Agenda - Council - 02/11/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session Meeting Date: 02/11/2014 By: Diana Lund, Finance 7. 2. Information Title Adopt Resolution # 14-02-032 Authorizing Purchase of City Phone System With Integra Purpose/Background: Purpose: Enter into an agreement with Integra to replace city's current phone system Background: The city's existing phone system is 18-years old and is no longer eligible or covered by a maintenance contract. The City moved into the new building in mid-2006 taking the existing Inter -Tel phone system from the old building, although, even at that time, the system had out -lived it's projected life. While that system is still functioning today, the cost to maintain/upgrade the system is going up with each year and our ability to do those upgrades in-house are diminishing with each year. Due to how critical the system is to daily city operation, staff is recommending upgrading the phone system with a scalable, reliable, easy -to -manage, supportable system. There are several reasons for a phone system replacement aside from the current system's age. Our system is currently supported by Integra programmers, but that could cease at any time due to the archaic system software and scarceness of replacement parts; not to mention that support is getting very expensive. There is also the question of system reliability. In late 2011 the City's phone system was down unexpectedly for four hours due to a hardware failure, which corrupted the system database. Residents couldn't leave messages for city staff while the system was being repaired. With a new system we'd be able to support and manage the hardware using internal staff — which will cut down on service calls, be able to protect the system using internal backups and reduce any potential downtime, city staff efficiency will also be increased with new features such as: wireless headsets, simultaneous ring to mobile, voicemail-to-email, on -screen softphone, internal instant messaging, and hot-desking. Notification: The City Council was updated at a worksession earlier in the night on the various aspects that the phone system can provide and pricing. Observations/Alternatives: Alternative Vendor Options: Staff chose the MiTel system from Marco, and the Avaya system from Matrix Communications. Marco & MiTel While the MiTel system from Marco is very comparable to the one from Integra, the main difference being price point. The cash purchase bid from Marco came in $140,000 higher than Integra, making them the most expensive option we looked at. Matrix & Avaya While Matrix would be an excellent partner for the City, the systems they recommended seemed dated and were not as user-friendly as the MiTel systems. Also, certain features were only accessible by obtaining license "packages". Managing these licenses would create hours of additional work for IT staff per year when compared to easier pricing structures offer by competitors. Alternative Options: