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CC - Approval of an Agreement with SIGMAnet for the Purchase of Cisco Business Edition Servers, Voice Gateways, Installation Services, and Cisco SmartNet Maintenance to Update The City’s Telephone Hardware and Software in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $140,059.02 ($133,559.02 Base Amount, Plus $6,500 in Contingency).
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Meeting Date: February 13, 2017
Contact Person/Dept: Ruben Arellano/ Information Technology
Phone Number: 310-253-5950
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: SIGMAnet (Jennifer Blanco, 02/02/17)(E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (02/07/17);
Department Approval: Michele Williams (02/02/17)
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve an agreement with SIGMAnet for the purchase of Cisco Business Edition 6000 Servers (BE6K), Voice Gateways (VGW), Professional Services, and Cisco SmartNet maintenance services to replace earlier versions that are at end of life, in an amount not-to-exceed $140,059.02 ($133,559.02 base amount, plus $6,500 in contingency).
BACKGROUND:
The Cisco voice communications system was installed during the PBX/Network Refresh project in 2011. A Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is commonly referred to as a private phone system. The City maintains an internal phone system and has in various forms for decades. This allows the City to manage its phone numbers and provide services such as voicemail and phone message trees.
The change from the Mitel PBX to the Cisco PBX system, in 2011, afforded the City a robust and easy to maintain digital system. The Cisco solution is closely integrated with the City’s data network. Phones are integrated with the network and have ports to connect computers and other peripherals. Parts of the system have now been in service for six years and have come to the end of service life.
The phone system is a critical piece of technology used to connect the City’s staff with the outside world and to allow the outside world to connect with staff efficiently. The phone system also provides identification of 911 calls placed from City sites and is designed to allow internal communication between City sites to facilitate emergency operations even if AT&T service goes down. In the event of a connection breach between City Hall and a City site the phone equipment at each site will fall into an emergency mode to allow limited incoming and outgoing calls to still be made.
Cisco equipment, in common with other manufacturers, has a product life cycle for its equipment and discontinues systems, both hardware and software. They are replaced with newer more capable systems to handle the increased loads, more robust security, and enhanced feature sets. Shortly the hardware platform (PBX and Voicemail servers and VGWs) will be End of Life (EOL) and need to be replaced to receive continued manufacturer support.
DISCUSSION:
The voice system consist of a PBX, Voicemail, Emergency Responder (911 Identification system), Instant Message (IM)/Presence applications and voice gateway routers. These are the backbone of voice communications for the City. The phone handsets and network switching equipment and concentrator master communication units are not end of life and continue in service.
The purchase of the new hardware server requires the simultaneous upgrade of server software to compatible versions. The City is covered for the software upgrade to the latest version through the SmartNet software subscription service (called UCSS).
Two virtualized servers will run the PBX, Voicemail, Emergency Responder and IM/Presence applications. One server will run as a primary with the other acting as a backup for seamless switchover in case of application or hardware failure. For disaster recovery purposes the primary is at City Hall and the other at another City site. The voice gateways allow locations to have temporary basic phone service via backup analog phone lines in case of loss of connectivity to the Voice Servers.
The new server applications provide enhanced security and feature sets.
• Reservation based Conference Bridge (used to manage conference calls)
• Complex voicemail trees
• Zone paging via phones (similar to a phone Public Address system)
• Call queuing (allowing calls to be queued so the public can hold rather than get a busy signal and be required to call back)
The Cisco BE6K along with its associated application software is the best choice to meet the needs of the City now, integrate with the existing legacy hardware, and integrate with future hardware and software when the network components are replaced.
By remaining with Cisco, Information Technology (IT) can keep the maintenance with one vendor and assure compatibility and availability of implementation support. If IT mixed platforms there would be support issues when the two vendors updated their software and didn’t integrate smoothly.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
In remaining with the Cisco hardware and software IT will be able to leverage the acquired knowledge we have gained over the past 6 years the current system has been in use/place. Many components from the original system purchase will continue to be used with the new components. This system has proven to be reliable and robust in the feature set. The City’s user base has also had a favorable view/opinion on the current system that should continue onto the new system. By continuing to use the existing phones and updated back-end the City’s staff will not require extensive re-training on the phone system.
IT staff reviewed all the components of the phone system and network to determine what needed to be replaced and what effect replacing some components would have on the whole network. A final configuration was determined and which items could be re-used identified (phone instruments, data switches, VG224 analog voice gateways).
Pursuant to Culver City Municipal Code § 3.07.045.B, this purchase is exempt from bidding requirements, as the equipment is a component for equipment or a system of equipment previously acquired by the City, and is necessary to repair, maintain or improve the City's utilization of the equipment. Notwithstanding, IT obtained competitive quotations from a pool of qualified vendors and received four responses. SIGMAnet was the overall lowest price of the choices at $133,559.02 including tax and shipping.
After the initial maintenance period (acquired with the purchase) these components will be added to the City’s annual Cisco maintenance contract. The old components will have been dropped and when the new components are added setting a new total.
This is a large effort which will touch all the City’s sites. A contingency for $6,500.00 for implementation, cabling or hardware is requested to be authorized by the CIO.
IT has budgeted sufficient funds in the Computer Replacement account (30724100) to cover this replacement.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve an agreement with SIGMAnet for the purchase of Cisco BE6K Servers, Voice Gateways, Professional Services, and Maintenance in an amount not-to-exceed $133,559.02; and
2. Authorize the Chief Information Office to approve an amendment(s) to the agreement in a contingency amount not-to-exceed $6,500.00 for unplanned project costs; 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.