FROM: Colin Bishop, Chief of Member Services
SUBJECT: SBCERA Phone System and Call-Center Replacement Project
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Approve and authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute agreements for:
(1) the engagement of Dialpad for a phone system replacement, call-center services, implementation and support in the amount of $68,611;
(2) the procurement of telephone hardware from Sotel Systems in the amount of $26,050;
(3) authorization to engage Dialpad to build and integrate a custom line-of-business application in an amount not to exceed $20,000;
(4) an extension to the current service agreement with ICMI, for phone system and call-center consulting services, in an amount not to exceed $18,000; and
(5) authorization of a project contingency in an amount not to exceed $10,000.
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BACKGROUND:
Phone System Needs Assessment and Procurement Process:
Beginning early this year, SBCERA conducted a comprehensive assessment of our current phone system technology and call-center needs, and based on the results of that assessment issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new phone system vendor. The assessment of our “current state” and procurement of a new vendor represent the first steps in our phone system replacement project, which was outlined in SBCERA’s Triennial Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2020-2022. Our work on this project thus far has been led by consulting firm ICMI, after the Board of Retirement approved our partnership in February 2020.
While SBCERA’s phone system has been targeted for replacement for some time, the importance of this project has been underscored by several separate system outages which disabled SBCERA’s in-house phone services in late 2019 and again in July 2020. In addition to exploring a phone system solution which can withstand similar service disruptions, we are looking for a call-center product which can help improve customer service by accelerating call routing, minimizing queue time, and making better use of metrics. We feel that Dialpad best meets these requirements, and we have outlined the procurement process below.
We released the RFP for a new phone system vendor on May 29, 2020, and conducted a conference call for interested parties on June 12, 2020, in which prospective RFP respondents were able to ask questions regarding SBCERA and the RFP. Upon the RFP submittal deadline of June 17, 2020, we received seven RFP responses, which are indicated in the table below, along with the first-year costs of their proposals. After reviewing the proposals, we selected three finalists to participate in a round of interviews and product demos. Following that process, we identified Dialpad as our selected vendor. Dialpad distinguished themselves from the competition with an incredibly user-friendly product which is highly regarded in the call-center industry, and appears to meet our needs with its “off the shelf” base product. In further discussions with Dialpad, we also feel comfortable that they can meet our implementation timeline to have a new phone system in place at SBCERA by the end of the 2020 calendar year.
Although cost is not the primary deciding factor for this project, Dialpad’s proposed cost is competitive among our RFP respondents, and we believe their final proposal (attached as Exhibit A) represents exceptional value for the proposed package of services. A breakdown of the proposed products, services, fees and costs is attached as Exhibit B. Hardware costs of $26,049 are included separately from Sotel (attached as Exhibit C). Sotel is the hardware partner of Dialpad. Staff has evaluated the pricing provided by Sotel and it is commercially competitive, and therefore, staff recommends that we make the hardware order through Sotel.
The estimated total annual cost of around $64,000 for Dialpad’s platform and support on a go-forward basis after implementation would represent a significant savings compared to our current estimated annual phone system costs of approximately $95,000, and would be included in future operating budgets.
|
Vendor |
First-Year Cost |
Finalist? |
|
8x8 |
$112,198* |
No |
|
Dialpad |
$68,611** |
Yes |
|
Crexendo |
$38,430 |
No |
|
Jive |
$75,567** |
No |
|
RingCentral |
$93,865 |
Yes |
|
TalkDesk |
$82,700 |
Yes |
|
TPX |
$132,158 |
No |
*Taxes and fees were only included in the cost quotes for Dialpad and 8x8.
**Estimate did not initially include hardware like phones and headsets.
Note: first-year costs quoted here for vendors other than Dialpad may not include certain types of professional service fees.
Customization to Integrate with PensionGold:
While Dialpad’s base product will meet nearly all our highest priority needs, there is one necessary area of customization. We will require Dialpad to integrate a line-of-business application to pass information from the new phone system to our pension administration software, PensionGold, where all of SBCERA’s member information is stored. This customization is critical and will allow us to quickly and easily link basic call information (e.g. the “category” of call and whether the caller’s issue was resolved), as well as a recording and/or transcript of the call, to the member’s account in PensionGold. This functionality was not scoped by any of the RFP respondents and would have been required as an “add-on” customization with any of the vendors that we chose. We estimate the cost of this build to be approximately $20,000.
Implementation Project Management:
Additionally, we are recommending to the Board that we retain ICMI as consultant for the implementation of our new phone system. ICMI has been with us from the beginning of this project earlier this year, and they were originally retained on an agreement to provide our initial needs assessment and guide our RFP through execution of the contract. We feel that continuing with their services throughout the coming implementation will provide the expertise needed to ensure that implementation is successful. ICMI’s guidance has thus far been instrumental on assessing our current needs and crafting a comprehensive RFP. We anticipate that the implementation of the new phone system will be complex and technical, and ICMI has proven that they are able to work skillfully within both the technological and operational spheres of this project. As this request is effectively a continuation of work on an existing agreement, ICMI has provided a change order in the amount of $18,000 (attached as Exhibit D) which outlines the scope of work for our recommendation.
Project Contingency:
Finally, we are requesting a contingency of $10,000 to cover any additional hardware or unanticipated time and materials related to the implementation.
Committee Review:
The Administrative Committee reviewed this item at its August 20, 2020 meeting, and recommends Board approval, with a 4-0 vote.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Costs for this item are included in the current year administrative and/or non-administrative budget. The entire project was included in the budget at an estimated cost of $200,000, so the total requested costs of this project of $142,661, including the contingency, are nearly 29% less than anticipated.
STRATEGIC PLANNING GOAL/OBJECTIVE:
Operational Excellence & Efficiency
Superior Service Experience
STAFF CONTACT:
Colin Bishop
Joe Michael
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A: Dialpad Proposal
Exhibit B: Dialpad Service Order
Exhibit C: Sotel Quote
Exhibit D: ICMI Change Order
Exhibit E: Dialpad Presentation