RFP No. 2024-0331-BR for the City of Plano UCAAS and CCAAS to include the purchase of seven hundred and five (705) phones, phone number management software with three (3) years support, call recording software with three (3) years of licensing and support, and Microsoft Teams installation services from Cloud Revolution, LLC in an estimated amount of $1,115,325 and the purchase of TalkDesk Contact Center installation services along with three (3) years of support and licensing from TalkDesk, Inc. in an estimated amount of $1,003,496, for a combined total amount of $2,118,821; and authorizing the City Manager to execute all necessary documents. Approved

On September 12, 2022, City Council approved a contract between the City of Plano and Novom Group, Inc. in the amount of $139,660 for professional services to conduct a needs assessment, aid in the procurement and the implementation of a new city-wide phone system.

Knowing that the City’s current voice and contact center solutions were approaching their end of support dates, Technology Solutions released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit services from a consultant to conduct a needs assessment and aid in the procurement of a new city-wide voice and contact center solutions. Technology Solutions entered into a contract with Novom Group to assist in identifying requirements from City stakeholders, develop the statement of work, and make recommendations for both a new Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) based on the gathered requirements.

Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) is a cloud based solution that manages customer interactions / calls across multiple channels, such as phone and chat, to enhance the customer experience by  integrating with the solutions that are used to manage their accounts.  It includes things like call routing, recording, call taker availability, and much more.

Unified Communications as a Service is a cloud based solution that integrates various communications tools such as voice, video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration into a single platform.

The Novom Group immediately began meeting with every department in the city to identify and document each of their requirements pertaining to voice and contact center solutions.  Those requirements were used to develop a statement of work and RFP that would be released to procure new UCaaS and CCaaS solutions.

On April 1, 2024, RFP 2024-0331-BR for UCAAS and CCAAS was released, and the City advertised its solicitation for both UCaaS and CCaaS solutions for ten (10) weeks. The City received and evaluated fourteen (14) proposals and established a shortlist of offerors considering the published criteria of: Deployment Services (20%), Features, Functionality, and 3rd Party Partner Capabilities (20%), Experience with CoP selected Architecture (10%) and Survivability and Resiliency (10%). Pricing was not evaluated in determining the shortlist of offerors. After a shortlist was determined, pricing from the shortlisted offerors was factored into the overall score based on the weights published.

The shortlisted offerors led demonstrations that were tailored to the City’s needs, the evaluation team determined that the proposals from Cloud Revolution for UCaaS and TalkDesk for CCaaS best meet the City’s requirements and provides the best overall value. Technology Solutions anticipates expending the full amount of the award within FY 2024-25.

It is crucial to approve this purchase to mitigate security risks and operational challenges. The current systems will be unsupported by October 2025, potentially leaving the city vulnerable to security breaches and service disruptions.

Funding for this item is available in the 2024-25 Technology Improvements CIP Fund in the total estimated amount of $2,118,821.  This request is to approve the purchase of seven hundred and five (705) phones, software with three (3) years of licensing and support, and Microsoft Teams installation services from Cloud Revolution, LLC in an estimated amount of $1,115,325, and the purchase of TalkDesk Contact Center installation services with three (3) years of licensing and support from TalkDesk, Inc., in an estimated amount of $1,003,496, which will leave a remaining balance of $1,360,377 in the Technology Improvements CIP Fund for other project expenditures.

Approval of this item relates to the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor of Excellent, Innovative, and Accountable City Government.