TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Bruce Moe, Finance Director
Leilani Flores Emnace, Information Systems Manager
Gwen Eng, Purchasing Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Award of Contracts to Packet Fusion for the Purchase of a New Telecommunications Platform (Telephone System) in the Amount of $314,255.58 and a Four Year Maintenance Agreement in the Amount of $68,122.64; Authorize the City Manager to Approve Additional Work, if Necessary, in an Amount not to Exceed $62,851 (20% of contract amount); and Award of Contract to Communication Strategies for Technology Consulting Services in the Amount of $32,930 (Finance Director Moe).
APPROVE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council: 1) Award RFP# 992-15 to Packet Fusion for the purchase of a new Telecommunication Platform (telephone system) in the amount of $314,255.58, and a four year Telecommunications Maintenance Agreement in the amount of $68,122.64 and 2) Authorize the City Manager to approve additional work, if necessary, in an amount not to exceed $62,851 (20% of contract amount) and 3) Award Contract to Communication Strategies for Technology Consulting Services in the Amount of $32,930.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
As recommended in the Information Systems Master Plan (ISMP), Information Systems retained Communication Strategies (Com-Strat), an independent technology consulting firm, to assist in the design and selection of a new telecommunications platform. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on September 8, 2014. Staff has identified the system that best meets the City's needs after reviewing proposals received. Staff will proceed with the project's implementation following City Council approval.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Fiscal Year 2014-2015 budget includes $450,000 for the purchase of a new telecommunication platform. The cost of the new system is $314,255.58. A project contingency of 20% of the contract ($62,851) is recommended to address unforeseen costs relative to the project. The maintenance cost for the first year is included with the purchase; a maintenance contract for years two through five (four years) is $68,122.64 and will be budgeted annually.
BACKGROUND:
The City's Mitel SX2000 Light telephone system was installed in 2001. Due to its age, parts replacement is difficult and the system will no longer be supported after this year. As recommended in the IS Master Plan, Information Systems retained Com-Strat, an independent technology consulting firm, to assist in the design and selection of a new telecommunications platform. Com-Strat and Information Systems surveyed and met with each department and line of business work groups to conduct a telecommunication assessment and needs analysis for system replacement (see Attachment 1).The meetings, surveys, assessment, and needs analysis defined the specifications of the Request for Proposal (RFP). The primary goal of the RFP is to identify a suitable replacement for the existing telephone system with a modern Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP; also known as IP Telephony) telephone system with integrated voice mail. VoIP uses the existing data network to deliver voice communications. The replacement telephone system will provide:
· Enhanced Business Continuity capabilities to support City operations, including Police and Fire, during events and emergencies
· Integrated Messaging (voicemail that appears as an email)
· Contact Center Automated Call Distribution (ACD) capabilities to improve operations in departments having high call volumes
· Enhanced mobility options
DISCUSSION:
On September 8th, 2014, the City issued RFP #992-15 for a New Telecommunication Platform. Nine vendors responded to the RFP representing six different phone system manufacturers (see Attachment 2) as listed below:
1. BluePrint (Mitel): $409,828 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance);
$452,668 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $42,840 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
2. Packet Fusion (ShoreTel): $407,728 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance); $468,232 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $60,504 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
3. Digital Telecommunication (NEC): $414,214 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance); $497,926 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $83,712 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
4. Synectic Technologies (Avaya): $445,100 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance); $567,695 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $122,595 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
5. Vox (Avaya): $487,361 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance); $614,907 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $127,546 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
6. Intelesys (ShoreTel): $520,809 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance);
$616,409 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $95,600 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
7. Vector (Cisco): $536,061 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance); $738,636 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $202,575 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
8. UniVoIP (Mitel Hosted): $363,453 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance);
$1,066,204 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $702,750 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
9. Insight (8x8 Hosted): $410,844 Purchase Price (includes year 1 maintenance);
$1,264,566 Total Cost of Ownership (includes $853,722 maintenance/upgrades years 2-5)
Com-Strat and Information Systems Staff reviewed the 9 proposals and evaluated them using the following criteria: feature compliance, capacity to deliver, reliability, responsiveness, purchase price, and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for five years (including initial purchase, maintenance and upgrades for years 2-5). Based on the requirements, the City qualified four solutions; the vendor short list included BluePrint (Mitel), Packet Fusion (ShoreTel), Digital Telecommunication (DTC) (NEC), and Synectic Techologies (Avaya) (see Attachment 3). The vendors were invited to facilitate a 2 to 3 hour product demonstration to City Staff.
During the short list demonstrations, each system was evaluated on phone features, ease of use, maintenance, system architecture, equipment, and system redundancy. The vendors also provided a project overview and company portfolio depicting the ability to complete the project and maintain the proposed solution.
After considering all requirements and product demonstrations, the vendor and system ranking resulted in the following (with the five year total cost of ownership amount listed):
1. Packet Fusion (ShoreTel) - $468,232
2. BluePrint (Mitel) - $452,668
3. Synectic Technologies (Avaya) - $567,695
4. Digital Telecommunication (DTC) (NEC) - $497,926
The ShoreTel telecommunication platform presented by Packet Fusion is the recommended solution. Packet Fusion has installed similar ShoreTel systems in the cities of El Cajon, Thousand Oaks, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach and Dana Point. ShoreTel has a strong market share in local government and was determined to be the best fit for City of Manhattan Beach's requirements. The solution has a highly reliable and resilient architecture for maximum uptime and failover capabilities. The telephone handsets and desktop software are intuitive and easy to learn. The system supports the leading edge functionality the City is looking for which includes; Unified Messaging with secure voicemail storage; Instant Message, the exchange of text messages while on a phone call; Presence which provides visibility on staff availability; and Contact Center Automated Call Distribution capabilities. Further, system administration is very simple and well presented.
Once the ShoreTel solution was selected, City Staff met with Packet Fusion to review and select the final options which include:
· Enterprise Contact Center (20 agents - 5 supervisors): $19,608
· All-call recording (Police - 5 stations): $5,000
· Phone upgrade to 485G with color display and USB port: $13,299
· Professional Communicator "soft phone" (12): $960
· Conference Server (500 Instant Messaging/Presence): $3,197
· Conference Server (add-on 10 web conferences): $1,750
· Fax server (4 ports): $3,845
Based on Packet Fusion's proposed list price of these options, the City expected the first year price of the solution to increase by $47,659. However, Com-Strat and Information Systems were able to negotiate additional discounts which amounted to a net increase of $14,308; a $33,351 savings. These options are included in the total cost of ownership listed above.
Professional Services Support During Implementation
Implementation of a modern VoIP telephony system is a complex project, and is not a core technology skill set of the City's IS Division. As a result, staff recommends retaining Com-Strat services for project implementation. This recommendation is based on their IP Telephony expertise and project experience; their involvement in the planning and execution of the RFP; and participation in departmental meetings, surveys, assessments, and the needs analysis. Further, Com-Strat is familiar with departmental telecommunications requirements and will serve as an extension in IS support of the IP telephony system deployment. The cost of this professional service is $32,930, and can be accommodated in the existing project budget.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council: 1) Award RFP# 992-15 to Packet Fusion for the purchase of a new Telecommunication Platform (telephone system) in the amount of $314,255.58, and a four year Telecommunications Maintenance Agreement in the amount of $68,122.64; 2) Authorize the City Manager to approve additional work, if necessary, in an amount not to exceed $62,851 (20% of contract amount); and 3) Award Contract to Communication Strategies for Technology Consulting Services in the Amount of $32,930.
Staff will proceed with the project's implementation following City Council approval; the project is expected to be substantially completed within 120 days.
Attachments:
1. Telecom Needs Analysis Form
2. CMB VoIP RFP 9 Vendors-Comparison C
3. MB VoIP RFP 4 Vendors Scoring Sheet
4. Agreement Exhibit A PF Itemized Equipment List
5. Agreement Exhibit B Schedule of Payment
6. Schedule A Pricing Worksheet - Final
7. Packet Fusion CMB RFP RESPONSE FINAL
8. EXHIBIT A Packet Fusion Scope of Services for CMB
9. PF Maintenance Agreement - Vendor Signed
10. City of MB - PFI Purchase Contract Signed
11. Com-Strat Contract Amendment