SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
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ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
Assignment Title: Comprehensive review of Public-owned Data Centers Market in Brazil
Assignment Countries:
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
I. Objective of the assignment:
The objective of this consultancy is to support Brazilian authorities at both national and sub-national levels in enhancing their understanding of the existing and future approaches to developing publicly owned data centers. This assignment will first conduct a mapping exercise to capture a number of the existing/legacy government datacenters and their geographical dispersion. The consultancy will further assess the modernization potential, with its economic and environmental impacts. The report will identify strategic opportunities, articulate challenges and gaps, and analyze the findings to deliver insights on the state of data center adoption across the country.
II. Scope of Services:
The scope of services for this assignment encompasses a comprehensive analysis of Brazil’s public sector-owned data center ecosystem, complementing existing insights on private sector data centers. The analysis will explore various dimensions of the infrastructure, focusing on its economic and environmental impacts. The consultant firm will work under the guidance of the Task Team lead to conduct the following activities:
A. Market Overview of the Public Sector-Owned Data Centers in Brazil. This activity aims to provide a comprehensive and structured overview of the current public sector-owned datacenter ecosystem. The assessment should include an extensive mapping exercise of data centers across federal, state, and municipal levels. The analysis will identify gaps in the current infrastructure, particularly in energy and broadband connectivity, as well as cooling systems, physical security, and energy efficiency. It will evaluate the readiness of these centers to meet future government requirements, focusing on key factors such as scalability, availability, cost-efficiency, sustainability, and cloud integration.
B. Economic Impact Analysis. The second critical component of this assignment is an economic impact analysis. This will evaluate the economic contributions of public sector-owned datacenters, including both direct and indirect benefits such as job creation, income generation, energy consumption, and investments in digital infrastructure. The consultancy will employ econometric models to determine correlations with socioeconomic factors and provide a robust demand forecast for various scenarios, including government-owned, leased capacity, cloud services, etc.
The analysis will also dive into existing PPP arrangements as key contributors to the economic effectiveness of public-owned data centers, assessing their structure and success in meeting data center needs. This deep dive will assess the scalability of current PPP arrangements and propose alternative models for future expansion and modernization. A comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of at least the following scenarios—full government ownership, leasing capacity, purchasing cloud services, or hybrid models—will be performed using a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) methodology. The assessment will explore return on investment (ROI), operational (OPEX) and capital (CAPEX)expenditures across various intervals for the next 2-10 years, providing detailed demand forecasting and market analysis. The insights will facilitate the Brazilian government’s engagement with the private sector regarding public-owned data centers, enabling private investors to identify opportunities and better navigate the challenges present in the Brazilian market, including understanding economic multipliers, market size, and demand dynamics. Additionally, it will also assess the existing supply for data center services public sector, and opportunities for attracting private investments.
C. Environmental Review of the Brazilian Data Centers. This review will deliver a comprehensive environmental analysis of Brazil’s state-owned data centers, focusing on key factors such as energy efficiency, water consumption, equipment performance, and carbon emissions. A Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) calculation will benchmark energy efficiency against global standards. The consultancy will evaluate the feasibility of achieving EDGE certification or similar standards. Furthermore, the assessment will recommend actionable strategies to reduce environmental impact.
III.
KEY TASKS
Activities to be performed under this project include, but
not limited to below tasks:
TASK 01.
A.
Structured Interviews & Mapping of
Existing Government Data Centers: Conduct structured interviews with public
stakeholders from data centers and cloud computing. Perform a
comprehensive mapping of existing public data centers at the federal, state,
and municipal levels in Brazil. This mapping will serve as a foundational
dataset, providing insights into the current infrastructure landscape and
allowing for a gap analysis of needed upgrades and expansions.
B.
Assess the Legacy Government Data Centers:
Evaluate the state of existing legacy data centers, including their
technological capabilities, performance, and alignment with modern standards.
This should include an examination of hardware, software, and architectural
configurations, with a particular focus on upgrading obsolete systems to
improve efficiency, performance, and security.
Assess the suitability of underlying infrastructure
such as energy supply, broadband connectivity, and cooling systems to meet the
identified requirements. This evaluation should consider factors such as energy
efficiency, site selection, redundancy, and physical security to ensure
operational resilience and scalability. Conduct a detailed assessment of the
existing data center facilities, focusing on:
1)
Equipment
Age and Maintenance Contracts: The
assessment of legacy data centers should include a detailed mapping of the age
and condition of equipment, along with the existence and scope of maintenance
contracts. This will provide a clear understanding of equipment lifecycle
management, upgrade needs, and the risks associated with aging infrastructure,
such as system failures, data loss, or service outages. Highlighting this as a
distinct evaluation will provide a clearer path for addressing obsolescence and
ensuring operational continuity. Assess whether existing data centers support
emerging and newer technologies, including cloud computing.
2)
Energy Efficiency: Evaluate insulation,
cooling systems, and overall energy consumption. A Power Usage Effectiveness
(PUE) calculation should be performed to benchmark energy efficiency.
3)
DC Site Selection and Connectivity:
Examine the physical location and proximity to critical infrastructure such as
broadband networks and power sources.
4)
Security: Review physical security
measures, including access controls and disaster resilience. Assess whether the
data centers meet national and international security and operational standards.
Assess the operators' capacity in disaster recovery and maintaining operational
continuity.
5)
Identify IT Professionals and Skills
Assessment: Assess the digital skills of current data center personnel,
particularly in relation to cybersecurity, data center operations, and cloud
computing. Evaluate whether the workforce can be retrained to manage modern
systems or whether external vendors are required. This analysis should consider
the legal and institutional frameworks that impact the hiring and retention of
talent (e.g., civil service pay scales), and assess the existing expertise in
data center operations and facility management, along with the centers' ability
to meet the specific needs of Ministries and Agencies.
6)
Identify necessary upgrades:
Assess the current state of network infrastructure, storage systems, and
service offerings relative to the established requirements. Identify any
necessary upgrades or investments needed to meet future demand, considering the
feasibility of these upgrades based on energy availability, regulatory
frameworks, and human resources.
C.
International
Comparative Research.
Identify international best practices, including Japan and three other
benchmark countries. This analysis will include public policy justification,
legal frameworks, results, government incentives (tax relief, public
investments, government purchases, etc.), and challenges. The report will also explore certification
criteria for green data centers and compliance assessment of cloud computing
services, presenting global benchmarks for environmental sustainability and
energy efficiency. The validation of the countries that will be the object of
the study must be agreed upon in advance with the World Bank team responsible
for contracting the study.
TASK 02.
D.
Establishing Requirements: Develop a
comprehensive set of requirements for government data infrastructure at both
national and sub-national levels. These requirements should be informed by an
evaluation of current and projected government systems that will need to be
hosted. Key dimensions to consider include: Cost consideration, Environmental
Sustainability and Reliability Security, Cloud Functionality, Scalability, and
Availability.
E.
Investigating
Barriers for Public Data Centers and Cloud Adoption. Investigate the short, medium, and long-term demand
for data center and cloud solutions in Brazil. Identify key barriers and
challenges impeding the development of local applications. This will involve
assessing current market trends and potential growth areas.
F.
Scenario Analysis: Develop
4-5 operational models for public data centers, ranging from full government
ownership to hybrid models (e.g., a percentage of data in government centers, a
percentage in the cloud). The analysis will compare the costs and benefits,
cybersecurity implications (including disaster recovery, availability, and
more), and environmental impacts (implications of each model for GHG emissions)
of each scenario. This will help the government decide on an optimal approach
based on its priorities and capacities.
TASK 03.
G.
Facilitate
a Workshop:
Facilitate a validation
workshop to present the findings and validate the recommendations from the
report, ensuring consensus and alignment with the priorities of the Brazillian Government.
H.
Periodic
Meetings with the World Bank Team. Conduct
bi-weekly meetings with the World Bank team to update on progress and
incorporate feedback. Update, support, and carry out the subsequent activities
of preparing the final consultancy report and its formal presentation, in
addition to transferring knowledge, skills, and know-how. Periodic meetings
will be held with the World Bank MDIC team to adjust, course correct, and
receive feedback.
I.
Produce
the Final Report. Deliver a
final report in digital format (an editable Word document and PowerPoint
presentation), including the content indicated in the previous activities. The
report should be reviewed by the team, reflect feedback from the validation
workshop, and be submitted to the client.
FUNDING SOURCE
The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following:
- BB: Bank Budget
- TF0C5511: QII
ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility restrictions apply:
- [Please type list of restrictions]
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The World Bank Group invites eligible firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc. for firms; CV and cover letter for individuals). Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents. Where a group of firms associate to submit an EOI, they must indicate which is the lead firm. If shortlisted, the firm identified in the EOI as the lead firm will be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) phase.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through WBGeProcure RFx Now
NOTES
Following this invitation for EOI, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.
Only those firms which have been shortlisted will be invited to participate in the RFP phase. No notification or debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted.
If you encounter technical difficulties while uploading documents, please send an e-mail to the Help Desk at corporateprocurement@worldbank.org prior to the submission deadline.
