I. Overview

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) extends this Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to provide IT Help Desk and related services. The MSP will work and report to SLLS’s IT Manager.

SLLS is a nonprofit tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization that provides high quality legal assistance to people with low-income in civil matters. SLLS serves clients in twenty-two parishes in southeast Louisiana from six main offices (Baton Rouge, Covington, Gretna, Hammond, Houma, and New Orleans). SLLS works to remove barriers to opportunity, ensuring access to shelter, economic security, safety and health through direct legal representation in civil cases, policy advocacy, and community legal education. SLLS has 160+ employees of which about 70% are lawyers and engages hundreds of volunteer attorneys and dozens of law students every year. The agency has made significant upgrades of hardware, software, asset management systems, and cybersecurity since completing a technology assessment several years ago.

II. This Project

SLLS seeks an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) to perform the following:

A scope of work (SOW) for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) quote should detail the specific services, responsibilities, and performance metrics for managing the IT environment of an organization with 160+ staff members.

Project Objective

The objective is to establish a comprehensive, flat-rate Managed Services agreement whereby the MSP assumes responsibility for the day-to-day management and support of SLLS’s IT infrastructure, end-users, and associated services. The goal is to provide IT efficiency, reliability, availability, and security, with predictable support costs.

Scope of Services

The MSP will provide the following services for approximately 160+ staff members:

Unlimited Remote Help Desk:Provision of a primary point of contact for all end-user IT issues. This service includes unlimited remote support during agreed-upon business hours (e.g., M-F, 8 AM – 5PM CST local time). All tickets will be tracked via the MSP’s ticketing system.
Unlimited Onsite Visits to all Locations:Dispatch of qualified technicians to the client’s physical locations as needed when issues cannot be resolved remotely or situations that require an onsite visit.
New User/Device Setup:Management of the complete lifecycle of end-user hardware, including procurement assistance, staging, deployment, and configuration of new devices (laptops, desktops, printers, mobile devices) and user accounts (e.g., Active Directory, Google Cloud Email).
Device Monitoring/Patching:Proactive monitoring and maintenance of all covered endpoints and network devices. This includes regular operating system and third-party application patch management to ensure security and stability.
Project Management:Provision of project management expertise for IT initiatives that fall outside the standard monthly support agreement (e.g., major hardware refreshes, office moves, large-scale software deployments). These projects may be quoted separately at a specific project rate.
Network & Firewall Management:Proactive monitoring, configuration management, and troubleshooting of core network infrastructures, including Microsoft Windows servers, managed switches, wireless access points, and FortiGate firewalls.
Assist with Cyber Security Management:Collaborative support for the client’s cybersecurity posture, including monitoring security tools, implementing best practices, and assisting with incident response planning.
Backup Management:Management, monitoring, and regular testing of data backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure business continuity, confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Licenses:Management and tracking of software licenses, including procurement assistance and ensuring compliance for covered software (e.g., Microsoft 365, Google Cloud, security software, etc.).
Storage:Management and monitoring of data storage solutions, including cloud and/or on-premises storage, ensuring adequate capacity and performance.
Google Cloud Email Management:Administration, support, and maintenance of the client’s Google Workspace environment, including user administration, security settings, apps, and compliance features.
Inventory Management: Receive, Tag, Setup & Deliver all devices which include but are not limited to laptops, desktops, docking stations, monitors, and small printers.

Client Responsibilities

The Client is responsible for providing the MSP with necessary access to systems, facilities, and points of contact. The client must also designate a primary liaison (IT Manager or Deputy Director) for regular business reviews and strategic planning.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) & Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

The final quote will include specific metrics and guaranteed response times, such as:

Initial response time to support tickets.
Resolution time targets for different priority levels (e.g., critical, high, medium, low).
System uptime guarantees.

Pricing Structure

Services will be provided under a monthly recurring cost (MRC) model or yearly recurring cost (YRC) model, based on the number of users (~160+ staff members) and covered devices. A separate project-based rate will apply to work outside the defined scope of managed services.

III. Steps and Timeline

The planned timeline for this project is:

Deadline for proposal submission 12/16/2025
Direct Questions and submit proposals to Vincent Giardina,
IT Manager, vgiardina@slls.org
Vendor Selection and Contract Execution 12/20/2025

V. Proposal Content

Responses to this Request for Proposal should be no longer than 8 pages long (shorter proposals are welcome). A sample contract may be included. Proposals should include the following:

Firm description, including how long the firm has been in business, specialty areas, and experience providing IT Help Desk and related services to not-for-profit and other professional
Identification of the staff who will work on the project. Describe their experience, education, training, and professional certifications
Description of your engagement with mission-driven organizations where organizational values have significantly impacted IT Help Desk and related services and how that orientation informed your
Statement of your understanding of the work required and how you will approach this project, including work plan and
Three current or former clients who we may contact as
Statement of your fees for this work, including an indication of whether you propose a flat fee or hourly fee. SLLS prefers a flat fee proposal. If the proposed fee is hourly based, provide the estimated number of hours Please include the responsibilities and services covered by these fees.

VI. Evaluation Criteria and Award of Contract

SLLS may elect to schedule interviews with potential consultants prior to awarding a final contract. Please include contact information for scheduling purposes in the RFP.

Proposals will be evaluated upon the contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP, qualifications, demonstrated experience with similar projects, and total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP. Award of the contract resulting from the RFP will be based upon the most responsive contract that is most advantageous to SLLS in terms of cost, functionality, experience, and quality of past work.

SLLS ideally seeks a firm that understands its needs as a nonprofit and legal services organization and is committed to our mission of achieving justice and social change by combating poverty.

SLLS reserves the right to accept or reject any proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, when deemed to be in the best interest of SLLS. We also reserve the right to negotiate with all respondents to the RFP and reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any respondent.