Infrastructure move to Cloud

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

CLOUD SOLUTION PROVIDER SERVICES

FOR

Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS)

OAKS Applications

(Oracle-PeopleSoft & Oracle-Fusion Middleware-SOA)

Section 1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - Please, no responses in this section.

The following sections provide details on how to respond to this RFQ. All responses must be complete and in the prescribed format.

Contacts. Ron Wehner will represent the State during the RFQ process:

Procurement Representative:

Ron Wehner, ITC3

Department of Administrative Services

General Services Division

Office of Finance

4200 Surface Road

Columbus, Ohio 43228

Following the award of the contract, the State shall designate a Project Representative. The Project Representative will serve as the State’s official representative and primary point of contact for all matters related to the scope of work in this RFQ.

Scope of Work.

The scope of the work and requirements are provided in greater detail within this document. The State of Ohio (State) is seeking to quickly and efficiently transition from its current on-premises infrastructure to a cloud environment hosted by one of the following hosting providers currently holding a Master Cloud Services Agreement (MCSA)with the State: AWS MCSA0080, Google MCSA0095, Microsoft MCSA0092 / CSP029109, and OCI MCSA0073. The State is requesting that each responding offeror submit a detailed quote that includes the offeror’s demonstrated experience and references for successful migrations of Oracle PeopleSoft applications and related system components to the cloud, as well as a proposed solution that best aligns with the State’s service level, performance, security, and operational requirements described in this RFQ.

Inquiries.

Offerors may make inquiries regarding this RFQ anytime during the inquiry period listed in the Calendar of Events. To make an inquiry, offerors must login to OhioBuys, navigate to the solicitation, open the Inquiry tab, and submit their inquiry.

Offerors will not receive personalized responses to the questions nor notification when the State has answered the question.

Offerors may view inquiries and responses on the OhioBuys Public Solicitations page by opening the Solicitation Overview and navigating to the inquiries section of that page.

The State typically responds to all inquiries within three business days of receipt of an inquiry, excluding weekends and State holidays. Offerors will not be able to submit inquiries after 8:00 a.m. on the inquiry end date.

The State does not consider questions submitted during the inquiry period to be exceptions to the terms and conditions of this RFQ.

Virtual Pre-Response Conference.

The State will hold a Virtual Pre-Response Conference on Friday 12/5/25, at 10:00 a.m. EST Columbus, Ohio local time using Microsoft Teams (see following information to join).

The purpose of this conference is to discuss the RFQ and the scope of work with prospective offerors allowing them to ask questions arising from their initial review of this RFQ.

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

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Meeting ID: 228 401 805 714 9

Passcode: zL2Sj7N9

Dial in by phone

+1 614-721-2972 342664101# United States, Columbus

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Phone conference ID: 342 664 101#

Join on a video conferencing device

Tenant key: 682042763@t.plcm.vc

Video ID: 119 879 519 8

The State of Ohio is a disability inclusion state. The State promotes access to meetings and trainings. To request a reasonable accommodation due to a disability, please use the Help link to contact the ADA Coordinator for the scheduling agency.

Org help

If attending the Virtual Pre-Response Conference, please provide the following details in an email to ( Ron.Wehner@das.ohio.gov ) [DO NOT USE FOR INQUIRIES]:

Company Name

Attendee First and Last Name

Attendee Email

Attendance at the Pre-Response Conference is not a prerequisite to submitting a response to this RFQ.

Amendments to the RFQ.

If the State revises this RFQ before the responses due date, an amendment will be issued in OhioBuys as a new round of the solicitation. Any offeror that submitted a response prior to an amendment must resubmit its response under the latest round in order to be considered. Responses submitted in prior rounds will not be opened or evaluated. The State may issue amendments any time before the response due date, and it is the responsibility of each prospective offeror to monitor OhioBuys for amendments and other current information related to this RFQ.

Offerors may search the OhioBuys Public Solicitations page to view amendments.

After the response due date, the State will distribute amendments only to those offerors actively under consideration. If the State amends the RFQ after the response due date, offerors will have five business days from the issuance of the amendment to withdraw their responses if desired. This withdrawal option will allow any offeror to remove its response from active consideration should the offeror feel that the amendment changes the nature of the transaction so much that the offeror’s response is no longer in its interest. Alternatively, the State may allow offerors with responses under active consideration to modify their responses in accordance with the amendment.

If the State allows offerors to modify their responses due to an amendment, the State may limit the nature and scope of the modifications. Unless otherwise provided in the State’s notice, offerors must make any modifications or withdrawals in writing and submit them to the State within five business days after the amendment is issued. Modifications and withdrawals should be made to the same address and manner required for the original response submission. If this RFQ provides for a negotiation phase, this submission procedure will not apply to changes negotiated during that phase. The State may reject any modification that is broader in scope than the State has authorized in the amendment and treat it as a withdrawal of the offeror's response.

Response Submittal.

Each offeror must submit its response before the opening time on the response due date.

Technical Response: The technical response must be submitted as a single searchable PDF document.

Technical Response Native Files: In addition to the PDF version of the technical response requested above, offerors must provide a compressed zip folder including required responses in Microsoft Word (native format), Microsoft Excel (native format) and Adobe Acrobat format, as appropriate. For example, the Microsoft Word version of the offeror’s technical response and the offeror’s response to the Supplements in their native format are expected to be provided in the compressed zip folder. In the event of a discrepancy between the PDF and the native files, the pdf prevails.

Cost Response: The offeror may include cost in with the technical response or add a separate worksheet or PDF file with the cost.

Offerors must submit their responses electronically in the online solicitation by 1:00 p.m. Columbus, Ohio local time on the response due date. Offerors will not be able to submit responses or unsolicited modifications after the deadline. OhioBuys will not allow submissions after the deadline. An offeror submitting a response must allow adequate time for uploading a response prior to the due date and time. Offerors also must allow for potential delays due to increased security.

Each offeror must carefully review the requirements of this RFQ and the contents of its response. Once opened by the State, responses cannot be altered or withdrawn, except as allowed by this RFQ.

By submitting a response, the offeror acknowledges it has read this RFQ, understands it, and agrees to be bound by its requirements. The State is not responsible for the accuracy of any information regarding this RFQ that was gathered through a source other than the inquiry process described in the RFQ.

If an offeror includes in its response information it considers confidential, proprietary, or trade secret exempt from disclosure in a public records request, it must submit a redacted version of any document containing such information, as further described in this paragraph. Offerors must only redact (black out) the specific language that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act. The following are not acceptable actions for the protection of trade secret or confidential information in an offeror’s response: 1) Redaction of sections in their entirety simply because they may contain some confidential information; 2) inclusion of a blanket confidentiality or copyright notice anywhere in an offeror’s response or redacted documents; and 3) redaction of the cost response in its entirety. In addition to the redacted document(s), offerors must submit a list of each redaction with a detailed legal explanation for each redaction to demonstrate that the redacted information is protected under the Ohio Public Records Act. A blanket statement that all redactions are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act and/or the Uniform Trade Secrets Act is not a sufficient explanation. The redacted version(s) must be submitted as an electronic copy in a searchable PDF format. The redacted version(s) and accompanying explanation, as submitted, will be available for inspection and released in response to public records requests.

If redacted version(s) with the accompanying explanation are not submitted, the original submission of the response may be provided in response to public records requests. By not submitting a redacted version with accompanying explanation, an offeror consents to the release of the original submission in response to a public records request.

The State may reject any response if the offeror takes exception to the terms and conditions of this RFQ, includes unacceptable assumptions or conditions in its response, fails to comply with the procedure for participating in the RFQ process, or fails to meet any requirement of this RFQ. The State also may reject any response it believes is not in its interest to accept and may decide not to award a contract to any or all offerors responding to this RFQ.

Offerors may not prepare or modify their responses on State premises.

All responses and other material offerors submit will become the property of the State and may be returned only at the State's option. All responses will be available to the public after the State has awarded the contract.

The State will retain all responses, or a copy of them, as part of the contract file for at least three years after contract award. After the three-year retention period, the State may return, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the responses and any copies of them.

Waiver of Defects.

The State may waive any defects in any response or in the submission process, but the State will only do so if it believes that it is in the State's interest and will not cause any material unfairness to other offerors.

Multiple or Alternate Responses.

The State will not accept multiple responses from a single offeror or any alternative solutions or options to the requirements of this RFQ. Additionally, any offeror that disregards a requirement in this RFQ simply by proposing an alternative to it may have its response rejected by the State. Further, any offeror that submits multiple Responses for each of these options may have all of its responses rejected.

Changes to Responses.

The State will allow modifications or withdrawals of responses only if the State receives them before the response due date. No modifications or withdrawals will be permitted after the due date, except as authorized by this RFQ.

Response Instructions.

Each response must be organized as a single searchable PDF document ordered in the same manner as the response items are ordered in the applicable attachments to this RFQ. The requirements for a response's contents and formatting are contained in the sections of this RFQ. The State wants clear and concise responses, but offerors must answer questions completely and meet all of the RFQ’s requirements. Detailed response instructions are provided in Section 11 of the RFQ with additional notes at the beginning of each section. The PDF document must include a header with Supplier Name, Supplier Contact information and State Contract number being referenced for the submission.

The State is not liable for any costs an offeror incurs in responding to this RFQ or from participating in the evaluation process, regardless of whether the State awards the contract through this process, decides not to go forward with the work, cancels this RFQ for any reason, or contracts for the work through some other process or through another RFQ.

Contract Negotiations.

The final phase of the evaluation process may be contract negotiations. The State may limit negotiations to specific aspects of the RFQ or the offeror’s response. It is entirely within the discretion of the State whether to permit negotiations. An offeror must not submit a response assuming that there will be an opportunity to negotiate any aspect of the response, and any response that is contingent on the State negotiating with the offeror may be rejected. The State is free to limit negotiations to particular aspects of any response or the RFQ, to limit the offerors with whom the State negotiates, and to dispense with negotiations entirely. If negotiations are held, they will be scheduled at the convenience of the State, and the selected offeror or offerors must negotiate in good faith and without unreasonable delay. It is the State’s expectation that the offerors will provide their best offers in the initial responses and should not count on a best and final offer opportunity.

Calendar of Events.

The schedule for the RFQ process is provided below. The State may change this schedule at any time. If the State changes the schedule before the RFQ due date, it will do so through an announcement on the State Procurement Website’s question and answer area for this RFQ. The website announcement will be followed by an amendment to this RFQ, also available through the OhioBuys Public Portal. After the RFQ due date and before the award of the contract, the State will make schedule changes through the RFQ amendment process. Additionally, the State will make changes in the work schedule after the contract award through the change order provisions in the State’s Standard Terms and Conditions Attachment to this RFQ. It is each offeror’s responsibility to check the Public Portal question and answer area for this RFQ for current information regarding this RFQ and its Calendar of Events through award of the contract.

Key Dates:

12/25/2025 RFQ Issued

12/25/2025 Inquiry Period Begins

12/5/2025 Virtual Pre-Proposal Conference Date

12/15/2025 Inquiry Period Ends at 8:00 AM (Columbus, Ohio local time)

12/17/2025 RFQ Due Date at 1:00 PM (Columbus, Ohio local time)

Estimated Dates

12/30/2025 Award Date

01/19/2025 Work Begins

Section 2. Opportunities and Objectives

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - Please insert your responses after each paragraph or after each bullet point. All responses must be in BLUE, please. The expectation is that offerors will incorporate any references to Sections 2, 3, 7, and 8 into their responses to this section.

1. Opportunity

The State of Ohio is a large and complex government organization, employing over 50,000 people across more than 100 agencies, boards, commissions, and independently elected offices. The Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS) serves as the State’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform and is primarily built on Oracle on-premises applications. This includes core systems for Human Capital Management (HCM), Financials (FSCM), Procurement (OhioPays/ eProcurement), and several supplemental SaaS-based applications.

Over the past several years, OAKS has made significant investments to evolve into a more business-driven system framework—one that delivers greater value to users, promotes adoption by other agencies, and reduces dependence on traditional IT solutions, practices, and resources. These efforts support a strategic vision of delivering best-in-class ERP for the State. To date, considerable progress has been made, including:

A. Implementing best-of-breed SaaS applications that integrate with core Finance and HR systems to enhance usability.

B. Improving data accessibility and integration capabilities for end users.

C. Adopting proven cloud-based models that deliver improved performance, increased reliability, and robust disaster recovery, with less reliance on traditional IT support.

D. Moving from capital-intensive funding models to more flexible, operational funding approaches.

Recent major enhancements also include the in-progress replacement of the State’s legacy PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) and Business Intelligence (BI) modules with modern, third-party cloud-based (AWS, Snowflake) data warehouse solutions. These new platforms offer improved functionality at a lower total cost of ownership.

2. Infrastructure Cloud Migration

The State is now seeking to transition its remaining PeopleSoft Financial and Human Resource applications to a cloud-based infrastructure in order to complete the transition of all OAKS applications to cloud platforms.

A critical driver of this initiative is that the current Oracle engineered systems platform is now exceeding five years, and it is time to replace and modernize.

This is the next major milestone in OAKS’ strategic evolution which should enable OAKS to exit the on-premise datacenters, increase operational agility, accelerate service delivery, and reduce overall costs for the State and its agencies.

3. Objectives

A. Avoid System Re-Architecture

i. The State wants to minimize any re-architecture of the existing environment (i.e., prefer a simple "lift and shift" approach). We want to accomplish the technical refresh as quickly and economically as possible.

ii. The State is interested in Platform-as-a-Service component options wherever possible.

iii. Note that if the vendor proposes a significant re-architecture (e.g., change database technology), please provide a cost/benefit analysis and references.

B. Reduce the Total Cost of Operations

i. The State desires to move to a consumption-based model—paying for only the services used. Traditionally, to prepare for unexpected growth, the State has had to purchase excess servers, storage, and licenses far in advance of actual need. These reserve resources often sit unused for years. In contrast, cloud services offer on-demand scalability, allowing us to add storage or computing capacity as needed—and only pay for what is used.

ii. The State desires to eliminate the effort and costs to maintain an on-premise infrastructure that requires third-party labor delivered by subcontractors through Managed Service Vendors (MSVs).

iii. The State expects that platform, application, and tool upgrades will become more automated and efficient, and new capabilities will be introduced to further reduce effort and cost for routine operations and maintenance.

C. Stay Contemporary on Infrastructure Technology

i. The State desires its platform to be continuously updated and contemporary with all components of the infrastructure, and it will remain on a platform that is compatible and certified by our application providers (e.g., PeopleSoft).

ii. The State will be able to take advantage of auto-scaling and right-sizing strategies for resource and cost optimization.

iii. The State will no longer bear the risk or cost of technology obsolescence as the contractor must keep the infrastructure current, removing the need for the State to repurchase or refresh hardware in the future.

iv. The contractor must continuously keep the State on its latest technologies at a pace faster than the State can deploy/develop internally.

D. Optimize Operations and Performance

i. The Cloud-based environment will provide effective tools and support for integrations and interfaces to the State of Ohio’s other on-premise and third-party systems that share data with the State’s core ERP.

ii. The State’s infrastructure monitoring is rudimentary and requires considerable effort to keep it running and reporting, and the State is looking for world-class monitoring and reporting capability.

iii. The State will experience increased business value and new innovations through routinely introduced enhancements made available by the contractor.

E. Rapidly Deploy and Scale Services for Future Growth and Business Cycle Bursts

The expected scalability and elasticity the State requires is built into the cloud support model when experiencing heavy/reduced workloads or unexpected business growth/reductions.

F. Improve Data and Operations Security

i. Storing OAKS data in the cloud will be more secure than in current on-premise installations. The State will become less vulnerable to internal and external security threats, will be provided with improved data encryption and data masking, and will be provided greater security and privacy policy compliance.

ii. Recruiting, training and retaining staff possessing specialized security skills is difficult and costly. Highly skilled resources on the latest security technologies must be provided to the State when needed.

iii. The State will be able to take advantage of contractor-provided cloud-native security tools to either replace or enhance existing State-provided tools.

G. Improve Disaster Recovery (DR) Capabilities

i. The State can improve its DR agility. The current solution only supports a one-way failover to physical stand-by at a DR site in Cleveland. Currently, there is no ability to return processing back to the Columbus datacenter.

ii. The ability to actively manage computing capacity across multiple datacenters to eliminate the need to support a production-sized environment like the current on-premises DR that sits idle most of the time and is expensive to maintain.

iii. RTO and RPO timeframes should be significantly reduced, ultimately providing improved risk mediation and faster recovery when problems occur.

H. Enhance OAKS Image and Public Perception

i. OAKS business critical systems continuously run on high performing and highly reliable technologies, with higher availability.

ii. OAKS is viewed as a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective service in the eyes of the media, public watchdogs, and customers.

iii. OAKS demonstrates more effective and efficient use of public funding and taxes through improved cost and performance.

Section 3. Offeror Profile and Differentiators

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - Please insert your responses after each paragraph or after each bullet point. All responses in BLUE please. The expectation is that offerors will incorporate any references to Sections 2, 4, 5, and 6 into their responses to this section.

The offeror must provide brief overviews of its capabilities, core competencies, and market differentiators, in the following areas:

1. Profile

A. Date offeror was established, its leadership, number of employees, number of employees the offeror will engage in tasks directly related to the Project.

B. Vendor Relationships, Alliances or Awards that demonstrate a commitment to State of Ohio current vendor products and a long-standing track record of successful deliveries and customer experiences.

C. At least three recent large customer references who have re-platformed their PeopleSoft applications to the offeror’s cloud solution(s).

i. The offeror must provide a client contact name, title, phone number, email address, company name, and mailing address.

ii. The offeror must provide the beginning month and year and the ending month and year to show the length of time the offeror performed the work.

D. Access to best practices tools that the offeror has developed that result in rapid, high quality, and low-cost operational usage of its premises and cloud-based applications.

E. World-class support capabilities that drive the highest levels of support and service that ensure maximal usage and availability of the system – particularly during critical business periods, but also during routine or planned maintenance and enhancement periods that minimize disruption to business and user communities.

F. Commitment to scalable, upgradeable solutions to ensure the State has access to current features / functionality and can pursue migrations and new service implementation in a timely and cost-effective manner.

G. Rapid implementation and quality methodologies designed to help ensure that migrations and implementations go as quickly as possible with review at each major step against quality requirements, and result in minimal business interruptions, auditable performance, and a lasting operational capability that the State can build on.

2. Background and Qualifications

A. Describe your organization's experience in transitioning state, federal, or local government clients from PeopleSoft on-premises environments to the offeror’s cloud-based solution. Include examples where applicable.

B. Provide details about your cloud practice and explain how your services differentiate your organization from other cloud providers.

C. Detail your organization’s experience hosting PeopleSoft applications, with specific focus on personnel expertise, available tools, proven processes, and core capabilities that support successful migration, service delivery, and ongoing operations.

3. Innovation

A. Describe innovative features or differentiators of your cloud platform that enhance the hosting, management, and performance of PeopleSoft applications hosted in your environments. Examples may include:

i. Predictive analytics offerings.

ii. Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven performance optimization.

iii. Proactive health monitoring and automated remediation.

iv. Integration with emerging technologies (e.g., containers, serverless components, low-code automation).

v. Enhanced developer and DevOps tooling for faster delivery cycles.

B. Describe any intellectual property, accelerators, or platform services that improve operational efficiency, or enhance user experience.

C. Provide examples of where these innovations have been successfully deployed in government environments or large-scale ERP workloads.

Section 4. Current Applications

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - No responses in this section

The OAKS environment integrates various systems using Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Managed File Transfer (MFT) technologies to support interoperability across platforms.

OAKS is responsible for the design, deployment, operation, and maintenance of these mission-critical systems on behalf of all State agencies, boards, and commissions.

1. The Oracle On-Premises Applications that will be moving to the cloud and interacting with various SaaS applications are listed here:

A. PeopleSoft Financial Management (FSCM): Installed version 9.2.49; PeopleTools version 8.60; and a high number of customizations. An on-premises solution that supports accounts payable, accounts receivable, asset management, billing, financial reporting, general ledger, planning and budgeting, procurement, and travel and expense.

B. PeopleSoft Human Capital Management (HCM): Installed version 9.2.52; PeopleTools version 8.60; and a high number of customizations. An on-premises solution that supports benefits administration, eBenefits, ePerformance, payroll, position management, time and labor, and workforce administration. Integrated with SmartERP for ePar workflow processing and integration to Hyland’s Onbase document management system.

C. Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW) – Installed version 12.2.1.4. An on-premises solution that supports integration and interfaces to all OAKS software systems.

Note that these Oracle On-Premises Application groups run in one “Business Environment” and all the configurations, customizations, and operational services are similar. This business environment runs on the State’s Oracle Engineered Systems and integrates with other applications using the State’s Oracle Fusion Middleware-SOA suite of products.

2. Other Applications that are integrated with the current Oracle On-Premises Applications are:

A. UC4 - Batch job scheduling and orchestration

B. Phire - PeopleSoft Change Management tool

C. BI Data Warehouse on AWS (S3 and Snowflake) – Build and implementation in progress (planned go-live in April 2026). A cloud hosted BI solution in AWS and Snowflake platforms that provides key financial and human resources data via AWS DMS and DataStage ETLs to Cognos-based BI Systems to State agencies and institutions of higher education including more than 4,000 direct users.

D. Kronos UKG Work Force Manager version - Cloud based software service (42,000 licenses)

E. OhioBuys - Ivalua Cloud procurement application used for solicitations, requisitions and purchase orders.

F. Cornerstone Learning Management - Cloud (250,000 licenses for internal and external users).

G. Moving from Taleo Recruit to Cornerstone Recruiting & Onboarding (55,000 licenses) in State Fiscal Year 2026, along with CornerStone Forms & Workflows (250,000 licenses).

H. Moving from Oracle PeopleSoft Performance to Cornerstone Performance Management (55,000 licenses) in State Fiscal Year 2027.

I. Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM-Budget & Planning BEA) EPM apps for Budget and Planning on OCI cloud.

Section 5. Current System Architecture

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - No responses in this section, but the State’s Architecture needs to be accounted for in the offeror’s response to Sections 7 and 8 Requirements.

The current OAKS system infrastructure is distributed across three primary environments: Production, Non-Production, and Disaster Recovery. Each environment is hosted on Oracle Engineered Systems and serves a distinct operational purpose:

1. Production supports all live, transactional operations and end-user activities.

2. Non-Production includes Development, Testing, and Training environments used for solution design, configuration, upgrades, and validation.

3. Disaster Recovery (DR) is maintained as a failover environment to ensure business continuity in the event of a disruption to the primary Production site.

The diagram below provides a high-level architectural overview of these three infrastructure environments, illustrating how the OAKS platform is currently deployed and supported.

Figure 1: High-Level Architecture Diagram

The logical network architecture diagram below presents a high-level overview of the three environments and the network flows between them. The primary network component connecting these environments is the OIT Core, which serves as the ingress point for both internet and extranet traffic. Network segmentation is achieved using Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) to ensure isolation and optimize routing efficiency.

Figure 2: Logical Network Architecture

4. Environment Described

The logical environment described below outlines the key network segments and their purposes within the proposed architecture. Contractor must consider and support the following network connections and requirements:

A. Private network for PCA (Private Cloud Appliance) virtual machines to communicate internally.

B. Private network dedicated to PCA application-to-Exadata Oracle Database traffic.

C. Private network for Oracle database backups to the ZFS Storage Appliance.

D. Private network connecting the external ZFS Storage Appliance to the PCA infrastructure.

E. Private network supporting Production-to-Non-Production Oracle database refreshes and application promotions between environments.

F. DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) network for handling traffic exposed to Internet or Extranet users.

G. Spectrum Protect backup network for operating system and file-level backups to enterprise archive storage.

H. Client network to support data center services such as Oracle Enterprise Manager.

I. Disaster recovery replication network to support data replication and failover processes.

Figure 3: Environment Logical View

The Engineered Systems Logical View below illustrates the network connections between appliances, including their interconnectivity and associated bandwidth specifications.

Figure 4: OAKS Engineered Systems network connectivity

Section 6. Current OAKS Environment and Baseline Facts

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - No responses in this section.

Infrastructure Requirements:

The current baseline infrastructure requirements and performance expectations for the OAKS PeopleSoft environments are outlined below. It is important to note that this request is not for the purchase of physical machines or hardware, but rather for the provision of a compute capacity to meet these defined needs.

1. Users:

A. Maximum concurrent users – 6000 - 10,000

B. FSCM – approximately 500 concurrent weekly

C. HCM – approximately 5,000 concurrent weekly (pay week)

2. Database Summary:

A. Oracle Database 19c

B. 52 Oracle Databases

i. 9 Production (Prod)

ii. 34 Non-Production (Non-Prod)

iii. 9 Disaster Recovery (DR)

C. Of the nine Production Databases (the DR footprint mirrors the production environment):

i. Two are over 10 TB

ii. Seven are under 1 TB

D. Of the 34 Non-Prod Databases:

i. Nine are over 4 TB

ii. Eight are over 10 TB

iii. Seventeen are under 1 TB

E. 2-node Oracle Real Application Custers (RAC) or equivalent HA/fault tolerance

F. 48 cores per node

G. Refreshes to non-production environments bi-weekly for FSCM

H. Refreshes to non-production environments monthly (4 weeks) for HCM

I. Refreshes on-demand for Project environments

J. Annual 20% planned growth rate

K. All Fusion SOA middleware setup is distributed in 17 VMs with total 1.5TB RAM, 128 vCPU and 1.1TB of disk storage

Figure 5: Exadata Capacity

3. Network:

A. Connectivity to on-premises systems during transitional periods is required.

A. Load balancing is required.

A. Network connectivity to infrastructure components is available from State office buildings for system administration purposes. All applications are accessible from external networks through Firewall access. B. Cloud vendor high speed network tunnel connectivity is required to SOCC and additional State datacenters.

4. Computing Capacity:

Figure 6: PCA Hypervisor and VM storage Capacity

5. Storage Capacity

Figure 7: ZFS storage Capacity

6. Operating Systems:

All backend databases run in Oracle 19c on an Exadata platform with OEL OS. All middleware (Web-WebLogic, App-Tuxedo and Batch-Tuxedo) platform runs on a PCA virtualized platform with OEL OS.

7. Operating Schedule:

A. 24x7x365 for Production and Production support environments (i.e. QA Environments).

B. Standard business hours Monday through Friday (7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) for all other lower SDLC environments.

C. Daily incremental backups.

D. Weekly full backups (up to 12 weeks retention).

E. IBM Storage Protect (formerly IBM Spectrum Protect and Tivoli Storage Manager -TSM) is used for primary site backup and secondary DR site backup retention.

F. Backup operations are secured using air-gapped architecture implemented through IBM Storage and Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), providing robust protection against security threats (e.g., ransomware).

i. Connectivity management between regional sites.

ii. Ability to restore files on demand from backups.

8. Architecture:

A. Production and DR databases are two node RAC, Oracle Clusterware runs on both production DB nodes.

B. An Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) configuration is currently in place for all production and performance testing QAI instances to support read/write failover, ensuring high availability and maintaining the integrity of critical transaction data for HCM and FSCM systems.

C. Non-Production databases are standalone (except Performance Testing QAI environments), Oracle Clusterware runs on all six DB nodes.

D. End-users connect through F5 Load Balancers. In every layer of the architecture (Reverse Proxy, HA Proxy in PCA, WebLogic, Tuxedo App tier, Oracle RAC on DB tier) there's Load Balancing and Failover capability built into it.

E. Oracle Virtual Machine (OVM) is used for virtualization

Section 7. Operational and Technical Requirements

RESPONSE GUIDANCE - Please insert your responses after each paragraph or after each bullet point. All responses must be in BLUE, please. The expectation is that offerors will incorporate any references to Sections 2, 4, 5, and 6 into their responses to this section.

The current OAKS on-premises infrastructure meets specific operational and technical requirements. The proposed future-state (to-be) infrastructure must meet or exceed these existing requirements to effectively support the hosting and operation of OAKS applications.

1. Cost Efficiency

A. Optimize Infrastructure Costs: provides elastic computing, storage, and network resources, reducing the need for expensive on-premises hardware refresh cycles.

B. Pay-as-you-go Model: Instead of large upfront capital expenditure, the State pays for what is used.

C. Additional software applications or tools offered at no cost or for a cost that would be beneficial to the State.

D. Cost optimization tools leveraging AI/ML for resource usage forecasting.

2. Performance and Scalability

A. High Performance Compute: High Speed and Scalable Platform Offer bare metal and virtual machines optimized for the State’s PeopleSoft workloads. Application, storage, and database tiers are connected via a private network with a minimum connection speed of 40gbps to avoid latency.

B. Elastic Scaling: Manage peak business cycles (e.g., payroll, open enrollment, Finance year-end closing) without over-provisioning servers.

C. Capacity Planning: Provide capacity and power expansibility (or shrinkage) that does not limit future growth or performance of the State’s OAKS systems.

D. Describe the auto-scaling capabilities of the proposed cloud solution that are suitable for hosting PeopleSoft applications, including support for both rules-based and metric-based scaling. Indicate whether scaling is manual or automatic and specify support for vertical and horizontal scaling approaches.

E. Provide details on available compute and storage options, including the variety of virtual machine types and disk performance tiers to meet a range of application requirements.

F. Demonstrate the solution's ability to meet or exceed the current OAKS computing capacity and ability to support existing business volume metrics, including transaction throughput and concurrent user load.

G. Describe your backup and on-demand recovery capabilities. The current system utilizes:

i. Daily incremental backups.

ii. Weekly full backups with retention of up to 12 weeks.

iii. IBM Storage Protect (formerly IBM Spectrum Protect / Tivoli Storage Manager - TSM) for primary and secondary (DR site) backup.

iv. Air-gapped architecture to secure backup operations, offering protection against ransomware and other cyber threats.

Explain how the proposed solution can replicate or enhance this backup and recovery architecture, including support for air-gapped or similarly secure configurations.

3. Eliminate routine Tech-Refresh

A. Cloud contractor must ensure Infrastructure Modernization and Lifecycle Management.

B. The proposed solution must eliminate the need for a traditional five-year OAKS infrastructure refresh cycle by transferring the responsibility for infrastructure maintenance and modernization to the contractor. The contractor must ensure that all infrastructure components remain current, adhering to at least an 'n-1' version standard, and aligned with the latest supported technologies and hardware available in the market.

4. Futureproofing and Vendor Lock-In Avoidance

As Oracle continues to enhance PeopleSoft and Fusion Middleware (SOA) applications, and support their deployment on cloud platforms, the contractor must demonstrate alignment with Oracle’s long-term support strategy for PeopleSoft and SOA applications.

5. Offerors must provide the following in their responses:

A. Confirmation of compatibility with current and future PeopleSoft and SOA application versions.

B. Evidence of alignment with Oracle’s PeopleSoft and SOA roadmap and support timelines.

C. Details of any partnerships or certifications with Oracle relevant to PeopleSoft and SOA hosting.

D. Approach for maintaining platform compatibility as Oracle releases updates or enhancements.

E. The solution must not impose lock-in to any specific application or technology platform in accordance with Ohio law. In the event that the State decides to transition away from the base PeopleSoft application or migrates to an alternative solution, the contractor must ensure a smooth and non-restrictive transition process.

F. The contractor must allow for annual review and renewal, with clear flexibility in entry and exit terms. The contractor must support a modular and adaptable agreement structure that accommodates evolving business and technology needs.

6. Integration

A. Native Oracle Ecosystem: Seamless integration with Oracle Database Cloud, and analytics tools.

B. Coexistence with SaaS: Capability to extend PeopleSoft with Oracle Fusion Cloud applications (HCM, ERP, SCM) in a hybrid model.

C. Additional software applications or tools offered at no cost or for a cost. If there is a cost, please describe.

D. Support interfaces and integrations with the following third party systems:

i. UKG Pro Work Force Manager

ii. Taleo Recruit

iii. Cornerstone Recruit

iv. Cornerstone Performance Management

v. Cornerstone Learning Management

vi. AWS-Snowflake hosted BI system

vii. Ivalua cloud based Procure to Pay - Ohio Buys system

viii. Smart ERP, Smart Docs with ERP Gadget and Smart Workflow

ix. Broadcom UC4 (Batch Scheduling and Orchestration)

x. Phire software - an ACM tool developed utilizing People Tools

xi. Active Data Guard for DR database replications

xii. CI/DC Pipeline integration tools, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, etc.

7. Operational Agility

A. Automated Lifecycle Tools: Provides automation for patching, cloning, disaster recovery, and PeopleSoft Cloud Manager (specific tooling for migrating and managing PeopleSoft applications).

B. Availability: Multiple data centers in the United States for DR and high availability.

C. Routine operational practices such as upgrades, backups, database refreshes/restores, SDLC migrations, environment creations, and other system administration functions, can be effectively and efficiently performed as compared to current on-premises practices.

8. Security and Compliance

A. Provide built-in security controls across all layers of the proposed architecture.

B. Ensure data encryption at rest and in transit.

C. Include identity and access management (IAM) features, including fine-grained permissions and support for SSO, SAML, and MFA.

D. Include capabilities for security auditing and continuous monitoring.

E. Support compliance requirements and certifications applicable to the government sector, as required by many PeopleSoft customers.

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