Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Australian Whole of Government Computer Tender

The Department of Finance and Deregulation has issued a Request for Tender for a "Whole of Government Desktop Hardware (Computing Equipment) Panel". This includes desktop and mobile computing equipment, monitors, installation and disposal. All agencies will be required to buy through the panel.

There is an extensive 235 page "Statement of Requirements" available to tenderers. This not only includes the usual desktop PCs and laptops, but also Thin Clients, Ultra Mobile PCs, Netbooks, Ruggedised Notebooks and Mobile Thin Clients.

Tenderers are required to describe environmental aspects of their Tender, but no minimum requirement is specified for EPEAT:
Environmental Assessment: [State whether this Deliverable is registered in the Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) or equivalent environmental assessment tool in Australia or overseas and the level attained by the Deliverable (eg Energy Star 4, EPEAT Silver)] [Provide environmental specifications stating the normal range of operation for the device (including but not limited to, temperature, altitude, humidity, dust, noise output, and heat output ...

From: Request for Tender to establish a WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT DESKTOP HARDWARE PANEL, RFT FIN10/AGI001, Department of Finance and Deregulation, 1-Feb-2010
This contrasts with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) Request for Tender for Provision of Desktop, LAN, Helpdesk and Midrange Services (RFT 0708-705, 7 August 2008), which required at least an EPEAT silver rating. This was possibly too much to ask of suppliers, but not asking for at least the minimum Bronze rating may be too little.

Green features required include: US ENERGY STAR 4.0, BIOS Support for Green and Plug and Play features and Support for Wake-on-LAN. There is no specific requirement for
recycling or environmentally sensitive disposal of surplus hardware.

Support for Linux is mentioned, along with Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Windows 7.

Table of Contents
SectionDescriptionPage
PART 1GENERAL3
1.1Structure of Statement of Requirements4
1.2Criteria Definitions6
1.3Structure of Requirements Statements6
1.4Integration of Deliverables7
1.5Occupational Health and Safety7
PART 2ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS8
PART 3DESKTOP PC CATEGORY16
3.1Standard Desktop PC17
3.2Power Desktop PC31
3.3Workstation45
3.4Thin Client59
3.5Accessories69
PART 4MOBILE PC CATEGORY71
4.1Ultra Mobile PC72
4.2Netbook84
4.3Lightweight Notebook96
4.4Standard Notebook109
4.5Lightweight Ruggedised Notebook122
4.6Standard Ruggedised Notebook136
4.7Mobile Thin Client151
4.8Accessories162
PART 5MONITOR CATEGORY163
5.119 Inch Monitor164
5.220 Inch Monitor170
5.322 Inch Monitor176
5.423 Inch Monitor (If Available)182
5.524 Inch Monitor188
5.630 Inch Monitor193
5.736 Inch Monitor198
5.8Accessories203
PART 6ASSOCIATED SERVICES CATEGORY204
6.1Warranty205
6.2Centralised Services213
6.3Transport225
6.4Installation231

From: Part F - Statement of Requirements, Whole of Government Desktop Hardware Panel, Request for Tender FIN10/AGI001, Department of Finance and Deregulation, 1-Feb-2010

1 comment:

Tom Worthington said...

There have already been addenda issued for the "Whole of Government Desktop Hardware (Computing Equipment) Panel". It seems likely there will be a lot of interest in this panel.

So far these are essentially FAQs, rather than corrections or additional information:

ADDENDUM NUMBER 3
REQUEST FOR TENDER (RFT) FIN10/AGI001
WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT DESKTOP HARDWARE PANEL
FIN10/AGI001 – Establishment of a Whole of Government Desktop Hardware Panel

The purpose of this Addendum No 3 is to provide answers to questions posed by interested organisations:

Question 1: Will there be a separate Request for Tender covering leasing of desktop hardware?

Answer 2: There are no current plans to issue a separate Request for Tender for leasing.


Question 2: Is the tendering of hardware open to vendor-independent lease providers?

Answer 2: The RFT does not specifically exclude vendor-independent lease providers. Finance’s requirements are set out in the RFT.


Question 3: Would you please provide further information regarding the requirement for keyboard and mouse compatibility with the Interactive Link Multiple Computer Switch ?

Answer 3: The term Interactive Link Multiple Computer Switch is a term in general use within some agencies for this class of device and is defined generically within the RFT. Keyboards and mice supplied to agencies which use such devices are required to operate with such switches. The use of this term is not intended to be a specific reference to any specific product.


Question 4: Will Finance make the schedules that require completion in Part E and Part F of the RFT available in Word format ?

Answer 4: The relevant schedules from Part E and Part F have been made available – see Addendum 2.


Question 5: The thin client requirement specifies a minimum amount of RAM. Does this requirement exclude solutions that do not require RAM or do not require the specified amount of RAM ?

Answer 5: This requirement is not defined as an Essential Requirement in Part F – Statement of Requirements. Please see definition of
Essential