This is a service / maintenance or supply contract in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Contact the soliciting agency for additional information.

The Board of Education of School District No. 43 (Coquitlam), hereinafter referred to as the "Board", of its intent to contract directly with Microsoft for the supply and delivery of Hybrid-Meeting Device System: Microsoft Surface Hub 2S for ten (10) meeting rooms for the new Education Learning Centre. The anticipated value of this procurement is $150,097.91 plus applicable taxes: 6 x MS Surface Hub 2s 50" 8GB 128GB EN/XD/XX US/Canada 4 x MS Surface Hub 2s 85" 8GB 128GB EN/XD/XX US/Canada The Board will complete the construction of a new Education Learning Centre (ELC) in spring of 2022. The new building will be part of the Board's vision to bring the school's district administration together centrally into a new Board office as we continue to educate for the 21st century. It will house the Information Services, International Education, Human Resources, Finance and Corporate Services, Facilities, and the Executive Education department. The Board engaged in a review of mainstream hybrid-meeting capable presentation and collaboration device systems in preparation for the need to equip the ten (10) meeting rooms in the new ELC building. The meeting rooms to be equipped are intended to support primarily district business operations rather than educational activities and include spaces of various sizes. It is important to note the Board maintains existing equipment standards for educational spaces and those standards are not related to this selection process, which is limited to ELC related business spaces. Three different system solutions were initially considered with the following priorities: o Seamless integration with Windows 10 and Microsoft Teams o Touch Screen with cloud-based, collaborative virtual whiteboard o Minimized wiring requirements o Minimized wall modification and mounting requirements o Able to operate independent of a computer, or as a wireless display using WiDi/Miracast capability o Centralized manageability using existing IT management infrastructure The following optional elements were further considered: o Staff training requirements o Sizing options o System simplicity o Preference for fewest number of components o Preference for solution from a single manufacturer o Total cost of ownership Through hands-on use demonstration environments, the Board has selected MS Surface Hub. It is the supposition of the Board that Surface Hub offered the best solution in the following ways: o Met all priority use case criteria o The most seamless integration with the Board's existing Windows 10 and Microsoft Teams environment allowing facilitation of hybrid meetings with significant ease o Effective use involves skillsets that are already widely known to District staff, resulting in least required staff training o One piece solution created by far the simplest and least expensive installation requirements, with no further modifications required to existing building spec o Fully managed by existing IT management infrastructure o Single manufacturer for all components reduces long-term support risk The Board did not call for open competitive proposals. It is not anticipated that a competitive bid process would result in identification of other hybrid-meeting capable presentation and collaboration device, and providers who could supply all of the deliverables in an equivalent or higher-level specification standard with lesser cost. Vendors who wish to object to this decision should contact the Authorized Representative presenting specific reasons for their objections. If justified, the Board will convene a meeting with its representatives and the vendor to receive vendors' representations concerning this contract. Any vendor objecting to this NOI should provide all relevant qualifications and the reasons for objecting such as your ability to meet and/or exceed the needs listed on this Notice of Intent and at a better or reduced cost. For the purpose of this NOI, the Authorized Representative of the Board is