R2007-41 AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT WITH BURWOOD GROUP, INC.

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MANAGEMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT MIS DIVISION Memorandum No. 2007-02 March 11, 2007 MEMO TO: Honorable Mayor Osborne and City Council FROM: Steve Garman, City Manager �'�l �j Gerard J. Bauer, Assistant City Manager � ' David S. Johnston, Manager, MIS Division�.�� SUBJECT: Wide Area Computer Network Un�rade SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that Council approve the resolution at Enclosure 1, authorizing the City Manager to execute the contract with Burwood Group, shown at Enclosure 2, for computer network upgrades. BACKGROUND: In 2001, Council authorized the purchase of Cisco radio frequency bridges, computer communication devices which permitted the city to establish a "�vireless" wide area network and discontinue leasing telephone data lines to interconnect the computers at dispersed city administrative buildings. Total system cost was approximately $103,000. Operating in the 2.4 GHz band at a maximum throughput of 11 Mbps, these devices have served well, saving the city approximately $15,000 per year in leased telephone circuits. Originally scheduled for replacement in FY 2005-2006, service lite �vas extended one year as an economy measure. However, the age of the equipment is such that maintenance service on it is being discontinued by Cisco; replacement units and parts are no Ic�nger available. In addition, city government's need for high bandwidth data communications has grown sharply over the six year period -- particularly with the implementation of the Geographic Information System (GIS), which requires the movement of massive graphics files and underlying data files. City Council approved the replacement of the equipment in the FY 2006-2007 budget and appropriation ordinance. State-of-the-art replacement equipment, providing significantly higher transmission rates and enhanced security and reliability/maintainability is on hand. �3owever, the installation and configuration of this new generation of equipment requires one-time specialized training and equipment which are not possessed by the city's MIS staff. Because of its specialized nature, Cisco, the equipment manufacturer, has certified only two consulting firms within Illinois—only one outside the Chicago area—to perform system engineering of this nature and to provide long term maintenance response/support for the installed systems. Staff has interviewed key personnel of this firm, agreed to a statement of work and standards of acceptance, and negotiated terms which call for the work to be performed at an hourly rate which is reasonable and appropriate for the nature of work and level of expertise required. 1