In a request for proposals (RFP) released Tuesday, the city of Laguna Niguel is seeking assistance from “qualified information technology firms specializing in comprehensive managed services,” according to the RFP. Specifically, the city needs IT management services to support operations at City Hall, Crown Valley Community Center, the Laguna Niguel Skateboard and Soccer Park, and the Sea Country Senior and Community Center. Among the takeaways:
- A 14.72-square-mile muni incorporated in late 1989, Laguna Niguel is a master-planned city that serves 65,429. It needs IT management services including “network and system administration, security monitoring, on-site and remote help desk, procurement, backup and recovery operations, database administration, hardware life cycle management, project management, and geographic information system (GIS) services.” The company hired will be considered Laguna Niguel’s “technology expert,” and may be asked to “recommend improvements in processes, systems, software and equipment; compare and analyze products and services; participate in disaster recovery and security response exercises; develop and provide training; and produce and present” reports on IT operations. The city expects the company it retains to be “agnostic regarding product support and procurement, and seek cost-effective solutions” appropriate to the city’s budget and current technology. Laguna Niguel now supports about 130 active users and averages 85 help desk requests a month.
- The company chosen will deliver “in-person IT and GIS management services” for at least 82 hours a week, with those in-person services provided by the company’s team and during the agreement’s entire term. More specifically, services include regularly reviewing “all aspects” of the city’s IT and GIS landscape to identify “potential improvements” and address “security vulnerabilities” and make recommendations. The consultant must also oversee “the complete life cycle (acquisition, operation and removal) for IT and GIS equipment and services.” On-site IT management technical support is also required twice monthly for City Council meetings and other public events after business hours; on-site IT and GIS management technical support for setup and support of the city’s Emergency Operations Center; IT service restoration following outages; staffing a remote IT and GIS management help desk from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; and doing IT and GIS management repairs and maintenance. The contractor will also be expected to do monthly or more frequent maintenance on the SQL Server databases of city business apps and procure IT equipment, software and services as needed, in accordance with city policy.
- Experience requirements include having done at least three representative projects involving similar services in the last five years; and showing all public agencies with which contracts were terminated with the respondent during the last three years, and a brief explanation for the termination.
- The contract’s precise value is not stated. The contract’s initial term is expected to be three years, from June 1-June 30, 2025, with two optional one-year extensions. Contract start date precedes the beginning of the city’s 2022-2023 fiscal year, July 1, to give the city’s current IT consultant an opportunity to train the incoming consultant. If the existing consultant, Infinity Technologies, is selected, the contract is expected to begin July 1, not June 1. Questions on the RFP are due by 10 a.m. Tuesday, and responses will come by Feb. 25. Responses are due by 2 p.m. March 7, and interviews are expected March 29-30, with contract award coming May 3 or 17. A kickoff meeting is expected by May 31, and services are anticipated to start July 1.
