Desktop management suite RFP - Microsoft

Executive Summary

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 (SMS) is a powerful and flexible desktop management system - it can be configured and modified to fit the resource management needs of most organizations. To gain the most benefit from the SMS features (detailed below) Patchwork would need to carefully plan their SMS implementation. Patchwork is a relatively large and diverse organization with 10,500 users spread across at least 42 locations, which are probably distributed widely throughout the United States. This RFP response highlights the key features of SMS that address the requirements stated in the RFP; the recommended site configuration to minimize bandwidth utilization and to support remote sites/users; how SMS could be used to migrate existing Windows 95 desktops to Windows NT and ultimately upgrade to Windows 2000; the estimated TCO savings that Patchwork could potentially achieve; and finally the cost of the proposed SMS system to provide all of the required functionality (hardware & software inventory, software distribution and remote control & diagnostics) to all 10,500 users throughout the organization.

Requirements

Patchwork, a manufacturing and distribution company is evaluating desktop management suite products for hardware and software inventory, software distribution and remote control. Additionally, the company wants to be able to configure its hardware. And the suite must share a common database that leverages and correlates information between modules to enable effective job scheduling and provide access to up-to-date inventory and configuration information to fix problems remotely. The company also requires the product to offer Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) support, including support for the Common Interface Model (CIM) which will allow them to manage their multi-vendor systems across the enterprise. License metering, printer management and virus checking are desirable.

This table details the key features of Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 (SMS) that address the requirements stated above in the RFP. More information on each of these features is available at www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt/default.asp.

Requirement	SMS Feature Description
Hardware Inventory	SMS is designed to collect hardware inventory in a Common Information Model (CIM) format. This means that it has access to data from many sources, including Win32, SNMP, and DMI, and administrators have a much richer collection of inventory information available. Given the large number of inventory objects, filtering options have been added so that an administrator can choose which data is most important. The system would be able to inventory all TCP/IP devices on the network, including those connected remotely such as telecommuters. Laptops would have the option of not running the inventory scan if they happen to be out of their home region or logged in remotely. Standalone computers would be scanned using a floppy disk based process and their inventory information would be copied to the Inventory database.
Software Inventory	To deliver better software inventory, SMS searches for version resource information on every executable on the client machine, rather than checking against a predefined database. This provides a dynamic, efficient mechanism of getting detailed information on every application on every PC. Administrators are returned a list of all the software packages on a client machine, grouped under the company that manufactured them. This allows easy identification of the applications that are installed across the network, and a database against which administrators can easily check for specific applications, for instance those that are not year 2000 compliant. As well as returning information on recognized applications, SMS returns a list of all unknown applications- those without header information. If there are specific custom applications that are important to trace but do not have full header information, they can still be discovered. The software inventory facility can also collect files. In this case, rather than returning a list of applications with the files that reference them, the actual files are collected and forwarded from the client machine back to the SMS database. This is an easy way to gather a set of configuration files from each system.
Software Distribution	Software distribution and installation is a critical feature of SMS and a key reason for choosing it. SMS provides rich options for targeting software distribution including to any combination of the following: Users User groups TCP/IP network segments Machines This allows applications to be sent in a more directed manner. For instance, a particular Windows NT based user group could be sent a software patch that was only relevant to that group, or all machines in a network segment could be sent a printer driver pertaining to the printer in that segment. SMS also supports dynamic user lists. If a new user joins a user group, software will now automatically be sent to him or her according to the group's policy. This is possible because, in addition to distributing to a wider range of targets, these targets are now assessed dynamically. Rather than the distribution target list being created at the central server, the rule-set itself is distributed to all sites, and a small rule definition file is transmitted with every package. Each site is now aware of the rules, and as a new object joins the site it is evaluated against the rules.
Remote Control	SMS includes utilities that enable you to directly control and monitor remote clients running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows 3.x operating systems and utilities that allow you to diagnose network and server problems. The following types of tools are available: Remote control and Help desk utilities HealthMon, server monitoring tools Network Monitor, network monitoring tools Network Discovery and NetTrace, a network topology tool SMS provides the following remote control tools to troubleshoot user problems. Remote Control - Using the Remote Control utility, administrators can view the display of a remote SMS client and take control of its keyboard and mouse. Remote Reboot - When administrators are providing support for a remote client, they may need to restart the client to test a change to a start-up procedure, to load a new configuration, or to restart when a client has locked up due to a hardware or software malfunction. Using the Remote Reboot utility, administrators can restart the selected client. Remote Chat - Using the Remote Chat utility, administrators can communicate with a user at the selected client. When an administrator starts a chat session, the Remote Chat windows appear on both the SMS Administrator computer and the selected client. When either the administrator or the user at the client types text in the Remote Chat window, that text is displayed in the other computer's Remote Chat window. File Transfer - Using the File Transfer utility, administrators can transfer files between the SMS-based console computer and the selected client. Remote Execute - The Remote Execute utility enables administrators to run an application or batch file on a remote Windows based client. When administrators use Remote Execute instead of Remote Control, the user does not see the command being executed, and the command may complete more quickly. Administrators can also perform Windows 95 and Windows 98 diagnostics via the Remote Tools utilities, and can run Windows NT administrative tools, such as User Manager, remotely.
Hardware Configuration	SMS offers limited hardware configuration capabilities - however Network Trace uses the server and network discovery information contained in the SMS Discovery Database. After server discovery is completed, Network Trace can map site systems within a site. After network discovery is completed, Network Trace can map routers and links between site systems.
Common Database	SMS is built on top of Microsoft SQL Server, which ensures data integrity. It natively uses the facilities of SQL Server and is tightly integrated with it to ensure the most efficient data storage possible. Though SMS uses SQL Server, the administrator does not have to deal with the overhead of managing this database environment. SMS has been designed to fully self-manage the database so that you do not have to use SQL Server Enterprise Manager. This includes automatically creating the relevant database tables at installation and then sizing the tables as your system grows. It also contains a series of garbage collection facilities that ensure the data maintained by SMS is of a high quality, without the need for you to stop the system and run separate administrative tools.
WBEM/CIM support	Microsoft is supporting the CIM specification developed by the Desktop Management Task Force, as part of the WBEM initiative. This provides a common way of presenting management information from multiple sources, such as SNMP, DMI, and the Microsoft Win32 application-programming interface. Microsoft has built Windows Management Instrumentation, which is CIM-compliant, into the Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 operating system and Windows 2000 operating system environments.
Software Metering	SMS provides new tools to analyze, monitor, and control the use of applications on servers and workstations. The administrator has many levels of control, ranging from simple alerts to actively preventing applications from running. This control can be exercised over specific applications with quota limits defined by the administrator, or any application that is not specifically allowed by the administrator. Any application on any client or server can be monitored for compliance. The administrator can predefine a quota for a particular application. As users launch applications, the system checks to see if the quota has been exceeded. If it has, then the administrator can choose to shut down the application. The user can be offered a callback, which will automatically notify the user when the application may be started. Alternatively, IT organizations can maintain a list of supported applications and define all other applications as non-supported. If any application not on the supported list is executed, the administrator has the capability to prevent it from starting. Application usage is monitored by time, which allows organizations to create charge-back structures according to the amount of time a user spends running a particular application. Users can check out an application for a period of time, such as when they are about to travel. This allows administrators to monitor the complete population of application usage, even when not physically connected. Applications that have been checked out are returned to the pool when the user logs back on, or are automatically freed up for reuse if the time period passes. This software metering solution is not affected by file renaming as it checks application resources. This means that users cannot avoid monitoring. Further, the metering tools recognize different program versions and detect disabling of client agents, providing a comprehensive defense against tampering.
Printer Management	SMS offers limited printer management capabilities - however distribution targeting allows all machines in a particular network segment to be sent a printer driver pertaining to the printer in that segment.
Virus Checking	SMS does not include built-in Virus Checking software but can be used to deploy Virus Checking applications by creating SMS package definition files and distributing them to selected clients. New wizards and other enhancements have made it easier to deploy multiple applications with SMS 2.0.

Proposed SMS Site Topology

Patchwork's Cleveland headquarters has an installed base of 5,000 users. A second campus, located in Detroit has an installed base of 3,000 users. Additionally, about 2,500 users are located in about 40 national sales sites.
The headquarters and second campus share a 45 Mbit/sec T3 connection. The majority of the remaining sites connect to the corporate LAN via 56K bit/sec frame relay, with a half dozen connected via dial-up and ISDN lines.

SMS meets the needs of Patchwork's distributed network by offering WAN-aware tools, support for remote users, granular security, and integration with other tools and environments. SMS will enable Patchwork to organize its existing network into a hierarchy of SMS sites (see diagram below). This will help Patchwork to use the product where different groups have different areas of responsibility - ie SMS is able to reflect the business structure of an organization (either centralized administration from Corporate Headquarters, distributed administration to Detroit Campus and National Sales Regions, or some combination of both. Information gathered from computers is processed and stored on a site-by-site basis and passed up through the hierarchy. In a similar manner, management information and software distributions can be defined at one site in the hierarchy and passed down to child sites. Because data passed between sites is often summarized or compressed, it is more efficient for large networks or networks that include slow links to be organized into a hierarchy of SMS sites.

[Click here to see network topology.]

Multi-tiered approach

In order to minimize bandwidth utilization, we recommend that Patchwork implement a solution that uses a store and forward approach at multiple levels. National Sales Regions would update either the Site servers in Detroit or the Site servers at Headquarters (depending on locality and network topology), which would update the Central Site server in Cleveland. The ability to schedule this replication in conjunction with other transfers would allow Patchwork to utilize quiet hours for large transfers. In order to minimize bandwidth utilization, we would recommend a solution that is able to handle multiple levels of distribution servers. In other words, a software distribution could be initiated at the Headquarters (Central) Server level, the package sent once to the Campus Primary Server (which would then fan-out the package to the secondary site servers) and all National Sales Region servers, and the secondary site servers and National Sales Region servers would distribute to end users. Each server along the way would also be able to distribute software to its local client workstations. All Windows-based computers would be able to receive software packages and any not directly connected to the LAN could get the package via physical media (e.g. CD-ROM).

SMS has been designed to make appropriate use of WAN environments, reducing the costs associated with WAN traffic. It does this by providing multiple WAN senders, scheduling, and bandwidth throttling. Fan-out distribution has been added in version 2.0, which uses the network topology to deliver software efficiently across slow links. Courier Sender has been added, allowing software to be sent by CD-ROM rather than across the network.

SMS also provides a granular security model, allowing easier and more precise delegation of tasks, so that administrators can have a management tool that exactly matches their job. Integration with other tools comes through full support for the CIM standard, and the openness and extensibility of the product. Interoperability with other environments is extended through support for Windows based clients running in Novell 3.x and NDS environments.

Remote Sites (National Sales Sites)

SMS is designed to work over WAN environments. To allow this to occur, SMS offers a range of senders and bandwidth management facilities so Patchwork will be able to indicate what percentage of bandwidth is used for a specific management task at a specific time. For instance, only 10% of bandwidth may be assigned to software distribution between the hours of 9.00 A.M. and 5.00 P.M. Monday through Friday.

SMS deals with network degradation by doing auto-restarts at the point of failure when there is a network break, so that the full package does not need to be resent. Also, distribution packages are heavily compressed before being sent.
SMS batches jobs into intelligent-sized parcels to make efficient use of bandwidth. It carefully schedules packages to be distributed in a controlled fashion to avoid bandwidth saturation. However, it offers a send now facility if a package needs to get to the top of the queue and be distributed in a hurry.
SMS supports a fan-out mechanism for software distribution that makes use of servers as routers of software. This means that a package that is going to multiple sites needs only to cross a slow-link once before it is copied and routed to its various destinations.
SMS also supports the new Courier Sender, which allows software to be sent by courier (dispatched across land on CD-ROM, rather than across the wire). Courier Sender can be used in those situations where the package to be sent is too large or expensive to transmit, or where the destination has very poor network connectivity. The power of SMS is still available to the administrator, however the software gets there by other means.

Upgrade Plans

Patchwork has a 'mixed' network of Windows NT & NetWare based servers and plans to upgrade to Windows 2000.

SMS is the ideal tool for rolling out a Windows 2000 environment, and for managing a heterogeneous mix of Windows NT Server and Novell NetWare. Specifically SMS supports both Novell 4.x NetWare Directory Service and Novell 3.x bindery environments and allows Novell Servers to perform 3 roles in an SMS environment:

Client Access Points - a Client Access Point (CAP) is a site system that provides a communication point between the site server and clients. Once client software has been installed on a computer in a site, it contacts a CAP for management information from the SMS site. Files, inventory information, and status information collected at the clients are delivered to the CAPs. Since CAPs handle much of the communications between clients and the site server, it is generally a good idea to assign this role to one or more computers other than the site server.
Distribution Points - Distribution points are site systems that receive package files from a site server. Clients contact distribution points to obtain programs and files after they have received software distribution advertisements from the CAP. A distribution point can be a Windows NT share or a NetWare volume. Like CAPs, distribution points handle much of the communications between clients and the site server, and it is generally a good idea to assign this role to one or more computers other than the site server.
Logon Points - the logon point is the initial point of contact between the client computer and the SMS environment. The client runs the logon script, determines which sites it is a member of, and finds a client access point. Microsoft Windows networking clients run Smsls.bat from the logon server. NetWare clients run Smsls.scr from the system logon script. The client then determines which site or sites it is a member of, and looks for the possible client access points.

Upgrading to the Windows 2000 operating system includes choosing a domain structure, planning sites, domains, and Organizational Units (OU), assessing network traffic, assessing network topology, and preparing the network and machines for upgrade. SMS can help to gather the majority of the information Patchwork will need to plan for Windows 2000 deployment, automate certain deployment steps, and streamline deployment planning, execution, and troubleshooting. Patchwork could use SMS to plan and execute the centralized deployment of Windows 2000 upgrade packages to any number of geographically dispersed systems. Using SMS to drive the upgrade process offers the following benefits:

Full status reporting integrated with Windows 2000 setup allows simple monitoring and management of distributed upgrades from a central location.
Upgrades can be launched with administrative privileges to support upgrades in locked down/low rights environments.
Upgrades can be executed without a user logged on to support headless servers and off-hours OS upgrades.
Highly flexible and dynamic target evaluation for extensive and automated control over what systems receive the upgrade package.
Extensive scheduling options to support varied corporate deployment policies such as absolute mandatory, delayed mandatory, optional, and others.
Automatic load balancing between distribution points to accommodate large numbers of concurrent or near-concurrent upgrades.

In planning for Windows 2000 deployment, Network Trace, Network Monitor, Network Discovery, and Reporting can be used to gather data about the existing network topology, such as subnets, bandwidth, and the existence of unwanted protocols to be removed.

Collections Criteria provide another means to gather information. Patchwork could use them to gather information about existing hardware, with the goal of determining which machines can be upgraded. Collections Criteria can also be used to gather information about existing operating system and application software, with the goal of determining whether interim OS upgrades are needed and whether there is software in use that is not supported by the new OS. Patchwork could also gather information about users to determine their networking needs, physical locations, logical groupings, and projected organizational units (OUs).

Upgrading target machines to the appropriate OS Service Pack prior to installing the new operating system can be accomplished by creating the appropriate package definition files, advertising the program, and using Remote Control where appropriate to deliver packages.

Migration Plans

Patchwork plans to migrate form Windows 95 to Windows NT Workstation 4.0 based clients and to utilize a desktop management suite to help with migration.

SMS is the ideal tool for helping administrators prepare for and deploy Windows NT 4.0 based clients by providing the necessary integration with the operating system. It has been specifically and rigorously tested in these scenarios. Specifically:

Windows NT Workstation 4.0 comes with wrappers (PDFs), which make them ready for installation through SMS.
Windows NT Workstation 4.0 reports installation status in a format that is understood by SMS.
SMS supports elevated privilege, allowing Windows NT Workstation 4.0 to be rolled out to users without administrative privileges.
SMS automatically installs the appropriate agent for Windows NT Workstation 4.0 after upgrade, allowing immediate management of the new environment without administrator interaction.
Deployment guides with full instructions on upgrading using SMS are available for Windows NT Workstation 4.0.

SMS can play an integral role in planning for and deploying Windows NT Workstation 4.0 based clients. As with any operating system upgrade, information about the existing infrastructure and existing server and client configurations needs to be collected to facilitate adequate planning. Patchwork could use Network Trace, Network Monitor, Network Discovery, and Reporting to gather data about the existing network topology, such as subnets, bandwidth, and the existence of unwanted protocols to be removed. In addition, Patchwork could use Collections Criteria to gather information about existing hardware, existing operating system and application software, and whether there is software in use that is not supported by the new OS. Collections Criteria can also be used to gather information about users to determine their networking needs, physical locations, and logical groupings.

SMS also offers Patchwork the ability to create and test unattended client operating system installations or upgrades, address rollback and backup procedures, to create packages for different hardware configurations and specify Client Access Points and distribution points. For more information on using SMS to deploy operating systems, see the SMS Web site at www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt/.

Applications Support

Patchwork plans to standardize on a suite of applications including Internet Explorer for Email.

SMS is the ideal tool to help Patchwork deploy new applications. SMS can maintain an inventory of the hardware, software, and computer configuration information across the Patchwork corporate network. This information will be critical in helping Patchwork to plan the deployment of 'standard' applications, especially in a mixed environment.

Before Patchwork deploys any new application, it will be important to assess the network resources, available servers, and other network-related elements. Using the inventory tools in SMS, Patchwork could determine which client computers can receive new applications and upgrades, which servers can host applications, and what network bandwidth issues might affect deployment decisions. Collections criteria could help Patchwork separate different groups of users based on a number of criteria. Once Patchwork has assessed the environment, it can begin deploying new applications by creating SMS package definition files and distributing them to selected clients. With a few additional steps, you can also use SMS to deploy multiple applications. New wizards and other enhancements have made it easier to deploy multiple applications with SMS.

When you create a hardware inventory for your network, you can collect information such as Processor type and speed, Memory capacity, BIOS and hard-disk space. These key computer components help determine whether a user's computer is capable of running new applications. Patchwork could also use the software inventory capabilities native to SMS to determine information about the software running on client computers, including installed user configurations and platforms and installed versions of applications. This information would help Patchwork to determine which computers are ready for new applications or upgrades. A variety of predefined queries and reports ship with SMS and can help to categorize systems and plan for future upgrades.

Patchwork could deploy customized Internet Explorer 5 packages in many ways, including automated deployment using SMS. Custom packages are still created using the IEAK, but rather than point users to the new packages, SMS delivers the new package directly to users desktops. For more information on deploying Internet Explorer 5 using SMS visit www.microsoft.com/windows/ ieak/en/deploy/sms/.

Hardware Support

Patchwork requires the desktop management suite to support Windows PCs and Macintosh workstations.

SMS has native clients for Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT Server or Workstation 3.5 or later, and Windows 2000 Professional clients. SMS 2.0 can also discover MS-DOS based clients. SMS 2.0 is compatible with SMS 1.2 to support MS-DOS-based, Apple Macintosh, and IBM OS/2 clients.

SMS 2.0 supports SMS 1.2 Primary or Secondary child sites as well as distributing software to SMS 1.2 clients and collecting inventory of SMS 1.2 clients, so patchwork could deploy SMS 1.2 in offices where Macintosh support is required. For more details on supporting SMS 1.2 and SMS 2.0 in the same hierarchy, please see the white paper titled Microsoft SMS Version 1.2 and 2.0 Interoperability on www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt and the SMS 2.0 Administrator's Guide.

Total Cost of Ownership

Patchwork has a goal of decreasing TCO by 15% annually through accurate inventory data for forecasting asset requirements; standardizing applications using automatic software distribution; taking control of an end user's desktop to fix a problem remotely; and contracting for the best volume license discount price.

Northeast Consulting Resources, Inc. (NCRI) has published research findings showing that SMS can save companies over $1,200 per desktop annually. This study www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt/exec/roi.asp conclusively demonstrates the high return on investment gained from automating troubleshooting, software distribution and inventory tracking functions.

For the study, NCRI surveyed ten companies that had been using SMS for at least three years. Looking only at actual support costs, the study shows that companies are saving an average of $1,200 per desktop annually, resulting in overall savings of millions of dollars every year. Although not factored into the analysis, NCRI believes these numbers understate the total return on investment, as these companies also reaped indirect benefits such as reduced system downtime and improved user productivity. In detailed interviews with medium-to-large enterprises, NCRI found that implementing an integrated desktop management solution such as SMS is a relatively minor investment compared to the savings possible and the new opportunities that accurate control of PC content and remote administration afford. Even with all initial planning, evaluation, training and roll-out costs taken into consideration, the report finds that SMS pays for itself in an average of 14 months, giving companies an internal rate of return (IRR) averaging 315 percent over five years.

The following table measures the estimated annual per desktop savings that Patchwork could expect using SMS (according to NCRI's published research findings).

	Average annual Savings (per desktop)	Range (per desktop)
Software Distribution	$876	$218-$1,590
Help Desk/ Troubleshooting	$330	$30-$1,257
Inventory	$17	$0-$58
Maintenance costs	$23	$2-$114
Annual Net Benefit	$1,200	$354-$1,813

Directory Service Plans

Patchwork plans in the future to implement a directory service, either Active Directory or Novell NDS, to perform centralized user administration and policy-based management.

SMS has been aligned with many of the techniques and terminology that are used in the IntelliMirror technology (policy based change and configuration management) that will be made available in Windows 2000. It has been designed to complement the facilities that are being released by building advanced software distribution facilities on top of the standard just in time facilities in the operating system.

SMS is designed to provide a push mechanism that scales to meet the needs of any size organization by dealing with WAN and administrative issues that are not addressed by IntelliMirror. The combination of IntelliMirror providing on-demand installation of program components and SMS providing controlled administrator-based push meets the needs of any environment.

Pricing

This quote assumes that Patchwork has all the necessary operating system licenses for servers and workstations and at least 1 license for Microsoft SQL Server.

# of units	Product Part # & Description	Unit Cost	Total Cost
10,500	355-00273 SMS CAL 2.0 OLP C	$38	$399,000
48	271-00444 SMS Server 2.0 OLP C	$446	$21,408
			$420,408

Patchwork would also be entitled to add Upgrade Advantage (previously called Maintenance) at $29 per CAL and $344 per server to their Open License Agreement which provides free of charge upgrades during the course of an agreement. Patchwork would gain those rights by making a single payment at the time of purchase.

Prices quoted are published estimated prices for Microsoft Open Licensing - microsoft.ignia.com/direct access/products/partnumbers/.

Support

SMS is fully supported by Microsoft. For general support Patchwork could utilize the following technical support contacts.

Fee-based technical support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the 800 number. Mission-critical support includes immediate server-down support, technical and management issue escalation, remote diagnostics (remote network analysis and tracing), problem replication labs, hotfix and Service Pack releases, detailed bug list and fix lists, and online services.
FastTips - recorded or faxed answers to commonly asked questions (800) 936-4400
World Wide Web - http://www.microsoft.com to access Microsoft forums
Microsoft Newsgroups - msnews.microsoft.com
Microsoft Download Service to download Driver Library - (206) 936-6735
Internet - download Driver Library and Knowledge Base by anonymous FTP from ftp.microsoft.com
Priority telephone support 24 hours a day, seven days a week except holidays - (900) 555-2100 ($150 per incident added to your telephone bill) or (800) 936-5900 ($150 per incident billed to your VISA, MasterCard, or American Express)
Annual and multiple incident support plans are available - (800) 936-3500 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday-Friday

Summary

Microsoft proposes that Patchwork uses Systems Management Server 2.0 to address its requirements for desktop management because SMS offers the most comprehensive solution covering hardware inventory, software inventory and metering, software distribution and installation, and remote control tools. SMS is also the ideal tool for helping Patchwork prepare for and deploy Windows NT 4.0 based clients and upgrading to Windows 2000 by providing the necessary integration with the Windows operating system(s). SMS meets the needs of a highly distributed organization, like Patchwork, by offering WAN-aware tools, support for remote users, granular security, and integration with other tools and environments. Together these integrated features make SMS the most scalable way to reduce the cost of change and configuration management for Windows based desktop and server systems. Looking only at actual support costs, SMS has been proven to save an average of $1,200 per desktop annually, which could result in overall savings of millions of dollars every year for Patchwork. Even with all initial planning, evaluation, training and roll-out costs taken into consideration, SMS typically pays for itself in an average of 14 months, which could give Patchwork an internal rate of return (IRR) of around 315 percent over five years.

Read the Patchwork RFP

Vendor responses:

Aprisma Management Technologies