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CC - (1) Authorization to Purchase 100 Personal Computers and 50 Monitors from Dell (Round Rock, Texas); and (2) Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Robert Half Technology (Los Angeles, California) to Obtain Professional PC Deployment Services.
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Contact Person/Dept: David Leuck/Information Technology Department
Phone Number: 310-253-5950
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: Yes [] No [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [] Date:
Commission Name:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (05/17/16); Robert Half Technology. (Ryan McDaniel: 05/02/2016), Dell, Inc. (Stan Temple: 05/02/2016)
Department Approval: Michele Williams (5/12/2016)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) approve the purchase of 100 Personal Computers (PCs) and 50 Monitors from Dell (Round Rock, Texas); and (2) approve a professional services agreement with Robert Half Technology. (Los Angeles, CA) to obtain professional services to facilitate deploying the newly purchased PCs throughout the organization.
BACKGROUND
Personal Computers (PCs) are a primary component of almost all office jobs in the City. Even field workers (inspectors, engineers, firefighters, etc.) often use PCs after returning from the field to input data, write reports, and communicate with peers, supervisors, and the public. In addition, PCs are often attached to critical systems that run devices and services. Examples include building monitoring, identity card creation, specialized printers, and many others.
Until 2005 the City was replacing approximately 20-25% of the PC inventory each year. Fiscal constraints dictated that the City stop the annual purchases with the last purchase occurring in October 2005. A gap of two and a half years followed until the next major purchase of 126 PCs was approved on March 24, 2008. Since 2008, the City had only purchased one or a few PCs at a time due to constrained budgets. Purchase approvals were based on the need for more capability, system failures, or compliance requirements for specialized software.
The installation of security patches to the operating system and the increasing load on systems from antivirus and antispyware systems have impacted the responsiveness of the older systems. In 2011, to allow the installation of the next generation of operating system (Windows 7) and productivity software (Office 2010) the oldest PCs were retro-fitted with additional RAM (random access memory), larger hard disks, and new video cards. In their original state the older PC hardware inventory was not compatible with Windows 7 but the upgraded hardware components enabled it to run. This made it possible to continue using the existing hardware for another few years without a significant budget expenditure.
The majority of the City’s PCs were five or more years old by 2013. The older machines began to experience intermittent failures, which have impacted the production of the staff using them. The original 3-year warranties have expired on the majority of the City’s systems.
In October 2013 the City Council approved the purchase of 137 modern PCs with updated processors, high speed RAM, dedicated video cards, and increased storage space. That purchase replaced approximately one-third of the City’s complement of PCs and allowed the oldest units to be retired. This was followed in May of 2015 by the purchase of 109 PCs, which was year two of a 3-year plan to update the PC inventory used by the City.
DISCUSSION
As a best business practice PCs have an expected life of 4-5 years, and are typically purchased with three-year warranties. After three years, the individual components (hard disk, memory, power supply, and motherboard) of a PC are at increasing risk of failure and potentially require replacement.
Another key factor influencing replacement is the fact that over time, software vendors release new software, or upgrades to existing software that require PCs with more speed, processing power, or memory in order to function adequately. Current versions of software recommend 4 Gigabytes (GB) of RAM for systems to run effectively with 8GBs a common standard for 64 bit systems. With the move to 64 bit operating systems, applications are able to use more than 4GB of RAM and systems are being configured with 8, 12, and 16GB of RAM on a normal basis. This trend is not just for desktops; it also applies to Laptops, Netbooks, and Tablets. More RAM allows the user to have multiple applications (including web browsers) open simultaneously without slowing down the system.
This purchase request represents the third round to complete the refresh of the City’s remaining inventory. After this purchase, there will be two years of maintenance before the cycle will begin again. This schedule will allow for a 5-year target lifecycle for each PC in inventory. At the 5-year mark, Information Technology (IT) can assess both budget and present technology in deciding the needs of the next replacement cycle.
The City has deployed flat panel monitors for all of the PCs and retired the old style CRT (cathode-ray tube) screens. The existing flat panels are being reused with the new PCs as much as possible to reduce costs where the screens are compatible. Newer video cards utilize more advanced video connections not present on some of the older screens. These are being retired as they are typically 8 years old or older. As a contingency, 50 monitors will be purchased to provide spares and to retire older screens where necessary. By purchasing the 50 monitors at once they are discounted compared to only purchasing a few at a time.
Staff recommends purchasing the Dell OptiPlex 9020 which is the same model as the last two years. It was originally selected because it was at the beginning of its release cycle. This will provide the City with uniformity of capability and parts will be common for all units.
The City’s software license agreement with Microsoft automatically licenses the latest version of Windows, Office, and several other tools as they are released. This hardware will be able to run all the existing software versions and the anticipated future updates.
The PCs taken out of service will be evaluated and parts that can be reused on remaining systems will be removed (i.e. hard disks, video cards, RAM chips, DVD drives) to form a spare parts inventory. The remaining units and components will be turned over to Purchasing for sale or recycling per City Policy.
Vendor Selection
For some time the City has standardized on Dell business class computers. Dell provides a number of advantages as the City’s vendor. These include:
• Industry compatibility - As one of the largest PC makers, Dell leads with standards in quality and compatibility.
• Free shipping - Purchased under the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), municipalities pay no shipping costs on systems.
• Automatic upgrade to 3-year warranty on all PCs. Next business day onsite service on parts and labor.
• Call in support for hardware on a 24x7 basis.
• Longer product support life cycle. Dell is able to provide parts for their own systems from a worldwide support system. Custom built clone systems can only be supported as long as the local manufacturer can secure parts.
• Single support vendor. From a maintenance and support perspective it is far more efficient to support a standardized inventory.
Low Energy and Recyclable PCs
Efficient energy usage and recyclable components have become a focus of computer makers and the City since the mid-2000s. The IT Department, starting with the 2008 purchase, chose PCs that were environmentally friendly, more energy efficient, and can be broken down for recycling with less waste than past generations of hardware.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a consumer rating tool, Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) to assist buyers with identifying environmentally preferred equipment. Products are measured against both required and optional criteria. A product must meet all of the required criteria to be added to the registry. The ratings are:
• Bronze (Meets all required criteria)
• Silver (Meets all required criteria and at least 50% of the optional criteria)
• Gold (Meets all required criteria and at least 75% of the optional criteria)
The Dell Optiplex 9020 PCs have earned the EPEAT Gold level rating.
Pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 3.07.045.G, the purchase of the PCs is excepted from formal competitive bidding requirements, as it will be made from the State of California’s CMAS program directly from Dell. This program gives the City preferential pricing using the buying power of the State of California. The CMAS contract is overseen by the Department of General Services. Public Contract Code (PCC) Sections 10290 et seq. and 12101.5 include approval for local government agencies to use CMAS for acquisition of information technology and non-information technology products and services. AB 2866 and AB 1684 authorize local government agencies and school districts to use CMAS and other Department of General Services agreements without competitive bidding.
PC Deployment Services
One Hundred (100) PCs will be deployed across all City sites while at the same time maintaining daily IT operations and projects already in progress. The IT Department’s goal is to deploy approximately 30-35 units per week. Using existing internal staffing to deploy the newly purchased hardware would result in an unbearable strain on resources.
Competitive quotes for supplemental staffing were obtained from Robert Half Technology and three additional vendors for last year’s purchase. Robert Half was the provided the lowest quote. They have committed to the same rate for this year’s business. These services will be billed at $32.00/hour.
Robert Half Technology staff will work with IT to prepare and deploy PCs according to plan. They will work in conjunction with IT staff who will perform follow-up and quality control/troubleshooting of issues that come up.
Pursuant to CCMC Section 3.07.085.A the professional services of Robert Half Technology do not require competitive bidding, provided competitive quotes are obtained, whenever practical, as determined by the City Manager.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Funding to support this project has been appropriated in the Computer Replacement Fund (30724100). Purchasing 100 PCs and 50 Monitors will result in an expenditure of $135,852.48 including tax and environmental fee (with free shipping). There is sufficient funding in the computer replacement fund to support this project expenditure.
Contracting with Robert Half Technology to provide professional deployment services will result in an expenditure of $7,680. This includes two full-time technicians working at a rate of $32 per hour for three weeks.
ATTACHMENTS
None.
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Approve the purchase of 100 Personal Computers (PCs) and 50 Monitors from Dell, Inc. for an expenditure not to exceed $135,852.48; and
2. Approve a professional services agreement with Robert Half Technology for Professional PC Deployment Services for an expenditure not to exceed $7,680; and
3. Authorize the City Attorney to review/prepare the necessary documents; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to execute such documents on behalf of the City.