title
Authorization to approve award of contract for the supply, delivery, and maintenance of VMware Cloud Foundation.
presenter
Presenter: Anna Chen, Chief Information Officer
end
Recommendation
The Operating Chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority (“CHA”) recommends that the CHA Board of Commissioners (“Board”) approve the award of a contract to the below listed contractor. The contract shall consist of one three-year base term from February 4, 2026, to February 3, 2029. The total not-to-exceed value of the contract shall be $1,335,348, in accordance with the values of the Initial Term.
|
Vendor |
Term |
Amount |
Description |
|
SHI International |
3 years: 2/4/2026-2/3/2029 |
$1,335,348 |
VMware Cloud Foundation Licenses |
|
Aggregate Total: |
|
$1,335,348 |
|
The requested action complies in all material respects with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and CHA policies. CHA staff has completed all necessary due diligence to support the submission of this initiative.
Funding
MTW Funds
Background
The Chicago Housing Authority’s Information Technology Services department relies on VMware Cloud Foundation to support its virtual infrastructure, including over 350 virtual servers across 23 physical hosts. This platform powers essential services such as call centers, phone systems, file servers, web portals, and disaster recovery operations.
Procurement Activities
Specifications prepared by CHA staff were publicly advertised as IFB Event 3304 on September 5, 2025. A pre-bid meeting was held on September 29, 2025, and four bids were received on October 24, 2025. However, during the bid evaluation period, the manufacturer of VMware Cloud Foundation introduced a significant pricing change, which impacted the original scope and cost structure. As a result, CHA reissued and publicly advertised IFB Event 3316 on November 12, 2025. Five (5) responses were received on November 26, 2025. The respondents to the IFB are listed in the table below:
|
Vendor Name |
Total |
|
Southern Computer Warehouse |
$1,299,240 |
|
Zones, LLC |
$1,322,352 |
|
SHI International Corp. |
$1,335,348 |
|
Insight Public Sector, Inc. |
$1,344,600 |
|
Tiles in Style, LLC |
$1,528,332 |
After reviewing the bid submittal materials, the bids from Southern Computer Warehouse and Zones, LLC. were determined to be non-responsive due to their failure to provide the required documents.
Therefore, CHA staff recommends award to SHI International Corp (SHI) the lowest responsive and responsible bidder to provide the VMware product.
Contract Requirements
The CHA staff has reviewed the proposed vendors and has determined the vendors utilization plans meets with the CHA’s stated goals.
SHI International Corp. will satisfy the CHA 20% compliance goal as a Self-Performing (MBE), certified through NMSDC. This is a supply and delivery contract and thus Section 3 is not applicable. There are no direct subcontracting opportunities on this project since this service is for licensing and subscription.
SHI International Corp. has held twelve (12) contracts with CHA 2014 - 2025 satisfying the CHA 20% compliance goal as a Self-Performing (MBE).
Vendor Background Information
Thai Lee, President and CEO; 290 Davidson Avenue Somerset, NJ 08873. SHI was founded in 1989 and has grown into the largest Minority-and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the United States. SHI transformed from a $1 million reseller into a $14 billion global provider of information technology products and solutions with 35 offices around the world.
SHI provides a comprehensive suite of services, including:
• IT Infrastructure: Solutions for hardware and software needs.
• End-User Computing: Tools and services to enhance user productivity.
• Cybersecurity: Strategies and technologies to protect organizations from cyber threats.
• IT Optimization: Services aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of IT operations.
SHI has premier-tier status with almost every leading software publisher and hardware vendor.
Based on the foregoing, it is in the best interest of the CHA for the Board to authorize the Operating Chairman or his designee, to enter into a contract with SHI International to provide VMware Cloud Foundation licenses in the amount of $1,335,348.
Respectfully Submitted:
______________________
Matthew Brewer
Operating Chairman