Title
Resolution to Approve a Purchase Order to Telvent USA for Fiber Optic Network (FON) Asset Management Software for ($41,520.00)
Memorandum
Attached for your review and action is a resolution authorizing the creation of a purchase order to Telvent USA in the amount of $41,520.00 for software and 1 year of software maintenance and support for FY2014.
The City of Ann Arbor has a complex fiber optic network (FON) and valuable conduit assets that require industry standard software designed to maintain critical outside plant (OSP) assets. Currently, conduit, FON assets and associated information, are held in various formats including: CAD drawings; as-built drawings; spreadsheets; word processing documents and sketches.
The City has created an industry standard geo-database of FON assets for use with GIS software but, it is by no means complete and/or sufficient to meet today's challenges of operating and maintaining a large, highly complex FON environment.
Acquiring and implementing a GIS-centric FON asset management software specifically designed to manage telecommunications and fiber optic networks can provide appreciable process improvements and yield improved efficiency and effectiveness benefits well beyond current business practices.
Fully implemented FON asset management software will be used for day-to-day operations and management of all OSP assets, organizing daily work (e.g., work order fulfillment and outage management), managing leasable fiber optic conduit assets, as well as provisioning for new and/or modified FON circuits.
The FON software will also provide staff the ability to model "what-if" scenarios and determine least cost routing and FON optimization for scheduled and unscheduled outages and future FON expansion opportunities.
For these reasons, the City assembled a team consisting of City staff from Field Operations and Information Technology to create a business case and publish a request for proposal (RFP) to identify viable FON software solutions.
.
The City issued a request for proposal (RFP-852), the last quarter of FY2013, to identify and purchase FON asset management software. There were five responders to the RFP:
· Enghouse Networks Ltd.
· Ericsson
· Palmetto Engineering and Consulting
· Telvent USA(a/k/a Schneider Electric)
· 3-GIS.
The respondents' proposals were evaluated based upon standard RFP criteria that included professional qualifications, experience, software features and functions, and pricing.
Four out of the five proposals met all the qualifications and the four remaining bidders were invited for on-site software demonstrations and RFP interviews. The team then re-evaluated and re-ranked the four respondents based upon the aforementioned criteria.
Telvent USA met all requirements in the RFP and provided the lowest cost for FON Asset Management Software. Telvent USA was awarded RFP-852 in July 2013 for the purchase Fiber Optic Network Asset Management Software.
Purchase of FON Asset Management Software can be funded through available funds in the FY2014 IT Fund.
Telvent USA received Human Rights and Living Wage compliance approval on August 8, 2013.
Staff
Prepared by: Russell Hanshue, IT Infrastructure Services Manager
Reviewed by: Tom Crawford, CFO and Financial Services Area Administrator
Approved by: Steven D. Powers, City Administrator
Body
Whereas, Telvent USA was awarded RFP-852 in July 2013 for the purchase Fiber Optic Network Asset Management Software;
Whereas, Purchasing FON Asset Management Software and annual maintenance and support will provide for efficient and effective management of City FON infrastructure and conduit assets;
Whereas, Telvent USA received Human Rights and Living Wage compliance approval on August 8, 2013; and
Whereas, Sufficient funding for the purchase of FON asset management software and annual support fee for the Telvent USA software is available in the FY2014 Information Technology Services Unit budget;
RESOLVED, That City Council approve a purchase order with Telvent USA in the amount of $41,520.00; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be authorized to take all necessary actions to implement this Resolution regardless of fiscal year.