Request For Proposal (RFP): County Data Center Server and Network Infrastructure Upgrade

AUTHORIZATION TO PUBLISH

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR

COUNTY DATA CENTER SERVER AND NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE

The Flathead County Board of Commissioners is requesting proposals from qualified firms for a County data center server and network infrastructure upgrade, pursuant to the Competitive Sealed Proposal requirements of Section 18-4-304, M.C.A. The project consists of a complete seven-node Proxmox/Ceph compute-cluster hardware solution and the redundant network fabric required to operate it. The base proposal includes seven identically configured 1U compute nodes, enterprise NVMe storage, four active 100 GbE fabric switches plus one identical cold spare, one 25 GbE top-of-rack switch, all required optics, cables, licenses, and ancillary components, and five (5) years of 8x5 next-business-day hardware-replacement support. The total evaluated base proposal price may not exceed $300,000.

County staff will rack, cable, configure, commission, and migrate the environment; no vendor professional services are required. New or professionally refurbished equipment may be proposed, subject to the same mandatory technical, lifecycle, acceptance, firmware-access, and support requirements set forth in the RFP. 

 

Proposals must be clearly marked 'RFP Response – County Data Center Server and Network Infrastructure Upgrade'. Flathead County reserves the right to waive any informality and may reject any or all proposals. Award of the contract will be based on the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP document, pursuant to Montana law.

 

Copies of the detailed RFP, including a description of the equipment and services to be provided by respondents, the minimum content of proposals, and the factors used to evaluate the proposals, can be found on the Flathead County webpage located at: https://flatheadcounty.gov/department-directory/commissioners-office/public-notices or by contacting Ben Mikkelson, Technical Operations Manager, Flathead County Commissioners Office, 800 South Main Street, Room 302, Kalispell, MT 59901 - (406) 758-5695 / bmikkelson(at)flatheadcounty.gov.  All proposals must be submitted in a sealed package (four printed copies and one electronic copy on USB) to the Flathead County Commissioners Office, 800 South Main, Room 302, Kalispell, MT 59901, by 4:00 p.m. local time on September 23, 2026; questions due by 4:00 p.m. local time on September 14, 2026.  Flathead County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

 

DATED this 1^st day of September, 2026.

                                                                                    BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                                    Flathead County, Montana

                                                                                    By____/s/ Brad W. Abell________

     Brad W. Abell, Chairman

  Publish on September 6th and September 13th, 2026. 

Page Last Updated: Sep 4, 2026