Request for Proposal

Request for Proposal for Remote Access

Introduction

MyStudentLoan is a small student loan servicer and guarantor located in Harrisburg, PA. In addition, there are five remote offices located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and three in other states. There are about 2,000 total employees. After a recent surge in growth, MyStudentLoan is looking to revamp their access solutions for remote employees.

Proposal Dates

All proposals must be submitted to MyStudentLoan’s headquarters location by April 12^h, 2007. Items may be delivered by any of the following means:

Remote Access Solutions

IT/5^th Floor

1618 6^th Street

Harrisburg, PA 17102

E-mail: ras@mystudentloans.com

Fax: (717) 720-xxxx

Background Information

Currently all remote employees and offices connect to MyStudentLoan’s network through traditional dial-up connections. As high-speed internet connections have become increasingly popular in homes, many employees have begun complaining about the slower dial-up speeds. In addition, the multiple phone line costs for several of the remote offices to accommodate multiple users are increasingly high.

Technical Requirements

The new remote access solution must work in conjunction with the existing dial-up service provided. This request for proposal includes initial setup of remote access equipment at headquarters location. After initial configuration, a transfer of knowledge shall be applied so that MyStudentLoan’s existing network staff can support the system. Other technical requirements are as follows:

1. Must provide a secure virtual private network connection over any internet connection
2. Must be compatible with both Microsoft Windows NT and Windows XP clients
3. Must work over various internet connections
4. Must provide completely functionality from remote laptops and computers to the MyStudentLoan’s network (i.e. this will not be used just to check e-mail)
5. Must authenticate using RADIUS and LDAP against our existing Active Directory structure
6. Must use SSL for encryption

Management Requirements

Several other requirements must be met to ensure a successful project completion:

1. Current MyStudentLoan network staff must be involved in the implementation project
2. The system must be operational by July 31^st, 2007
3. The system must generate connection and usage reports for cost accounting purposes
4. Must be operational 24/7/365 with minimal maintenance downtime
5. Eight remote offices, each with several employees, must maintain a constant connection through a separate hardware appliance if possible
6. Licensing for an additional 500 client installations on laptops

Existing Networking Equipment

All current network equipment meets International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) models and standards.

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