28 - Agreement with Claro Enterprise Solution for Microsoft 365Item No. 28
TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem & City Council
Grayson Path, City Manager
FROM: Celso Arrieta, IT Manager
SUBJECT: Agreement with Claro Enterprise Solution for Microsoft 365
DATE: January 22, 2024
BACKGROUND:
The FY23/24 Budget includes funding set aside for purchase and installation of Microsoft 365 for
the City of Paris. This decision was prompted by the inadequacy of the current email solution,
Exchange 2016, to meet the current needs of the City and the fact that the existing solution is on
the verge of losing support from the manufacturer.
STATUS OF ISSUE:
In December of 2023, the City published a Request for Proposals for the implementation of
Microsoft 365 in accordance with state procurement requirements. Proposals were received and
opened on January 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM.
The City received one proposal from Claro for the amount of $73,276.00. The proposal packet was
complete and met the requirements set forth in the request for proposals specifications. This
proposal was for a term of one year.
The City currently uses Claro as a vendor for the SDWAN and UcaaS solutions and has found
them to be a dependable and quality vendor with excellent customer service and support. The IT
Department is very pleased with our relationship with Claro.
BUDGET:
This project was budgeted under two separate line items: 1) 01-0210-89-01 for licensing with a
budget of $55,000.00, and 2) 05-0510-89-01 (CARES Funding) for the implementation with a
budget of $43,000.00 (this contains several projects, of which this was one of). For the licensing
portion of the bid, Claro's proposal for the annual expense is $49,980.00 which falls under line
item #1 (within budget). For the implementation portion of the bid, Claro's proposal of $23,296.00
falls under line item #2 (within budget). The CARES Funding was utilized for the implementation
portion of the project as it is a one-time expense, whereas the licensing is annual, thus it must fall
under the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends awarding the bid to Claro for $73,276.00 ($49,980 for licensing and $23,296.00
for implementation) and authorize the City Manager to negotiate a contract in accordance with the
bid and to execute same.