A managed IT RFP should establish a common service boundary before suppliers price their support packages. Without an inventory and responsibility map, one bidder may include infrastructure operations while another covers only user tickets. The comparison then rewards different scopes rather than a better service for the business.
A managed IT RFP should establish a common service boundary before suppliers price their support packages. Without an inventory and responsibility map, one bidder may include infrastructure operations while another covers only user tickets. The comparison then rewards different scopes rather than a better service for the business.
List users, devices, applications, locations and existing provider relationships at a level appropriate for sourcing. Identify known issues and planned changes. Keep sensitive configuration and access details in a controlled process rather than distributing them broadly with the initial invitation.
State which responsibilities remain internal. A supplier needs to know whether it will approve access, implement approved requests, manage subscriptions or merely coordinate with another owner. Those distinctions affect both risk and price.
Ask bidders to separate routine support, monitoring, maintenance, on-site work, projects and specialist services. Require exclusions and dependencies to be listed. Terms such as unlimited support need a defined user, device and request scope to be useful.
Include representative scenarios rather than a long generic feature checklist. Ask how the provider handles a new starter, a shared application outage and a device needing on-site attention. The responses should reveal the delivery model and approval boundaries.
Request sample ticket records, service reports, configuration documentation and transition plans. Ask who owns accounts, data and records, and what the buyer can export at exit. Have technical, security and legal owners assess the relevant aspects of access and data handling.
For example, a provider may include monitoring but exclude investigation of alerts from an unsupported application. The RFP should expose that boundary before the business assumes every alert will lead to resolution.
Ask for onboarding, recurring fees, included quantities, additional-user or device charges, project rates and exit assistance. Test a common growth or change scenario. Require notice and approval before material additional work.
Before award, reconcile differences in supported systems, coverage and ownership. Carry the accepted service catalogue into the agreement and onboarding plan. The RFP should give users and internal owners a clear answer to who handles a problem, what the provider is authorised to do and where another decision or supplier is required.
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