CCaaS-1 RFP under Stream 2: Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) Supply Arrangement (SA)

CCaaS-1 RFP under Stream 2: Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) Supply Arrangement (SA)

This requirement is for: Shared Services Canada on behalf of its clients and partners.

This requirement is open only to those supply arrangement holders under Government Contact Centre Services (GCCS) Supply Arrangement who qualified under the following streams and categories:
- Stream 2: Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) Supply Arrangement (SA)

The following SA Holders have been invited to submit a proposal:
- Avaya Canada Corp
- Bell Canada
- Five9 Inc
- Genesys Cloud Services Corp
- TTEC Canada Solutions Inc
- Zayo Canada Inc

Description of the Requirement:
Shared Services Canada has a requirement for:
Contact centre as a Service (CCaaS) is a public cloud-based solution that will provide the Government of Canada with a flexible and scalable way to manage our Partner client’s interactions. With CCaaS, Partners can deliver seamless experiences across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat, video, and social media.

Canada is seeking to leverage Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) following industry best practices. Our objective is to obtain a cloud offering from a Contractor that offers a publicly available solution. It is crucial for Canada to prioritize a solution that has a significant user base, well-established documentation, active user forums, necessary security, appropriate features and reliable support resources. Our focus is on selecting a widely adopted CCaaS solution that demonstrates maturity and proven success. We are looking for the vendor to showcase successful deployments and positive testimonials from other customers.

Canada envisions the CCaaS will allow for the increase and decrease of agents and resources based on changing demands. As Canada will deliver CCaaS to multiple Partners, the solution must be configurable to allow Partners to tailor their Contact Centre to meet their specific business needs. In this architecture, each Partner has a Contact Centre, which is a separate and secure space for their clients to access and manage their contact centre services. Within each Contact Centre, Partners have the flexibility to manage either their Domain and/or their virtual contact centre based on the requirements set by the Partner.

The architecture of the CCaaS must consist at a minimum of the following elements:
(1) Contact centre management portal that is a web-based portal that allows Canada to manage and configure their contact centre solution. Through the portal, Canada can manage agents, queues, interactive voice response (IVR), automatic call distribution (ACD), reporting, and other features of the CCaaS.
(2) Support multiple inbound and outbound communication channels, including voice, email, chat / SMS, and social media. Allow Canada to configure the contact centre to support one or more of these channels, depending on their specific needs.
(3) Provide a set of communication APIs that allow Canada to integrate the CCaaS solution with other software and systems (e.g., CRM, ERP, and WFM tools). This includes APIs for voice, chat / SMS, and other communication channels. APIs will be the primary method for integrating CCaaS with third-party solutions enabling a more seamless and efficient client experience.
(4) Traditional contact centre features such as automatic call distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), contact routing and queueing, skills-based routing, quality management, and call transfer and conferencing. The CCaaS will provide intelligent routing that uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze Client interactions and route them to the most appropriate agent. Clients will be matched with agents who have the appropriate skills and expertise to handle their specific needs, and predictive routing, which uses data and analytics to anticipate Client needs and route them to the best agent before they even ask for assistance.
(5) Provide an Omnichannel desktop that provides a web-based User desktop interface that al-lows agents to manage their interactions with Clients. The User desktop typically includes features such as call control, chat management, CRM integration, and reporting on their interactions.
(6) Provides analytics and reporting tools that allow Canada to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as average handle time, first call resolution, and customer satisfaction. This data can be used to optimize the contact centre solution and improve the Client experience. The data is presented through reports, dashboards etc. In addition, CCaaS also offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities that will allow Partners to monitor and optimize their contact centre performance. With real-time data and insights, Partners will be able to quickly identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to enhance Client satisfaction
(7) AI and automation capabilities such as chatbots, virtual agents, intelligent routing, and predictive analytics capabilities can help to automate routine tasks, reduce costs, and improve the efficiency of the contact centre.
(8) An ability to scale up or down based on the business demands without requiring hardware up-grades or migrations that could impact Canada’s usage of the CCaaS.
(9) Secure operations by having appropriate security and privacy controls and measures (e.g. encrypting data at rest and in transit) to protect systems and communications from unauthorized access and tampering at the Protected-B (PBMM) level.
(10) Data integrity by having measures to ensure the integrity and accuracy of data stored and transmitted by the CCaaS solution.
(11) Support the Government of Canada and provide accessibility capabilities to all channels.
(12) Provide uninterrupted, reliable, high-quality data connectivity with sufficient bandwidth and speed to support peak volumes of Agent and Client traffic, without any service disruption
The requirement is to support x1,000 agents currently in-service and the option to obtain up to x5,000 agents.
SSC has issued a Request for Proposal to suppliers who are qualified under the streams and categories listed above.

Level of Security Requirement:
Resource(s) Minimum Security Level Required is/are:
1. The Contractor must, at all times during the performance of the Contract, hold a valid Designated Organization Screening (DOS) and obtain approved Document Safeguarding Capability at the level of PROTECTED B, issued by the Contract Security Program (CSP), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).
2. The Contractor personnel requiring access to PROTECTED information, assets or sensitive site(s) must EACH hold a valid personnel security screening at the level of SECRET, or RELIABILITY STATUS, as required, granted or approved by the CSP, PWGSC.
3. The Contractor personnel requiring access to sensitive information, assets, or site(s) with a Privileged User Account must EACH hold a valid personnel security screening at the level of SECRET, granted or approved by the CSP, PWGSC.
4. The Contractor MUST NOT utilize its facilities to process, produce, or store PROTECTED information or assets until the CSP, PWGSC has issued written approval.
5. The Contractor MUST NOT utilize its Information Technology systems to electronically process, produce or store PROTECTED information until the CSP, PWGSC has issued written approval. After approval has been granted, these tasks may be performed at the level of PROTECTED B.
6. Data residency for electronic data at rest at the level of PROTECTED B or higher must be within Canada.
7. Sensitive information and assets with a security classification higher than Protected B must not be processed, produced, or stored in a cloud-based system.
8. Any Contractor, or third party providing cloud-based solutions must be assessed and authorized by Canada. Contractors must comply with the security requirements in the GC Security Control Profile for Cloud-Based GC IT Services of Protected B, Medium Integrity and Medium Availability (PBMM), for the scope of the solution provided. Prior to contract award, the contractor must provide evidence, and confirmation to Canada of a completed Cloud Service Provider Information Technology Security assessment (ITSM.50.100), performed by the Client Department, or the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS). For information, guidance, and training to conduct a local IT assessment contact CCCS at contact@cyber.gc.ca. The Client Department IT Security Authority must perform a Security Authorization and Assessment in accordance with Government of Canada Cloud Security Risk Management Approach and Procedures. Contractors must provide the required information to the IT Security Authority upon request.

Proposed period of contract:
The proposed period of contract shall be for 5 years with 5 additional 1-year option periods.

Bid Closing Date:
September 7, 2023 @ 2pm Eastern Time

Applicable Trade Agreements:
a) Canadian Free Trade Agreement;
b) World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO)
c) Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement;
d) Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement;
e) Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement;
f) Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement;
g) Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement;
h) Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement; and
i) Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
j) Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
k) Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement

P2P Portal:
Bidders must register in the SSC P2P portal in order to:
i. view and access solicitations from SSC;
ii. submit a response to a solicitation;
iii. receive updates and amendments regarding solicitations;
iv. be awarded contracts and receive contract amendments; and
v. submit invoices and receive payment status updates.
To register, please go to https://sscp2pspc.ssc-spc.gc.ca and click “Register
Now”.

Additional Details:
File Number: BPM019097/A
Contracting Authority: James Graves
Phone Number: 613-668-9563
E-Mail: james.graves2@ssc-spc.gc.ca
Solicitation Documents: . Request for Proposal (RFP) documents will be issued via P2P portal directly from the Contracting Authority to the Qualified Supply Arrangement Holders who are being invited to bid on this requirement.

The Government Contact Centre Services (GCCS) Stream 2: Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) Supply Arrangement is subject to annual refresh cycles. If you wish to find out how you can be a “Qualified SA Holder”, please contact james.graves2@ssc-spc.gc.ca