DATE: September 12, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Robert W. Bash, Director of Internal Services/Chief Information Officer
SUBJECT: Agreement with Gartner, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Make a finding that it is in the best interest of the County to suspend the competitive bidding process under Administrative Policy No. 34 for unusual or extraordinary circumstances to secure Information Technology specific research and analysis services through Gartner, Inc., to provide emerging technology practices for County departments.
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Agreement with Gartner, Inc. for subscription-based research, executive coaching, and advisory services for the Internal Services Department, effective September 1, 2017, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $977,658.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will allow the Internal Services Department (ISD) to access a variety of support resources which enables Information Technology (IT) executives to leverage analyst research, industry best practices, emerging practices, along with first-hand expertise from a diverse network of IT contemporaries working in the Federal, State, and Local government.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, ISD-IT will not be able to stay ahead of emerging technology and will struggle to complete technology enabled business initiatives in a timely and cost effective manner.
SUSPENSION OF COMPETITION/SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT:
Forrester Research Inc., International Data Corporation, and Gartner, Inc. were contacted to provide quotes for a menu of IT research and advisory services such as, but not limited to, research and analytics, business knowledge infrastructure, security and risk mitigation, and strategic planning and leadership development. The three vendors were chosen due to offering a full range of IT research and consultation services. Garner, Inc. is the largest source of analysis and research in the IT industry. Gartner provides IT executives with the ability to leverage a variety of support resources including, but not limited to, analyst research, industry best practices and emerging practices, and first-hand expertise from a diverse network of IT contemporaries working in the Federal, State, and Local government. ISD-Purchasing concurs with the Department’s request to suspend the competitive bidding process.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
Gartner, Inc.’s policy only allows an agreement to begin on the first of any given month. An additional 3.5 to 5% annual increase in the service fees take effect October 1, 2017. For ISD to ensure all necessary documents were existing and in order, ISD is requesting the recommended agreement be retro-active to September 1, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the approval of the recommended agreement. Appropriations are included in the ISD-Information Technology Org 8905 FY 2017-18 Recommended Budget. Funding for subsequent years will be included in future budget requests. The five-year total contract maximum shall not exceed $977,658.
DISCUSSION:
ISD-IT has several key strategic planning initiatives to strengthen operations by prioritizing projects and improving efficiencies in the most cost effective manner. Several of those initiatives include Cloud based solutions, document imaging technologies, and in-depth analysis and recommendations for an ERP (enterprise resource planning) upgrade and consolidating cashiering systems.
As ISD continues to evaluate countywide department practices and long-term objectives for implementing emerging technologies, including data analytics, business intelligence and Cloud based services for data and voice, ISD-IT staff researched consulting firms and found three companies who offered the most comparable and complete services to meet the department’s needs. Forrester Research, Inc. indicated their focus was on service to end users. International Data Corporation presented a concern in that they do not have a presence in California with the public sector. Gartner, Inc. was determined to provide a comprehensive menu of services, including access to analysts, proprietary research methodologies, contract review, IT metrics data, and an executive coaching program that assists with addressing the department’s goals.
The recommended agreement requires that payments for each year of service be made annually and in advance. At Gartner’s insistence, the recommended agreement may only be terminated in the event of a material breach or non-funding (i.e., the agreement does not allow for “without cause” termination).
Approval of the recommended action will allow ISD to provide best-practice emerging technology solutions and services for long term, cost effective departmental needs.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Suspension of Competition Acquisition Request
On file with Clerk - Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
John Hays