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TO: Mayor Richard Irvin
FROM: Michael Pegues, CIO
Jeff Anderson, Deputy CIO
DATE: April 5, 2024
SUBJECT:
Resolution to purchase a three-year contract to Insight Public Sector, Chandler, AZ, for Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Managed Service of city-wide server infrastructure for a total amount not to exceed $1,217,185.92.
PURPOSE:
The City of Aurora's Server Infrastructure is managed by the IT Division and consists of city-owned hardware with maintenance contracts from various vendors. This contract for on-premises, cloud-enabled server infrastructure will increase efficiency, reduce risk and eliminate capital outlays for server equipment.
BACKGROUND:
The City IT staff currently maintains an extensive server environment that provides services to many core services that support all areas of the City including key components of Public Safety, Public Works and Finance.
This server environment in its present state requires significant capital outlays to maintain the hardware. Coordination between several vendors to ensure the environment is operational, current and secure is needed for the various software components in this environment. At times, conflicts between vendor updates have made this task quite complicated.
The current environment will no longer support the latest versions of several key services including Windows Server Operating System. IT staff decided against another significant capital outlay and looked at alternative options for managing the server environment.
DISCUSSION:
City IT staff currently manages the existing server environment by leveraging several vendor solutions including Microsoft, VMWare, Dell, Cisco and NetApp across both the production server location at APD and the backup server location at Fire Station 8. Coordinating updates and required purchased amongst these vendors to provide essentially one service - the City's server environment - is inefficient and ensures significant capital outlays annually. When configuring a server environment, staff must purchase hardware and software for peak usage to ensure capacity is not exceeded during high-usage times. This leads to over purchase of hardware and software that is not utilized fully except during peak times.
City IT staff desired a consumption-based, managed service model for this server environment that is similar to other managed services currently in use for the Microsoft Office 365 environment which includes eMail services.
The Insight proposal is an on-premises, consumption-based model that will be fully managed by Insight. City IT staff will be responsible for maintaining the applications that run within this server environment, but not for coordination between all hardware and software vendors necessary to maintain this server environment. This solution will provide hardware that exceeds city needs for peak times, but costs are based only on consumption.
This solution will provide for equal production and backup locations with hardware and software components kept current in both locations.
Currently, the IT department spends $401,450 annually to maintain the server environment. This includes annual hardware purchases as well as software maintenance agreements. These costs are expected to increase to $476,000 annually by 2026 based on historical increases. Additionally, Broadcom purchased VMWare in November 2023 and has implemented significant cost increases to VMWare beginning on May 2024. The Insight solution will lock the City into lower costs for VMWare throughout the 3 years of this contract.
The Insight solution is priced at $405,728.64 annually for a three-year total of $1,217,185.92. Insight will provide and maintain a server environment in both production (APD) and backup (FS8) for the term of this contract. City staff will continue to focus efforts on the applications that run within this environment.
If City IT staff were to upgrade the server environment to new equipment and ensure room for growth for these three years, the total cost is estimated at $1,623,312. Implementing the Insight solution will be a cost avoidance of $406,126.
The efficiency of this Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Managed Service and the cost avoidance associated are why staff recommends this purchase.
All services utilized in this purchase are from the OMNIA Partners Technology Product Solutions and Related Services Contract #23-6692-03.
This purchase will be made by consolidating monies from several accounts into Account Number # 101-1280-419.38-11 for this purpose.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
As part of the City of Aurora Technology Strategic Plan or “IT Roadmap” for 2019, the Information Technology Division is seeking to evaluate and improve efficiency throughout the organization. This purchase is aligned with the Strategic Plan.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the proposed resolution be adopted.
cc: Finance Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
title
A Resolution to purchase a three-year contract to Insight Public Sector, Chandler, AZ, for Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Managed Service of city-wide server infrastructure for a total amount not to exceed $1,217,185.92.
body
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora's Server Infrastructure is managed by the IT Division and consists primarily of City-owned hardware and maintenance contracts from several vendors; and
WHEREAS, maintaining the complex server environment is inefficient; and
WHEREAS, City IT staff wishes to reduce risk and costs while maintaining a high-performing, secure City-wide server environment; and
WHEREAS, City IT staff negotiated these costs through OMNIA Partners Technology Product Solutions and Related Services Contract #23-6692-03; and
WHEREAS, purchase will be made by consolidating monies from several accounts into Account Number # 101-1280-419.38-11 for this purpose.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: the Director of Purchasing is hereby authorized to purchase a three-year contract to Insight Public Sector, Chandler, AZ, for Network Server Managed Services of city-wide server infrastructure for a total amount not to exceed $1,217,185.92.