Replace everything in [square brackets]. Delete any line that does not apply.
1. About this RFP
- Issuing organisation: [legal name, trade licence number, address]
- Purpose: to appoint a provider of managed IT support and related services for [scope summary].
- Single point of contact for all questions: [name, role, email]. Do not contact other staff about this RFP.
- Confidentiality: responses and this document are confidential and used only for this evaluation.
2. Timetable
- RFP issued: [DD/MM/YYYY]
- Clarification questions due: [DD/MM/YYYY]. Answers are shared with all bidders.
- Site visits (optional, by appointment): [date range]
- Responses due: [DD/MM/YYYY, time, timezone] to [email or portal]
- Shortlist presentations: [date range]
- Award and contract start: [DD/MM/YYYY]
3. Your organisation today
Give bidders the facts they need to price accurately. Vague scope produces padded bids.
- Users: [number], of which remote or travelling: [number]
- Sites: [list with city and number of users at each]
- Devices: [number of laptops, desktops, mobiles, printers]
- Servers and storage: [number, on-premises or cloud, virtualisation platform]
- Network: [firewalls, switches, Wi-Fi, internet links per site]
- Business applications: [ERP, accounting, line-of-business systems, who supports each today]
- Email and collaboration: [for example Microsoft 365 plan and number of licences]
- Current support arrangement and contract end date: [in-house, provider, mix]
- Ticket volume over the last 12 months, if known: [number per month, top categories]
4. Scope of services
Mark each line as Required, Optional (price separately) or Out of scope.
- Service desk: channels (phone, email, portal, chat), languages and support hours [specify days and times].
- On-site support: which sites, how often, and response time to attend.
- Device management: setup, patching, encryption, asset register, joiners and leavers.
- Server, storage and network monitoring and maintenance.
- Microsoft 365 or other cloud tenant administration.
- Security: endpoint protection, email security, MFA, vulnerability management, security awareness training.
- Backup and disaster recovery: what is backed up, how often, retention, and scheduled restore tests.
- Licensing and procurement: hardware and software purchasing, renewals tracking.
- Projects: how project work (moves, upgrades, migrations) is quoted and approved.
- Vendor management: dealing with internet providers, printer vendors and software suppliers on our behalf.
- Documentation: network diagrams, passwords vault, runbooks, kept current and owned by us.
5. Service levels
- Priority definitions: [P1 to P4 with examples for your business].
- Response and resolution targets per priority, and the hours they apply in.
- How SLA performance is measured, reported and evidenced each month.
- Service credits or remedies if targets are missed.
- Escalation path with named roles on both sides.
6. Security, data and compliance
- Where our data is stored and processed, and by whom, including subcontractors.
- How the bidder handles our administrator credentials and privileged access.
- Alignment with UAE Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and any sector rules that apply to us [specify].
- Certifications or audits the bidder holds, with evidence.
- Incident notification: how quickly and through whom we are told of a security incident.
- Background checks for staff with access to our systems.
7. Transition and exit
- Onboarding plan: discovery, documentation, handover from the current provider, and the timeline.
- What the bidder needs from us during transition.
- Exit terms: notice period, handover of documentation, credentials and data, and any exit fees.
8. Commercials
Ask every bidder to use the same price schedule so bids can be compared line by line.
- Pricing model: per user, per device, fixed monthly fee or a mix, and what each unit includes.
- One-off onboarding costs, separately.
- Rates for out-of-scope and project work.
- Price review terms over the contract period.
- Payment terms and invoicing frequency.
- Contract length and renewal terms.
9. About the bidder
- Company details: legal name, trade licence, years trading, locations.
- Who will deliver the service: team structure and named account contact.
- Vendor partnerships relevant to our environment, with evidence.
- Three references from organisations of a similar size or sector, with contact details.
- One example of a transition from another provider, and what was learned.
10. Evaluation and response format
- Evaluation criteria and weighting: [for example service fit 35%, security 20%, transition 15%, price 20%, references 10%].
- Response structure: follow the section numbers in this RFP, with a page limit of [number].
- Mandatory attachments: price schedule, sample monthly report, sample SLA, insurance certificates.
- Validity: prices valid for [number] days from the response deadline.