RFP Checklist | Data warehouses
Connecting state and local government leaders
Ask yourself the following questions when creating and evaluating proposalsfor a data warehouse.
Ask yourself the following questions when creating and evaluating proposalsfor a data warehouse. In drafting an RFP, review format and content rules toensure they are vendor-neutral. Unless it's absolutely critical to have a functionthat a single vendor supports, word your requirement in a way that encouragesvendors to come up with competing solutions.
- What current databases will the
warehouse pull data from? Are they
all under your control, or do some
of them belong to other agencies? - Who will define the structure of the
warehouse, initially and in the future? - Will there be data marts in addition to the central warehouse?
- How large does the database scale?
Is this adequate for your organization's
current and future needs? - What operating systems does the
database require? Does the organization
currently support these
OSes, or will it need to add additional
skill sets? - What hardware does the database
run on? What will the initial hardware
purchase costs and ongoing
support costs be? - What level of customization is needed?
Does the database support the
organization's existing stored procedures
or user-defined functions?
Does it support any unusual data
types used by the organization? - Does the database provide ANSI
standard SQL support? - Is the database open source or
proprietary? - What security features does the
database offer? Does it include
data encryption? Does it offer
record level access control? Does it
have a built-in audit trail that can
track which system user made
what change at what time, and indicate
old and new data values? - Does the system have a hierarchical
permission structure to limit
who can make changes? Will the
public have access to the database
over the Internet, or is it restricted
to internal users? - What legacy or other systems must
it interact with? Does the data
need ETL functionality to move it
to the data warehouse, or will it be
populated with fresh data? Who
handles ETL work or data entry,
the agency or the contractor? - Will the data warehouse be mirrored
or backed up in any particular
way? How long does it take to
restore the warehouse? Will it be
stored in a single or multiple locations?
How will data be updated? - What reports are needed, in what
format (XL, Word, HTML)? Who
creates them? Are the reports to be
standardized, ad hoc or both? - How is the database licensed?
By number of processors, users,
size of data store? - What is the deployment deadline?
Can the vendor meet that deadline?
Will it be a phased deployment? - Does the contractor need a certain
level of security clearance? What
levels of certification and accreditation
are needed? Is knowledge of
or experience in any specific field
needed or useful to the contractor? - How will the consultant turn running
the data warehouse over to internal
staff after deployment?
What type of documentation and
training are required? What type of
ongoing support? - How easy is it to get support personnel/
third-party software for
the DBMS and hardware in your
area?