CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: September 19, 2023
Subject
Award a Cooperative Services Agreement to ReDesign Group, for City’s server and storage infrastructure, for a total cost of $389,692.60, including 10% contingency over five years.
Recommended Actions
1. Find under Municipal Code section 3.22.070(C) that this procurement from the National Association of State Procurement Officials is exempt from formal competitive bidding procedures .
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute a Cooperative Services Agreement with ReDesign Group, for the Technology Refresh of the City’s server and storage infrastructure, for a total cost of $ 389,692.60, including 10% contingency over five years.
Reasons for Recommendation
Staff recommends the award of a cooperative services agreement with ReDesign Group, for Technology Refresh of the City’s server and storage infrastructure. The procurement will be via the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), a Cooperative Agreement vehicle that secures competitive rates and favorable terms on goods at the state level .
Dell is the authorized NASPO vendor for the products necessary for this project and sells its products through partners. ReDesign Group is a Dell Titanium Partner, which represents the highest status a partner can attain with Dell . In addition to providing discounted pricing in accordance with NASPO, ReDesign Group’s proposal includes professional installation and configuration services at no additional cost, providing significant benefit and value to the City.
ReDesign’s proposal will bring heightened availability, more robust and secure backup capabilities, and an array of sophistic ated protective features than the current infrastructure vendor. Importantly, this proposition aligns with the City's streamlined budgetary constraints.
Anchoring the City's current network infrastructure are two Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) systems, each offering integrated server and storage capabilities.
While one system is housed at the City Hall data center, the counterpart is strategically positioned in Phoenix, AZ, reinforcing our commitment to business continuity and robust disaster recovery me asures.
As current infrastructure nears its end -of-life, there's an impending need for a technological refresh. This update encompasses the server , storage, and backup infrastructure, which underpin numerous systems and applications vital for daily staff operations.
The advantages of the proposed solution are a robust compute and cybersecurity offering fortified defenses against ransomware and other online threats through immutable backups , a swift recovery and expedited retrieval and restoration capabilities for files, applications, servers, databases, and more, ensuring minimal disruptions during emergencies or technical complications. In addition, the City will benefit from enhanced operational management of backups, servers, computing, and storage, resulting in lightening workload for IT personnel.
Formal Competitive Bidding Exemption
CMC Chapter 3.22 ordinarily requires that purchases of services be selected through a Request for Proposal process. However, CMC § 3.22.070 provides for exemptions to the RFP process requirements of that chapter when these purchases occur from any other public agency created under the laws of the State of California or the United States Government. Here, the State of Minnesota was the lead agency for the competitive solicitation, which was created for intended use through NASPO, a national organization formed through a collaboration of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States.
Staff recommends 1) Council find that CMC 3. 22.070 appliable to exempt the competitive bidding process and 2) awarding the agreement with ReDesign Group to replace the current server storage systems at both data center s for the total amount of $389,692.60, including a 10% contingency over five years.
Sustainability Impact
Not applicable .
Fiscal Impact
The cumulative expenditure for ReDesig n agreement amounts to $389,692.60.
Council has approved expenditures as part of FY2022-23 Proposed Budget.
California Environmental Quality Act
Not applicable.
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Prepared by: Tommy Yu, Infrastructure Manager
Reviewed by: Bill Mitchell, Chief Technology Officer
Michael Woo, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Approved by: Pamela Wu, City Manager
Chris Jensen, City Attorney
Attachments:
A – Cooperative Agreement NASPO MNWNC-109
B - Amendments No. 1 to 6 to NASPO MNWNC-109
C - California Participating Addendum
D - Amendments No. 1 & 2 to CA Participating Addendum
E - Data Center Refresh Proposal
F - Disaster Recovery Site (Phoenix) - 5 Year quote
G - Production Site - 5 Year quote
H – Insurance Requirements Exhibit
I – Proof of Insurance