CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: September 12, 2022
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTION NO.___-22 AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH SABLE
COMPUTER, INC. FOR THE PURCHASE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE COHESITY BACKUP AND DATA PROTECTION SOLUTION
SYNOPSIS
A backup solution copies files and folders and stores them to a secondary storage device in the event the originals are no longer accessible. Maintaining proper backups of the City’s digital information is critical in the event of environmental catastrophes, accidental deletion, hardware malfunction, data corruption, or cyberattack. The current backup solution used by the City is near capacity. Staff requests that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Sable Computer, Inc. for the purchase and implementation of the Cohesity backup and data protection solution.
DISCUSSION
Background
The City purchased the backup and recovery solution, Appassure, from Dell Technologies, Inc. more than seven years ago. Since then, Dell has sold Appassure to Quest Software, Inc. and support for the product has suffered as a result.
In addition, over the course of the seven years, the amount of backup data storage required by the City has grown beyond the capacity of the current solution.
Although the City could invest to augment the existing storage, backup and recovery solutions have advanced over the years to warrant a complete replacement of the current solution to take advantage of the new features.
Some of these features include, but are not limited to, greater efficiency in file compressions and data duplications so more data can be stored using less drive space, an easier user-interface that is more intuitive, faster recovery times and increased reliability. However, the feature that may be the most beneficial to the City is the protection and recovery from ransomware attacks.
Analysis
There are several leading backup and recovery solutions on the market today. Staff has reviewed several of the top leading providers comparing features, cost, and reputation, and is recommending the solution offered by Cohesity, Inc. to be the best fit for the City.
Cohesity, Inc. is a leader in the industry and has four of the top ten Fortune 500 companies and five of the top ten bank institutions utilizing their products. Clients such as the City of Santa Monica, City of Santa Barbara, San Francisco Giants, and the USDA are all in their portfolio.
Cohesity, Inc. utilizes resellers to distribute its products to consumers. One of their resellers in the local Bay Area is Sable Computer, Inc. (DBA: KIS). Thus, the City would need to procure Cohesity through Sable Computer, Inc. (DBA: KIS), and Cohesity would supply the hardware and perform the necessary installation.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of the new backup and recovery solution to replace the current one will be $49,989.42.
This includes the hardware, installation, licensing, and support for three years. The Finance Division has confirmed that adequate funds are available to support this project.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page.
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Adopt the attached resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Sable Computer, Inc. for the purchase and implementation of the Cohesity Backup and Data Protection Solution.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
The City Council could choose to reject the proposed action and provide direction to staff.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Resolution
Exhibit 1 - Proposed Agreement
Prepared by: Ling King, Chief Technology Officer
Approved by: Ethan Bindernagel, Acting City Manager