DATE: October 9, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Human Resources Department
TITLE: AGREEMENTS AND PURCHASE ORDERS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CITY’S PHONE SYSTEM AND CUSTOMER CALL CENTER
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council approve a five-year Professional Services Agreement and related purchase order with Maverick Networks, in the amount of $136,669, for the implementation of and ongoing support for the replacement of the City’s phone system and customer call center; approve a Master Services Agreement with RingCentral for use of its product; approve a purchase order to RingCentral, in an amount of $1,224,184, for five years of City phone and call center service; appropriate $284,139 from the Information Services Reserve fund; authorize the City Manager to execute the agreements; and authorize the Financial Services Director, or designee, to execute the purchase orders.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The City’s Information Technologies (IT) Division is responsible for maintaining the City’s internal telephone system, used by staff and call center agents to make calls as well as receive incoming calls from outside parties. This system consists internally of desk phones, computer interfaces and call center programs, as well as the procurement of blocks of telephone numbers for City use. The software powering the existing system is a blend of Microsoft Skype for Business 2015 as well as Interactive Intelligence (ININ) Genesys Interaction Center. Skype for Business is an outdated product and Microsoft has discontinued support for the product as of 2023. The ININ Genesys Interaction Center will discontinue support in June of 2025. Staff desires to replace both of these systems with a single, modern solution.
On February 8, 2024, staff released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking qualified companies to propose a cloud-based solution to replace the telephone and call center systems. Thirty proposals were received in response to the RFP. Several highly desirable requirements were listed in the RFP, including the ability to use Microsoft Teams as the end-user interface, compatibility with the City’s existing Polycom desk phones, of which 600+ were recently procured and deployed, as well as asking that a single company provide both the telephone and call center solutions. These requests were made specifically to make the end user experience as straight-forward as possible, ensure implementation and management was efficient for staff, and to save the City money by not needing to buy new hardware.
After narrowing down the list of 30 proposers to those that met the highly desirable requirements, staff received demonstrations from four different providers. The demonstrations made it clear that while all of the platforms offered similar features, the ability for the product to integrate with Microsoft Teams in an efficient manner, without requiring costly upgraded licensing from Microsoft, differed vastly. With all proposals falling in generally the same cost range, the seamless integration with Microsoft Teams became the driving factor in the City’s selection of the RingCentral platform as the product of choice.
Because four different companies submitted proposals for the RingCentral solution, staff met with all four to discuss their strategy for implementation and ongoing support. Based on their desire to handle 100% of the implementation versus outsourcing parts to the provider, as well as the company’s history and experience in deploying the RingCentral product, staff selected Maverick Networks as the company to implement the solution.
Maverick Networks worked with RingCentral to prepare the order for the appropriate licenses and products that the City requires for the telephone and call center systems. Once the agreement is approved, Maverick Networks will provide the professional services for implementation including project management for the deployment of the new system. Maverick Networks will also provide ongoing support for a period of five years by serving as the first point of contact for IT staff when assistance is needed.
Additionally, the City will execute a Master Service Agreement for RingCentral services directly with RingCentral. RingCentral will invoice the City at set amount monthly for licensing and unlimited unmetered usage, and will allow the number of licenses to be balanced up or down every six months based on City needs. The agreements with Maverick Networks and RingCentral are each for a term of five years, and each include an option to renew for a subsequent five years.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total cost of the five-year agreement with Maverick Networks for project implementation and support is $136,669 which includes a 15% contingency to cover unforeseen circumstances. This expense will be charged to the Information Technologies Communications Account 155157841.5706. Staff is requesting the use of software reserves in the amount of $136,669 to cover these costs. Information Services Software Reserve Fund 841.3100.0039 has an available balance of $2.7 million; therefore, sufficient funds are available.
RingCentral will bill the City annually for the licenses, taxes and fees related to the usage of the phone system and call center products for a period of five years. The annual estimated amount, including a 15% contingency to cover increases or other unforeseen circumstances, is $232,359. These expenses will be charged to the Information Technologies Communications Account 155157841.5385, which has a current available budget for the phone system of $22,500. Staff is requesting the use of software reserves in the amount of $147,470 to fund the year-one costs. As stated above, Information Services Reserve Fund 841.3100.0039 has an available balance of $2.7 million; therefore, sufficient funds are available. Funding for future years will be requested through the normal budget process.
|
City Phone System and Call Center Replacement Project |
|
Vendor / Product |
FY 2024-25 Costs |
Purchase Order |
|
Maverick Networks |
|
|
|
Upfront Year 1 Cost for Implementation |
$ 118,842 |
|
|
Project Contingency |
$ 17,827 |
|
|
Total Purchase Order Amount |
|
$ 136,669 |
|
|
|
|
|
RingCentral |
|
|
|
Annual Costs (Includes 15% Contingency) |
$ 232,359 |
|
|
Discount for Year 1 |
$ (62,389) |
|
|
Total Purchase Order for Five Years |
|
$ 1,224,184 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Year 1 Costs |
|
$ 306,639 |
|
Current Phone Budget |
|
$ 22,500 |
|
Year 1 Appropriation Needed |
|
$ 284,139 |
|
Current Reserve Balance |
|
$ 2,751,263 |
|
Reserve Balance After Appropriation |
|
$ 2,467,124 |
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
Does not apply.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The referenced documents have been reviewed by the City Attorney and approved as to form.
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Prepared by: Chris Freeman, Information Technologies Procurement Analyst
Reviewed by: Rob O’Brien, Deputy City Manager
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Staff Report
2. Professional Services Agreement - Maverick Networks
3. Master Services Agreement - RingCentral