ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: July 13, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Award of Contract: GIS Software and Services
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT the proposal from Linnet Geomatics International Inc. to
migrate the City's Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
installation to the newest versions of the GIS, database, and
operating system software and to perform related system tasks
be accepted at a cost of $68,450 plus applicable tax, subject
to an agreement satisfactory to the Manager of Information
Services. No new funds are being sought for this Project.
B. THAT existing GIS project funds be used to purchase upgraded
operating system software at an approximate cost of $7,600
plus applicable tax. No new funds are being sought for this
Project.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of A
and B.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council on February 3, 1994 approved a motion that any recommendations
for increased staff or enhanced programs be offset by corresponding
spending reductions or by increases in non-taxation revenues, subject to
Council discretion.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to approve the proposal from Linnet
Geomatics to provide services related to the City's Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), including installation to the newest versions
of the GIS, database, and operating system software and to perform
related tasks.BACKGROUND
As is the case with most major software applications, new versions are
released from time to time that allow the customer to take advantage of
changes in hardware and operating systems environments as well as other
advancements in technology. It is standard policy for the City to stay
with current versions of major applications where long term use is
expected.
The City needs to implement these newer releases to maintain support for
the software environment and to access new capabilities that are
required for several approved GIS applications including the Central
Address System (CAS) and the Zoning and Subdivision application.
Upgrading to current versions of software is consistent with general
practice within the City.
As a result of original project funding and the funding approved in
November, 1994, several applications have been developed. Some are
being used in production, while others are at the prototyping phase.
Among these are applications for Engineering, City Clerk's, Planning and
Revenue and Treasury. Other applications are in the specification and
development phases.
APPROVAL OF VENDOR FOR MIGRATION
The content of the RFP was formulated during the first several months of
1995 by staff integrally involved with the GIS Project on a day-to-day
basis and included a variety of tasks, as follows:
- develop a migration plan and prototype
- upgrade AIX operating system software
- upgrade Oracle database software
- upgrade Vision* software
- migrate the Vision* database
- preserve the existing environment of files, plotters, etc.
- carry out performance and stress testing
- convert the data from the 1927 to 1983 North American Datum (NAD)
base
- perform a detailed review of the schema and data model
- configure a particular application development environment
- perform a server hard disk drive configuration analysis
- improve the database resolution.
Although not all of these tasks are required specifically to upgrade the
Vision* software, it was felt that with the expertise on-site, we should
do an overall detailed review of the system and optimize it,
particularly now that it is a production environment. Such a review has
not been conducted thus far and we are still operating based on
assumptions made prior to the initial implementation.The Project Team
identified six vendors who might be interested in and capable of
performing the specified work. They are:
- CADVision Consulting, Calgary
- Cornerstone Consulting, Vancouver
- Linnet Geomatics, Winnipeg
- Mianda Consulting, Burnaby
- SHL Systemhouse, Ottawa
- Sierra Systems Consultants, Vancouver.
The RFP was issued on April 18, 1995; on May 19, responses were only
received from Linnet Geomatics (working with SHL Systemhouse), and
Sierra Systems Consultants. The Linnet Geomatics/SHL Systemhouse
proposal has a total cost of $68,450. The Sierra Systems Consultants
proposal has a total cost of $67,000. Applicable taxes and the cost of
the upgraded operating system software must be added to both amounts.
It is the unanimous opinion of the Project Team that the response from
Linnet Geomatics offers the City better value. The primary reasons for
this conclusion are as follows:
- Sierra's project team does not include anyone with any knowledge of
Vision* software.
- Linnet has extensive experience with Vision* through running
Manitoba's Information Warehouse on a Vision*, Oracle, and AIX
environment.
- Linnet is working with SHL Systemhouse (both on this and other
projects); SHL Systemhouse possesses more knowledge of, and
experience with, Vision* than any other vendor.
- Linnet will be migrating their own Vision* environment to the new
releases of Vision*, Oracle, and AIX as a learning tool prior to
migrating the City's implementation.
- Linnet has greater technical knowledge of what is involved in
carrying out the NAD conversion, and in reviewing the Vision*
database schema and model.
Therefore, it is recommended that the proposal from Linnet Geomatics be
accepted, as it represents best value to the City. The General Manager
of Engineering Services has been involved in all aspects of this
proposal, and supports this recommendation. COST and FUNDING
The cost of this project is as follows:
Linnet Geomatics bid $68,450
PST and net GST 6,845
Operating system software upgrade 7,600
PST and net GST 760
Total $83,655
Funds already approved for GIS are available in accounts 47/05/8822/999
and 47/05/8823/999 for this purpose.
It should be noted that the GIS system is growing in use, and as a
result, further licences and other investments will have to be made to
keep pace with increased use and expansion of the system. Funding that
is currently available is being used to position the core of the system
to handle growth and use. As user and application development grows,
there will be a need for further investments which will be financed from
existing sources.
* * * * *