Meeting_Body
REVISED
FINANCE, BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
JULY 15, 2015
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) SERVICES BENCH
ACTION: ESTABLISH AN IT SERVICES BENCH
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. establish an IT Services Bench, through (RFIQ) No. PS92403383, consisting solely of vendors who have been deemed qualified to participate in future IT task order work for technical disciplines 1 through 16 below. The qualified vendors recommended in Attachment B for a five-year period will openly compete to perform individual professional service task orders for a cumulative total value of $17 million. Individual task orders will be awarded based on a competition via the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
1. Platform / End User Computing Systems
Issue
ISSUE
The Information and Technology Services Department (ITS) manages multiple programs to support the Agency’s technology goals and objectives. Each program utilizes specialized technical services to maintain, plan, and enhance Metro’s vast array of technology services.
Many of the Agency’s technology projects require substantial support from various technical disciplines through all phases of the project lifecycle and, based on project schedule needs, the number of concurrent resources required for limited durations may exceed the number of available budgeted full time equivalents in the Information and Technology Services (ITS) department. Use of contracted resources on an as-needed basis is the most cost-effective method to address the varied project support requirements in a timely manner.
The IT Services Bench will enable many small/mid-scale task orders to be awarded more efficiently since the initial qualification reviews have been completed. All the recommended firms for the proposed IT Services Bench have been determined to have the skills and experience needed to provide the required services identified for their respective technical disciplines.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The IT Services Bench model has proven to be a very successful method for the procurement of these services and has allowed for projects to be completed in a more efficient manner.
Thirty-four (34) firms are recommended, of which 13 are SBEs and/or DBEs. The scope for the bench consists of 16 technical disciplines. The Diversity and Economic Opportunity Department (DEOD) has recommended a 12% overall SBE/DBE goal and requirements will be established in the competition for the task orders. Source Selection Committees (SSCs) were established for each discipline and were comprised of technically qualified staff. All SSC members have experience in their respective disciplines and were qualified to perform the evaluations. In addition, the stated evaluation criteria were included in the solicitation package to afford interested proposers the opportunity to review them prior to submitting proposal. The submitted Qualification Statements were rated strictly on the basis of the evaluation criteria and scored accordingly.
THE BENCH EXPANSION IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE EXPANDING ROLE OF ITS
ITS has been utilizing Technology Services benches since 2003. The first bench was established in 2003 and expired in 2008. It consisted of 3 vendors with one discipline.
The past IT Service Bench was established in 2008. It expired in 2014 and consisted of 10 vendors with 6 disciplines. The current bench will have 34 vendors with 16 disciplines. The increased number of disciplines is a direct relationship to both the expanding role of ITS and the increasing technology needs of the Agency.
ITS consists of seven major program areas: Business Application Services, IT Operations and Service Delivery, Information Security Services, Systems Architecture and Technology Integration, IT Project Management Office, Research and Records Information Management, and Digital Strategy and Innovation Services. As the agency expands its initiatives and projects, the roles and functions of the ITS department have also increased. ITS’ expanded responsibilities since the previous 2008 bench are detailed below:
• Digital Strategy and Innovative Services - The goal of this new program is to coordinate and contribute efforts to transform the Metro customer experience through the use of technology and innovation. Among other objectives, the program keeps a pulse on emerging trends, developing and implementing a roadmap for investments in technology to enhance mobility in the region.
• Business Application Services (BAS) program provides functional, business and technical programming services to support approximately 125 business applications used daily for Transit Operations, Finance, Vendor and Contract Management and other business units in Metro. ITS now provides system support services for the Advanced Transportation Management Systems (ATMS) and HASTUS systems that were previously managed outside the ITS department.
• Operations and Service Delivery (OSD) program provides 24x7 installation and maintenance services for Metro’s enterprise technology infrastructure including over 4,000 desktop/laptop/kiosk computers, 45 telephone PBX systems, 8,000 phone devices, 2,100 telecommunications data lines and audio-visual services covering the USG facility and over 35 divisions and other Metro locations. With the increase in Measure R construction projects, ITS is responsible for supporting all the technology growth to support this program.
• Information Security Services program provides the Agency’s cyber security activities protection and ensures the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the agency’s critical information assets while ensuring its goals and objectives are being met. ITS now provides cyber security oversight services to Metro’s operational and business systems (SCADA, TAP, Express Lanes, and the Project Management Information System) that are managed outside of the ITS department.
• Systems Architecture and Technology Integration program provides system administration, 24/7 data center operations, and disaster recovery services for Metro’s enterprise technology network communications and database infrastructure. This includes over 350 physical and virtual servers, more than a petabyte of data, 4,500 network accounts and over 500 leased line circuits. ITS now provides data center and infrastructure support services to TAP operations that were traditionally outsourced.
• IT Project Management Office provides ITS strategic program/project planning, IT support for construction projects, financial administration, and policy & audit administration services. ITS has developed this departmental PMO to better support the technology expansion requirements for the new Measure R projects as well as for strategic planning.
• Research and Records Information Management program administers the well-regarded transportation research library, as well as creates and governs policy on storage of Metro records. ITS now provides management support for this program that was previously managed outside the ITS department.
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
Funding for FY16 is included in the department, cost center budgets. Each task order awarded to a Contractor will be funded with the source of funds identified for that project. Since this is a multi-year contract, the departmental cost center managers will be responsible for budgeting costs in future years.
Impact to Budget
The funding for these task orders is dependent upon the specific projects.
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. Additionally, contracting for these services on a per assignment basis does not provide opportunities for economies of scale. Additionally, the Board could elect not to increase the CEO’s administrative authority to award individual task orders up to $1 million. This is not recommended as our experience has shown that the requested task order threshold is needed as it will allow for many mid-scale project procurements to be expedited.
2. Utilize existing Information & Technology Services staff to provide the required technical 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 technical support to the various ITS capital projects.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, we will notify successful proposers and establish the IT Services Bench. As needed, we will solicit responses to individual task orders from specific disciplines.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A -Procurement Summary
Attachment B -Recommended Firms by Disciplines
Prepared_by
Prepared by: William Balter, Director, ITS Administration/PMO (213) 922-4511
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
David C. Edwards, Chief Information Officer - (213) 922-5510
Ivan Page, Interim-Executive Director, Vendor/Contract Management - (213) 922-6383
Nalini Ahuja, Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer - (213) 922-3088
