SaalexIT_FinalInformation Technology
The IT Experts
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee
City Administration
55 SE 3rd Avenue, Room 201
Okeechobee, FL 34974
Email: iriedel@cityofokeechobee.com
Reference: City of Okeechobee Information Technology Services
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19 / Saalex Proposal No. 8119-509
Dear Ms. Riedel,
Saalex Corporation, doing business as Saalex Information Technology (SaalexIT), is pleased to
submit our proposal in response to the referenced Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to provide
City of Okeechobee with Information Technology Services. SaalexIT agrees to all conditions,
instructions, descriptions and specifications contained in the proposal.
SaalexIT was incorporated on December 11, 1999 as a Nevada corporation and is a separate
entity not owned or affiliated with any other business structure. Our company has extensive
experience executing varying types of contracts that include Information Technology Services.
SaalexIT is a prime contractor as well as an active subcontractor with the Air Force, Navy, Army
and NASA organizations. We also currently provide Information Technology (IT) support to
over 35 commercial customers, four (4) Federal Government customers, one (1) City and one (1)
County.
SaalexIT is the best firm to provide the City with Information Technology Services because
we are a trusted IT services provider, we perform services for many Government entities,
and we make security a top priority.
A Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), SaalexIT states the following:
• Legal Entity name: Saalex Corporation doing business as Saalex Information Technology
• Company headquarters and offices supporting Information Technology Services:
o 811-A Camarillo Springs Road, Camarillo, CA 93012
Phone: 805.482.1070; Fax: 805.482.1072
o 1006 Pathfinder Way, Rockledge, FL 32955
Phone: 321.848.0340; Fax: 321.848.0341
o 206 South Richmond Road, Suite C, Ridgecrest, CA 93555
Phone: 760.384.2500; Fax: 760.3 84.0006
o 27525 Enterprise Circle W. Suite 101 A, Temecula, CA 92590
Phone: 805.482.1070
o Website: www.saalexit.com
1006 Pathfinder Way, Rockledge, FL 32955 • (P) 321-848-0340 • (F) 321.848.0341 • www.saalexit.com
Engineering and Information Technology Solutions
Information Technology
The IT Experts
• Proposal and Negotiator Contact POC:
o Travis Mack, President/CEO; 811-A Camarillo Springs Road, Camarillo, CA
93012; Email: travis.mack@saalex.com; Phone: 805.482.1070, ext. 101;
Fax: 805.482.1072
o Jaime Dempsey, Director of Contracts; 1006 Pathfinder Way, Rockledge, FL
32955; Email: jaime.dempsey@saalex.com; Phone: 321.848.0340, ext. 316;
Fax: 321.848.0341
• SaalexIT understands all elements of the RFQ and intends to perform all services listed.
We agree to and accept all the terms and conditions of this RFQ and take no exceptions.
SaalexIT is a separate entity not owned or affiliated with any other business structure. We
acknowledge and accept any and all addendums to the RFQ.
Our entire response to this RFQ is comprised of this transmittal letter and the proposal.
Sincerely,
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Jaime Dempsey,
Director of Contracts
Saalex Information Technology
Phone: 321.848.0340, ext. 316
1006 Pathfinder Way, Rockledge, FL 32955 • (P) 321-848-0340 • (F) 321.848.0341 • www.saalexit.com
Engineering and Information Technology Solutions
I NFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
S ERVICES
In Response to
RFQ NO : FIN 01-32-03-19
For the City of Okeechobee
DUE DATE: APRIL 11, 2019, 3:00PM EST
Submitted to: Submitted by:
ATTN: India Riedel
City of Okeechobee
City Administration
55 SE 3rd Avenue, Room 201
Okeechobee, FL 34974
Saalex Information Technology
Travis T. Mack, President/CEO
Phone: 321.848.0340
Fax: 321.848.0341
1006 Pathfinder Way
Rockledge, FL 32955
travis.mack@saalex.com
www.saalexit.com
Proposal #: 8119-509
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services i
Table of Contents
1.0 Interest and Qualifications ................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Brief description of firm ................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of interest for the scope of services ................................................................. 3
2.0 Related Experience and References ................................................................................. 5
2.1 Reference 1: Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County (ELCAC) ............................ 5
2.2 Reference 2: The Trial Professionals (TrialPro) .............................................................. 6
2.3 Reference 3: Zuber Lawler Del Duca LLC (ZLD) .......................................................... 8
3.0 Background Clearance .................................................................................................... 10
4.0 Team and Availability ..................................................................................................... 11
4.1 Proposed team ................................................................................................................ 11
4.2 Lead Contact .................................................................................................................. 12
4.3 Statement on availability and commitment of personnel ............................................... 13
4.4 Key Personnel resumes .................................................................................................. 14
5.0 Project Approach ............................................................................................................. 35
5.1 Understanding and Approach of the scope of the project and services ......................... 35
5.2 History and ability to establish and maintain schedules ................................................ 52
5.3 Quality assurance process .............................................................................................. 57
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services ii
Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms
Acronym Definition
AQL Acceptable Quality Levels
CA California
Cat5e Category 5 Enhanced
CISSP Certified Information Systems Professional
COOP Continuity of Operations Plan
CPA Canaveral Port Authority
CRM Customer Relationship Management
CSP Comma Separated Values
DA Data Analytics
DAPA Data Analytics and Predictive Analytics
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DoD Department of Defense
DNS Domain Name System
ELCAC Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County
eLit eLitigation
ESOP Employee Stock Ownership Plan
FL Florida
GREP Global Regular Expression Point
HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
IPsec Internet Protocol Security
IP Internet Protocol
Inc. Incorporated
ISO International Organization of Standardization
IT Information Technology
ITSM Information Technology Service Management
KPI Key Performance Indicators
LLC Limited Liability Company
LTD Limited Company
MAC Macintosh
MCSE Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
MS Microsoft
MSP Managed Service Product
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services iii
NOC Network Operations Center
NTFS New Technology Files
PBX Private Branch Exchange
OS Operating System
PC Personal Computer
PM Project Manager
POC Point of Contact
PSA Professional Services Automation
QC Quality Control
RAW Radar Analysis Workbench
RCA Root Cause Analysis
RMB Risk Management Board
RMM Remote Monitoring and Management
ROI Return on Investment
RTO Recovery Time Objective
SAN Storage Array Network
SEC Security
SIEM Security Information and Event Management
SLA Service Level Agreement
SME Subject Matter Expert
SOC Security Operations Center
SOP Standard Operation Procedure
SQL Structured Query Language
SSL Secure Socket Layer
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TrialPro The Trial Professionals
VCTO Virtual Chief Technology Officer
VIP Very Important Person
VM Virtual Machine
VoIP Voice-over-Internet Protocol
VPN Virtual Private Network
ZLD Zuber Lawler Del Duca LLC
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 1
1.0 I NTEREST AND Q UALIFICATIONS
1.1 B RIEF DESCRIPTION O F FIRM
Saalex Information Technology (SaalexIT) professionals are intimately versed in assessing,
analyzing and fulfilling the information technology needs of a broad range of entities, ranging in
size and scope from small private businesses to the U.S. military and other federal entities. This
includes serving the unique IT demands of local government entities like the City of Okeechobee.
We support thousands of end users on a daily basis and provide IT support to over 35 city, county
and commercial customers, many of which are valuable long-term clients since 2012. Saalex
philosophy is to provide our proven and comprehensive IT support to customers like the City of
Okeechobee and allow them to benefit from world-class customer support, real time data analytics
and improvements to their infrastructure without degradation to IT performance.
Saalex was founded on December 11, 1999, and has been in business for over 19 years. Our
corporate offices are located in Rockledge, FL, Camarillo, CA, Ridgecrest, CA and Temecula, CA.
Our geographical presence is depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Saalex is a $60+ million-dollar firm of over 600 people, serving customers across
the nation.
Our company has extensive experience executing varying types of contracts that include
Engineering Services, Cyber Security and Information Technology (IT) Services. We provide
system performance analysis, information assurance, technical guidance and direct support
throughout the project lifecycle. Saalex is a prime contractor as well as an active subcontractor for
the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Army and National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA).
Saalex Information Technology
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11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 2
SaalexIT’s skill-based routing process consolidates services across multiple clients and time
zones, allocating the appropriate technician to be assigned to every ticket. This allows us to
cover a comprehensive range of technical services in a timely, effective manner. We hire trained
and certified (e.g., A+, Net+, Security+) staff experienced in performing tickets to maximize
customer satisfaction. We manage an internal, U.S.-based Help Desk that requires shift and
on-call work, and we engage in continual 24-hour operations.
1.1.1 Firm officers and executive management
Saalex is recognized as an outstanding company and a great place to
work. Saalex has won numerous awards, including the coveted Award
for Excellence from the United States Small Business Administration,
2015 Small Business of the Year, and the 2004 Service Disabled Veteran
Business of the Year. Mr. Mack has been featured by the Pacific Coast
Business Times “40 under 40” list and Saalex has been featured by the
Pacific Coast Business Times list of fastest growing privately owned
companies in the Tri-Counties area and the best places to work in the
Central Coast. We have provided an overview of the executive
management in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Saalex officers and executive management
Most recently, Saalex implemented an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), providing levels
of ownership to its personnel. The ESOP is a great value driver for our customers. It makes all
employees owners, and thus driving them to higher levels of performance because their enhanced
performance translates to added value for our customers.
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 3
1.2 S TATEMENT OF INTEREST FOR THE SCOPE OF SE RVICES
The City of Okeechobee has developed and implemented a complex IT infrastructure and requires
an economical and effective solution that will allow the City to continue providing services and
excellent support to the public. SaalexIT’s commitment to quality customer service through
responsive and knowledgeable professional staff can help the City achieve this goal. We make it
our number one priority to meet our client’s needs while protecting data and keeping the
organization running smoothly. We offer a systems management, data analytics-driven, approach
to ensure the City’s system remains both operational and current. Our monthly summary reports
of systems health and metrics measure outstanding issues, performance trends, degrading
technologies, and system performance. This will enable the City to align technical efforts with
business operations and assist administrators in proactive strategic investment decisions. When
coupled with our first-rate help desk, network and IT diagnostics, and management tools, we
deliver a service package that will ensure continuity of operations, data fidelity and protection, and
enhanced cybersecurity.
Why SaalexIT? Highlights, Key Features, Benefits to the City
SaalexIT Offers Advantage of Feature Direct Benefit to the City
As-needed on-site
technician, backed by a
fully staffed Help Desk and
Customer Success Team
On-site support to provide hands-on
service for IT users in the City with
additional resources ready to assist
when needed and work on ongoing
projects
• City has on-site and additional
resources ready to respond to needs
and projects
• Responsive, personalized assistance
will be available at the user level
SaalexIT will provide the
service of a Virtual Chief
Technology Officer
(VCTO) (optional service)
A VCTO helps the city by developing
an IT strategy and provides technical
leadership, vendor management,
compliance and much more
• Optimization of effectiveness and
efficiency of IT program, resulting in
budgetary savings and heightened
overall performance
U.S.-based skilled, certified
and experienced technicians
to provide network, system
server and all related
equipment support
Increased productivity for the City
staff not having to deal with language
barriers. As the City’s needs evolve,
SaalexIT can align resources to ensure
proper skills are available to the City
• Fast, efficient operation of systems
• Less downtime for all users
• City equipment that is currently
purchased but unusable (e.g., plate
readers) can be utilized as intended
Equipment Replacement
Program and
Implementation Plan
City will have a report of age,
condition and life expectancy of
current equipment and will be
presented with recommendations for
future acquisitions and upgrades
City will be able to properly budget for
needed replacements and upgrades with a
cohesive and cost-efficient
implementation plan
A designated Customer
Success Team
SaalexIT has a special Customer
Success Team with standard processes
that ensures SaalexIT continues to
meet the City’s needs
Harmonious work between SaalexIT and
City staff to meet City goals and
objectives
Security Operations Center
(SOC)
24-hour monitoring, assessment and
defense of City systems and data
Real-time investigation of security
anomalies, thus reducing false alerts and
unnecessary actions
Security Information and
Event Management (SIEM)
Information from secure sensors are
sent to centralized collectors, allowing
real-time single-point monitoring
Quick and complete security allows early
detection of attacks, threats and breaches
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 4
Network Operations Center
(NOC)
24x7x365 monitoring and capability
for resolving most issues and
performing routine maintenance
remotely. The NOC sends alerts
before negative events occur
Provides the City with access to a higher
technical skill set at no extra cost
Easily accessible online
ticketing system
Ticketing system is accessible through
the SaalexIT portal during entire open
cycle of help desk tickets
Provides users peace of mind that their IT
needs are being handled in a timely
manner. Progress to resolution can be
monitored in real time
Monthly Executive Reports Reports provide metrics that measure
outstanding issues; performance
trends; degrading technologies; and
system performance versus cost
expenditures; system optimization
opportunities
Allows administrators to quickly and
easily stay informed to proactively make
strategic information technology
investment decisions and to answer
questions about the heart of the system
and progress towards problem resolution
and/or improvements
Data Analytics and
Predictive Analytics
(DAPA) capability (offered
at no additional cost to the
City)
Historical data can be used to forecast
future resource demands to enable
City staff to make pragmatic business
decisions
The City can direct the right materials and
people to the correct job at precisely the
right time. Efficiencies can be found to
help control costs and save time.
Disaster Recovery
Specialists (optional)
We will conduct a disaster recovery
assessment to understand the level of
impact risks. SaalexIT will work with
City Staff to develop a disaster
recovery plan
The Disaster Recovery Plan will allow
the City to recover data and minimize
downtime in the event of a natural or
manmade disaster (e.g., earthquake, fire,
flood, power outage, hacking)
Checked and Cleared
personnel
SaalexIT has backgrounded and
security cleared technicians to work
with confidential government
information, systems and on-base
federal locations
Technicians are backgrounded to
municipal standards that access local
police department infrastructure and can
start working to meet City requirements
immediately upon contract.
Autonomous Project
Manager (PM)
Local PM with authority to meet all of
the City’s requirements and execute
all contract provisions
No delay while waiting for corporate
office to make decisions
Business Plan/Action Plan
will be prepared and
presented
Cohesive plan aligned with City goals Strategic planning for purchasing and
emerging technology trends to meet its
business vision and desired future state
ISO 9001:2015 certified
company
Corporate commitment to employee
training and emerging job
requirements/proven quality assurance
processes for planning, scheduling and
performing inspections, audits and
reviews
Properly trained and certified technicians
will answer calls for assistance.
Proven quality assurance processes create
and maintain a highly functioning system.
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 5
2.0 R ELATED E XPERIENCE AND R EFERENCES
2.1 R EFERENCE 1: E ARLY L EARNING C OALITION OF A LACHUA C OUNTY (ELCAC)
Client Information
Project Client Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County (ELCAC)
Contact Person Linda Goettsche, Operations Coordinator
Phone: 352.376.2570
Email: LGoettsche@elcalachua.org
Client Location 4424 NW 13th Street Suite A-5 Gainesville, FL 32609
2.1.1 Description of services prov ided
SaalexIT has saved the ELCAC significant time and expenditure by thwarting multiple hacking
attempts, improving IT infrastructure performance by 400 percent, and identifying and removing
abandoned software left by previous service providers.
SaalexIT is responsible for the 24x7 support of workstations, servers, switches, printers, routers
and firewalls. The services include Office 365 administration, anti-virus management, local
backup administration, anti-virus management, local backup management and recovery, remote
patch management, performance monitoring, software installation, hardware upgrades, recovery,
automated remote resolution of events, and any additional on-site support as needed.
SaalexIT ensures proper operation of the ELCAC’s networked computer system, equipment and
related network infrastructure located in two buildings within the ELCAC. Our responsibilities
include providing server, workstation, printer, switch and LAN management. We are also
responsible for planning and managing inventory, backup system and documentation for all
systems and activity performed within their environment. SaalexIT performs monthly inspections
of the computer room to ensure the environment is a healthy working condition to include,
cleanliness, organization, and climate control to ensure equipment health. Additionally, SaalexIT
provides two (2) hours of monthly on-site services.
SaalexIT participates collaboratively with various ELCAC departments to fulfill service needs
with the ELCAC operations coordinator. Additionally, SaalexIT provides monthly summary
reports of systems health and patch management. Finally, our SaalexIT IT Director performs a
quarterly review of the environment to insure compliance, security and optimum performance.
This analysis is then reviewed with ELCAC’s executive management to make recommendations
for future improvements, purchasing and technology upgrades.
SaalexIT adheres to our response and resolution time frames established in our Service Level
Agreement (SLA) with the ELCAC and has performed our IT Managed Services within budget.
2.1.2 IT staff who worked on this contract
Saalex Office
Location
Name and Title Role on this project
Camarillo, CA Kevin Kehoe
Deputy Director of IT
Security Engineer, Tier 4 help desk support
Daniel Olson
System Administrator
Network Engineer, Tier 3 help desk support
Joseph Hise
Systems Administrator
Tier 3 help desk support
Jae Aric Jeon
Service Desk Clerk
Tier 1 help desk support
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 6
Rockledge, FL David Stills
Director of IT
Project Manager, VCTO, Transition Manager, Tier 4 Help desk
support
James Lawson
Jr. Systems Administrator
Business Analyst, Tier 3 help desk support
Ryan Blessing
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Ridgecrest, CA Richard Wahl
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
2.2 R EFERENCE 2: T HE T RIAL P ROFESSIONALS (TRIAL P RO)
Client Information
Project Client The Trial Professionals (TrialPro)
Contact Person Lewis Aguirre, IT
Phone: 800.874.2577
Email: lewis@trialpro.com
Client Location 1218 E. Robinson Street, Orlando, FL 32801
2.2.1 Description of services provided
SaalexIT assumed legal services firm The Trial Professionals (TrialPro) end-to-end network and
IT asset configuration control, system modernization, and baseline establishment for their IT
infrastructure environment. Along with dedicated technicians, SaalexIT was able to improve their
users’ customer service experience and provide a stable, efficient network.
Additionally, when TrialPro relocated to a larger office, SaalexIT analyzed their work methods
and the data storage and distribution requirements, developed a tailored network architecture that
improved their data management and overall systems reliability, and ensured they remained
operationally efficient. We installed the system, monitored its operation to ensure the transition
was smooth and subsequently performed a risk assessment analysis to ensure that the system was
not vulnerable from a cybersecurity perspective. Additionally, we engineered cabling for the new
office and moved all workstations, servers and network equipment over one weekend. This
resulted in only four (4) hours of down time, as opposed to the expected 48 hours, all while
ensuring that the law firm and their clients’ information remained privileged. Today, our
relationship with TrialPro continues to expand and we now provide them with managed IT
services, help desk support, remote server administration and network support.
SaalexIT provides all Microsoft updates to the seven (7) servers in TrialPro’s infrastructure. These
include Microsoft Exchange and Structured Query Language (SQL) updates. To eliminate any
disruptions in the practice, we performed the updates after-hours in accordance with a monthly
schedule that best fits TrialPro. With our remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool, we
customize when and what patches are applied. This approach provides the client with the most up-
to-date security patches and performance enhancements to their system.
SaalexIT assessed TrialPros’ network, and we determined that a reliable off-site backup was
required to ensure data integrity through a combination of archiving and reconciliation. Since we
are a Veeam authorized reseller, we developed and provided them with a Veeam solution utilizing
local on-site backup that replicates to our off-site data center built within the Satcom Direct
worldwide data center.
As part of assuming total system responsibility, we conducted a hardware/software configuration
audit and licensing survey, assumed licensing responsibility and ensured all licenses were current.
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 7
When hardware/software was found to be out of date, issues were resolved. SaalexIT also advised
TrialPro where licenses could be effectively terminated, thereby saving operational costs.
As part of our initial system assessment, we discovered that the TrialPro system had several
security issues that could be exploited to compromise their operations and their client’s data. The
risks discovered included open ports, expired filter subscriptions, and low-level virtual private
network (VPN) encryption. SaalexIT upgraded their firmware, transitioned their VPN to IPsec,
and renewed their filtering subscription, providing TrialPro with much stronger security for their
organization.
SaalexIT is responsible for account management of the active directory, exchanges and their
proprietary systems. This gives TrialPro the assurance that all necessary applications, security and
system access is done correctly.
SaalexIT performs quarterly account reviews with TrialPro. We also prepare executive reports on
invoicing, service, future projects and budgeting for quarterly meetings. These meetings are
invaluable to TrialPro and SaalexIT in aligning technical efforts with their business operations.
SaalexIT also provides TrialPro with an online portal to see and manage real-time activity.
SaalexIT adheres to the response and resolution time frames established in our SLA with TrialPro
and has performed our Managed Service Product (MSP) services within budget.
2.2.2 IT staff who work ed on this contract
Saalex Office
Location
Name and Title Role on this project
Camarillo, CA Kevin Kehoe
Deputy Director of IT
Security Engineer, Tier 4 help desk support.
Daniel Olson
System Administrator
Network Engineer, Tier 3 help desk support
Joseph Hise
Systems Administrator
Tier 3 help desk support
Jae Aric Jeon
Service Desk Clerk
Tier 1 help desk support
Rockledge, FL David Stills
Director of IT
Project Manager, VCTO, Transition Manager, Tier 4 help desk
support
James Lawson
Jr. Systems Administrator
Business Analyst, Tier 3 help desk support
Ryan Blessing
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Ridgecrest, CA Richard Wahl
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 8
2.3 R EFERENCE 3: Z UBER L AWLER D EL D UCA LLC (ZLD)
Client Information
Project Client Zuber Lawler Del Duca LLC (ZLD)
Contact Person Chelsea Watson, Tech Coordinator
Phone: 213.596.5620
Email: cwatson@zuberlaw.com
Client Location 777 South Figueroa Street # 37, Los Angeles, CA 90017
2.3.1 Description of services provided
SaalexIT has reduced overall costs and improved work efficiency for law firm ZLD by providing
a stable, secure IT environment. Our comprehensive IT solution includes 24x7 desktop care for
112 managed computers, hardware and software audits, performance and preventative
maintenance reports, LogMeIn remote control patch management and monitoring, web-based
management portal, desktop performance monitoring, administrative scripting, policy
management, client communicator with self-help center, anti-virus management, Web-Root anti-
virus software, Malwarebytes anti-malware software, virus and malware removal, mobile device
support, administrative tasks, and software installations.
Although most issues are resolved automatically through our RMM software, on occasions where
an actual technician is needed, SaalexIT experts are quick to respond to requests. ZLD benefits
from immediate response Help Desk Support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a dedicated dial-
in number for VIPs, and the ability to schedule same day on-site support for emergencies and next
day on-site support for non-critical issues.
To minimize cost for ZLD, SaalexIT relies on a combination of automated tools and human
interface to ensure continuity of operations. SaalexIT uses a Syslog server to record all critical
events on high-priority systems such as firewalls and mission critical servers. This logging system
provides over 100 comprehensive reports and includes a dashboard to easily spot trends.
SaalexIT also manages ZLD’s hardware/software inventory, operational documentation (how-to
guides), and an operational activity log that ensure ZLD maintains compliance with all of its
regulatory needs as well as helping with budgeting processes.
Finally, since the controlled server room is accessed by other vendors (e.g., telephone, internet,
security, video surveillance), SaalexIT performs an on-site physical inspection semi-annually to
ensure racks, equipment and devices are in good working condition.
ZLD uses Datto as an off-site backup appliance. Datto completes a local backup before moving
off-site. SaalexIT backs up their server prior to performing maintenance or upgrades.
SaalexIT provides security management for ZLD in the form of firewall mana gement, anti-virus,
anti-malware, and perimeter monitoring. We also set up and manage their VPN via Secure Socket
Layer (SSL) or Internet Protocol Security (IPsec). We recently assisted with a high-profile security
project involving secure connections to financial institutions, as well as setting up encrypted email
services. The project was successful and ZLD was satisfied with the results.
SaalexIT provides ZLD with all levels of support, including setting up Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
connections between the law firm and some of their enterprise clients to maintain compliance. We
have also integrated a third-party SPAM/spooling service using Transport Layer Security to
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 9
send/receive connectors. In addition, we deal with managing and renewing SSL certificates for
their many clients and domains.
ZLD conducts weekly team meetings to review ongoing projects, tasks and high-priority issues.
As their trusted IT partner, SaalexIT is included in these meetings. ZLD involves us in the early
planning stages of projects, such as office moves or acquisitions, and welcomes our insight on
decisions from an IT perspective.
As a growing organization, ZLD has aggressive timelines on projects in order to meet their client’s
needs. SaalexIT has repeatedly delivered on these timelines on schedule and within budget,
including projects that required third-party vendors. SaalexIT has completed numerous projects
for ZLD since 2013. SaalexIT offers strong project management support and exceptional financial
oversight to help ZLD meet their goals. As a result, we have become an integral part of the law
firm.
2.3.2 IT staff who worked on this contract
Saalex Office
Location
Name and Title Role on this project
Camarillo, CA Kevin Kehoe
Deputy Director of IT
Project Manager, Security Engineer, Tier 4 help desk support.
Daniel Olson
System Administrator
Network Engineer, Tier 3 help desk support
Joseph Hise
Systems Administrator
Tier 3 help desk support
Jae Aric Jeon
Service Desk Clerk
Tier 1 help desk support
Rockledge, FL David Stills
Director of IT
VCTO, Transition Manager, Tier 4 help desk support
James Lawson
Jr. Systems Administrator
Business Analyst, Tier 3 help desk support
Ryan Blessing
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Jose Martinez
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Ridgecrest, CA Richard Wahl
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 help desk support
Saalex Information Technology
RFQ No: FIN 01-32-03-19
11 April 2019
City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 10
3.0 B ACKGROUND C LEARANCE
SaalexIT won and was vetted for a contract with the Town of
Palm Beach and the Town’s Police Department. We were
required to complete a security training, undergo further
background check, and obtain fingerprints for all employees that
will connect to the Town’s network. Saalex IT successfully
completed the required security training to further support the
Police Department’s network.
Since SaalexIT has undergone this process with another
municipality, we are familiar with this process and anticipate that all IT staff will pass their
background clearances without causing any delays to contract performance for the City of
Okeechobee.
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 11
4.0 T EAM AND A VAILABILITY
4.1 P ROPOSED TEAM
SaalexIT is proposing as a Prime Contractor with no subcontractors, as we are capable of handling
the full scope of the City’s required support. SaalexIT’s Director of Information Technology, Mr.
David Stills, is the IT Project Manager and primary contact who will oversee and supervise IT
operations on the contract. The City will receive support from our Director of IT, Deputy Director
of IT, three (3) System Administrators, three (3) Help Desk Technicians, and a Service Desk Clerk.
The City of Okeechobee will also benefit from our mature corporate resources, provided at no
additional cost to the City.
Figure 3. SaalexIT Project Team Organizational Chart
SaalexIT employs the following corporate resources that can assist in meeting the City’s needs.
We provide these resources no additional cost to the City:
Administration and Finance. Our Administration and Finance Team are available to help
resolve billing/invoice concerns.
Contracts. Our Contracts Team executes Master Services Agreements and any
modifications as needed.
Customer Success. Our Customer Success Team ensures SaalexIT engineers continue to
deliver informed service and hardware recommendations based upon our intimate
knowledge of the client environment. The Customer Success team supports the client
through a range of services, beginning with client onboarding and finalizing a Master
Service Agreement. Additional services provided by our Customer Success team include
an account review of the first 90 days after going live (Critical 90), quarterly account
reviews to ensure SaalexIT’s technical roadmap continues to align with City goals, and
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 12
scheduled “meet and greets” to enhance our understanding of the City’s evolving needs.
Throughout the contract, our Customer Success team will dedicate itself to documenting
City priorities and communicating these to our IT Sales and Engineering departments
while providing exemplary customer service support through our IT Help Desk to ensure
all issues are resolved quickly and completely.
Human Resources. SaalexIT has three (3) recruiters that can assist with recruiting
additional IT resources or vacant positions.
Data Analytics Group. SaalexIT has a data analytics group that can develop customized
reports, performance dashboards and sensitivity analysis tools, which include return on
investment (ROI) calculations aimed at providing our customers data-driven insights so
they can make data-driven decisions. After coordination with the City stakeholders,
SaalexIT can deliver quarterly reports based on the data sets available.
4.2 L EAD C ONTACT
SaalexIT’s Director of Information Technology, Mr.
David Stills, is the IT Project Manager and primary
contact who will be overseeing and supervising IT
operations for the City of Okeechobee throughout the
period of the contract. Mr. Stills is a distinguished IT
professional with more than 20 years of success
managing and leveraging technology to meet
aggressive department goals. Mr. Stills excels under
pressure and meets firm deadlines, achieving cost
targets and surpassing quality standards. Mr. Stills has
full autonomy and decision-making authority to
execute all provisions of the contract without
intervention from Saalex corporate. Mr. Stills is the
SaalexIT Primary Point of Contact (POC) for the City
of Okeechobee and will be interfacing with the
assigned City POC regarding all contractual matters.
This streamlined approach significantly minimizes the
turnaround time in the decision-making process when
detailed corporate knowledge is required. Decisions
can be made in hours rather than in days. Additionally,
Mr. Stills will be on-call to assist with any other issues
and will be available via phone and email to initiate
immediate corrective action should escalation of an
event related to the City’s concerns regarding
performance or staffing be required.
Our Director of IT, Mr. David Stills, has full autonomy and decision-making authority to
execute all provisions of the contract without intervention from Saalex corporate.
David, I wanted to personally thank you and
the rest of the Saalex team for efficiently
taking care of our law firm during our recent
office relocation. As we all know, moving is
certainly not fun and especially not a move of
this size. However, Saalex was by our side the
entire time, allowing us to have a smooth
relocation transition. Saalex’s guidance
allowed us to open our new office on a
Monday after the weekend move and have our
system fully up and running without any down
time. We were all very impressed and truly
grateful for the support we received. Our
entire firm is very happy that we chose Saalex
as our new IT company a couple of years ago.
The Saalex team always treats any issues we
may have with a sense of urgency, which is
truly appreciated and very important in
allowing things to run smoothly for our
company. We know we are in good hands.
Thank you again.
-Piercy S., Senior Trial Attorney and
Counselor at Law, The Trial Professionals.
Accolades
Saalex Information Technology
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4.3 S TATEMENT ON AVAILABI LITY AND COMMITMENT OF PERSONNEL
SaalexIT ’s offering entails a full suite of services, managed by a team of IT professionals rather
than a single IT employee. Our IT team will be accessible to the City of Okeech obee throughout
the duration of the contract during the City’s core working hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST, Monday
through Fridays. SaalexIT’s staff working from our Rockledge, FL office can support the City on-
site as the need arises. Since we are a 24x7x365 IT company, we are right-sized with staff working
rotating shifts to support non-maintenance outages and emergencies.
Saalex Office
Location
Name
and Title
Function/
Experience & Expertise
Years of
Experience
Local Availability
of Staff
Okeechobee,
FL
TBH
Help Desk Technician
On-site support
Tier 2 Help Desk Support
TBD On-site and/or
remote
Camarillo,
CA
Kevin Kehoe
Deputy Director of IT
Security Engineer,
Tier 4 Help desk support
18+ Remote
Daniel Olson
System Administrator
Network Engineer, Tier 3
Help desk support
17+ Remote
Joseph Hise
Systems Administrator
Tier 3 Help desk support 12+ Remote
Jae Aric Jeon
Service Desk Clerk
Tier 1 Help desk support 1+ Remote
Rockledge,
FL
David Stills
Director of Information
Technology
Project Manager, VCTO,
Transition Manager,
Tier 4 Help desk support
25+ On-site and/or
remote
James Lawson
Jr. Systems
Administrator
Business Analyst, Tier 3
Help desk support
10+ On-site and/or
remote
Ryan Blessing
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 Help desk support 15+ On-site and/or
remote
Jose Martinez
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 Help desk support 6+ On-site and/or
remote
Ridgecrest,
CA
Richard Wahl
Help Desk Technician
Tier 2 Help desk support 5+ Remote
David, I write to express appreciation for the diligent, thoughtful and incisive efforts of your team in respect of
the recent relocation of our Firm’s largest office. Kevin, Daniel and the full team worked closely and effectively
with our Firm’s Chelsea Watson in planning and executing the move.Many of our attorneys expected significant
technical disruption in connection with the relocation and its aftermath. Happily, the user comments relative to
the technical aspects of the relocation have been uniformly positive, in the nature of “everything works—wow!”
Doubtless the hiccup relative to voice telephony has echoed up to you. The ability of Kevin and colleagues to
work creatively with multiple vendors, bringing to bear their considerable institutional knowledge of our firm’s
technology legacies, enabled the implementation of an essential band aid as a transition to the definitive
resolution of the issue expected shortly. Their ability to remain levelheaded in the face of unanticipated adversity
facilitated the quick thinking and coordination of multiple vendors essential to driving an appropriate outcome.
You already know that you are fortunate to have talented, resourceful and hardworking team members, able to
remain focused on the tasks at hand and affable even under challenging circumstances. It is my pleasure to
reiterate to you in light of concrete achievement this reality.
- Patrick Del Duca., Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP.
Accolades
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 14
4.4 K EY P ERSONNEL RESUMES
4.4.1 Director of Information Technology – David Stills
Role of Engagement: Mr. Stills will provide overall guidance throughout the life of the contract
to the SaalexIT help desk team and the City of Okeechobee customer. He is the Project and
Transition Manager. Mr. Stills will provide Tier 4 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Bachelor of Science, Information Technology Management, American Military
University, 2010 – 2014
• Associate of Applied Science, Computer Technology, Pikes Peak Community College
• Associate of Arts, Brevard Community College, 2008 – 2009
Professional Certifications
• Member, ToastMasters International, 2013
• Member, Society for Information Managers, 2010
Related Training
• Project Management Training, 2015
Professional Work Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Director of Information Technology, 2015 – Present
Responsible for all aspects of our client’s computer network from PC support to networking and
servers, troubleshooting, connectivity, remote monitoring and support, installations and field
service. Strong hands-on experience managing small and mid-market commercial business clients’
IT environment end-to-end. Leverages experience in troubleshooting workstation and networking
issues on maintaining clients and providing daily support (both remote and on-site) of our clients’
computer networks. Provide clients with premier customer service at all times.
• Plan, design and implement network upgrades or new infrastructure
• Manage documentation and diagramming of server and storage infrastructure
• Design technical solutions to meet business objectives
• Manage various-sized IT infrastructure projects
• Manage and troubleshoot Level 4 Help Desk support issues
Saalex Information Technology, LLC., Senior System Administrator, 2015 – 2015
Responsible for deploying the release of new technologies for our clients as well as the design,
installation, configuration, maintenance and system integration testing performance of PC/server
operating systems, related utilities and hardware. Install, maintain and upgrade client computer
hardware and software systems supporting client environments; is well versed in IT Solutions
hardware and software for enterprise environments.
• Propose and implement system enhancements.
• Recommend, schedule and implement system hardware and/or software upgrades or
repairs.
• Troubleshoot server, software and hardware issues.
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 15
• Research, evaluate and recommend software and hardware products.
• Support web access and electronic messaging services and maintain a secure systems
environment.
Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort/HomesbyTowne, a division of Zilber LTD, Regional IT
Director, 2003 – 2015
Oversaw IT operations in Florida for Timeshare, commercial/residential real estate, and asset
management company with over 200 employees and 50 million dollars in assets.
Provided technical strategy, Tier 3 support and leadership for 24x7 customer centered IT operation
and supervise four departments of diverse and talented teams consisting of Network Operations,
Help Desk, Software Development and Business Development. Supported business-critical IT
initiatives in all areas of enterprise server and network infrastructure, security administration,
website and intranet development and customer support.
• Built entire infrastructure to include Windows 2003, 2008 and 2012 servers, Cat5E
cabling, firewalls, exchange servers, SQL Servers, Mitel telephone system, switches,
routers, wireless networks and wide area networks
• Research, design and implemented VMware migrations for the Florida region. Eight
hosts connected to a nimble 10TB SAN with off-site replication.
• Hands-on management of server, telecom and network infrastructure core components to
include various Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP), firewalls, hardware, virtualization,
appliances, and server operating systems environments
• Proposed hardware, software, security and analytical tools for business continuity
• Designed and managed infrastructure for a 60-seat call center using Avaya PBX
• Built network for 30 users in three (3) locations. The network required two VMware
servers in a cluster to host, VoIP, structure query language, domain controller, print
server, several security appliances, 30 workstations and 15 printers.
PC-Connect Data Systems, Inc., Senior Consultant, 1993 – 2003
Managed client engagements and bottom-line business operations for technology consulting
company with a 10-member staff. Leveraged business insight with technical expertise to provide
small and mid-sized clients with highly available, user-friendly IT solutions; utilize various
accounting software, operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux), and infrastructure hardware
on a variety of platforms to develop, deploy, and troubleshoot new tools, systems, and networks
based on the client’s needs. Trained and mentored employees, providing guidance in solutions
engineering, system administration and technical support, customer service, and business
operations.
• Engineered networks for over a 100 small-mid sized business using both Novell and
Windows operating systems
• Earned Novell and Microsoft certifications and stay abreast of latest industry technical
advancements and trends to deliver cutting-edge solutions that exceed customer
expectations
• Took initiative to identify methods for improving processes, technical capabilities,
business results, time management and service delivery
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• Provided technical support in the form of application and desktop support to all
customers
Loral Aerospace, IT Network Manager, 1993 – 1996
Managed all technical support, equipment and services for over 200 customers at 15 sites
throughout the country.
• Responsible for administering the Novell network, SQL databases and project
infrastructure in accordance with the high demands of the Air Force requirements across
a multi-site, multi-tiered platform
• Developed and maintained database system to track thousands of parts, supplies and
maintenance records required to keep the equipment operational
• Contributed in writing the proposal for increasing technical staff for the project.
• Facilitated customization of the proprietary database system and convert for other
contracts awarded
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4.4.2 Deputy Director of IT Operations – Kevin Kehoe
Role of Engagement: Mr. Kehoe will provide Tier 4 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• EnCase Examination of New Technology File System – Guidance Software, 2012
• EnCase Mac-Linux Examinations – Guidance Software, 2012
• EnCase Advanced Computer Forensics – Guidance Software, 2012
• EnCase EnScript Programming – Guidance Software, 2012
• EnCase Prep Course – Guidance Software, 2012
• Computer Forensics I and II, Guidance Software, 2011
• Forensic Computer Examiner (150-hour course), National University, 2011
• Microsoft: Network Configuration, Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA, 2009
• A+ Coursework, Oxnard College, Oxnard, CA, 2000
• High School Diploma, Hueneme High School, Oxnard, CA, 1999
• CCNA Pilot Course, Hueneme High School, Oxnard, CA, 1999
Professional Certifications
• AccessData Certified Examiner (A.C.E.), 2013
• EnCase Certified, 2012
• Forensic Computer Examiner, 2011
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Network Configuration, 2009
• Dell Certified Systems Expert, 2005
• A+ Certification, 2000
Related Training
• SEC+ and CISSP Studies, 2017
• LabTech Training, 2016
• ConnectWise Training, 2015
Professional Work Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Deputy Director of IT Operations, 2014 – Present
Mr. Kehoe is responsible for West Coast operations, client support, and coordinating the SaalexIT
Team to provide optimal support SaalexIT West and East Coast clients.
• Create methods to regularly meet with clients to review ongoing IT needs and project
management
• Create metrics to increase accuracy in time-tracking and resource management
• Increase transparency and accountability with tickets and resource utilization
• Recommend and implement new tools to increase SaalexIT offering and ability to
support clients remotely
• Increase SaalexIT team’s ability to automatically update, monitor and secure machines
remotely
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 18
• Meet with clients and engineer solutions to modernize their infrastructure from multi-site
disaster recovery solutions, migrating email from on premises to Office 365, Office 365
to other hosted solutions, or updating/upgrading on-premises servers and applications
• Audit IT security of clients, Payment Card Industry/HIPAA/Sarbanes-Oxley
Act/Financial Industry Regulatory Authority-Security and Exchange Commission
compliance and remediation; review infrastructure and work with decision-makers to
implement modern solutions to increase IT security
Mr. Kehoe is responsible for deploying the release of new technologies for clients as well as the
design, installation, configuration, maintenance and system integration testing performance of
PC/server operating systems, related utilities and hardware.
• Install, maintain and upgrade client computer hardware and software systems supporting
client environments
• Control user access and passwords and maintain secure environments based on industry
best practices
• Propose and implement system enhancements to improve reliability and performance,
monitor usage and performance.
• Train client IT personnel and internal Saalex staff on system usage
• Troubleshoot server, software and hardware issues
• Assist with recommending, scheduling and implementing system hardware and/or
software upgrades or repairs
• Research, evaluate and recommend software and hardware products and be the in-house
subject matter expert on industry-leading software and hardware solutions
• Support web access and messaging services and maintain a secure systems environment
Sage Network, Inc., Tech III/Project Manager, 2013 – 2014
Mr. Kehoe developed and implemented a methodology to maintain network/server documentation
per client, separating and securing that knowledge from our General IT Knowledgebase. He
developed methods to create a more transparent communication and time management model. He
prioritized incoming issues from over 300 clients, from minor support to critical outages,
communicating ever-moving and changing timelines to the Sage team and clients.
Mr. Kehoe managed and executed deployment and migration projects for the following:
• Microsoft Domain Controllers, File Servers, SQL 2005/08, Exchange 2003/07/10/13,
Outlook Anywhere and ActiveSync support
• Deploy and maintain backup solutions and disaster recovery virtual machine platforms
(e.g., Shadow Protect, Acronis, Backup Exec, Datto)
• Configure, image, and deploy Windows devices
• Troubleshoot or configure applications for Macs, PCs, iPhone/iPad, Android, and
Windows Phones
Mr. Kehoe performed troubleshooting/repair/data recovery on enterprise level servers to
workstations. He also performed office network evaluations, moves, network build-outs, VoIP
troubleshooting and implementation.
Saalex Information Technology
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Mr. Kehoe managed or assisted in managing Windows Server upgrade projects. Occasionally, this
involved Linux file server migration to Active Directory/File Sharing. He managed and assisted
in execution of multiple PC Refresh projects for both Mac and Windows machines in Active
Directory.
Mr. Kehoe performed Windows Network and Server Troubleshooting, migrations and new builds
for over 300 clients. This includes Active Directory, Internet Information Services, structured
query language, install database upgrades, Exchange and WAN/LAN domain name service
administration. He performed SonicWall and Cisco router configuration and general network
troubleshooting. Mr. Kehoe, performed physical network troubleshooting and buildup, rack builds,
building WAN/LAN wiring, physical installation and buildup of servers, switches, and routing
equipment. He assisted with Help Desk tasks when escalated.
eLitigation Solutions, Inc., Forensic Technician, 2011 – 2013
Mr. Kehoe established a Forensic Department to enable eLit to obtain new clients. He improved
communication between office stakeholders, IT Management, and Executive Staff. He assessed
eLit’s IT spending and recommended changes in labor and IT solutions to cut the overall budget
by one-third. Coordinated with vendor to cut IT labor costs by 50 percent per month. He created
Visio documents, budgets, and asset lists to help organize eLit’s IT infrastructure.
Mr. Kehoe reserved smartphones/tablets along with Windows and Mac computers and various
cloud-based data (e.g., Google, DropBox, SharePoint, online email sources). He is familiar with
GREP and search for various email Outlook (Mac/PC), Lotus Notes, RAW (msg, eml), IM/Skype
logs, Smartphone backups, and create custom EnCase Conditions. He advised clients on PGP,
Bitlocker, FileVault 1-2, and Full/Partial Disk Encryption protocols; engage with client IT groups
to circumvent deployed encryption schemes. He managed/coordinated large projects for eLit’s
datacenter, housing over 250TB of storage, 40+ physical servers and 40+ virtual machines.
Saalex Information Technology
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4.4.3 Systems Administrator – Daniel Olson
Role of Engagement: Mr. Olson will provide Tier 3 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Associates Degree in Computer Networking Systems Engineering, Moorpark College,
Moorpark, CA, 2005
• High School Diploma, Royal High School, Simi Valley, CA, 1999
Professional Certifications
• Datto Certified Advanced Technician (DCAT), 2015
• WatchGuard Professional, 2014 – 2015
• Microsoft MCP (Server 2008 Network Infrastructure), 2009
• CompTIA A+ Certified, 2008
• Cisco Certified Network Associate, 2002 – 2006
Related Training
• Cisco Routers/Switches • Windows XP/7/8/10
• SonicWall Routers • Internet Explorer/Firefox/Chrome
• WatchGuard Routers • Microsoft Office
• Active Directory • Office 365
• Exchange 2003 – 2013 • AppRiver
• Windows Server 2003 – 2012 • GoToAssist/LogMeIn/Remote Access
• Labtech • Group Policy
• DNS/DHCP • Datto
• Symantec Backup Exec • ConnectWise
• Symantec Endpoint • Webroot
• PowerShell Scripting (Exchange)
Professional Work Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Systems Administrator, 2014 – Present
Mr. Olson provides remote support via Labtech/ScreenConnect and LogMeIn/Continuum. He
researches, evaluates and recommends software and hardware products and is the in-house subject
matter expert on industry-leading software and hardware solutions. He assists with recommending,
scheduling and implementing system hardware and/or software upgrades or repairs. He
implements system enhancements to improve reliability and performance. Performs server
administration for the following:
• Applications
• Domain controllers
• Exchange servers
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 21
Mr. Olson performs troubleshooting for server, and software and hardware issues, for various
programs including the following:
• Microsoft Office
• Webroot
• AppRiver
• Windows
• Datto backup system
Mr. Olson is responsible for deploying new technologies for clients as well as the design,
installation, configuration, maintenance and system integration testing performance of PC/server
operating systems, related utilities and hardware. He installs, maintains and upgrades client
computer hardware and software systems supporting client environments.
• Trains client IT personnel and internal Saalex staff on system usage
• Controls user access and passwords and maintains secure environments based on industry
best practices
• Monitors usage and performance
• Supports web access and messaging services and maintains a secure systems environment
Sage Network, Inc., Help Desk Support Tech 2/Lead Tech, 2008 – 2014
• Remote and on-site support of servers, workstations and network equipment
• Management and monitoring of backup systems – backup exec and a cloud-based system
• Trained new techs on troubleshooting/tools
• Active directory/Exchange user creation and configuration
• Share/New Technology File System (NTFS) management
• Cisco/SonicWall/other router configuration
• Office 365 exchange account setup/configuration
• AppRiver account setup/configuration
• Windows/application troubleshooting
• Workstation setup/deployment
• Network cabling/termination
• Virus removal/troubleshooting
• Printing/scanning configuration
• Backup maintenance/monitoring
• SonicWall and Cisco VPN configuration
Moorpark College, Help Desk Technician, 2004 – 2007
• Worked as the Computer Help Desk Technician at the Open Access Lab.
Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Intern/Support Technician, 2001 – 2002
• Desktop support
• Access database creation, Office and other application troubleshooting
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 22
4.4.4 Systems Administrator – Joseph Hise
Role of Engagement: Mr. Hise will provide Tier 3 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the School of Business, California State
University Northridge, 1990 – 1995
Professional Certifications
• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), 2000
Related Training
• OS: CentOs 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, Redhat RHEL 4.x - 7.x Windows NT; Windows Server
2000; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2012, Ubuntu 14.x
-16.x, Fedora etc.
• Infrastructure Service: Active Directory, RADIUS, Bind DNS, Plesk, CPanel, Red Hat
Satellite Server, Microsoft SCOM, MOM, Nagios; SiteScope; OwnCloud; Next Cloud
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere; VirtualCenter, ESX 4.0; ESXi 4.1, ESX 5x, ESX 6x.
Amazon Web Services (AWS); S3 etc.
• Applications: Apache / LAMP; IIS; Postfix; Qmail; Apache 2.0; MySQL 3.x — 5.x; etc.
• Protocol Technologies: TCP, IP, UDP; DNS; DHCP; ICMP; SMTP; CIFS, NFS; HTTP,
HTTPS; SSH; IMAP; POP3; SFTP; FTPS; etc.
• Hardware: Dell Blade Servers; IBM Blade Servers; CISCO UCS Blade Servers; etc.
• Additional Exposures: NetApp Filers (Hardware & Cluster), SnapMirror, snapshot, CIFS
and NFS sharing; VMWare ESX; IBM GPFS; F5 BigIP Load Balancers; NetScaler Load
Balancers; PFSence Proxy / Firewall / Load balancer. Etc.
• Development Proficiencies: HTML, CSS, PHP, MYSQL, javascript, BASH scripting.
Related Professional Job Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Systems Administrator, 2018 – Present
• Installs, configures and monitors patches, firmware, drivers, antivirus, mobile devices
and utility software
• Researches and recommends network and data communications hardware and software
• Researches and maintains active directory, group policies, DNS, DDNS, and DHCP
services
• Provides support for Tier 1 through Tier 3 help desk requests
• Maintains communication equipment and software (including Wi-Fi routers and access
points)
• Interacts with management and employees to accurately assess hardware, software and
server needs and provides recommendation options and implements solutions
• Installs, configures, and supports multiple organizations’ WAN/LAN, and internet-based
cloud segments or on-premises hybrid solutions. This includes monitoring networks,
Security websites, and ensuring availability of all system users and perform necessary
maintenance to support availability
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 23
• Provides training to users on general usage of PCs and software applications
• Tier 3 IT Support for over 40 companies. Responsible for engineering out solutions and
fulfilling technical projects.
Digital Overture, Senior Systems Administrator / Manager, Simi Valley, CA 2012 – 2018
• Solely responsible for the design and management of all IT operations and infrastructure,
including network, security, Proxy/Firewall, stand-alone servers, virtualized environment,
cloud storage, and AWS integration for a design, stage, and production environment
• Design and implementation of company's VMware vSphere and ESX environments. ESX
5x, ESX 6x, etc. Maintain and operate VMware infrastructure for business systems as
well as customer forward-facing web services.
• Build and maintenance of personalized Cloud Services using open source Own Cloud and
Next Cloud with federation integration into Dropbox and Google Drive
• Configuration and management for customer administration using CPanel Web Host
Manager (WHM), Plesk Onyx and other administrative services
• Customized bash scripting to maintain live-site replication to a standby hosing services
using RSYNC. Custom VMWare scripting and use of GhettoVCB for off-site backups
and recovery.
• Design and Setup Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP) websites specific to developer
and customer standards
• Custom IIS builds and configurations for deployed .Net applications
• Design and setup of payment processing and open source shopping carts including
OpenCart and Woo Commerce
• Design and implementation of AWS services for individual company website hosing and
backend services
• Managed email services including QMail, SquirrelMail, Atmail, Horde, Spamdyke with
customer support
• Open source PFSense Load balancing/Proxy/Firewall services
• Support of website applications with knowledge of HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL,
JavaScript, etc.
TASER International (Axon), Senior Systems Administrator, Los Angeles & Carpinteria,
CA 2009 – 2012
• Design and buildout of a VMware vSphere environment running on Cisco UCS platform.
Maintained over 250 virtualized Windows and Linux servers with a variety of services,
including forward-facing web site services. Designed and built original Evidence.com
data center at an Equinix facility with team of four, including environmental, network
devices, Cisco UCS servers, load balancing, IBM GPFS Storage, and server builds for all
necessary services used for Taser websites and Evicence.com.
• Design and maintenance of custom video streaming services using FFMPEG multimedia
framework to display secure video streams to law enforcement for evidence
requirements. Online proprietary Linux service consisting of a platform for a content
Saalex Information Technology
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City of Okeechobee – Information Technology Services 24
management system, which also ingests on-officer video content over secured internet
connections.
• Design Network and Policy services on Active Directory servers, RADIUS
authentication integrated with Juniper networking environment. Design and maintenance
of other Linux infrastructure services such as Memcache, Apache Server, and Red Hat
Satellite Server for patch and asset management.
• Maintain company website software releases to QA, staging and production
environments.
• Design and implement strict security requirements using CentOs to comply with the
NSA's guide for securing RHEL servers using Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Build and migration of selective website applications, including Apache, IIS, S3 Storage,
Database and other services to AWS.
• Design and configuration for a customized version of infrastructure and web services to
host evidence.com for the country of New Zealand to deploy to their countrywide police
department.
Realtor.com (Move.com), Enterprise Architect/Director of IT Operations, Westlake Village,
2000 – 2009
• Senior Systems Administrator for company websites including Realtor.com, Move.com,
Homebuilder.com, WelcomeWagon.com, and others. Operational support for backend
services utilizing IIS, Apache, Microsoft Back Office, Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint,
Microsoft SQL, PeopleSoft, and a variety of Internal Business Systems. Team lead with
direct oversight and administration of over 450 Windows Servers, 135 Linux Servers, and
120 infrastructure servers. Achieved 99.999 percent uptime in a non-single point of
failure environment.
• VMWare ESX servers using a variety of technologies. Trained other administrators on
the creation, deployment, migration and VMotion of virtual machines to different
physical ESX servers. Wrote server build and OS build documentation and guidelines for
DC Operations staff.
• As an Enterprise Architect responsible for a new design and build out of a data center in
Phoenix, including electrical, HVAC, network, DC layout, server and hardware
purchases and site migration plans. Migration of all websites and services. Managed
traffic migration to the new data center using NetScalers implementation of Global
Server Load Balancing.
• Software deployment, monitoring services using Microsoft Operation Manager, Nagios,
SiteScope and Dell Open Manage. Provided patch management.
• Reduced QA physical hardware footprint by 30:1 using VMware ESX server, resulting in
significant savings in electricity and physical server support costs per month. Replaced
140+ low-end Dell servers with 12 Dell 6650's.
• Integrated several pairs of HA NetScaler load balancers pushing 600mbit/s, utilizing
features such as Mac-based forwarding, global server load balancing, TCP-offloading and
Content Redirection. Implementation of NetScalers from 6.0 to 6.1 with zero downtime,
and subsequently upgraded to 7.x and 9.x.
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• Design, implementation and training of backup strategy and enterprise -wide roll out of
Veritas NetBackup retention and archiving.
• Managed Netapp Cluster serving millions of real estate property pictures and virtual
tours. NetApp filers (760s, 840s) to Qtrees on a FAS960 filer, led to ease of data
replication to the new data center using SnapMirror.
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4.4.5 Help Desk Supervisor – James Lawson
Role of Engagement: Mr. Lawson will provide Tier 3 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Network Infrastructure, Eastern Florida State College, Cocoa, FL, 2017 – 2017
• CCENT 100-105 ICND1 – Certificate, Cisco Networking Academy, Online, 2017 – 2017
• Oracle Certified Database Administrator, Eastern Florida State College, Cocoa, FL, 2015
– 2017
• Associates in Database Administration, Computer Information Technology, Eastern
Florida State College, Cocoa, FL, 2015 – 2017
• 49 semester hours toward Criminal Justice and Principles of Electronics Degree,
Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell Airforce Base, AL, 2006 – 2014
Professional Certifications
• CompTIA A+ Certified (COMP001020941853), 2015
Related Training
• Trained in Cisco, Watchguard, Barracuda, Sonicwall, PL/SQL, Powershell, MS Access,
MS Power BI, VB, VBA, JAVA, Extensible Markup Language, HTML, Python, C++,
Open Mesh, WireShark, VSphere, Hyper-V, Cloud Hosted VM
• Proficient with Office 2003-2016, Windows Server 2003-2016, Windows XP – 10,
Active Directory, Outlook Web Access, Exchange, VPN, Remote Desktop Protocol,
Routing and Remote Access, Managed Layer 3 Switches, VoIP, MS SQL and Analog
PBX Systems
• Tier I, II, III Help Desk Technician for MSP
• Knowledgeable in ConnectWise Automate\ Manage\ Control, Labtech, ScreenConnect,
LogMeIn, WebEx, ZOOM, SharePoint, ITBoost, Veeam, Datto, Acronis, and Dahua IP
Camera Systems
Professional Work Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Help Desk Supervisor / Help Desk Technician, Rockledge,
FL, 2016 – Present
• Completed +4000 Trouble Tickets for Clients, providing high potential for profits by
ensuring resource availability
• Trained and supported 11 Tier I\II Technicians, decreasing the volume of escalated
tickets
• Built, implemented and maintained multiple fixes for legacy software, minimizing
downtime for clients
• Recognized and executed a rapid solution for stopping and recovering from Ransomware
Attacks
• Revamped the monitoring of RMM software, increasing accuracy of positive results and
decreasing false alerting
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• Developed an application to automate and streamline New Hire process, decreasing
onboarding time by 85%
Eastern Florida State College, Help Desk Internship, Cocoa, FL, 2015 – 2017
• 17-week internship at Saalex Information Technology, Rockledge, FL
• Received letter of recommendation for extraordinary IT capability and professionalism
• Resolved between 10 and 40 Help Desk tickets daily
• 3.9 GPA in all IT related classes; held in high regard by all involved professors
90 MMXS, Maintenance Supervisor, F.E. Warren AFB, WY, 2013 – 2014
• Supervised maintenance actions of 21 personnel on $30M of U.S. Air Force
communications assets. Evaluated/wrote maintenance efficiency reports for 21
technicians; verified quality of work. Performed effective maintenance work order
scheduling/planning; +1000 work orders processed.
90 MMXS, Maintenance Task Leader, F.E. Warren AFB, WY 2012 – 2013
• Led four-person team troubleshooting and repairing communication equipment; cleared
400 work orders per year. Performed on-the-job training for 19 new technicians, which
resulted in additional qualified Team Leaders.
• Shop IT Manager responsible for the management and operation of $1.2M worth of
assets.
90 MMXS, Maintenance Master Technician, F.E. Warren AFB, WY 2010 – 2012
• Performed maintenance corrective actions, ensuring minimal down time in
communications systems. Uniquely trained in ESD compliance for electronic system
circuit tracing and repairs. Used multimeters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, time-
domain reflectometer, UHF-EHF-VLF\LF testing trained.
99 SFS, Security Forces Journeyman Craftsman, Nellis AFB, NV 2006 – 2010
• Law enforcement officer, dispatcher, emergency response coordinator. Deployed
Operations Quick Reaction Force lead driver for 200-kilometer area of responsibility.
Response Force Team Member and Leader for a Protection Level 1 weapon storage
facility.
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4.4.6 Help Desk Technician – James “Ryan” Blessing
Role of Engagement: Mr. Blessing will provide Tier 2 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Information Technology Academy, Indian River State College, 2008 – Present
• High School Diploma, Sebastian River High School, Sebastian, FL, Information
Technology Academy, 1999 – 2003
Professional Certifications
• Digium Switchvox Support Engineer, 2018
• Datto Tech I & II, 2017
• A+ Computer Certification, 2003
• Cisco Networking Certification, 2003
Related Training
• Axis Cameras Bootcamp, 2015
Related Professional Job Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Surveillance Engineer/IT Help Desk, 2015 – Present
• Tier 2 help desk technician providing software, hardware, client/server and networking
technical support to non-technical personnel within and outside the corporation
• Managed call flow and responded to technical support needs of customers
• Trained and lead interns and new team members starting out as Tier 0 & 1 technicians in
company SOP compliance
• Conducted site surveys for surveillance systems and IT networks, then designed and
implemented a custom solution specific to the client’s needs
• Administrated and provided Tier 2 & 3 support as the team leader for the third shift
• Experience with Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, Azure, SQL, Server 2003,
2008(R2), 2012(R2), 2016 operating systems and administration
• VMware/Hyper-V Administrator - Responsible for all aspects of maintaining, updating,
and creating VM in the VMware environment
• Administrator for VoIP cloud PBX system with 160+ endpoints, IVR design and
implementation
• Provided break/fix model repairs for analog and IP surveillance camera systems
• Engineered and built networks specifically for surveillance systems from the ground up,
tailored to client needs, budgets and expectations
• Diagnosed surveillance systems and repaired various issues on Linux and Windows
systems
• Oversaw and administrated data backups for clientele and corporate levels, utilizing
different backup software like Datto, Veeam, Symantec, Mozy, Carbonite, Acronis, and
more
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4.4.7 Help Desk Technician – Jose Martinez
Role of Engagement: Mr. Martinez will provide Tier 2 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Inter Americana of Bayamon: Bachelors of Science in Computer Science Bayamon,
Puerto Rico 2016 Concentration: Repair and configuration of computer system and
network
Professional Certifications
• Career Source Brevard Certificate of Completion (Nextgen program) 2/12/2018
• Microsoft Digital Literacy 2/12/2018
Related Training
• Microsoft Office: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access and Outlook
• Operation Systems: Windows 7, 8, 10, MAC O SX Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite and
High Sierra
• Networking: Windows server 2012, 2016, commands such as (ipconfig/all, nslookup,
ping, etc.)
• Active Directory: DNS, DH CP and Group Policy
• Programming: Microsoft Visual Studio and HTML for web design
• Network management programs: Lansweeper and Wireshark
Related Professional Job Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Help Desk Technician, 2019 – Present
• Receives, sets up and supports client-related network equipment, such as firewalls,
routers and switches, configuring the appropriate network settings for client
• Administers network servers including installation and set-up of networked workstations,
responsible for keeping the networks up
• Troubleshoots complex network problems for internal and external customers
• Provides technical support to customers and network engineers involving Windows, MS
Proxy Servers, TCP/IP and ACCESS programming
• Maintains hardware and software inventory
• Maintains and documents network and systems diagrams
• Administers the creation and deletion of user accounts as needed among the varying
systems
• Monitors appropriate procedures to safeguard systems from physical harm and viruses,
unauthorized users, and damage to data
Commission of Public Service, Desktop Support, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2016 – 2016
• Repaired and cleaned computers and printers for the employer
• Performed computer maintenance and software/hardware installation
• Created accounts for customer taking truck license exams
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• Troubleshot computer and software problems in the employer’s office
Home Depot, Sales Associate, Merritt Island, Florida, 2018 – 2019
• Create contract for customer renting landscaping tools
Tiendas Capri, Cashier Bayamon, Puerto Rico, 2016 – 2017
• Established and identified prices of goods and calculated product cost using calculators,
cash registers and optical price scanners
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4.4.8 Help Desk Technician – Richard Wahl
Role of Engagement: Mr. Wahl will provide Tier 2 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Texas community college, 12 semester units in network administration, 3 months
Professional Certifications
• CompTIA A+ certificate, 2011
Related Training
• Mechanical and electrical principles
• Preventive maintenance procedures
• Line installation and wiring techniques
• Communication security policies and procedures
• CompTIA Security + certification training.
Related Professional Job Experience
Saalex Solutions, Inc., Help Desk Technician, 2019 – Present
• Receives, sets up and supports client related network equipment, such as firewalls, routers
and switches, configuring the appropriate network settings for client
• Administers network servers including installation and set-up of networked workstations;
responsible for keeping the networks up
• Troubleshoots complex network problems for internal and external customers
• Provides technical support to customers and network engineers involving Windows, MS
Proxy Servers, TCP/IP and ACCESS programming
• Maintains hardware and software inventory
• Maintains and documents network and systems diagrams
• Administers the creation and deletion of user accounts as needed among the varying systems
• Monitors appropriate procedures to safeguard systems from physical harm and viruses,
unauthorized users, and damage to data
Apache Casino and Hotel, Security Officer, 2017 – 2018
• Performed physical security for company and guests
Lawton Correctional Facility, IT Technician, 2015 – 2016
• Provided customer assistance by helping employees by creating and managing user accounts
in the network
• Managed backups and share drive capabilities
• Installed new devices on the network (computer systems, printers, switches, scanners, etc.)
• Provided troubleshooting for computer and network issues for both the main network and
medical network
HHT 1-91 CAV 173rd ABN, Team Leader, 2013 – 2015
• Team leader for a 6 man communication team.
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• Worked with HF,VHF,UHF,EHF communications equipment
• IT Administrator for the company level. Worked for HHT, Aco, Bco, Cco, Eco
• Provided troubleshooting and repair for basic IT issues that happen in the field and at
garrison
HHT 2nd CAV 11th ACR, 2010 – 2013
• IT Administrator for company, battalion, and regiment levels
• Supported installing and troubleshooting equipment and maintaining user access and
accounts for over 700 users
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4.4.9 Service Desk Clerk – Jae “Aric” Jeon
Role of Engagement: Mr. Jeon will provide Tier 1 IT Management Services support.
Educational Background
• Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Engineering, University of California Riverside, 2010 –
2017
Professional Certifications
• Comptia A Plus Cert Prep 220 901 and 220 902
• Innovative Customer Service Techniques
• Learning PC Maintenance and Performance
• Troubleshooting Common PC Issues for Users
• Windows 10: Administration
• Windows 10: Manage and Maintain Windows 10
Related Training
• Windows 10 Administration
• C++, C#
• Unity
• Unreal Engine
Related Professional Job Experience
Saalex Information Technology, Service Desk Clerk, 2018 – Present
Responsible for attaining maximum utilization of internal and field technical resources through
daily dispatch of service requests.
• Acts as the single point of contact to the customer for all types of service requests
• Coordinates all IT support groups to ensure maximum utilization of billable resources
• Pre-processes service requests as they arrive through email, manual entry or direct
customer input
• Schedules internal and field technical resources on the dispatch portal
• Monitors resources schedules to ensure prompt time entry on service requests
• Communicates with customers as required, keeping them informed of incident progress,
notifying them of impending changes or agreed outages
• Provides fast turnaround of customer requests
• Improves usage and increases productivity of IT support resources
• Escalates service requests that cannot be scheduled within agreed service levels
• Reports the utilization of IT support resources and successful completion of service
requests to the IT Director and Managed Services
• Responsible for entering time and expenses as it occurs
• Enters all work as service tickets into Help Desk Ticketing System
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• Responsible for ordering hardware and software for customers and processes said items
upon receipt
• Provides some help desk functions as required including talking to vendors, hardware and
software installation
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5.0 P ROJECT A PPROACH
5.1 U NDERSTANDING AND A PPROACH OF THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT AND SERVICES
SaalexIT’s comprehensive service plan will help the City of Okeechobee align its IT strategy with
the City’s goals for finance, operations, services to residents and communications. Our work will
begin with a number of elements to gain a complete baseline understanding of existing systems,
hardware and software. This includes conducting an IT asset inventory and usage assessment,
working with the City to define growth requirements and goals. We will identify current issues,
administering a vulnerability assessment and network scan to identify active security exposure.
We will carry out internal and external penetration testing to locate additional vulnerabilities and
developing a roadmap for success. Once the roadmap is developed, SaalexIT will meet with the
City’s representatives to confirm priorities and the path to move forward.
5.1.1 Routine Maintenance on City equipment
5.1.1.1 Desktop Support
Through our integrated Network Monitoring Software supports servers, desktops and
infrastructure 24x7x365, SaalexIT will provide status reports, metrics on systems operations and
develops surveys for distribution to the City Representatives. We maintain call logs, operation logs
and review technical alerts and bulletins. SaalexIT utilizes ConnectWise Manage as a Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) and ticket management system.
Our personnel specialize in systems troubleshooting and remediation and can handle the City’s
tickets after working hours, if necessary. Examples of IT Management Services performed include
the following: around-the-clock help desk support; hardware and software audits; performance,
patch, and anti-virus reports; ScreenConnect remote control; patch whitelisting monitoring
service; anti-virus management; web-based management portal; application, performance and
hardware monitoring; and intelligent (conditional) alert monitoring and alert filtering. This will
provide the City with most reliable system availability possible.
SaalexIT staff are well versed in troubleshooting the most common desktop issues to include all
Microsoft products such as MS Office, Visio, Publisher and all Microsoft cloud products. Our
helpdesk team typically resolves Tier 1 issues within 30 minutes of the issue being reported.
SaalexIT uses a ticketing system to manage tickets. When a user has an issue, they can create a
ticket via the SaalexIT web portal by emailing techsupport@SaalexIT.com or calling the SaalexIT
Help Desk team. Once the ticket is created, it is automatically routed to a SaalexIT technician. The
technician is responsible for responding to and resolving the ticket in accordance with the agreed
service levels. Once the task is complete, the ticket is closed and goes into the archive repository.
We provide monthly reports of all tickets, identifying the date and time the ticket was opened,
problem identification, problem resolution and the time and date the ticket was closed. If the City
would like a real-time report or to have the capability to see an end-of-day report, SaalexIT
supplies every customer with a web portal where the status and network operations can be viewed
in real time. See our Tier 1-4 Support details below.
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Table 1. SaalexIT Tier 1-4 Support
Level Description
Tier 1 All support incidents begin in Tier 1. This is where the initial trouble ticket is created, the issue is
identified and clearly documented and basic hardware/software troubleshooting is initiated. This is
also where most issues are resolved for things like password resets, printer connections, and general
support issues. Common Tier 1 issues are password resets, printer connectivity issues, basic email
and desktop issues and general questions.
Tier 2 All support incidents that cannot be resolved with Tier 1 support are escalated to Tier 2 after 60
minutes, where more complex support on hardware/software or intermediate network issues can be
provided by more experienced specialists.
Tier 3 Support incidents that cannot be resolved by Tier 2 support within 90 minutes are escalated to Tier 3
where support is provided by the most qualified and experienced specialists who have the ability to
collaborate with third-party vendor support personnel to resolve the most complex issues. Examples
include internet issues, Line of Business (critical) application upgrades and critical network issues.
Tier 4 Support incidents that involve items outside SaalexIT’s control may need to be escalated to Tier 4,
where support from another organization is required. SaalexIT will request the assistance and moni tor
the request for implementation. This is also the tier that performs engineering, complex network and
cloud services. Examples include major infrastructure upgrades, engineering and large-scale projects
In addition to responding to calls, we ensure we are providing the City the appropriate ticket
assignment and response time by utilizing SaalexIT’s RMM tool, which will perform health checks
on all systems multiple times a day to identify new work requirement entries. SaalexIT will log all
issues into our Ticketing System, communicating via telephone and email regarding any new work
requirements.
SaalexIT technicians will assist the City via its 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST help desk service for operating
systems, hardware, applications, tablet and mobile support, emails, virus, spyware and malware
removal, and IT issues of all levels. SaalexIT will leverage its U.S.-based personnel to respond to
service requests, aid and open the on-site technician’s availability, meet surge demands such as
system migrations and upgrades, and help resolve any infrastructure or networking issues that
require higher priority in-person attention. Furthermore, to deliver reliable and effective service to
the City at all times, SaalexIT provides 24x7x365 on-call, on-site technical support. As a best
practice, we update documentation as we resolve issues to assist in retaining the knowledge base
and to help speed up resolution time for future, similar occurrences.
Figure 4. Sample screenshot of SLA statistics
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We engage our industry partners, such as Microsoft, VMware and Dell, as well as network security
vendors to help resolve issues. SaalexIT tracks and documents work and time for each ticket to
completion. We generate random surveys upon work completion based upon a predetermined
metric for each business unit and distribute them manually at the request of the department head.
SaalexIT provides the customer’s data in a variety of formats and mediums, including the status,
availability and operation of systems or components of the IT systems.
Figure 5. SaalexIT maintains successful partnerships with its hardware and software
vendors
SaalexIT handles all server/applications changes and upgrades and offers a fully functional help
desk that end users can call. The SaalexIT NOC monitors server and infrastructure support around
the clock, providing immediate response to all reported incidents. We provide status reports and
metrics on systems operations and develop surveys for distribution to clients. SaalexIT maintains
call logs and operations logs and continuously reviews technical alerts and bulletins.
Below is a listing of common workstation-related tickets that SaalexIT resolves for its clients:
• Internet Connectivity Issues
• Email Problems
• Desktop Hardware Errors
Our Help Desk team is capable of resolving most issues and performing routine maintenance
remotely using our RMM software. We will notify or assign the on-site technician and/or work
with the City’s POC when the resolution requires performing work at the City’s facilities. We will
document and log for accuracy and auditing purposes all activity, changes and procedures.
In performing scheduled preventative maintenance, upgrades and improvements, SaalexIT
provides a downtime estimate for maintenance or repair at least one (1) week in advance, with
mid-week reminders. Saalex systems reports all incidents of detected commercial/facility outage
to the appropriate responsible Help Desk via ticket immediately.
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SaalexIT technicians follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) of notifying clients when they
are available to remotely work on a workstation, be it on-site or in conference.
• If the ticket can be immediately handed off, SaalexIT’s dispatchers will do a warm
handoff in which the client places the ticket on the phone and is transferred to the
technician. The dispatcher discloses the client’s issue to the technician to speed the
transition.
• If a ticket is opened by email or over the phone and is placed in the queue, the technician
will call the client directly unless otherwise directed to contact them during a specific
time. If a specific time is requested, the technician will create a future calendar invite to
confirm the appointment with the client. Once the technician makes contact at the time of
the repair or troubleshooting, they will acquire verbal confirmation from the client that
the technician can remotely use ScreenConnect to gain access to the workstation or
server.
• If an appointment cannot be met, the technician must provide a warning prior notice of a
designated time that a new appointment can be arranged. This confirmation will be
placed over the phone, and if not answered, the technician will leave voicemail and email
the client so the appointment can be rescheduled.
• If a technician is to work on a ticket, a work status shall be provided every time the ticket
is picked up by a technician. When a work status is updated, an automated email will be
sent to the client stating the work performed and the current status of the ticket (i.e.,
pending, transferred, closed or escalated). For large-scale projects, SaalexIT sets up
scheduled meetings on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis depending on the scale of
the project and/or by request of the client. SaalexIT also offers a customer portal where
the City will be able to review tickets and corresponding statuses. The City will also be
able to open tickets through the portal and review notations of how the work was
performed and what resolutions were provided.
• Once work is completed and the technician verifies the resolution, the customer success
team works with the client to test the environment and confirm that the resolution has
been reached.
• For all on-site visits, SaalexIT employees will be provided transportation by SaalexIT.
SaalexIT enables its employees to use a company vehicle or the employee’s personal
vehicle, depending on availability.
5.1.1.2 Server Monitoring and Reporting
SaalexIT will leverage its 19 years of experience managing Windows and Virtual and Physical
Servers environments to provide seamless support and proactive monitoring and management for
the City of Okeechobee. Our refined processes and procedures allow us to operate and report
effectively on active directory, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), domain
name system (DNS), dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), group policies, and many other
features of Windows servers. More advanced active directory features such as multi-level domains,
multi-site, and multi-forest configurations are handled by our senior-level technicians.
With proactive server management, SaalexIT is able to remotely monitor and remediate issues
before they cause system outages or security risks.
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SaalexIT conducts inventories of real property installed equipment on a frequent and scheduled
basis or as deemed necessary by the City. On a day-to-day basis, SaalexIT monitors all servers,
scanning for the following:
• Server utilization in excess of 90 percent of time processing interrupts
• Free space any logical disk (1000 MB) samples
• Available memory
• Providing server health statistics for specific servers
• Server Network utilization greater than 85 percent
Additionally, SaalexIT can provide the City with a variety of options for server and systems
administration, including advanced server management and project-based work. With project-
based work, SaalexIT can help the City with design, project management, implementation and
Testing/Quality Control for Windows Server Active Directory or Virtualization projects. SaalexIT
maintains call logs and operations logs, and continuously reviews technical alerts and bulletins.
The list below contains typical examples of Windows Servers tasks we have undertaken:
• Carrying out server upgrades and migrations
• Server-level encryption
• Authenticating and authorizing users and computers in Windows domain-type networks,
including assisting users with password resets
SaalexIT will maintain the City’s facilities and equipment in a state of good repair to ensure their
continued availability for their intended purposes.
5.1.1.3 Monitor system health on all workstations, servers and networking equipment
SaalexIT uses RMM software, which provides us with in-depth information on all network
devices, including printers, copiers, routers, switches, workstation and servers. With this tool, we
can generate detailed health reports, receive alerts and alarms of current and pending system
failures and connect remotely to resolve issues.
Our integrated Network Monitoring Software monitors server, desktop and infrastructure support
24x7x365. Each client is provided access to the SaalexIT client web portal where they can check
the status of tickets, network status, operations status and open tickets. At any moment, the City
can see the status of their environment in real time.
SaalexIT also provides the City with monthly Executive Reports that outline system health,
maintenance activities and patch statuses for each device.
5.1.1.4 Updates and Patches
SaalexIT uses a documentation system called IT Boost that allows us to record all software
licenses, versions, warranty and other system related information in a central repository. Access
to this system will be made available to the City. As a best practice, SaalexIT will keep abreast of
applicable software updates and advise the City on their release. SaalexIT has the capability to
remotely update and patch as needed through ConnectWise Automate. If the City has any critical
applications that cannot support newer updates or need to have a delayed release to ensure stability
and compatibility, our technicians can hold the update from automatically being pushed to the
workstations or servers in effect. We hold all patches for 30 days for testing. We will release
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patches and update the client once it has been verified that there are no known issues. SaalexIT
can also perform a test environment to place workstations on a newer patch or OS before deploying
the updates to the City.
Updates are performed after hours in accordance with a monthly schedule that will best fit the
City. With our RMM tool, we customize when and what patches are applied. This approach
provides the City with the most up-to-date security patches and performance enhancements to the
system, staying within two versions of current releases. For devices we are unable to patch with
our RMM tool, our overnight team will manually perform updates and patches to those devices.
As part of this process, we will back up the current device configuration, perform the update, test
the system to ensure all configurations are retained and the device operates correctly.
5.1.1.5 Virus, Malware, and Spyware Prevention and Removal
Fully managed webroot endpoint security, antivirus, antispyware and firewall licensing is provided
for all desktop/laptop/tablet units.
Saalex has bundled the best-of-breed security application into its portfolio — Webroot
SecureAnywhere endpoint protection. We install, maintain and monitor the antivirus software via
the RMM platform. The software receives regular updates for new Common Vulnerability
Exposure (CVE) (i.e., viruses, malware, and spyware) to protect all clients as a SOP. We are able
to fix virus/malware issues, provide a firewall audit trail and get an in-depth look at the City’s
network.
5.1.1.6 Firewall administration
As a part of our risk assessment, SaalexIT will review the City’s current configuration and
subscriptions/services. We will identify risks and work with the City to reduce its risk to unwanted
exposure. We also understand that risks may come from internal sources. Therefore, we will also
conduct an internal vulnerability scan as part of our initial assessment and discuss those findings
with the City.
SaalexIT has Cisco and WatchGuard Certified technicians on staff that will be solely responsible
for administering the City’s firewalls.
SaalexIT’s spam filtration process (Figure 6) allows us to deliver exceptional cloud-based spam
filtration for email security to the City. SaalexIT also has knowledge and experience working with
Barracuda, AppRiver and Spam Titan, as well as various other spam filtering methods and
software.
In addition to filtering malware and spam, we filter internet protocol (IP) addresses, domains and
email addresses. This helps to protect against unwanted emails from unknown or undesirable
sources.
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Figure 6. Our spam filter solution provides protection from threats, including spam and
malware
5.1.1.7 Backups, Backup Rotations, and Restores
SaalexIT will survey and audit the existing City system to establish a baseline report. From this
report, we will issue recommendations for appropriate backup system options, including
consideration of cloud-based storage systems such as Acronis, Datto or Barracuda. SaalexIT can
manage the City’s cloud-based solution utilizing local on-site backup or off-site data center
backups if utilized.
SaalexIT performs the following in its backup service offering:
1. SaalexIT will meet with the City to determine their backup requirements. This
includes backup frequency, retention and, most importantly, their restoration priority,
which will help to determine which solutions would work best for the City.
2. Installing and configuring local server backups for clients and duplicating data to a
cloud-based storage solution. In the event of a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity
incident, we will use the locally hosted or cloud-based restore points to spin up virtual
machine(s) based on the situation at hand. This solution provides a considerable amount of
flexibility without enterprise-level costs.
3. Schedule incremental back-ups. Most cloud backup solutions are flexible in that they
provides our clients the ability to set any backup schedule that they desire, including daily,
weekly, and monthly backups. SaalexIT will work with the City to help select the best
Cloud solution that will meet their budget storage and retention needs.
4. SaalexIT reviews all backup jobs to include snapshots for failure and provides immediate
resolutions to issues found.
5. We will provide monthly reporting of all backup processes.
Cloud storage. SaalexIT helps several of its clients with Cloud storage. We have experience on
various cloud storage platforms, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and DropBox.
We guarantee the following when you contract SaalexIT for storage and backup services:
• Troubleshoot any slow data transfer to your business via the internet
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• Run a test restore of local and cloud backup monthly
• Upon disaster, a new device will be shipped to your business overnight containing your
otherwise-lost data
• We provide the ability to recover multiple terabytes of information in 24 hours, which
would be nearly impossible using other methods.
We document network backups during network discovery to ensure that any devices managed by
SaalexIT and not hosted in a cloud service can be restored manually if necessary. Many services
like CloudTrax (a cloud-driven Access Point system) are self-restored once they are reconnected
with internet service and can be provisioned remotely if needed.
Vulnerabilities in accessing the systems, including staff access rights
SaalexIT will assess the physical security of the City’s IT footprint by determining the methods
and locations for password storage, what individuals have access to systems and how elevated
network privileges are managed. SaalexIT will also audit and access all user accounts to determine
who has administrative rights within the network systems. SaalexIT will also review domain-level
security within the system.
SaalexIT employs a suite of integrated tools (Rapid Fire Tools, Vijilan, ConnectWise and RMM)
to assess, monitor, and remediate user account management issues. As a registered Microsoft
Partner, SaalexIT has access to all the tools available to support the full range of Microsoft product
instances.
Monitoring Internet Connectivity
SaalexIT can monitor internet connectivity within the RMM tools. Firewalls, Access Points, and
other network devices are configured, when the devices are capable, to give real -time reporting
concerning not only intrusion detection but also loss of services or connection issues. Technicians
can troubleshoot the hardware and, if needed, a technician can provision quality of services, load
balancing, failover (if the city has two or more internet providers) and SD-WAN capabilities to
ensure the most stabile connection is provisioned between each site. If the technician finds the
issues are outside of the network, the team will work with the City’s internet service provider (ISP)
to troubleshoot internet connections and set up a client’s new equipment. SaalexIT will obtain
permission from the City prior to performing this work.
5.1.1.8 Support for all City Departments
SaalexIT will provide support for all City departments, which can be remotely managed by our
help desk. Initially, our on-site technician will complete several tasks to document the environment
and remediate against any critical issues. Once the system is optimized and running smoothly and
efficiently, most tasks can be completed remotely. There are two (2) tasks in Phase 1 that may
require on-site presence, specifically the Network Assessment and the recommendations Review
Meeting. An on-site presence would be necessary should our probes not detect known machines
during our Network Assessment. SaalexIT recommends conducting the Recommendations Review
Meeting on-site with the City, but on-line meetings using our Zoom video teleconference tool
could be offered if preferred by the City.
If equipment will be/has been shipped to the City, the following will happen:
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1. SaalexIT on-site technician will install the base configuration, update the equipment info,
and perform quality control.
2. SaalexIT will install our RMM Tool and base configurations on-site at the City location.
3. SaalexIT will update the equipment information in our documentation system.
4. SaalexIT will perform Quality Control to ensure that the configurations are done correctly.
This quality check will be performed on-site at the City location.
5.1.1.9 Transition Approach
SaalexIT has a well-established, painless start-up/onboarding process that will greatly benefit the
City. While these start-up activities have been battle-tested with over 40 clients, they can be
customized based on direction from the City. Some of these duration times overlap as these tasks
run in parallel.
We provide this onboarding and transition service at no cost to the City of Okeechobee.
SaalexIT’s start-up/onboarding process involves two (2) phases. Phase 1 consists of the initial
onboarding, which includes four (4) major tasks:
1. Task 1 – New Client Information Setup. SaalexIT finalizes all contractual documents,
establishes key points of contacts, gathers a list of users, and learns more about City’s
current processes.
2. Task 2 – Client Onboarding. SaalexIT updates its systems with all the information
gathered in Step 1.
3. Task 3 – Network Assessment. SaalexIT performs a network assessment. We gather
inventory and explore the City’s environment.
4. Task 4 – Assessment Analysis and Service Deployment. SaalexIT summarizes the
information gathered in Steps 1 and 3. We prepare a manual and recommendations, then
meet with key City personnel to discuss our findings.
Table 2. Phase 1 Onboarding Tasks
Phase 1 Tasks Duration
New Client Information/Setup
• Execute contractual agreement
• Gather key contacts list
• Interview City IT division about internal processes
• Review & update client details in ConnectWise
1 day
Client On-board Planning (SaalexIT internal)
1 day
Network Assessment
• Data collection
• Check for equipment not recognized by scan (on-site)
1 day
SaalexIT will complete the contract transition with the City of Okeechobee
in less than two (2) weeks.
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Assessment Analysis and Service Deployment
• Review Assessment Data
• Prepare Assessment Summary
• Recommendations Review Meeting (on-site)
5 days
Phase 2 consists of our MSP onboarding. Table 3 covers the high-level details of implementing
the Managed Services part of our proposal.
Upon award and contract execution, SaalexIT will update our agreement in ConnectWise for
billing and procure the proper licenses. Once licensed (this takes approximately 24 hours), we will
then start the deployment of our RMM tools, consisting of Connect Wise Automate for monitoring
and ScreenConnect for remote control support.
To deploy our RMM Tools, we need to identify one server per site to be the site probe. Generally,
domain controllers are ideal for this. We would then install Connect Wise Automate on each site
server and within 24 hours, the tools will push to all available domain joined clients. From there,
we begin auditing against a known good list of machines and remediate any outliers. We will
obtain a current PC list for the audit, or we will use our Network Assessment reports.
Once ConnectWise Automate is deployed to a workstation, ScreenConnect is immediately
available. Windows Updates, System Info and Health and Software baselines are then established.
This data will be available for retrieval within 12 to 24 hours. Concurrently with t he RMM Tool,
we will on-board the SaalexIT Help Desk to take calls and provide remote support.
Next, we will obtain a CSV- or Excel-formatted list of users and their pertinent contact information
from the City. We will import that information into ConnectWise, and then set a Go-Live Date for
our Help Desk to start taking calls.
Just before Go-Live, SaalexIT will do the following:
1. Forward the City’s support email and setup call forwarding to the SaalexIT Help Desk
2. Distribute SaalexIT Help Desk Stickers with our help desk phone number to users
Once we Go-Live, users will be able to reach out to us using three (3) specific methods:
• Email
• Telephone
• Web Portal @ https://support.saalex.com
Once on-boarded, SaalexIT will grow our functional knowledge of the City’s infrastructure and
processes in order to improve our support, efficiency and overall documentation.
Table 3. Phase 2 MSP Onboarding Tasks
Phase 2 Tasks Duration
Assessment and Service Deployment
• Deploy RMM Agents, Connect Wise Automate (monitoring) and
ScreenConnect (remote control) to site servers
• Webroot AV (add-on) can be instantly deployed. ESET and others solutions
may integrate
• Allow site servers to push RMM agents to clients for 24 hours
• 1 day to deploy
• 4 days to audit and
remediate outlier
workstations
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• Remediate outliers: audit a current PC list from City or use network
assessment reports
• After install, Windows updates, system info/health and software baselines
are established, and remote-control tools are available. Data is available for
retrieval within 12-24 hours
Remote Help Desk On-Boarding
• Obtain full list of users from the City with contact information (.CSV or
.XLSX format)
• Input contacts into ConnectWise (Help Desk Tickets and Billing System)
• Set up email forwarding & call routing
• Perform Final Testing and Go-Live, create contact instructions as needed
• 1-2 days
• periodic reviews
recommended to keep
billing correct
5.1.2 Help Desk support
SaalexIT will provide Help Desk support during City business hours. Our standard coverage runs
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). SaalexIT will respond to emergency issues via telephone within 30
minutes and will provide an on-site technician within 30 minutes when necessary (Table 4). During
emergencies, we will troubleshoot the issue and communicate with City officials regarding
problem resolution (including confirming the need to dispatch a technician to resolve the issue).
Our integrated Network Monitoring Software monitors server, desktop and infrastructure support
24x7x365. SaalexIT provides status reports, metrics on systems operations and develops surveys
for distribution to clients. We maintain call logs, operation logs and review technical alerts and
bulletins.
Table 4. SaalexIT’s capability to meet the City’s response times
If our system alerts us to an emergency, we will immediately contact the City’s POC, communicate
the details of the problem and begin troubleshooting the issue. Our best practice is to make every
Services Requested Ability to meet service times
Emergency Responses
24x7 phone support for non-maintenance outages
and emergencies
• Yes. SaalexIT provides a 24x7x365 phone support
through our Help Desk.
Response for emergencies is required within 30
minutes
• Yes. SaalexIT will provide initial response and on-site
response within 30 minutes.
Non-emergency Responses
Issues that interfere with City functions and
impact employees, but employees are still able to
perform their jobs; response for non-emergencies
is required within 3 hours
• Yes. SaalexIT can respond within 3 hours for non-
emergencies.
Other requests for support that do not affect City
function or impact employee’s ability to perform
their jobs; response is required within 24 hours
• Yes. Other requests can be responded to within 24 hours.
Support Services
U.S. based telephonic customer support • Yes. All SaalexIT employees are U.S.-based.
Over the phone and on sight help desk as needed
between the hours of 8:00a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
(EST), Monday through Friday
• Yes.
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effort to resolve the issue remotely and immediately. If we determine an on-site technician is
needed, we will dispatch an individual to be on-site within the required 30 minutes. If additional
services or parts are needed, we will reach out to the City of Okeechobee for approval.
5.1.2.1 After-hours monitoring and response processes
SaalexIT customizes its after-hours response for all network events based on individual customer’s
needs. For example, some clients prefer incidents be managed with the least amount of interaction
on their part and only require an email notification about the incidents for their review. Other
clients may prefer to be part of decision-making process while remediating the incident(s).
Figure 7. SaalexIT Emergency Response Process
5.1.3 Weekly review and maintenance of systems, computers, software, etc.
5.1.3.1 Weekly, monthly, and quarterly reviews
SaalexIT uses the RapidFire tool during the assessment and evaluation period to perform capacity
planning and rightsizing evaluations whenever application client/server and network updates
occur. The purpose of this scan is to search for vulnerabilities, locate inefficiencies in the system
architecture, and identify any hardware life expectancy issues. Upon request, SaalexIT can provide
the City weekly incident reports, monthly advanced monitoring reports of observed statistics,
quarterly uptime reports, quarterly monitoring reports of observed statistics and a quarterly
summary reports. SaalexIT uses Remote Management and Monitoring (RMM) software, which
provides us with in-depth information on all network devices to include printers, copiers, routers,
switches, workstation and servers. With this software, we can deliver detailed health reports,
receive alerts and alarms of current and pending system failures and connect remotely to resolve
issues.
5.1.4 New Hardware Configuration
SaalexIT technicians are required to train for current supported hardware products across multiple
market-leading manufacturers. This assures meet and exceed configuration expectations and SLAs
to accomplish tasks. Our team can perform configurations to firewalls, VPNs, access points,
managed switches, SD-WANs, workstations, servers, routers, modems, telecommunication
equipment, camera systems and more. No matter which manufacturer is used, SaalexIT follows
the same process when performing updates on hardware configurations:
• All updates are researched to understand the impact of the update.
• The client and IT Project Manager, David Stills, must approve all device updates.
• SaalexIT sends out a notification alerting The City of the potential scheduled outage.
• Prior to performing the update, a fresh backup of the configuration is conducted
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• After the upgrade is complete, the system configuration is reviewed and tested
• Once everything is confirmed operational, a notification is sent out to the city that
systems are restored.
SaalexIT will monitor network, network device and server capacity via our RMM tool. SaalexIT
has an engineer analyze the logs and look for trends such as repeat failures, predictive failures and
thresholds. Once our engineer has performed their analysis, the results are then given to our
Customer Success Team to prepare an executive level report of our findings in an easy-to-read
format. The report is then emailed to the City and, if requested, a meeting can be arranged with
our engineer and Customer Success team to review the results with the City. This will ensure the
City is advised on what actions are needed to keep their systems optimized.
5.1.5 Innovations Offered At No Additional Cost to the City
5.1.5.1 30-Day Transition Plan with Customer Success Team
At no cost, SaalexIT will work closely with the City staff and the outgoing IT
vendor to ensure continuity and a thorough and transparent transfer of knowledge
and information during the transition stages. Ideally, an existing on-site
Technician would be retained to ensure an optimal knowledge share of existing
user and environment support issues. However, should the City desire to have a
replacement on-site technician, SaalexIT has a Mid-level Technician who can be
on-site for the equivalent 40 hours per week, plus provide on call 24x7 staff to support after hours
emergencies. SaalexIT also provides a dedicated Customer Success Team member to support day-
to-day operational or business needs and will be the City’s designated contact for on-boarding and
implementation. Our Success Team is directly responsible for the City’s service satisfaction and
fulfillment of service and SLAs.
5.1.5.2 Cybersecurity Focus-SIEM/SOC
SaalexIT, as an optional (free) enhancement, will provide Security Incident and
Event Management (SIEM) logging and Security Operations Center (SOC)
monitoring 24x7x365 of the City’s critical data and infrastructure for three (3)
months free of charge. We recommend monitoring your most critical
infrastructure with this enhancement, to audit known weaknesses against
unforeseen risks and to start a list of most threatening issues to remediate first.
This software backed by a powerful U.S.-based SOC team will provide your leadership team with
immediate notification, escalation and remediation by the SaalexIT NOC of any breach or security
incident. Our Artificial Intelligence engine monitors your network (e.g., servers, firewalls, end
points) and will find any active and/or ongoing cyber breaches that firewalls and other security
devices cannot detect. The City may opt-into this service after the initial 90-day trial period at our
preferred State & Federal Government pricing.
5.1.5.3 Architecture/Infrastructure Analysis and Optimization
During the initial 90 days, Kevin Kehoe, SaalexIT Solutions Architect and
Deputy Director of IT, will conduct a thorough review of all infrastructure
hardware, software, applications, backups, security and compliance issues,
retention and recovery time objective (RTO) goals, including interviews of key
stakeholders to understand business pain points and strategic goals and objectives
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of the leadership team. This will enable the SaalexIT Team to deliver a budget-driven Strategic
Technology roadmap, enabling:
• Remediation of any mission-critical issues that are ongoing with the existing contract or
identified during our initial network assessment
• Stabilization of any ongoing networking issues or new issues identified during the initial
network assessment
• A prioritized Technology Roadmap for all technology optimization/upgrade projects and
set time framed parameters of when they will be implemented and finished
The ultimate goal of the Strategic Technology roadmap is to guide the City toward an overall
reduction in the number of service requests and network/workstation issues, ultimately freeing up
resources to focus on larger goals that will improves the overall IT experience for users within the
city and the public at large while simultaneously lowering IT expenditures.
5.1.5.4 On-site Technician Help Desk Support
SaalexIT will optimize the City’s service desk and on-site IT Support experience
by streamlining existing processes and backing up the on-site technician with
the support of our 24x7x365 Help Desk and CRM System. Once the initial 90-
day on-boarding is complete and critical infrastructure issues are remediated and
stabilized, the on-site technician should have more time to help with execution
on forward-looking technology projects with the support of our solutions
architect. SaalexIT can also support holiday and after-hours needs with the scale and ability to
bring in any resources from our Southern California offices in Camarillo, Ridgecrest or Temecula
to back up and assist with projects.
5.1.5.5 Data Analytics/Predictive Analytics
SaalexIT will offer our in-house data analytics capability at no cost the City.
SaalexIT is responsible for maintaining and contributing to numerous
Government databases across several Department of Defense (DoD) contracts,
giving us access to key information that often is not used to its fullest potential.
We employ a predictive analytics capability to garner a greater ROI in
collecting this data. Using our in-house SAP Analytics Cloud toolset, SaalexIT
data analysts can develop customized reports, performance dashboards and sensitivity analysis
tools, which include ROI calculations aimed at providing our customers data-driven insights so
they can make data-driven decisions.
Offered at no cost to the City, this analytics service allows the City to adjust its IT business plans
and priorities over lifecycles to optimize efficiency and fine-tune requirements for future
contracting and investment. After coordination with the City stakeholders, SaalexIT can deliv er
quarterly reports based on the data sets available.
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5.1.6 Innovations Offered at Additional Costs
5.1.6.1 Virtual Chief Technology Officer (VCTO)
SaalexIT can provide, at an extra expense, the services of a VCTO to ensure the
City’s IT infrastructure effectively aligns with the technology needs of City
administrators, staff and the public at large. SaalexIT will ensure that the City’s IT
assets are managed in a manner that is both efficient and responsive to the City’s
budgetary constraints. SaalexIT can provide VCTO services to define any
procedure, policy or documentation processes needed to set up records for the
City’s hardware and software assets, operational documentation for Operations and Network
Groups, and for preparing and maintaining a Disruption Plan. SaalexIT will make security of the
City’s IT infrastructure a priority, identifying and resolving any existing vulnerabilities while
preparing for new threats as they evolve. A thorough examination of existing digital services, as
well as legacy analog services, will allow SaalexIT to identify manual processes that can be
automated to improve staff and administrative efficiencies as they align with the City’s mission.
SaalexIT will prepare the City for the next generation of IT growth, ensuring that the City follows
best practices based upon the Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) business
model. SaalexIT will provide the professional experience and necessary skillsets to identify any
shortcomings within the City’s IT environment.
SaalexIT will be creating a license/subscription audit, and a lifecycle projection and assessment
plan to assist with the financial planning of any needed changes for the City. This will result in
SaalexIT delivering the next generation of investments that are necessary to keep costs predictable
and to a minimum without sacrificing security, compliance or stability.
5.1.6.2 Continuity of Operations and Disaster Recovery
SaalexIT can assist the City with Disaster Preparedness/Contingency Planning by recommending
custom solutions, including Continuity of Operations and disaster recovery plans that provide data
redundancy and system security. This plan includes backup schedules, cloud storage information,
alternate connectivity options, and procedures to test and verify that backups are running correctly.
Backup plans are routinely reviewed with the client and changes are made accordingly.
For additional steps related to assessing business continuity, see Emergency Preparedness in the
section below.
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Emergency Preparedness
A thorough inventory of the City’s IT
Emergency Preparedness posture will include
the following:
• SaalexIT will conduct a disaster
recovery assessment for the City and
determine a risk score per question
response. We will then calculate the
score to inform the City of the level
of impact risk were it to suffer a
significant outage or complete loss of
data and processes that we identified
during our on-site network
assessment.
• SaalexIT will strengthen the City’s
disaster preparedness posture by
preparing a detailed contingency plan
to handle a range of scenarios, testing
the plan, and revising it as necessary
based on that testing.
• We will develop a disaster recovery
plan with the assistance of Veeam, a
software tool designed for this purpose.
Components that require an upgrade
SaalexIT will be responsible for identifying legacy hardware and end-of-life systems and
recommending items that require upgrade be replaced. To achieve this, SaalexIT will carry out the
following:
• Perform a Network Assessment to confirm the capability of desktops, laptops, network
servers, switches, routers, firewalls and access points
• Scan the IT infrastructure using RapidFire to identify unreported rogue items or operating
systems
• Compare these systems with the manufactures end-of-life schedule and prepare are report
to review with the city
Risks of system failure
SaalexIT will provide as part of the standard IT footprint assessment a health check of PCs, servers
and other network hardware to determine the risk of failure across the City’s IT infrastructure,
including the following:
• In-depth information on all network devices including printers, copiers, routers, switches,
workstations and servers
• Detailed health reports, alerts and alarms of current and pending system failures
• Inventory of all software, and firmware running on those systems
Figure 8. Risk Assessment Tool assists the City in
avoiding costly service outages.
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• Saalex will prepare a report and schedule updates as needed in accordance with the City’s
guidelines
Disaster Recovery
SaalexIT will examine the City’s ability to recover from a disaster, including estimating downtime
during an event such as a server failure, and how much time and resources will be required to
return to a fully functioning state. Such an assessment will involve thorough testing and planning.
SaalexIT will draw upon its extensive experience in Disaster Preparedness/Contingency Planning.
This includes recommending and implementing custom storage solutions for its clients, such as
COOP and disaster recovery plans that provide data redundancy and system security. Such plans
include the following:
• Backup schedules
• On-site/off-site media information
• Setting data retention plans
• Procedures to test backups
SaalexIT will perform routine tests to ensure the current backup systems are running correctly.
Existing backup plans will be reviewed with the City and changes recommended accordingly.
Security risks
SaalexIT will determine the
City’s security risks and
provide measures to resolve
any vulnerabilities. As a part
of our risk assessment,
SaalexIT will review the City’s current configuration and subscriptions/services. SaalexIT will
execute a complete internal and external scan of the City’s IT infrastructure for known
vulnerabilities.
SaalexIT uses 24x7 SIE M/SOC tools to monitor network systems for a wide range of potential
security threats/risks, performing the following tasks:
• Monitoring employee internet activity
• Identifying virus/malware issues
• Providing a firewall audit trail
• Sandboxing e-mail attachments to reduce malware attacks against the City
• Providing an in-depth look at the City’s network
SaalexIT’s security assessment will confirm that the systems are properly secured and, if not,
determine which security weaknesses should be addressed. In this process, we review the systems,
applications, networks, policies and procedures to discover vulnerabilities. Our vulnerability
assessments vary, but include testing, scanning and referencing lessons learned and experience to
verify that similar issues do not exist. We will deliver a business impact likelihood of the risk,
which identifies the probability of the occurrence (threat level) and the probability of the controls
failing when a security event occurs (vulnerability). Throughout this process, SaalexIT performs
Client Failure Event Time to System Recovery
Erchonia Corp. LLC Ransomware 4 hours
Neelco Industries Inc. Ransomware 2 hours
Travelstore Windows patch failure 15-30 minutes
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documentation reviews, log reviews, ruleset and system configuration reviews and file integrity
checks.
5.2 H ISTORY AND ABILITY T O ESTABLISH AND MAIN TAIN SCHEDUL ES
The table below contains points of contacts that can verify Saalex IT ’s history and ability to
establish and maintain schedules. We have also provided letters of recommendation that attest to
our exemplary response rate and superb customer service.
Company/
Agency Name
Start
Date
POC Name POC Email & Company
Address
Phone Number
Government Agency
Naval Air Warfare
Center Weapons
Division, China
Lake
05/01/11 Anne-Marie
Turnbaugh
Hutson
Anne-marie.turnbaugh@navy.mil
Street 575 I Ave Ste 1 Bldg 53A
Pt Mugu NAWC, CA 93042-0001
(805) 989-4016
National
Assessment Group,
Kirtland Air Force
Base
01/01/14 Antonio
Anaya
Antonio.anaya@us.af.mil
National Assessment Group
(NAG/RSC)
2251 Wyoming Blvd. SE
Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5609
(505) 262-4689
Early Learning
Coalition of
Alachua (ECLAC)
06/24/18 Linda
Goettsche
LGoettsche@elcalachua.org
4424 NW 13th Street, A5
Gainesville, FL 32609
(352) 375-2570
Commercial Company or Non-Profit
AVEX INC 08/21/12 Gloria Herrera,
David McKoy
gherrera@newavex.com
dmckoy@newavex.com
205 Durley Ave
Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 389-1188
Erchonia
Corporation, LLC
06/20/16 Cindy Weidl cweidl@erchonia.com
650 Atlantis Road
Melbourne, FL 32904
(321) 473-1251
Hospice of St.
Francis, Inc.
10/08/13 Marsha Abeln MAbeln@hospiceofstfrancis.com
1250-B Grumman Place
Titusville, FL 32780
(321) 269-4240
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5.3 Q UALITY ASSURANCE PRO CESS
SaalexIT follows a streamlined, unified approach to our SOP. All services start with a help desk
ticket, with tasks carried out by Help Desk Technicians, Network Administrators, Security
Technicians and Computer Operators.
Once an issue is identified or issues are reported, a ticket is entered in to our ConnectWise
Professional Services Automation (PSA) Tool. Every task and level of effort is recorded. We
thoroughly document work for the City performed by each technician, project manager and
Customer Success Team member. This includes everything from the origin of problem, ticket
handling and escalation process, to problem resolution and ticket closing.
SaalexIT has processes to make it easy for City personnel to obtain IT assistance. City personnel
can call, email, use chat or use our portal to submit tickets. SaalexIT has a dedicated agent standing
by to receive and monitor tickets submitted from the City to ensure proper priority levels are
assigned to tickets. We handle tickets through our PSA with built -in workflows to ensure tickets
are handled within the City’s defined service level agreement (SLA). Any ticket not handled within
that timeframe is immediately elevated to the SaalexIT Management Team, which is responsible
for ensuring the proper resource deployment.
The escalation process is straightforward and designed to ensure SLAs
are met. We define tickets in one of two categories and assign a
designated resolution time.
• For projects, the City and SaalexIT will mutually agree upon
resolution times.
• Help desk response times are up to 60 minutes for tier 1, up to
90 minutes for tier 2, up to 120 minutes for tier 3 and less than
24 hours for tier 4.
SaalexIT’s Quality Assurance process involves our dedicated Customer Success team acting as a
liaison with the City to ensure work performed meets the City’s requirements. We integrate a
customer feedback tool into our tickets to allow our end users t o provide valuable feedback and
actionable insights about their customer experience after their issue is resolved and the ticket is
closed. The below screenshot illustrates our net customer satisfaction score within the past month.
SaalexIT achieved
a 96.4% Customer
Satisfaction Rating
within the past
month.
Saalex Information Technology
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Using historical and real-time data, SaalexIT makes critical, timely and cost-effective performance
adjustments that are customer-prioritized. Other opportunities to improve data and predictive
analytics may be applied for all scope of services areas.
We provide monthly reports of all tickets, identifying the date and time each ticket was opened,
problem identification, problem resolution and the time and date the ticket was closed. SaalexIT
also supplies every customer with a web portal where the ticket status and network operations can
be viewed in real time. See our Tier 1-4 Support details referenced in Section 5.1.1.
In addition to responding to calls, we ensure we are providing the City the appropriate ticket
assignment and response time by using SaalexIT’s RMM tool, which will perform health
checks on all systems multiple times a day to ascertain new work requirement entries. SaalexIT
will log issues into SaalexIT’s Ticketing System, communicate via telephone, and email regarding
any new work requirements.
To support the previously mentioned activities, Saalex uses the SAP Analytics Cloud toolset to
assess the data, identify trends, impending issues, and develop actionable reports, which can all be
accessed through our performance dashboards. Our data analytics approach uses a disciplined,
iterative process to integrate this data (Table 5).
Table 5. Saalex Data and Predictive Analytics (DAPA) Process
Data
Requirements
Specification
▪ We identify the necessary data inputs to the analysis.
▪ We may specify and obtain specific variables regarding a
population.
▪ The data we collect may be numerical or categorical
Data Collection ▪ We gather information on target variables identified as data
requirements.
▪ The data gathered is accurate and provides a baseline to
measure and improve.
▪ We may collect data from various sources ranging from the
City’s databases to information on the City’s webpage.
Data Processing ▪ We organize and process the data for analysis.
▪ This process may require we restructure the data for our
analysis tools.
▪ We may need to create a data model.
Data Cleaning ▪ SaalexIT prevents and corrects incomplete, duplicate or
erroneous data.
Data Analysis ▪ We apply statistical data model to understand, interpret and
derive conclusions based on the requirements.
▪ SaalexIT uses data visualization to examine the data in
graphical format to obtain additional insight regarding the
messages within the data.
Communication ▪ We report the data analysis in a format required by the City
to support decisions and further action.
▪ If provided, we use the City’s feedback to perform
additional analysis.
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5.3.1 History of delivering contracted services on time and within budget
The table below contains a sampling of past and current contracts in which we did not go over the
anticipated budget for customers. To assist us in monitoring and controlling costs, Saalex employs
Unanet, a web-based timekeeping, expense reporting and project accounting system that provides
financials with cost pool calculations.
Company/Agency Name Start Date
National Assessment Group, Kirtland Air Force Base 01/01/14
Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake 05/01/11
Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County (ELCAC) 07/01/18
AVEX INC 08/21/12
Erchonia Corporation, LLC 06/20/16
Hospice of St. Francis, Inc. 10/08/13