Provision of storage area network (san), license renewal and hardware support services for three years – sabs RFP 202041

Compulsory briefing session: 12 August 2026 at 10:00am via Microsoft Teams (link provided in the tender document). Final date for bidders to submit consolidated requests for clarification: 13 August 2026. SABS clarification: 14 August 2026 (no further clarification after this date). Proposal submission date: 19 August 2026 at 11:00am. Evaluation of proposals and awarding of tender: to be announced.

All enquiries regarding this RFP must be emailed to [email protected]. Bidders must not contact any other SABS personnel regarding this RFP. Proposals must be submitted to [email protected]. The submission email address should only be used for proposals, not for clarity-seeking questions.

Submit proposals electronically to [email protected] by the closing date and time, with the tender reference number and description in the subject line. Maximum file size is 14MB, in PDF format (compressed zipped folder if necessary). Submissions via a link or WeTransfer will not be accepted. Late submissions will not be accepted. Bidders are advised to submit at least 15 minutes before the 11:00am deadline to avoid IT network congestion. The responsibility for on-time submission rests entirely with the bidder. Returnable documents include: Appendix A (Scope of Work), Appendix B (Quotation/Pricing Requirement), Appendix C (Intention to Respond), Appendix D (SBD 4 Bidder's Disclosure), Appendix E (signed Non-Disclosure Agreement), Appendix F (SBD 6.1 Preference Points Claim), Appendix G (SBD 1), Appendix H (CSD Report or proof of banking details for international suppliers), Appendix I (B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit), Appendix J (Management Summary including Statement of Compliance), Annexure K (Statement of Compliance), Appendix L, Appendix M (Audited Financial Statements), and Appendix N (Request for Proposal Enquiry). Bidders must also complete and return the Intention to Respond form (Appendix C) no later than 19 August 2026. Bidders must be registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD). Disqualification risks: failure to meet all requirements in the scope of work, solutions encumbered by intellectual property rights, misrepresentation of any material fact, or any canvassing of SABS personnel regarding the RFP.

Evaluation is in two stages. Stage 1: Mandatory Requirements - bidders must provide a valid (not expired) and relevant OEM reseller/partner accreditation document, and a proposal meeting all technical specifications. Only bidders meeting these mandatory requirements proceed to Stage 2. Stage 2: Functionality Evaluation - measured on a scale of 1-5 (Poor:1, Average:2, Good:3, V.Good:4, Excellent:5) with the following weights: Project Implementation Proposal (30%), Resources (Project Manager and Technical Lead) (25%), and Company Track Record (References) (40%). The minimum functionality threshold is 75%. Preference points: bids evaluated under the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022 using the 80/20 system (price and specific goals).

The scope of work is to replace the current end-of-life V7000 storage area network (SAN) with a new storage solution, including compute, virtualisation, storage, networking, and backup. The solution must be implemented at two sites: Production (Gauteng) and Disaster Recovery (Cape Town). Key components: Rack Infrastructure (2 x 42U racks with PDUs, KVM switch, monitor); Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Nodes - 3 rackmount servers per site with Intel 6515P 3.2GHz 16-core processors, 1024GB memory, 2 x 480GB SSDs, 25Gb and 1GbE NICs; Backup Server (2 x rackmount servers with 128GB memory, 5 x 960GB SSDs); Virtualisation Licenses - no licenses required, bidder to set up and configure Hyper-V; Networking (2 x redundant 48-port 25G switches with 100G uplinks, 2 x redundant 48-port 1GB management switches); HCI Storage - minimum 180TB usable capacity, all NVMe flash, with deduplication, compression and ransomware protection, effective capacity of minimum 412TB at 2.5:1 ratio, throughput 19.0GB/s, minimum 800K IOPS, 99.9999% availability, scalable to 5PB, support for synchronous and asynchronous replication; Backup to disk storage (2 x 180TB usable capacity backup appliances with deduplication, cloud backup capability, tape support, scalable to 1PB); Archival Storage (2 x archival appliances, scalable to 500TB usable capacity, file and object storage, cloud backup, scalable to 5PB). Support: 3-year 24x7 proactive services for hardware (semi-annual OS patch analysis, firmware analysis, annual system health check) and 3-year 24x7 remote and telephonic support for software. Training: classroom OEM administrator training for 2 SABS engineers on blade system, compute solution, storage array, virtualisation, and backup software. Service credits: 300-hour OEM credits and 200-hour service provider credits redeemable over 3 years. Implementation services: project management, solution design, production hardware design, installation and configuration, data migration (about 100TB), V2V migrations (about 311 VMs), disaster recovery setup with automated failover/failback, and DR testing. Implementation must conform to ISO 27031 and ISO 27001.

Bidders must submit a single, comprehensive project implementation proposal that addresses: implementation plan (approach, breakdown structure, timelines), post-implementation strategy (stabilization, service delivery, ongoing support), project plan (technical program aligned with timelines, presented as a project plan or Gantt chart), and risk management strategy (identifying potential risks and mitigation measures). The proposal must demonstrate the bidder's ability to deliver the project in a flexible, iterative, and adaptive manner supporting continuous improvement and stakeholder engagement.

Project Manager: minimum 7 years' relevant work experience in implementing large-scale IT infrastructure projects; relevant project management certification (PMP, AgilePM, PRINCE2); formal education in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Project Management (Matric to postgraduate degree). Technical Lead: minimum 3 years' relevant work experience in implementing large-scale IT infrastructure projects; at least one technical certification relevant to SAN setup and VM migration (VMware or Hyper-V Certified, Veeam Certified Engineer); Matric or equivalent. Detailed CVs must be attached for each resource. Company Track Record: bidders must provide reference letters for services related to SAN, rendered within the past 7 years, on client's letterhead with contact details, signed by an authorized official, indicating the period of service.

Bidders must provide pricing for three options: Option 1 - Once-off purchase (preferred), Option 2 - Lease agreement for 3 years, Option 3 - Rent to Buy. Each option must be priced using the quotation template covering: implementation plan, project management, hardware/product pricing, training (x2 personnel), support and maintenance (36 months), and any other costs. Prices must be quoted in South African Rand, inclusive of all applicable taxes. The Total Bid Price (excluding contingency) will be used for evaluation and contracting. A contingency price for possible future hardware OEM price increases must also be provided. The bid price (excluding contingency) must remain firm for the bid validity period and preferably for the contract period.

Bidders must provide pricing for three options: Option 1 - Once-off purchase (preferred and first option), Option 2 - Lease agreement for 3 years, Option 3 - Rent to Buy. Pricing must be quoted in South African Rand, inclusive of all applicable taxes. The Total Bid Price (excluding contingency) will be used for evaluation and contracting purposes. The bid price (excluding contingency) must remain firm for the bid validity period and preferably for the contract period. Any additional cost not included in the quotation template must be clearly specified. The bid price shall remain firm for the duration of the contract; OEM price increases will only be considered with written proof from the OEM, including effective date, affected goods/services, and percentage or amount of increase, and must be approved in writing by SABS. SABS reserves the right to request a Retention Bond equivalent to the full contract value as security for due performance, valid until all project deliverables are completed and accepted.

Bidders must be registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) at www.CSD.gov.za. Bidders must provide a valid (not expired) and relevant OEM reseller/partner accreditation document. Bidders must submit a valid tax clearance certificate (original) and a B-BBEE status level verification certificate (or sworn affidavit for specific goals). Returnable forms include: SBD 4 (Bidder's Disclosure) - discloses any employment by the state or relationships with the procuring institution; SBD 6.1 (Preference Points Claim) - claims preference points for price and specific goals under the 80/20 system; SBD 1 (Invitation to Bid) - bidder and contact details. Bidders must also submit audited financial statements (Appendix M) and a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (Appendix E).

The implementation plan must include an environmental assessment. Implementation must conform to ISO 27031 and ISO 27001. Floor plans per site with power and cooling requirements must be provided.

The successful bidder will be required to enter into a formal contract with SABS. SABS reserves the right to amend, alter, or delete clauses relating to insurance, indemnity, undertaking, guarantees, intellectual property, service levels, and/or tax compliance. The bid price shall remain firm for the duration of the contract. OEM price increases will only be considered with written proof from the OEM, including effective date, affected goods/services, and percentage or amount of increase, and must be approved in writing by SABS. SABS reserves the right to request a Retention Bond equivalent to the full contract value as security for due performance, valid until all project deliverables are completed and accepted. No services may be rendered prior to the formal agreement becoming effective. SABS retains ownership of all intellectual property rights on all material and processes developed relating to the service, and the bidder must transfer such rights to SABS. Proposals must remain valid for 120 days from the submission date. SABS is not liable for any costs incurred by the bidder prior to the signing of a formal agreement.

Functionality evaluation is measured on a scale of 1-5 (Poor:1, Average:2, Good:3, V.Good:4, Excellent:5). The Project Implementation Proposal (30%) requires a single comprehensive proposal covering implementation plan, post-implementation strategy, project plan, and risk management strategy. Resources (25%) are assessed on the Project Manager (education, PMP/PRINCE2/AgilePM certification, minimum 7 years' experience in large-scale IT infrastructure projects) and Technical Lead (Matric, VMware/Hyper-V or Veeam certification, minimum 3 years' experience). Company Track Record (40%) requires reference letters - each must include description of service, client's letterhead with contact details, signed by an authorized official, and indicate the period of service (within the past 7 years). Minimum threshold is 75%. Preference points: 80/20 system (price and specific goals) under the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022.