Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets

FROM: Acting Director of Information Technology

SUBJECT: Information Technology Infrastructure - 1999/2000 Expansion and

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek approval to continue the build-out and replacement of the City’s information technology, communications and systems infrastructure.

Council approved the second year (1998) Technology Infrastructure Expansion and Replacement Program on Oct 8, 1998. The achievements of that program are described briefly in the next section of this report. This third year, 1999/2000, includes:

BACKGROUND

The City organization has a capital investment of at least $25 million in computers, software, networks and related equipment. This does not include the investment in services or in staff resources that has been made to implement these systems. It is a measure of the size of the City’s computer-related asset base.

All assets age. Information technology assets age faster than many others because the rate of technological change frequently leads to functional obsolescence even before physical obsolescence.

At the same time, driven in part by internal efficiencies and in part by public expectations, the City is continuously adopting new information technology based approaches to service maintenance and delivery.

The need for technology and systems solutions were identified through:

The 1996 long-term financing strategy report identified not only the need to replace core systems (like the financial and human resource systems), but also the need for continuous replacement and upgrade of infrastructure items that are shared by staff and by information systems. The Information Technology Infrastructure Expansion and Replacement Program addresses the timely replacement and upgrade of those items to meet evolving business needs.

THE 1998 PROGRAM

Most of the goals of the 1998 program were achieved. Notable infrastructure upgrades included:

Two of the sub-programs did not achieve their goals:

The table on the next page shows actual sub-program costs against budget:

Sub-Program

1998 Budget ($000's)

Spent as of Nov 30,1999 ($000's)

    Networking and Telecommunications

692

689

    Desktop Computer Upgrade & Replacement

1,810

1,834

    E-mail

500

75

    Desktop & Service Management

295

294

    Web Access to Document Databases

75

0

    Internet Servers

40

25

    Electrical Power Backup

40

41

    Enterprise Tape Backup

80

61

      TOTAL

3,532

3,019

The 1998/1999 period was one of unusual pressures on the Information Technology organization:

The 1998 report to Council anticipated these pressures and stated that “There is a risk that some components of the program will not be completed in the 1998 budget cycle”. Most were completed, with the exceptions noted above.

THE 1999/2000 PROGRAM

The 1999/2000 program is described briefly in the following table. Each sub-program is classified as one of:
· Ongoing: Consists of numerous small items which can be expected to continue at similar levels from year to year;

Capital costs and ongoing operational costs are also identified.


cs000330.htm

Networking and Telecommunications
(ongoing)

Upgrade existing or extend new network communications services, and replace, upgrade and consolidate local networking facilities;

$657,000

$90,000

Replacement of Obsolete Microcomputers
(ongoing)

Replace obsolete microcomputers, following a 4-year lifecycle, and VPL public access terminals;

$1,630,000

None

Upgrade Telephone System (one-time /ongoing)

Upgrade various components of the City Hall telephone switch, replace the backup power supply, replace the voice-mail system.

$495,000

$10,000

 

    TOTAL

$2,782,000

$100,000

* Capital costs include acquisition, implementation and staff training.


cs000330.htm

More detailed descriptions of each of these infrastructure sub-programs, with an explanation of what they will help the City achieve, are contained in Appendix A.

The 1998 infrastructure replacement program extended right through 1999, leaving scheduled replacements backlogged in some areas. Some catch-up is included in this program.

The costs of developing and maintaining a technology infrastructure that can support the City’s many and varied service delivery needs are significant. Technology infrastructure replacement and upgrade will demand continued annual funding at levels comparable to those in this report.

CONCLUSION

The City has replaced a number of its core information systems, and is implementing systems which support different ways of working and new ways of delivering services to the public. These systems demand a technology infrastructure that extends to all parts of the organization, regardless of location. It needs to be robust, dependable and fast, and it needs to be adequately supported.

This report describes the third year of an ongoing program in which the technology infrastructure is recognized as a corporate utility, its maintenance as a corporate responsibility. While the details and emphasis may change from year to year, continuing maintenance and upgrade of this infrastructure is essential as the City looks increasingly to technology to facilitate the delivery of its services.

- - - - -


Networking and Telecommunications

The Telecommunications Network ($317,000):

Local Area Networks ($320,000):

Local Cabling ($20,000)

One-time funding requested: $657,000
Annual operating costs:

Microcomputer Replacement

The City has around 4,000 microcomputers. Close to 1,000 need to be replaced annually, given a 4-year useful life before technological obsolescence (too slow, incapable of running current software, no longer supported by extended warranty, failure-prone and expensive to maintain and support) sets in.

Four hundred terminals at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) are used by the public to access the Dynix automated library system. These are up to 9 years old. Not only are they showing their physical age, they are also incompatible with the current generation of Dynix software, and must be replaced with microcomputers.

This request will replace a further 400 VPL terminals and 380 microcomputers that are more than 4 years old and no longer serve the needs of their users. The target group is those machines that contain processors from a 486/66MHz up to a Pentium 120MHz.

This is normal replacement, consistent with the City’s replacement policy. No training costs are included. An allowance is included for installation and replacement of monitors and directly associated peripheral cards as needed. Unit cost of replacement microcomputers is approximately $2,000, which includes a 3-year on-site extended warranty.

One-time funding requested: $1,630,000

Annual operating costs:

Telephone System Upgrades

A number of components of the telephone system are overdue for upgrade or replacement:

Replacement of Backup Power Supply ($45,000)

Replacement of old line and trunk cards ($140,000)

Addition of two shelves in the telephone switch ($30,000)

Upgrade of telephone system administrative software ($15,000)

Upgrade of telephone trunks between Manitoba Works Yard and City Hall to Digital ($30,000)

Upgrade Automated Call Distribution system ($70,000)

Upgrade Voice Mail ($165,000)

One-time funding requested: $495,000

Annual operating costs:

E-Mail

The roll-out of Outlook 98, the current generation of e-mail that is to replace the City’s 8-year old MS-Mail system, has taken longer than expected. This has been largely a consequence of other, more urgent, priorities. Considerable work has been done in preparation:

Some 2,400 staff use MS-Mail. Of these, around 400 have been moved to Outlook 98. The remaining 2,000 are expected to take through to the end of 2000. Deployment and staff training are significant components of this effort.

To reiterate the major benefits of the new e-mail system:

City staff send and receive around 20,000 e-mails a day, of which 5,000 are exchanged with the outside community of public and vendors. E-mail has become, along with the telephone, essential to the City’s conduct of its business, both internal and external. Failures can and do cause disruption, and it is important that the City replace its dysfunctional legacy system.

Funding was approved by Council in the 1998 program.


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