TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Greg Bown - Interim Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Services
REPORT BY: Suzanne Fowler - Staff Serviced Analyst
SUBJECT: Agreement with AMS.NET for technical support services
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 230035B with AMS.NET, Inc. to extend the term for an additional three years through June 30, 2028 and increase the contract amount from $50,000 to $70,000 for continued utilization of specific infrastructure and telephony related projects and system maintenance and support services. (Fiscal Impact: $20,000 Expense, Information Technology Services Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
The County’s Cisco Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system has over 1,600 devices processing an average of 15,000 calls per business day. It has become a critical communications system in certain departments operating 24-hours a day / 7 days a week.
On August 15, 2017, the Board of Supervisors approved Agreement No. 180085B for a total of $75,460 with AMS.NET for custom configuration, purchase of equipment, installation, and training services needed to upgrade the County’s VoIP telephone system. The Network Operations and Telephony subdivisions of ITS worked with AMS.NET to complete the VoIP system upgrade. This agreement expired on June 30, 2018.
On October 1, 2017, the Board of Supervisors approved Agreement No. 180141B for a total of $35,000 with AMS.NET to provide the County with professional technical support and maintenance for the VoIP system and core network infrastructure. Due to the highly technical nature of the VoIP system, the Telephony staff occasionally needed assistance from AMS.NET with troubleshooting, repairs, and reconfigurations. This agreement expired June 30, 2021.
On September 25, 2018, the Board of Supervisors approved Agreement No. 190127B for a total of $13,800 with AMS.NET for security camera integration services related to the Sheriff’s Facility Security Camera Project, PW17-17. This project allowed for the integration of the security camera equipment’s management software into the County’s system, the migration of existing Milestone Enterprise’s servers, the building of a new server, and the addition of existing Enterprise cameras to the new server. This agreement expired on June 30, 2019.
On April 21, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved Amendment No. 1 to Agreement 180141B with AMS.NET for a new maximum of $138,258 for additional technical support and the purchase of software licenses/subscriptions. This included the upgrade to the latest software versions of the Cisco Unified Communications (VoIP Network) for ITS Communications. The upgrade allowed for fixes to known network bugs/errors, support new features, more analytical tools for effective administration, expanded features for
mass internal notifications to County employees, and the expansion of the Health and Human Services Administration’s operations call center. Additionally, the ITS Network Operations team upgraded their Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). The County utilized BGP segmentation to manage the intricate traffic patterns
created between the County’s Network and the Internet. This agreement expired on June 30, 2022.
On June 21, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved Agreement No. 230035B with AMS.NET for the term July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025, for continued VoIP telephone systems technical support services. This agreement allowed ITS to continue to utilize AMS.NET on an as-needed basis for maintenance and technical support covering both software and hardware vital to the County’s phone system.
AMS.NET was selected to implement the original VoIP system in 2003, 2017, and again in 2022. They have extensive knowledge of the County’s VoIP system and network infrastructure.
Requested action is for the approval of Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 230035B with AMS.NET for continued utilization of AMS.NET for specific infrastructure and telephony related projects, as well as continue to utilize them on an as-needed basis for system maintenance and support services, and extending the term through June 30, 2028, increasing the contact amount by $20,000 from $50,000 to a new maximum of $70,000.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Information Technology Services |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Approval of this amendment will allow Napa County ITS to continue to utilize AMS.NET for specific infrastructure and telephony related projects, as well as continue to utilize them on an as-needed basis for system maintenance and support services. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
VoIP technical support services are an ongoing expense, currently budgeted and will continue to be budgeted in the Telephony subdivision of ITS. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
AMS.NET supports the County’s ITS staff during complex configurations and troubleshooting in a timely manner. If not approved, ITS staff will not have the needed support which could result in extended periods of disruption for the County’s phone system for both internal and external communications. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.