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[null,"ANNEXURE F - Evaluation Criteria: Client Reference Letters for Network Detection and Response (NDR) Solution"]
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[null,"1. Submission Requirements"]
[null,"Bidders must submit minimum two (2) but up to three (3) relevant reference letters not older than February 2021 (i.e., within the past five years) from clients who have deployed the proposed Network Detection and Response  (NDR) solution. Each letter with the following minimum information: company letterhead, company name, contact person, contact details, and confirmation/mention of the specific Network Detection and Response  Solution.  A maximum of three (3) letters will be scored. Where more than three reference letters are submitted, only the three letters covering the largest scale deployments will be considered."]
[]
[null,"2. Authenticity Requirement"]
[null,"- Each letter must be written directly by the client who benefited from the solution deployment."]
[null,"- Letters authored by the bidder, service providers, or OEM vendors on behalf of clients will not be accepted."]
[]
[null,"3. Mandatory Content of Reference Letters"]
[null,"Each letter must include the following information:"]
[null,"- Company letterhead."]
[null,"- Company name (reference client)."]
[null,"- Contact person details (name, title, phone number, email address)."]
[null,"- Clear identification of the bidding company as the service provider who implemented the solution."]
[null," - Confirmation of the specific  (NDR) Solution deployed."]
[null,"- Number of users covered by the solution."]
[null,"- Number of endpoints covered by the solution."]
[null,"- Scope of services provided (installation, configuration, implementation, administration, and support)."]
[null,"- Project timeline and/or completion date."]
[]
[null,"4. Critical Requirement – Bidder Identification"]
[null,"Each reference letter must explicitly name the bidding company as the implementing service provider. Letters that only reference the OEM manufacturer or the product name without identifying the bidder as the deployment partner will be deemed non-responsive."]
[]
[]
[null,"Acceptable phrasing includes (examples only):"]
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[null,"·       “[Bidder Company Name] successfully implemented…”"]
[null,"·       “We engaged [Bidder Company Name] to deploy…”"]
[null,"·       “The project was delivered by [Bidder Company Name]…”"]
[]
[null,"5. Scoring System"]
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[null,"A minimum of two (2) but a maximum of three (3) letters will be scored. Where more than three are submitted, only the three letters covering the largest scale deployments will be considered."]
[null,"Points","Endpoint Range","User Range"]
[null,3,"5,000 – 9,999 endpoints","10,000 – 14,999 users"]
[null,5,"10,000 – 14,999 endpoints","15,000 – 19,999 users"]
[null,8,"15,000+ endpoints","20,000+ users"]
[]
[null,"Clarification Rule:"]
[null,{"$f":"-'[1]Annexure A - Technical Eval'!$D$12","v":{"$error":"#VALUE!"}}]
[null,"- The evaluation committee reserves the right to validate all figures with the reference client. Inflated, inconsistent, or unverifiable claims will render the letter non-responsive."]
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[null,"Scoring Examples"]
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[null,"Bidder","Letter A","Letter B","Letter C","Total Score"]
[null,"XYZ","7,000 endpoints = 3","12,000 endpoints = 5","18,000 endpoints = 8",16]
[null,"ABC","6,000 endpoints = 3","16,000 endpoints = 8","—",11]
[null,"DEF","8,000 endpoints = 3","11,000 endpoints = 5","17,000 endpoints = 8","16 (top 3 scored)"]
[null,"GHI","13,000 endpoints = 5","—","—",5]
[null,"JKL","11,000 endpoints = 5","21,000 users = 8","—","13 (higher score applied on Letter B)"]
[]
[]
[null,"6. Non-Responsive Letters"]
[null,"A reference letter will not be considered if it:"]
[null,"1. Is not authored directly by the client."]
[null,"2. Does not clearly identify the bidder as the implementing party."]
[null,"3. Mentions only the OEM/vendor without bidder identification."]
[null,"4. Omits any of the mandatory content listed in Section 3."]
[null,"5. Is dated before June 2020."]
[null,"6. Covers fewer than 5,000 endpoints and fewer than 10,000 users."]
[null,"7. Does not contain all the mandatory requires as per Section 3."]
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[null,"7. Additional Notes"]
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[null,"- Letters covering fewer than the minimum scale thresholds (5000 end points or 10,000 users) will receive 0 points."]
[null,"- Bidders may submit fewer than three letters and will be scored on the letters submitted."]
[null,"- Each qualifying letter will be scored independently according to the ranges above."]
[null,"- Verification calls or emails may be conducted with reference clients to confirm authenticity, deployment details, and bidder involvement."]
[]
[null,"8. Exception for OEM-Supported Bidders"]
[null,"In cases where a bidder cannot submit client reference letters but provides a letter from their partnered OEM explicitly confirming that it will be responsible for the installation, configuration, deployment, and support of the proposed solution throughout the duration of the contract, the bidder must instead submit up to three (3) client reference letters from the OEM’s clients. These letters must confirm that the OEM has successfully installed, configured, deployed, and supported the proposed solution."]
[null,"The scoring criteria in Section 5 will apply equally to reference letters submitted under this exception, ensuring consistent evaluation of all qualifying letters."]
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[null,"Scoring under this exception will be adjusted as follows:"]
[]
[null,"Points","Endpoint Range","User Range"]
[null,3,"5,000 – 9,999 endpoints","10,000 – 14,999 users"]
[null,5,"10,000 – 14,999 endpoints","15,000 – 19,999 users"]
[null,8,"15,000+ endpoints","20,000+ users"]