SR-6-L (62)
.,.
.
6-L
JUl 1 0 1990
Santa Monica, California
.
CM:JG
(Voicel)
July 10, 1990
/ t;/- tJfJ 3 - t'l--tJ2
FROM:
Mayor and City Council
City staff
TO:
SUBJECT:
Recommendation to Authorize City Manager to
Negotiate and Execute Contract with Octel for
Purchase of Voicemail System
INTRODUCTION
The following recommends that the City Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Octel for
purchase of a telephone voice messaging system in order to
enhance the city's telephone call processing and information
dissemination ability.
BACKGROUND
Many corporations, private businesses, large scale public and
non-profit organizations and municipalities have recently begun
implementing voice messaging systems. Such systems provide three
different types of service -- call processing, automated
attendant and voicemail. Specifically, call processing enables
callers to route themselves to specific service departments by
offering them a complete menu of choices, thereby providing the
most efficient path to complete their calls. Automated attendant
provides callers with a menu of informational options, which
enables them to gain access to commonly requested information
provided on tape recorded messages. This feature means that
basic information about an organization's services is available
6-L
- 1 -
jUL 1 0 J990
.
.
to the public 24 hours per day and also frees staff to handle
other callers with unique informational or assistance needs.
Finally, voicemail allows internal and external callers the
ability to leave detailed messages for individual staff members,
thereby insuring that all messages are received in an accurate
and timely fashion. In all cases, voice messaging systems allow
the caller to access a live operator at any point during the call
should the automated functions not prove sufficient to handle
their needs. Implementation of the technology is intended to
enhance rather than replace current methods of communication
among staff and the pUblic.
DISCUSSION
Recognizing the information dissemination and call processing
benefits of a voice messaging system, City staff initiated a
detailed assessment of several system options in April of this
year. After an initial review, staff of the Information Systems
Department selected four leading voice messaging systems and an
interdepartmental study group consisting of representatives of
all city departments attended vendor demonstrations and completed
a detailed evaluation process. Two vendors were then selected
based on a combination of rating factors including system
features, quality of 'caller care' provided by individual
systems, technical compatibility of each system with the City's
telephone switching equipment, ability of each system to meet
city call processing and voicemail capacity requirements, cost of
the initial system and future expansion components, and ability
of the company to provide high quality service to the city. Both
- 2 -
.
.
vendors provided proposals and the study group selected Octel due
to its superior references, more compatible system, and more
competitive price.
Octel is one of two leading companies in the voicemail industry,
both in terms of number of clients served and overall financial
viability. Octel hardware and software are considered
state-of-the-art in the voice messaging market and the company
provides a full-range of system features for medium-sized clients
such as the City of Santa Monica. In addition, the basic system
and its capacity upgrade components are more competitively priced
than its leading competitor. Finally, reference calls to other
local Octel customers, including the city of Santa Rosa,
revealed a high level of satisfaction and particular praise for
the strong support and design assistance provided by local Octel
technical staff.
Upon Council approval, the City Manager will negotiate and
execute a contract with Octel for purchase of the initial system
and will also finalize costs associated with any future capacity
or software upgrades desired by the city. Total cost for the
purchase is $170,000. Once the contract has been finalized, it
is anticipated that Octel will be able to install the city's
voice messaging system by October of this year.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
No appropriation is necessary to implement the city's purchase of
the Octel voice messaging system. Expenditure of funds in the
amount of $170,000 for the prepaid purchase of the system will be
- 3 -
.~
.
.
.
recorded at account #01-000-000-00000-9580-00577 on the General
Fund balance sheet. During FY1990/91, the user departments will
reimburse the General Fund from already budgeted operating funds
based on their proportionate usage of the system.
RECOMMENDATION
city staff recommends that the city council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Octel in the
amount of $170,000 for the purchase of a voice messaging system.
Prepared by:
Julia N. Griffin, Senior Management Analyst
(voicel)
- 4 -