FROM: Joe Michael, Chief Information Officer
SUBJECT: Everbridge Crisis Management and Business Continuity Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommend that the Board approve and authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute an agreement with Everbridge for Business Continuity and Crisis Management services in an amount of $42,000.
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BACKGROUND:
SBCERA’s business continuity plans, as currently written, are identified more closely with a disruptive event like an earthquake. The plans have not been updated in many years.
As COVID-19 has proven, events that may disrupt SBCERA’s ability to provide traditional support to our membership may not always come from anticipated sources. We have witnessed now a situation where the physical and technological aspects of our building are intact, yet for safety reasons staff must not physically access them. This situation demonstrates the need for SBCERA to provide business continuity planning and disruptive event response that allows for continued support of our membership by staff regardless of the physical state of our assets and technology.
Business Continuity was identified as a Strategic Priority for FY 2020-21. The foundation for this initiative is to provide SBCERA the means to access and initiate disruptive event procedures, which in turn will provide the direction necessary to take appropriate action and ensure we maintain business continuity. Everbridge is the market leader in emergency notification and management. Their Crisis Management platform provides a hosted solution where SBCERA can maintain all of its disruptive event procedures and business continuity plans. The platform includes the ability to maintain contact information, accounts details, and all other pertinent information staff would need during an emergency to keep SBCERA functioning. In addition, due to the fact it is a hosted solution, multiple staff would have access and have the ability to start a crisis management workflow, ensuring time was not lost due to the inability to located specific individuals.
Included in the implementation we would leverage Everbridge’s knowledge of emergencies and crisis management to help write and update our disruptive event responses, and streamline our workflow processes. The Everbridge system has been used for floods, fires, earthquakes, COVID-19 outbreaks, and many more disruptive events. They have insight into what works, what doesn’t, and what actually happens in various scenarios. We feel this knowledge will be invaluable as we update our policies and procedures.
SBCERA has recently implemented Everbridge’s notification system under the Chief Executive Officer’s procurement authority. The system allows SBCERA to notify staff by way of their desktop, work email, or even personal devices if they have opted in, of situations in or around SBCERA. As part of the Crisis Management implementation, we would be able to tie these systems together, providing us the ability to notify staff in mass of disruptive events quickly, and then provide continued updates as information is made available. The ability to get these messages out quickly will prevent staff from entering into unsafe areas on work-related business.
In summary, the proposal from Everbridge includes:
First year subscription services $25,000
Professional services - implementation $15,000
One-time set up fee $ 2,000
Total $42,000
BUDGET IMPACT:
Costs for this item are included in the current year administrative budget.
STRATEGIC PLANNING GOAL/OBJECTIVE:
Operational Excellence & Efficiency
STAFF CONTACT:
Joe Michael
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A: Master Service Agreement
Exhibit B: Statement of Work - Professional Services
Exhibit C: Crisis Management Overview