REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
Cloud-Native Application Orchestration & Deployment
Tender Reference Number: DESC-MRD-2026-CNC-088
Issuing Organization: DESC Digital Innovation Center, Mardan
Contract Duration: 1 Year (12 Months) Managed Service
Submission Deadline: Sunday, 14th June 2026, 11:00 AM (Sharp)
1. Project Overview
DESC Digital Innovation Center in Mardan is seeking a specialized Cloud Architecture firm to
modernize, orchestrate, and manage a high-traffic citizen portal. The current legacy
infrastructure struggles with load spikes. We require a robust, scalable, and resilient Cloud-
Native architecture to containerize and 'spin up' our microservices applications efficiently,
ensuring 99.99% uptime and rapid deployment cycles without service interruption.
2. Scope of Work
The selected consulting firm will be responsible for designing, deploying, and demonstrating a
full cloud-native pipeline. Proposals must cover:
Containerization Strategy: Dockerizing the existing monolithic components into isolated,
efficient microservices.
Container Orchestration: Designing and provisioning a Kubernetes (K8s) cluster architecture
for automated scaling, self-healing, and load balancing.
CI/CD Pipeline Automation: Implementing a continuous integration and continuous
deployment (CI/CD) pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or ArgoCD) for automated
testing and zero-downtime rollouts.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Utilizing tools like Terraform or Ansible to automate the
provisioning of the cloud environment.
Observability & Monitoring: Integrating comprehensive logging and metrics monitoring (e.g.,
Prometheus, Grafana) to track cluster health and resource utilization.
3. Submission Guidelines
Bidders must submit their proposals strictly adhering to a Two-Envelope system:
Envelope A (Technical Proposal):
Must include the proposed Kubernetes architecture diagram, the GitOps/deployment
workflow, chosen toolstack, and strategies for stateful data and security. No pricing
information should be visible.
Envelope B (Financial Proposal):
Must include a comprehensive cost breakdown. This includes estimated cloud provider costs
(compute/storage), pipeline setup fees, and a 1-year managed service retainer.
4. Evaluation Criteria
Bids will be evaluated to identify the most advantageous solution based on:
Technical Architecture & Best Practices (40%): Efficiency of the K8s cluster design, CI/CD
automation logic, and adherence to cloud-native security principles.
Live Deployment Demonstration (30%): The ability to successfully 'spin up' a sample multi-
tier application live before the evaluation board, demonstrating load balancing or auto-
scaling.
Financial Competitiveness (30%): Realistic cloud resource forecasting and overall cost-
effectiveness for the setup and 1-year duration.
5. Strict Deadline & Compliance
Both Technical and Financial proposals, along with readiness for the live application spinning
demonstration, must be submitted no later than Sunday, 14th June 2026, at 11:00 AM Sharp.
Late submissions will be automatically disqualified.