DATE:
March 5, 2024
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Michael Parenti, Information Technology Director
SUBJECT:
Phone System Migration
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With CallTower To Provide Telephone Services and Microsoft Licensing In The Amount Of Two Hundred Twenty-Three Thousand Four Hundred Fifty-Three Dollars and Sixty-Six Cents ($223,453.66), And As Adjusted By Taxes, Fees, And Phone Line Count Changes Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With Spectrotel To Provide POTS Transformation As A Service (PTaaS) Telephone Services In The Amount Of Sixty-Nine Thousand Fifty-Six Dollars ($69,056.00).
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the above-titled Resolutions authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with CallTower, Inc. to purchase Microsoft Teams licensing, telephones, and telephone services as well as to enter into an agreement with Spectrotel, Inc. for specialty phone line services.
Background
The City’s existing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone solution with TPx has been in place since 2008. While the system in functioning properly, the City is presented with an opportunity to upgrade to a more modern solution that tightly integrates with the recently deployed Microsoft Teams software. The City’s Information Technology roadmap includes the adoption of Microsoft 365 Products to create a unified, “single pane of glass,” environment for staff. This project moves the City’s telephone system into that environment while still maintaining resiliency to potential Microsoft outages by maintaining a separate backup call routing solution that does not rely on the Microsoft Cloud to function.
Additionally, the City is required to maintain several analog telephone lines for uses such as building alarms and elevators. The cost of those Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) lines has risen significantly over the years and new technology has emerged to replace those lines in a safe, economical, and compliant way.
The City engaged with Maverick Networks, a communications consulting firm to assist with the solutions design and vendor selection process.
Discussion
The City desires to utilize the Microsoft Teams software application as its primary communications platform for phone dialing, meetings, and chat, providing a streamlined experience for staff who already utilize Teams for file storage and collaboration. The Information Technology Department reviewed several options for a telephone system upgrade and found that the unique ability for CallTower to provide dial tone on the Microsoft Teams platform in the City’s existing Government Cloud was the best fit solution for the City. Maverick Networks is a partner and reseller that is well qualified to provide the level of customer service and guidance required on an implementation of this magnitude.
Other solutions reviewed would not have provided the tight integration with Microsoft Teams or were not compatible with the highest level of security offered in the Microsoft Government Cloud.
As part of this solution, the City will have resiliency to the Microsoft Cloud with CallTower’s disaster recovery option allowing phone lines to be forwarded and answered in the event of a Microsoft Cloud outage.
The City will also separately contract with Spectrotel Inc. for their POTS line Data Remote Device Manager solution to digitize the existing POTS lines. The Spectrotel solution is compliant with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Code 72 governing the requirements for these safety lines.
Fiscal Impact
The project will result in higher year one costs, due to the need to purchase new physical telephones for certain applications that require them. Going forward, annual costs will be reduced by approximately $7,879, resulting in a total five-year savings of approximately $4,625.
The cost of the phone system service is budgeted in the Technology Fund Telephone / Communication Fund (670-76050).
Staff Communication with the Public
There has been no communication with the public on this item.
Conflict of Interest
There is no conflict of Interest on this item.
Conclusion
Staff recommends that the Council adopt two Resolutions authorizing the City Manager to enter into agreements with CallTower and Spectrotel to replace the existing telephone services.
PREPARED BY: Michael Parenti, Information Technology Director Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
Attachments
Draft Resolution – CallTower
Attachment A – Service Agreement – CallTower
Draft Resolution - Spectrotel
Attachment B – Enrollment Terms - Spectrotel
Teams Phone System
City Council Meeting | March 5, 2024
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM