Agenda Item Name:
title
Purchase Order to United Data Technologies, in the amount of $148,660.72, for the purchase of SMARTnet Maintenance and Support, for the Information Services Department.
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Presenter:
Kevin Smith, 338.7300/Darryl R. Kight, 374.5202
Description:
Purchase Order to United Data Technologies
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Recommended Action:
recommended action
Approve the issuance of a Purchase Order to United Data Technologies, Inc. in the amount of $148,660.72, for the purchase of SMARTnet Maintenance and Support, for the Information Services Department.
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Prior Board Motions:
recommended action
N/A
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Fiscal Consideration:
fiscal consideration
Funding currently exists in the Telecom Fund, account 504.16.1601.519.46.00.
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Strategic Guide:
strategic guide
N/A
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Background:
Information and Telecommunication Services (ITS) voice network is comprised of approximately 2500 - Cisco devices including: servers, routers, voice gateways and phones. These devices provide telephone service for more than 2,250 county and constitutional staff.
Cisco SMARTnet is technical support service that gives Information Technology (IT) staff direct, anytime access to Cisco experts and online self-help resources required to resolve issues with most Cisco products. SmartNet also provides Cisco advanced hardware replacement options including 4-hour and next-business-day (NBD). SmartNet maintenance provides break/fix insurance, support for advanced software configuration and interoperability/upgrade questions.
Without SmartNet, replacing failed or faulty equipment may take an extended amount of time. The county would also lose access to Cisco experts that provide 24/7 advanced configuration and troubleshooting assistance that in the event of an outage may greatly decrease the time it takes to identify and mitigate an issue. Depending which piece of equipment fails, it could be a loss of service for a single building or for the entire county. It is cost prohibitive to purchase spare devices to keep on-site as an emergency replacement for all the different components that make up the network.
This purchase is exempt from the County's competitive bidding requirements pursuant to Section 22.3-302(22) of the Alachua County Procurement Code, Software packages for computers approved by the County's Information and Telecommunications Services Department. However, since the dollar amount of the purchase exceeds the purchasing authority of the Procurement Manager, this Purchase Order is being submitted for Board consideration and approval.