Council Rules Committee unanimously supports mayor’s plan to contract out IT services

The City’s Council’s Rules Committee voted today to forward Mayor Jerry Sanders’ recommendations to enter into contracts with two outside companies for the provision of information technology (IT) services for the City of San Diego to the City Council for its approval.

Sanders announced on Tuesday that the city of San Diego is poised to save at least $7.4 million over the next five years as a result of outsourcing the city’s IT services.

The Data Processing Corporation (DPC) has been the city’s main provider of IT services for the past 30 years. This is the first time that the entire portfolio of IT services has been put out to bid since DPC was awarded the contract.

“In an effort to reduce our costs and bring our IT system out of 1970s era technology, my administration last year launched a fair and open process that allows private companies an opportunity to bid for the right to provide the city with a variety of IT services,” commented Sanders.

Mayor Sander is recommending that Council contract with two companies. Specifically, Sanders is proposing a five-year, $47 million dollar contract with Atos IT Solutions and Services and a five-year, $70.6 million contract with CGI Technologies and Solutions which collectively will save the city $7.4 million dollars over five years.

And, if Council approves a two-year option to extend services at the end of the five-year term, that figure jumps significantly to $21.6 million.

The selected vendors will provide a variety of services including software maintenance and development, help desk support for city employees, as well as a host of other services and support.

Additional benefits include greater transparency in regards to the IT budgeting process and cost allocations, enforceable remedies for not meeting minimum contractual performance requirements which costs are currently absorbed by the city, and fixed price contracts that allow for better predictability in the city’s IT costs.

Sander’s proposal will now go before the entire Council for a final vote. If approved, transition to the new vendors will begin at the beginning of the new fiscal year, on July 1