VMware vSphere Foundation Licences & Support NEW

The National Research Foundation (NRF), established under the National Research Foundation Act as amended (Act 19 of 2018), invites bids for the appointment of a service provider to supply, install and configure VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) licensing with three years of technical support. The NRF's Digital Services Business Unit, which manages the organisation's ICT strategy, governance and key infrastructure projects, requires 256 cores of VVF licences (equivalent to eight servers, each with two processors of 16 cores) for a period of three years, together with one VMware vCenter Server licence. The licensing is required to maintain access to technical support, security patches and software updates for the virtualisation platform.

The scope of work covers supply of the licences, installation and configuration of the VMware environment by a certified technician, and three years of support. The VMware solution will connect to an existing IBM V9000 SAN storage device over fibre channel, so the successful bidder must configure storage pathing within VMware and, where required, on the fibre channel switches. Installation is linked to the NRF's concurrent procurement of replacement servers and two SAN switches, so delivery timing may be affected by hardware lead times. Delivery is to Brummeria, Pretoria. Performance is measured through delivery, installation and service-quality KPIs, with penalties under GCC clause 22 for late delivery or missed deadlines, and cancellation applicable for non-delivery of licences. The contract runs for three years from final signature of the SBD 7.1 contract form.

Mandatory requirements include a Broadcom partnership at any tier, evidenced by a certificate or letter from a primary authorised distributor or Broadcom; two written reference letters for comparable projects completed within the past 60 months; proof of VMware installation skills (such as a VMware certificate); and a CV for the SAN switch technician showing prior deployment of the proposed solution. Bidders must also hold a valid CSD registration, a tax compliance status, and a B-BBEE certificate or affidavit if claiming preference points. Pricing must be firm, in South African Rand, and inclusive of VAT and delivery costs. Bids are evaluated on functionality, then on price (80 points) and preference (20 points) under the 80/20 system. The closing date is 13 November 2026 at 11:00, and bids must be submitted via the National Treasury eTender portal. Queries must be submitted in writing by 4 November 2026 to tender.enquiries@nrf.ac.za.