Meeting_Body
FINANCE, BUDGET, AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
March 16, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) SERVICES BENCH
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. AWARD an IT Services Bench, through (RFIQ) No. PS7764700, consisting solely of SBE Prime vendors listed on Attachment A-1, who have been deemed qualified to participate in future as-needed IT task order work for technical Service Sections 1 through 4 below:
1. Enterprise Architecture & Technical Integration
2. Business Application Services
3. IT Operations and Service Delivery
4. Center of Excellence
The Bench will be in effect for a five-year period to perform professional services for a cumulative total value not-to-exceed $45,000,000. Individual task orders will be awarded based on competition via the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
B. EXECUTE individual task orders under the Contract for IT Services for a total not-to-exceed amount of $45,000,000.
Issue
ISSUE
The Information and Technology Services Department (ITS) manages multiple technology platforms to support the Agency’s goals and objectives. The department’s objective is to provide reliable system performance as well as ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data when using technology. The technology infrastructure footprint is vast and consists of tens of thousands of computing, storage, data/voice/video communications, and specialized business application system assets. To ensure the technology infrastructure is operating effectively and securely, all assets must be continually monitored, administered, enhanced, and upgraded to meet the needs of the business and stay within manufacturer warranty compliance.
In addition to maintaining Metro’s technology infrastructure, the Agency’s technology footprint is continually growing thus requiring significant staffing resources. Based on maintenance and project schedule needs, the number of concurrent resources required for limited durations may exceed the number of available budgeted full-time equivalents (FTE) in the Information and Technology Services (ITS) department. To meet these resource demands, use of contracted resources, on an as-needed basis, is the most cost-effective method to meeting the maintenance and project delivery support requirements in a timely manner.
Through a competitive procurement process, an IT Services Bench was developed establishing prequalified vendors, each having the skills and experience needed to provide the required as-needed services identified to support the ITS department’s functions. The IT Services Bench will enable ITS to be more agile in acquiring technical contract resource service needs by streamlining the processes required to award small/mid-scale task orders timelier and more efficiently since the initial qualification reviews have been completed.
Background
BACKGROUND
The ITS department supports Metro’s information technology communications infrastructure and business application services hosting many of Metro’s mission critical technology systems. The technology footprint spans across approximately 100 locations within a 60-mile radius of Metro’s headquarters building. The number of IT infrastructure assets are large, consisting of over 20,000 recorded devices and services it must monitor and maintain. ITS provides complete end-to-end services throughout the technology life cycle starting from the idea generation stage through initiation & governance, planning & design, engineering, development and implementation, operational support and ultimately retirement.
The current 2022 IT Services Bench is designed to have four (4) unique service sections, comprised of vendors with specific skills and experience to directly support the specific needs and requirements of each section. These section’s roles and responsibilities are summarized below.
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE & TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
The Enterprise Architecture & Technology Integration section provides technology infrastructure services. Their responsibilities include the design, engineering and operations of the Agency’s communications, networks, data, and security services. These services host Metro’s business systems and computer/communication assets, thus enabling users to safely and securely transmit, access & store the Agency’s electronic information. Enterprise Architecture and Technology Integration establishes an IT infrastructure that adheres to the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. The functional groups within this section includes the following:
• IT Capacity
• Network Engineering
• Database and Storage Administration
• Data Center Operations / Configuration Management
BUSINESS APPLICATION SERVICES
The Business Application Services section provides functional, business, and technical programming services to support enterprise and departmental applications used daily for Transit Operations, Program Management, Finance, Human Capital and Development, System Security and Law Enforcement, and other business units within Metro. Duties include application planning, design, development, coding, testing and implementation for creating new or enhancing existing business systems. This department creates and designs business applications that run all phases of Metro’s daily operations. They support over 170 e-commerce and business/user applications productivity systems (e.g., financial, accounting, transportation, sales, human resource, material management, inventory, and enterprise resource planning programs). Additionally, this section defines application architecture and develops programs and systems to meet business needs. The functional groups within this section includes the following:
• Transit Operations Systems
• E-Business Services
• Geographic Information Services (GIS)
• Digital Strategies and Innovation
IT OPERATIONS & SERVICE DELIVERY
The Operations and Service Delivery section provides 24x7 installation, maintenance, and information security services for Metro’s enterprise technology infrastructure. The IT infrastructure assets are vast. Facility coverage includes the Metro USG building and over 23 operating divisions and major facilities throughout Los Angeles County. The infrastructure assets consist of over 5,000 data processing servers, computers & storage systems, over 1,000 telecommunication’s data network & communications systems, over 10,000 microwave, radio, and cellular system devices, over 1,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) and communications system devices, over 300 business applications and user productivity systems and over 30 video conferencing room systems. The functional groups within this section includes the following:
• IT Activation
• Information Security
• Help Desk
• Technical Services
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (COE)
The Center of Excellence Department provides executive administrative support, technology governance, and project management support to project teams. The COE Core Team oversees technology requests and the intake process from project teams. They are tasked with standardizing the delivery process and performing the value-added services of the COE. The COE’s key objectives are standardization, leveraging existing assets, measuring performance, and providing guidance and governance. The section’s key duties include providing thought leadership and direction, establishing and promoting best practices, research and development, providing appropriate recommendations, support and education, and performing similar functions in specific focus areas considered. The functional groups within this section includes the following:
• IT Governance & Communications
• ITS Project Management Office (PMO)
• ITS Budget and Administration
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The IT Services Bench model has proven to be a very successful model for delivering technology services in several ways. The bench reduces the FTE technical staffing requirements, it reduces the procurement process time to initiate contract task orders, and it enhances the Agency’s ability to quickly receive specialized technical skilled professional service resources on an as-needed basis. Overall, the IT service bench allows technology projects to be completed in a more agile, timely and cost-efficient manner.
As the ITS department’s role and responsibilities within the Agency has expanded, the evolution of the technology services bench has expanded as well. In 2003, the first bench was established which consisted of 3 vendors and had a value of $3M. In 2008, the next bench was established, consisting of 10 vendors with a value of $5M. However, in the past ten years, the Agency’s technology needs have grown tremendously, driven by Metro’s facilities footprint increasing through Measure R & M projects, the Agency’s goal to enhance the customer’s experience and the increasing threat in cybersecurity attacks. These factors resulted in the need for a much larger technology bench. In 2016, the next bench was established which included 27 vendors and a value of $30M.
With Metro’s Vision 2028, the assumption is Metro’s need for technology will continue to grow. Additional cameras, communications and other onboard real time services are being added to all bus and rail fleet. Network Wi-Fi projects are in place to enhance wireless communication to all Metro facilities and parking lots. Also, replacement of financial, human resources and asset management business systems are currently in process. A new ATMS radio replacement project is being planned. Security compliance requirements are growing, and the cybersecurity threat continues. As a result, technical resource needs will continue to grow as well. For this reason, $45M is recommended for the current 2022 IT Services Bench.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The approval of this recommended action will not have any direct impact on the safety of our customers and employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The funding for this action will be from Federal, State, and local funds including fares. Using these funding sources maximizes fund programming requirements given approved funding guidelines and provisions.
Impact to Budget
Budget funding for task order services will come from approved FY22 ITS operating and capital budgets (ITS Department 9200 and its cost centers 3198, 3961, 9210, 9220, 9230, 9240, and 9250) allocated across multiple projects. Since this is an on-going multi-year contract, the Project Manager and the Deputy Chief Information and Technology Officer will be responsible for budgeting this effort in future fiscal years.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
This solicitation is designated as a Small Business Prime, since the Task Order amounts are anticipated within the Small Business Prime threshold.
Services provided by this bench and subsequent contracts will primarily benefit the operations and efficiency of Metro’s internal departments. The services are not anticipated to adversely impact the external customer community (e.g., People of Color, Low Income, Disabilities, marginalized communities, minority, women, disadvantaged or disabled veterans).
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendation supports Metro Vision 2028 Strategic Goal 5 - Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
1. Solicit competitive proposals to contract for each individual task as it becomes due. This is not recommended as it would require extensive additional staff time to process each request and result in project delays due to the lead time required to complete each procurement cycle. The bench has historically played an integral role in facilitating the successful and timely execution and delivery of projects.
2. Utilize existing Information and Technology Services staff to provide the required support. This is not feasible as the current budgeted ITS capacity is fully utilized to maintain Metro’s existing computer and network systems. There would not be sufficient existing staff to re-assign to provide technology support to current and future Metro capital projects.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon approval by the Board, staff will execute contracts with the firms and establish the ITS Services Bench. As required, Metro will solicit responses to individual task orders from specific IT Services Bench service sections.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: William Balter, DEO ITS Administration, (213) 922-4511
Medik Ghazikhanian, Executive Officer, ITS Administration, (213) 922-4910
Carolina Coppolo, Executive Officer, Vendor/Contract Management, (213) 922-4471
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Bryan Sastokas, Deputy Chief Information Technology Officer, ITS Administration, (213) 922-5510
Debra Avila, Deputy Chief Officer, Vendor/Contract Management, (213) 418-3051
