding their ability to supply the commodities or contractual services described or written explanation or other documentation contesting the proposed designation as a Sole Source/Sole Brand. Prospective Vendors will be considered only if they provide documentation demonstrating that they are capable of meeting or exceeding the specification requirements stated herein.   All Vendor responses will be evaluated by the Director of Purchasing who shall have sole authority in deciding what is comparable or establishing the approved equal status of the commodity or service offered by the vendor. The Director of Purchasing shall consider such submittals and notify all submitting vendors of the decision whether to designate as a Sole Source/Brand, which decision shall not be subject to objection, protest, or appeal.   Questions and Answers: The County provides a specified time for Vendors to ask questions and seek clarification regarding this RFI. All questions or clarification inquiries must be submitted through Periscope S2G by the date and time referenced in this RFI. The County will respond to all questions via Periscope S2G.