Contract pricing remains in effect for non-State entities after the February 28 date unless they choose to terminate.  Because no money would be lost as a result of cancellation, the City issued a formal solicitation in the late 2013 containing functional and technical requirements for hosted, or outsourced, VoIP service.  Hosted service offerings have matured in recent years. 

The RFP indicated that three hundred fifty-eight (358) desktop phones should be replaced with IP-enabled phones and converted to the new protocol.  Of the four (4) vendors that responded, the city project team rated Jive Communications of Orem, Utah well above the remaining three (3).   The review team consisted of representation from each of the City’s IT disciplines (operations, software development and networking) as well as one non-IT employee with previous VoIP implementation experience, five (5) total.

A vendor-hosted solution places responsibility on said vendor for all hardware and software maintenance, i.e., there will be no hardware on City premises or software to install/update/maintain.  End telephone users can have control of many phone features and any IT staff member will be able to make additions and changes to the service at no additional cost, which was not our contract with AT&T.

An implementation project for hosted VoIP service aligns with City goals as follows:

1. City Strategic Goal #3: Manage resources to keep pace with technology, infrastructure and sustainability needs.

For an additional $825 per month and a small one-time up- front outlay for new telephones, the City can enjoy state of the art communications.

2. City Core Goal B – Employee Relations: Provide a successful and effective work environment.

See attachment X for all included system features.

Example: Having voice mail go to one’s e-mail in-box (also known as unified communications)

3. Cascading Five’s: Financial Services Emerging Issue #4 – “Replacing antiquated telephone system with VoIP.”

Approximately 80 lines will remain with AT&T.  Some do not lend themselves to routing through internet service.  Because land lines are low-voltage they are available during power outages and possibly cell phone outages and a wise option for business continuity planning.  Examples of installations that will continue to be land lines are:

• sprinklers
• alarms
• elevators
• Youth Watch at schools
• EOC (this will be a mix of VoIP and copper land line)
• Council Chambers
• One or more faxes to start

Old telephone handsets and AT&T purchased equipment could be sold or made surplus.  Some handsets may prove useful to TMWRF who is not migrating to this VoIP hosted solution.

Possible Risks:

1. Old technology can suddenly fail and may take days or weeks to repair/replace.  Employees would lose City telephone service and constituents would not have the ability to contact City personnel.

 Risk level:  High.

2. Internet service can fail.  The City obtains its current internet service through Washoe County.  The City plans to create a separate internet channel for voice via one of Jive’s managed providers.  Jive Communications’ service level agreement indicates that they have a global up-time target of 99.99% which is exceeded in most cases.   It also indicates the amount of service credits they will return to the customer should levels not be maintained.

Risk level:  Very Low.

3. Employees will be resistant to change.  Long time employees have been using the same phone system for many years and may resist the change despite current system shortcomings.  Newer employees will likely be more open to the progress in technology.  Three-digit extension dialing will be replaced by four-digit dialing.  Good communication and training can help mitigate this risk.
   
   Risk level:  Moderate