Procurement of a New Storage Area Network (SAN) Solution for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados

New amendment added #3: Amendment No. 3Interested bidders should take into account the following modifications to the Invitation to Bid document for the ITB/2026/62331 process, which must be considered when preparing their bids: 1. Section “General” - Deadline for submissions must be read as follows:Deadline for submissions: 17 june 2026 - 15:00 hrs (Barbados Time) 19:00 hrs (UTC)Taking this amendment into account, the rest of the documents in the tender remain unchanged.UNOPS

New clarification added: With reference to Invitation to Bid ITB/2026/62331 for Procurement of a New Storage Area Network (SAN) Solution for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados we hereby inform you that Clarification Note No. 2 has been issued, as detailed below:Q3: What is the usable capacity required for non-SSD tier?A3: The usable capacity required for the non-SSD tier is: 150 TB raw capacity, minus whatever is allocated to the SSD tier, minus all RAID/overhead losses.Q4: Please confirm the existing host connectivity environment at QEH: number of hosts to be connected, preferred protocol, existing Fibre Channel/iSCSI switch models and available port speeds, required transceivers/cables, and whether bidders should include SAN/iSCSI switches or only array-side ports, optics, and host connectivity cables.​A4: A total of three hosts will be connected to the new SAN, though QEH anticipates replacing the existing host during the project. All three hosts run VMware ESXi 7.0.3 as their operating system. The currently installed storage and networking interfaces consist of HPE P408i‑a SR Gen10 Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) and Intel 700 series 10 Gbps Network Interface Cards (NICs).QEH has confirmed a clear preference for Fibre Channel (FC) as the SAN connectivity protocol, with no additional performance or compatibility requirements noted for iSCSI. Regarding the existing SAN switch infrastructure, the data center currently deploys HPE 5930 switches offering port speeds of 1 GbE, 10 GbE, and 40 GbE; however, bidders are instructed to include new SAN switches (not iSCSI switches) along with all requisite transceivers (SFPs) as part of their proposal, as no free ports are available on the existing switches for connecting the new storage arrays. For transceivers and cables, bidders must supply all required SFPs and patch cables from the new switches to the new storage arrays. In terms of scope of supply, bidders shall provide complete SAN switches, requisite transceivers, and patch cables — not merely array-side ports or cables to connect to QEH’s existing switches. Finally, the approximate physical distance between the racks where the new storage arrays will be installed and the host servers is approximately 3 meters, which should guide cabling lengths.Q5: What is the power voltage used in the rack where the equipment will be placed?​A5: 220 VQ6: What power plugs are used in the rack where the equipment will be placed?​A6: Type B (NEMA 5-15)Q7: Are both Storage devices going to be placed in separate racks? If so, what is the distance between racks?​A7: Yes. 6 feetQ8: Please confirm whether a single bidder may submit more than one fully compliant technical and commercial offer for the same lot, for example one offer based on Manufacturer A and a separate offer based on Manufacturer B, each with its own price schedule, compliance matrix, and manufacturer authorization. If this is not permitted, please confirm whether one may be submitted as the primary offer and the other as an alternative offer.​A8: No, a single bidder may not submit more than one technical and commercial offer for the same lot. For this specific ITB, alternative offers are not permitted; therefore, submitting a primary offer along with an alternative offer is also prohibited.Q9: Would QEH consider an on-premises Storage-as-a-Service / subscription model as an alternative to an outright capital purchase, provided the solution meets all technical requirements?​A9: We appreciate your interest and the alternative commercial approach proposed. However, QEH will not consider an on-premises Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS) or subscription model for this procurement. The commercial framework for this ITB is strictly structured as an outright capital purchase.Q10: Please confirm that the requirement ‘each array: minimum 150 TB raw capacity, scalable to 500 TB+’ means each array must be supplied with at least 150 TB installed physical raw SSD/NVMe capacity at delivery, while the 500 TB+ requirement may be satisfied through documented future expansion by supported disk shelves. Please also confirm that effective capacity after compression/deduplication cannot be used to satisfy the 150 TB raw requirement.”​A10: 1. 150 TB Raw as SSD/NVMe: Not confirmed. The requirement mandates 150 TB total raw capacity, but only specifies a minimum of 20 TB usable capacity strictly for the SSD tier. The media type for the remaining raw capacity is not restricted to SSD/NVMe in the current specifications.2. Scalability to 500 TB+: Confirmed. The 500 TB+ scalability requirement can be satisfied through future expansion by adding supported disk shelves.3. Raw vs. Effective Capacity: Confirmed. The initial 150 TB threshold strictly requires physical raw capacity. Effective capacity (achieved after compression/deduplication) cannot be used to meet this baseline requirement.Q11: Please confirm whether mixed-tier SAN arrays are acceptable, where the array provides at least 150 TB installed raw capacity overall, at least 20 TB usable high-performance SSD tier capacity, and the 100,000 IOPS / 10 GB/s / <1 ms latency validation is performed against volumes provisioned from the SSD tier. If the performance requirement must apply across the full 150 TB raw capacity including any HDD/nearline tier, please clarify.​A11: Mixed-tier SAN arrays are acceptable, provided that the performance validation of 100,000 IOPS, 10 GB/s throughput, and <1 ms latency is performed against volumes provisioned exclusively from the SSD tier (minimum 20 TB usable high-performance SSD capacity). QEH confirms that the performance requirements do not need to apply across the full 150 TB raw capacity that includes HDD or nearline tiers.Q12: Please confirm whether platform-native replication features are acceptable for the requirements covering active-active replication, synchronous replication, stretched clustering, and replication to the Ireland DR site. Please also confirm whether compatible storage already exists at the Ireland DR site, or whether bidders must include any Ireland-side storage hardware, licenses, or services in the base bid.​A12: Platform native replication features can be provided when considering communication between the storage arrays. However the existing Ireland DR solution already has the required features incorporated.Q13: For Item 04, should 100,000 IOPS and 10 GB/s be validated as separate benchmark profiles, for example small-block random IOPS and large-block sequential throughput, or must both be achieved simultaneously under one workload profile?​A13: The 100,000 IOPS and 10 GB/s do not need to be achieved simultaneously under a single workload profile.

New amendment added #2: Amendment No. 2Interested bidders should take into account the following modifications to the Invitation to Bid document for the ITB/2026/62331 process, which must be considered when preparing their bids: 1. Section “General” - Deadline for submissions must be read as follows:Deadline for submissions: 10 june 2026 - 15:00 hrs (Barbados Time) 19:00 hrs (UTC)2. Section “Documents”: The following documents have been included:2. Section II - Schedule of Requirements_Amendment No. 2.pdfTaking this amendment into account, the rest of the documents in the tender remain unchanged.UNOPS

New clarification added: Question No. 2: Can we have the below information please? Thanking you in advance.End-Customer Contact Person Name:  End-Customer Contact Person Job title: End-Customer Contact Person Phone Number:End-Customer Contact Person email address:Answer No. 2: The end user is the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. Additional contact details will be provided to the successful bidder upon contract award. Please note that all questions or requests for clarification regarding the technical requirements must be directed to UNOPS exclusively through the eSourcing platform during the designated tender clarification period.

New clarification added: With reference to Invitation to Bid ITB/2026/62331 for Procurement of a New Storage Area Network (SAN) Solution for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados we hereby inform you that Clarification Note No. 1 has been issued, as detailed below:Q1: Requested bid validity is 120 days; due to current extreme market volatility, most manufacturers will not hold pricing for longer than 7-14 days for enterprise equipment at this time. Is there flexibility on this point? Would 30 days' validity be acceptable?A1: Please be advised that the Bid validity period has been modified. Kindly refer to Amendment No. 1

New amendment added #1: Interested bidders should take into account the following modifications to the Invitation to Bid document for the ITB/2026/62331 process, which must be considered when preparing their bids: 1. Section “Particulars” - Bid validity period in days: The Bid Validity period has been updated, must be read as follows:Bid validity period in days: 60 days2. Section “Documents”: The following documents have been included:Pre-bid meeting Presentation ITB/2026/62331.pdfPre-bid meeting Minutes ITB/2026/62331.pdfTaking this amendment into account, the rest of the documents in the tender remain unchanged.UNOPS