DATE: October 9, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Robert W. Bash, Director of Internal Services/Chief Information Officer
SUBJECT: Agreement with FreshWorks, Inc.
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with FreshWorks, Inc., for help desk ticketing and workflow management, effective upon execution, not to exceed five consecutive years, which includes a three-year base contract and two optional one-year extensions, total not to exceed $1,200,000.
REPORT
Freshworks, Inc. currently provides FreshService, a help desk ticketing and workflow management system, to the Internal Services Department - Information Technology Division (ISD-IT) through Purchasing Agreement P-18-314. This new agreement will provide the County with the ability to better leverage the FreshService tools with an expanded user base throughout ISD-IT. Additionally, other departments are considering utilizing FreshService for their own internal processes. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the County will be unable to expand usage of FreshService. While it will not interrupt service, it will not allow user departments to take advantage of the increased efficiencies associated with FreshService.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions as sufficient appropriations are included in the current fiscal year’s budget. Appropriations for FreshService software licenses, maintenance and support for the potential five (5) year term total $1,200,000. This agreement allows for our current usage with expansion over the 5-year term plus room for expansion for use by other departments. Future costs associated with this agreement will be included in subsequent budget requests. If additional appropriations are required, staff will return to your Board for approval.
DISCUSSION:
ISD-IT began exploring a new service ticketing solution in late 2017. The previous ticketing system was insufficient and failing to function as required as a help desk for the County’s Information Technology needs. In consultation with the County’s Purchasing Division, several vendor options were explored. ISD-IT contacted several other government agencies, contacted a variety of vendors, and performed several extensive exploratory demonstrations to determine the best option for the County. FreshWorks emerged as a vendor that was capable of providing a high quality, affordable solution with a short implementation time. As ISD-IT urgently required the software, Purchasing agreed to complete the initial year of service plus implementation costs on a purchasing agreement. Four bids were collected and the most cost-effective solution was to work with FreshWorks directly.
Implementation was very successful and launched on schedule within a month of the initial purchasing agreement going into effect. The system has improved service for user departments and allowed for better workflow tracking on ISD-IT’s service tickets. It is user friendly for both customers and staff. It also allows staff to effectively complete work through a usable mobile application. The success of this project has led ISD-IT to move up its initial timeline for expanding ISD-IT’s users within the system and finalizing a long-term agreement with FreshWorks. This will allow for an expansion of users within ISD-IT to increase efficiency and service provided to user departments and lower the cost of individual users moving forward. Additionally, several user departments have expressed interest in utilizing FreshService for their own internal request tracking. ISD-IT’s estimated usage is approximately half of the total agreement value, while the remainder is for licenses and FreshService implementation for user departments. This agreement will supersede the initial purchasing agreement, although licenses already purchased will remain in place until their natural expiration.
The hold harmless language and limitation of liability in Section 11 of the Agreement is nonstandard for County Agreements, but Risk Management has reviewed and is comfortable approving the language. Section 12 of the Agreement contains the insurance coverage and language currently approved for use in the County’s model contract. Risk Management has recently proposed that the insurance coverage and language in the County’s model contract be revised. County Counsel and Risk Management will be working on these changes over the next several months. However, the Department has a need to move forward with this contract to address service needs, and the Department believes the insurance coverage required in Section 12 of the Agreement adequately protects the interests of the County. Therefore, it is recommended your Board approve the recommended Agreement in its current form.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On File with Clerk - Agreement with FreshWorks, Inc.
CAO ANALYST:
Juan Lopez