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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-06-1999 - 9cORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: Apri16, 1999 Action Agenda Item No. ~- C,, SUBJECT: Contract Approval: Y2K Project Coordinator Services from McGladrey & Pullen, LLP DEPARTMENT: Purchasing & Central Services/ PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) County Manager ATTACHMENT(S): Proposal INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Jones, ext 2650 Rod Visser, ext 2300 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider approving a contract with McGladrey & Pullen to provide Y2K project coordinator services. BACKGROUND: The Board is familiar with issues that might affect various aspects of the County's operations as a result of the Year 2000 software bug (Y2K). At the February 15, 1999 goal setting work session, the Board indicated its desire to pursue Y2K preparedness as a high priority for 1999, and to proceed with securing the services of a Y2K coordinator. The County Manager will be in charge of the proposed Y2K coordinator, who will collaborate with staff in executing the County's remediation, testing, and contingency plans. While County staff have been diligent for the past year or more to identify and address many Y2K issues, it has become apparent that constraints imposed by the day-to-day workload make it improbable that without additional personnel resources, we can guarantee that all Y2K issues are addressed within the given timeframe. Rather than hire an individual(s) to manage this project, County staff have pursued outsourcing. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Y2K project coordinator was solicited from eight firms suggested by staff at the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. A County assessment panel interviewed four firms which responded most appropriately to the County's RFQ, and conducted second round interviews with the specific proposed project managers of two very impressive firms. The panel included County Manager John Link, Assistant County Manager Rod Visser, Purchasing & Central Services Director Pam Jones, Information Systems Director Dick Taylor, and Information Technology Committee Chair John Smith. Based on the review conducted by the panel, staff recommends that the Board award a contract for Y2K project coordinator work to McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. McGladrey & Pullen is a large, well-known consulting firm with specialties that include accounting and information technology services. They were one of the finalists when the County reviewed proposals for auditing services in 1998. The individual who will serve as the actual project coordinator, Jiin McGimsey, is very well-qualified and well-rounded. Prior to his focusing on IT issues and becoming a Certified Novell Engineer, Mr. McGimsey managed or served on annual financial audit engagements for Craven, Pamlico, and New Hanover Counties. The assessment panel was particularly impressed by Mr. McGimsey's familiarity with county government operational issues, and with his demonstrated organizational and communication skills. While he can bring information technology skills to bear as needed, and can readily secure additional technical resources from his firm because of its size and breadth of experience, Mr.McGimsey's most important attribute will be his ability to manage the project and keep the Y2K project team on schedule. Duties of the Y2K coordinator will include, but may not be limited to, the following: • Confirm as sufficient those items that have been identified by staff as potentially affected by Y2K problems, and identify other problematic areas that may not have been considered thus far; • Collaborate with County staff to establish the timetable and milestones that will be required to meet the established early-Summer deadline for critical systems testing; • Assist as needed with identifying resources who can provide independent certification of compliance; • Identify Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for critical areas not easily assessed (e.g. embedded microchips); • Maintain all databases that substantiate Y2K compliance progress; • Ensure that staff assigned Y2K tasks are compiling/submitting information in accordance with established timetables; • Assist with the preparation of public information to be disseminated according to a timetable to be established by the County; • Assist in communicating Y2K compliance information through the most effective means. The Y2K Project Coordinator will have an on-site project office in the Government Services Annex. It is anticipated that the Coordinator will be on site a significant portion of the workweek for the first month or more of the contract. After that time, the Coordinator will be on-site for weekly coordination meetings and other times, as the job requires. Much of the verification work can be accomplished from the Raleigh office via electronic communication. The contract proposed will include a minimum of 200 hours of direct service, plus SME time for embedded chips and some additional review of Public Safety and Human Services issues. The total amount of this contract is $40,000. Should the scope and cost exceed this amount, staff would request that the Board consider the additional work at that time. As quickly as the Y2K coordinator contract is approved, the coordinator will meet with the County's Y2K steering committee to determine the status of the County's progress. The Y2K steering committee includes John Link, Rod Visser, Albert Kittrell, Pam Jones, Dick Taylor and Paul Thames. Based on the information provided to the Coordinator, the Y2K compliance implementation strategy and timetable will be reviewed with the Board at the May 4, 1999, Commissioner's meeting. The presentation will include those items upon which we need to focus, as well as those tasks that have already been accomplished. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The contract proposed will include a minimum of 200 hours of direct service, plus SME time for embedded chips and some additional review of Public Safety and Human Services issues. The total amount of this contract is $40,000. Should the scope and cost exceed this amount, the Board would be requested to consider the additional work at that time. Staff suggests that funds not yet obligated from the 1998-99 IT Plan implementation be diverted to cover the cost of this contract. Funds thus borrowed will be restored to the 1999- 2000 Information Technology Capital Project for their originally intended purposes (such as legacy system review and replacement) in the 1999-2009 CIP. RECOMMENDATON(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve a contract with McGladrey & Pullen for Y2K Coordinator services in an amount not to exceed $40,000; and authorize the Manager to sign the contract, contingent upon Attorney and Staff review. 3 Ms Pam Jones Purchasing Director Orange County March 9, 1999 Page Two AGREED AND ACCEPTED Please call Jim McGimsey (919) 781-1055 or Kirk Olsson at (651) 221-1154 if you have any questions regarding our proposal. We look forward to being of service to Orange County. If this proposal is in accordance with your understanding of the services to be performed by us, please sign and date the enclosed copy and return it to us. Sincerely, McGLADREY & PULLEN, LLP James R McCrimsey, Manager Integrated Technology Solutions Bert Hazdy, Senior Manager Integrated Technology Solutions Agreed to and Accepted by: Orange County Name and Title 1999 Date Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County II. ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY A. SCOPE The scope of the project will include the following major systems and related equipment and softwaze components within Orange County: • Main computer system(s) • Local azea networks (LANs) • Applications or interfaces developed by third parties • Various PC softwaze applications We will assess the effectiveness of the County's Yeaz 2000 compliance efforts, and provide recommendations for potential improvements to the process. B. APPROACH To accomplish the project objectives, we perform the following major activities: 1. Review and evaluate the County's technology plans and direction; especially as they relate to Year 2000 compliance, including: • Allocation of resources for technology • Annual and strategic business plans • Plans for the use of technology in the future 2. Review and evaluate the technology infrastructure within the County, including: • Current hazdwaze, including main computer systems, LANs and PCs, imaging system, audio response system and other technology. • Current operating software, including operating softwaze, programming languages, database software, and report writers. • Application software, including turnkey and custom applications. • Application interfaces to other processing systems. • Policies, practices and guidelines relating to information technology. 3. Determine the County's source of information systems (IS) support for hazdwaze and related applications and operating system softwaze. 4. Provide our Year 2000 Readiness Questionnaire and review responses to the questionnaire. 5. Obtain a comprehensive inventory of all hazdwaze and softwaze used throughout the County. ® 1998, McGladtey 8t Pullen, rt.~ Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County 6. Assess the financial and operational capabilities of the hazdwaze and software vendors or developers to provide Yeaz 2000 processing capabilities, including: • Compliance with the American National Standards Institute • Presentation format • Database format • Data entry forms • System generated forms • Documentation • Other considerations 7. Determine whether all affected applications will have Yeaz 2000 renovations complete with testing well underway by December 31, 1999. 8. Identify the significant applications that will not have Yeaz 2000 renovation complete by December 31, 1999. 9. Consider the effect to the County's strategic and operating plans should all systems not be Yeaz 2000 compliant by December 31, 1999. 10. Idernify corningency plans to ensure the financial institution's ongoing operations if its systems will not be Yeaz 2000 compliarn by December 31, 1999. We also will consider contingency plans should hardware or software systems not function correctly on January 1, 2000, because of the millennium date change. 11. Determine whether the County is coordinating modification and testing activities with vendors, servicers, and organizations with whom critical data is received or sent. 12. Establish a process to certify that a vendor(s), product(s) and future releases or modifications aze Year 2000 compliant. 13. Determine how the County will maintain sound internal controls over the software change process for Year 2000 issues. We will determine the need for internal or external audit functions to assess the soundness of internal controls associated with the Year 2000 effort. 14. Determine whether the County has adequate resources for the Yeaz 2000 initiative by identifying: • The type of technical expertise that will be needed • The amount of time needed for corrective action 15. Assess the anticipated additional systems resources required specifically for operating systems, telecommunications networks, and security software to handle Yeaz 2000 processing. ® 1998, McGladrey Bt Pullen, r.i.P Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County ~p ` 16. Consider the adequacy of computer resources for testing Year 2000 changes while performing day-to-day processing activities. 17. Assess the impact of Yeaz 2000 efforts on business continuity/recovery planning. 18. Develop a plan for renovating, testing, and implementing solutions for Year 2000 processing. 19. Prepare our report that describes the results of the Year 2000 compliance assessment and plans. C. REPORTING We will prepaze an assessment report describing: • The computer systems' Year 2000 processing capability. • Assessment of the adequacy of resources devoted to Yeaz 2000 problems. • The adequacy of the orgatization's plans for identifying, correcting, testing, and implementing solutions for Year 2000 processing. • The date methodologies selected to provide Yeaz 2000 processing. • The status of the vendors' plans and the capabilities to complete necessary changes with testing well underway for mission critical systems by December 31, 1999. • Effectiveness in coordinating Yeaz 2000 processing capabilities with the hardware and softwaze vendors, corporate borrowing customers, and payment systems providers. • The effect of the Year 2000 effort on the County's strategic and operating plans. • The effectiveness of internal controls for the Yeaz 2000 process. We also will prepaze recommendations, as appropriate, on any additional actions necessary to ensure the County's safety and soundness associated with its Yeaz 2000 processing capabilities. D. PROJECT BENEFITS The benefits of this project will include: • An assessment of the County's ability to implement Year 2000 related changes. • Identification of systems and equipment still in need of change to become century compliant. • Identification of vendors which need to provide Yeaz 2000 compliant certification(s). • Identification of constituents who may be impacted by the County-provided electronic information or vendors who provide electronic information to the County that must be Yeaz 2000 compliant. ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, r.[.P Proposal for ~~ Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County • Better understanding of technology alternatives and resources required for the Year 2000 conversion. • Identification of procedures that potentially may need to be altered due to century compliance. • Identification of critical areas where temporary operating procedures should be developed in the event that Year 2000 conversion efforts are not completed in time. • Observations and recommendations for improvements that will help ensure that the County is Year 2000 compliant. ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, L~ Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County I. OVERVIEW A. BACKGROUND In less than 10 months and for the first time in history, computer-based information systems will be faced with a new century. Some experts report that over 90% of computerized systems will have difficulty coping with this issue, in varying degrees. Many organizations aze in "denial syndrome," thinking that they still have two yeazs to address the problem or that it's a program maintenance problem. Others who understand the risks involved realize that this is a business survival issue. Even today, as awareness increases, organizations aze signing contracts and installing systems without insisting on Year 2000 compliance certifications from their vendors. The first phase of addressing this issue is to assess your organization's exposure to the date change. This includes identifying the impact on all hazdwaze, softwaze, networks, processing platforms, as well as customer and vendor interdependencies. The assessment should extend beyond information systems and include environmental systems that are dependent on embedded microchips, such as security. and alarm systems, elevators, vaults, telephones, FAX machines, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment, etc. B. PROJECT OBdECTIVEs The objectives of this project are as follows: To review the Yeaz 2000 efforts on the County's strategic and operating plans and systems. To develop an effective plan for identifying, renovating, testing, and implementing solutions for Year 2000 processing. To determine how the County should coordinate Year 2000 processing capabilities with its customers, vendors, and payment systems partners. The result of the assessment is to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to provide recommendations for improving systems and procedures within the County to become Year 2000 compliant. ® 1998, McGladrey 8t Pullen, t,r.t- Proposal for ~ Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County C. MCGLADREY BENEFITS A number of important factors contribute to good, productive working relationships between clients and their consultants. These factors include the skills and personalities of the persons assigned to an engagement, the quality of the services delivered, experience, costs, and more. We believe we have some special qualities that distinguish us from other public accounting and consulting firms, as described below. 1. This project will be staffed by consultants that have extensive experience in government operations, information systems, technology planning and Yeaz 2000 compliance issues. 2. Our staff continually performs technology assessments, planning and studies. As a result, we have experience with a wide variety of government organizations in a broad range of processing environments. In addition, we have regular contact with all leading systems and technology providers and aze well informed with respect to vendor and government industry developments. 3. Our organizations do not sell hardware or software to the government sector; therefore, we will be completely independent and objective in regard to all aspects of this project. We will provide an objective and independent assessment of needs, and are influenced only by the vendor's capabilities to satisfy the requirements identified during the project. 4. Our existing understanding of network operating systems platforms such as Novell NetWare, UNIX, Windows NT server, AS/400, DEC and other host-based systems, in addition to our wide area and local azea network design experience, will significantly reduce the amount of time required by your staff to educate us on yow systems. 5. Many of our consultants hold certifications in Novell NetWaze, Master Certified NetWare Engineers (MCNE's), CNE's, Microsoft's Certified Professional's (MCP), Bay Networks and Cisco Systems trained staff, information security experts, and former federal regulators. 6. We have developed the 2000 Planner7FA software, which provides an automated technique for tracking and monitoring Year 2000 compliance planning efforts. ?. We have written several books on various information technology topics, including: • Year 2000 Planning • Strategic Information Technology Planning • IT Development • IT Management • Systems Selection • Computer Crime • Disaster Recovery Planning ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, ~ ~, ~~, Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County 8. We have significant experience working with financial institutions in developing and implementing their Year 2000 plans. This industry has taken a leadership position in resolving the Year 2000 problem. The experience gained while working with these clients will be utilized on this project. 9. Providing services of the highest quality is a basic tenet of our Firm. We believe this fundamental strength is enhanced by our orientation to help clients anticipate future needs. This approach is part of our basic service to clients. 10. Several of our consultants hold certifications from the Information Systems Audit & Control Association (CISA), and are Certified Business Continuity Professionals (CBCP). l l .Our strategic plan is to continue to be the leaders in servicing government entities. 12. Our mission and client service philosophy is based on helping our clients succeed. ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, t.[.p Proposal for r Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County ,~ i; ~ j Project Team Organization Chart PROJECT DIRECTOR Geoffrey Wold TECHNICAL ADVISORS Bob Shriver Mack Manning Roger Peters PROJECT MANAGER Kirk Olsson QUALITY ASSURANCE Stan Mork ORANGE COUNTY'S Project Coordinator ORANGE COUNTY'S Project Team McGLADREY 8~ PULLEN Y2K COORDINATOR Jim McGimsey ORANGE COUNTY'S Technical Staff ORANGE COUNTY'S Department Personnel ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, r.r.P i~ Proposal for Year 2000 Consulting Services Orange County Timing and Fees D. TIMII~iG At this time, we anticipate that we can begin this engagement within two weeks after your notification to proceed. We anticipate that the elapsed time to complete the Yeaz 2000 review and assessment should be approximately two to four weeks. We request that an appropriate person from the County be assigned to this project to help coordinate the project internally, and assist us with various data gathering tasks as required. E. FEES Our fees aze based on the actual time spent on a project at our standazd hourly rates, plus direct expenses. Travel-related expenses will be in addition to the above fees and aze billed as the actual amount incurred. The fees outlined above will remain valid for 90 days from the date of issuance of this proposal. Travel time is billed at half the normal rate and mileage is billed at .31 S centslper mile. Our normal policy is to bill monthly as work progresses. Iiy during the course of this project, the nature or scope of our work should change, we would discuss such matters with you and any expected effect on our fee estimate. ff we find that our fees for providing the services as proposed aze less than estimated, we will bill you the reduced fees. The following are the normal billing rates for individuals who would work on this project: Bert Hardy -Project Director $225.00 Jim McGimsey -Project Manager $150.00 Kirk Olsson -Governmental Manager $265.00 Roger Peters - Y2K Manager $225.00 Stan Mork -Project Partner $305.00 Our fees are based on the assumption that the County will perform the following activities: • Provide an inventory of all hazdwaze, including model numbers. • Provide an inventory of all software, including version/release level and vendor comact information. • Complete our Year 2000 Readiness Questionnaires. • Enter various inventory-related information into the 2000 PlannerTM softwaze. • Gather existing vendor contracts. • Cazefully review our resulting report. ® 1998, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP