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Support line has been staffed by temporary employees and to a lesser extent by regular IS staff members <br />as backup. <br />Current IS Support staff consists of three full-time positions, and one temporary staff position at 30 hours <br />per week, to provide daily operations and user support for the County mainframe, 400 user PCs, 160 <br />printers, nine network servers, Internet and Intranet technology <br />staff resources also support the planning and most of the installation f work re related to -mail <br />IT Plan. These <br />The support staffing of the Orange County IS Department can be compared with other support o <br />using a standard measure common in the computer industry. This measure is the number of PCs operations, tions, <br />printers divided by the number of dedicated support staff. For Orange County this ratio is 320, with <br />current staffing resources. Other organizations reporting recently provide a comparison as shown in the <br />table below. <br />Organization <br />Cha el Hill-Carrboro Ci Schools <br />Wake Coun MIS <br />Orange Coun Schools <br />UNC Cha el Hill Administrative Comm <br />PC/Printers Supported <br />Per Staff Position <br />320 <br />429 <br />250 <br />235 <br />62 <br />This IS Support outsource contract would improve this performance ratio from 320 to 230, resulting in <br />better, more responsive resolution of user calls for assistance. <br />Benefits of this IS Support Contract - Costs Offset and Customer Service <br />Combining all available work hours of current IS staff resources shows 430 hours of work required <br />beyond the hours available. To supplement this staff, a contractor has been used in the past to assist with <br />IT Plan PC and printer installation, amounting to 208 hours at $75 per hour, a total of $15,600. The <br />contract proposed here for IS Support phone services will free up full time and temporary staff resources, <br />at a much lower hourly rate than the installation contractor rate, and make it unnecessary to use these <br />annual installation contract resources, a savings of $15,600. <br />The IT Committee, at its December meeting, reviewed the approach to this IS Support help desk <br />outsourcing and supports it. The advantage of this contract support is that full IS Support Center coverage <br />can be assured, continuity of operations can be sustained, and superior, regularly available technical <br />expertise will be available to callers. Resources freed by this outsourcing can be applied to improved <br />customer support and ongoing, more effective implementation of IT Plan initiatives. <br />FISCAL IMPACT: The FY 1999-2000 budget includes operating funds to cover the cost of this contract; <br />$15,600 in costs is offset by this contract by eliminating the need for additional outside installation <br />support. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve this contract and <br />authorize the Chair to sign it.