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Approve an agreement with DXC.technology for design, programming and testing interfaces with Solano County’s Hosted Communications Service for integration with the CalWIN telephone contact center in the amount of $138,014, for the term of April 24, 2018 through December 30, 2018; and Authorize the Chief Information Officer to execute the agreement and any future amendments and change orders up to 15% of the contract amount
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Information Technology recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve an agreement with DXC.technology for design, programming and testing interfaces with Solano County’s Hosted Communications Service for integration with the CalWIN telephone contact center in the amount of $138,014, for the term of April 24, 2018 through December 30, 2018; and,
2. Authorize the Chief Information Officer to execute the agreement and any future amendments and change orders up to 15% of the contract amount.
SUMMARY:
The Welfare Client Data System Consortium joint powers authority (WCDS) is the sponsor of the County’s human services case management and eligibility system, CalWIN. WCDS maintains centralized systems and interfaces to state-based systems and the eighteen CalWIN consortium counties.
The County’s CalWIN telephone contact center integrates certain services through systems maintained by the WCDS. The interfaces provide automated voice response applications and call processing between Solano, other CalWIN counties, and the state for various social service and health programs.
The Department of Information Technology is in the process of replacing the County’s obsolete telephone contact center system as part of a multi-phased project to shift telephone services to an IP-based, cloud-hosted service. Due to the replacement of the contact center system, interfaces to WCDS need to be re-developed and tested. Since this is a County-initiated change, the Department needs to contract with WCDS’ contractor, DXC.technology, to perform the work.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The cost to modify the WCDS/CalWIN interface for the new cloud-based telephone contact center system is $138,014. The Department has sufficient appropriation in its FY2017/18 budget for this contract. This is a one-time cost to the Department’s hosted communication services (HCS) project which is estimated to save $400,000 to $500,000 annually once all phases are completed.
DISCUSSION:
The Department of Information Technology (DoIT) initiated a project to replace its obsolete phone services and technology with a cloud-based Hosted Communication Service (HCS) provided by West IP. The Board approved this project at its March 14, 2017 meeting. The Department completed contract negotiations in the Spring of 2017 and the project started in July 2017.
The goal of the project is to streamline the delivery of voice services to Solano County staff using current best practices. The HCS solution will improve the resiliency of our communications system, simplify our infrastructure, provide around-the-clock monitoring and support, shorten the response time on requests for changes and new services, and significantly reduce annual costs.
One aspect of the project replaces the County’s contact center software. Currently, there is an interface between the County’s contact center and WCDS/CalWIN for two programs called Access CalWIN and Contact CalWIN. This integration provides interactive voice response processing to clients and automated call handling and distribution. This functionality needs to be reprogrammed to work with the new HCS solution. The Department has worked with WCDS’ system provider, DXC.technology, on a system design and project plan to accomplish the work. Since this is a County initiated request, the work is considered billable through a County Direct Change Agreement (Attachment 1) under the existing CalWIN contract.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could choose to not authorize the Chief Information Officer to proceed with executing an agreement with DXC.technology, however, this is not recommended. The CalWIN call center is a critical service component for Health & Social Services and is an integral part of the County phone system. The CalWIN call center interface will not work without the modification outlined in the County Direct Change Agreement. The Department will not be able to complete the HCS project without this work and would not benefit from the overall cost savings of the HCS project.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel has been involved in reviewing the agreement and approves it as to form. Health & Social Services has been consulted on the changes that would be made to the contact center software and interface with WCDS and will be involved in testing and accepting the work.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION