Digital Communications

Invitation to Qualify for the Procurement Process for Digital Communications

This Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) is the second phase of a procurement process by Shared Services Canada (SSC) for Digital Communications. Suppliers are invited to pre-qualify in accordance with the terms and conditions of this ITQ in order to become “Qualified Respondents” for any later phases of the procurement process. Only Qualified Respondents will be permitted to bid on any subsequent solicitation issued as part of the procurement process.
SSC aims to establish a procurement vehicle for a new suite of digital communications services specifically including email (“Public Cloud SaaS Email Solution”), from a commercial cloud computing service provider. SSC is considering a cloud delivery model to leverage scalability, agility and efficiencies.
The initial requirement is for email services, but it is expected that SSC may include options for other commercially available digital communications services, and the option to scale the service for additional SSC Users.
Canada may start some of the security assessment activities early on to avoid any project delays. Following the Qualified Respondents’ Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) process and as part of the RRR, Canada may request certain certification documentation, such as Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), International Standards Organization (ISO), Payment Card Industry (PCI), SOC, or others. Qualified Respondents will have the right to respond to the RRR request, or notify Canada that they wish to opt to provide the documentation as required by the RFP.
The national security exceptions provided for in the trade agreements to which Canada is a party, current and future, have been invoked with respect to this procurement. Therefore, this procurement is excluded from all of the obligations of the trade agreements, for each and all purposes.