Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Purchase of Microsoft Office 365 Government Secure Cloud Productivity Suite.
End
From: Darin Lenyi, Chief of Police
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Karla Santillan, Business Services Manager
____________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Approve a Purchase Order with Zones, LLC for Microsoft Office 365 Government Secure Cloud Productivity Suite including licenses, software assurance, and monthly subscriptions for a service period of three years beginning FY 2025-26, in an amount not to exceed $591,679.05.
endBACKGROUND
The City has utilized Microsoft Office 365 Government Secure Cloud Productivity Suite (“Suite”) including licenses, software assurance, and monthly subscriptions to operate its datacenter environments, for several years under a multi-year enterprise licensing agreement. In 2023, the City entered into a licensing agreement scheduled to expire on April 30, 2026. The Suite is essential to the City’s technology infrastructure to support daily operations across all city departments. To ensure uninterrupted access to critical software and services, the City must renew the Suite.
A review of the City’s current and projected licensing needs identified the requirement for an additional 180 Windows Server Datacenter Core Licenses and corresponding Software Assurances. These licenses are necessary to support the Off-Site Data Center and the City’s expanding IT infrastructure. The licenses are perpetual, and once acquired, will remain valid for the City’s use for the life of the operating system’s supported period.
The City has selected Zones, LLC as the vendor to provide Microsoft Office 365 Government Secure Cloud Productivity Suite pursuant to Westminster Municipal Code Section 3.44.080, which allows the City to procure goods and services using competitively bid contracts awarded by other public agencies in lieu of conducting its own formal bidding process. This process is often referred to as “piggybacking” and is beneficial to local agencies because it saves time, reduces administrative work, and often results in better pricing because the original contract was negotiated using the larger purchasing power of the other agency. Zones, LLC is an authorized reseller under an existing County of Riverside contract (ITARC-00932), which complies with WMC Section 3.44.080.
Zones, LLC is a long-established national and global provider of comprehensive IT solutions, with more than 29 years in the industry and over 1,600 employees. The company serves as a single-source partner for IT hardware, software, deployment, lifecycle management, and support, representing more than 2,000 leading manufacturers including IBM, HP, Dell, Cisco, Microsoft, Adobe, and VMware.
Zones, LLC delivers a wide range of solution capabilities such as cloud and virtualization, data center design, mobility, security, enterprise software licensing, configuration and integration services, and supply chain/procurement management. Their certified engineering and solutions architecture teams offer no-cost technical consultation across major OEM platforms.
Zones, LLC manages major enterprise programs, most notably Microsoft’s global hardware program across 146 countries, demonstrating their ability to support large scale complex IT environments.
Operationally, Zones, LLC maintains multiple U.S. based sales support centers, defined response-time metrics, and a five-star customer service model. They provide same-day standard order entry, two-hour quote turnaround, and an average hold time of 48 seconds. They also support customized service-level agreements and provide comprehensive lifecycle management aligned with ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standards, which is the world's most widely accepted framework for IT Service Management.
In addition to national and global capacity, Zones, LLC is currently providing IT support and procurement services to other local government agencies, including the City of Lakewood and the City of South El Monte, demonstrating their familiarity with municipal operational needs and procurement practices.
Based on their extensive vendor partnerships, demonstrated performance with public agencies, strong support infrastructure, and global IT lifecycle management, Zones, LLC is well-qualified to serve as the City’s selected Suite vendor.
The Suite is specifically designed to meet the stringent security, compliance, and data-sovereignty requirements of public sector agencies. Under this offering, the City’s data is stored within the United States and is accessible only to authorized U.S. personnel, with authorization and clearance processes handled by the City as applicable. Its advanced security, collaboration, and compliance features align with government requirements and support high-quality service delivery to the community.
The Suite delivers a secure, scalable, and cost-effective solution that enhances operational efficiency across all city departments; and provides the following integrated, cloud-based suite of productivity and collaboration tools:
• Microsoft Office Applications - Cloud-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other applications with real-time collaboration and continuous updates.
• SharePoint Online - A secure content-management and collaboration platform supporting document sharing, version control, and intranet development.
• Power BI - Analytics and data-visualization tools that support informed decision-making and transparency in municipal operations.
Benefits for public agencies include:
• Cost Efficiency - Reduces the need for on-premises infrastructure and ensures access to current software versions.
• Security and Compliance - Provides advanced cybersecurity protections, data encryption, and compliance tools for safeguarding sensitive municipal information.
• Remote Work Capabilities - Enables secure access to work resources from any location, supporting continuity of operations.
• Document Management - Enhances recordkeeping, document retrieval, and compliance with public-records requirements.
• Data Insights - Offers analytical tools that support performance monitoring and strategic decision-making.
• Scalability - Allows the City to expand services as organizational needs evolve.
• Training and Support - Includes comprehensive training resources and 24/7 support to ensure effective system use.
FISCAL IMPACT
The total three-year project cost of $591,679.05 will be allocated across the Police Department (40%) and the City’s Information Technology Division (60%) budget expenditure accounts over three fiscal years. Sufficient funds are available in the respective accounts as shown below:
|
|
I.T. Account # 14450-43062 |
Police Department Account # 31000-43090 |
Total |
|
FY 2025-26 |
$118,335.81 |
$78,890.54 |
$197,226.35 |
|
FY 2026-27 |
$118,335.81 |
$78,890.54 |
$197,226.35 |
|
FY 2027-28 |
$118,335.81 |
$78,890.54 |
$197,226.35 |
|
Total |
$355,007.43 |
$236,671.62 |
$591,679.05 |
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Approval of the proposed three-year cost proposal for Microsoft Office 365 Government Secure Cloud Productivity Suite will ensure the organization maintains a secure, compliant, and reliable productivity platform that meets current and future operational needs. The proposal by Zones, LLC, centralizes licensing, reduces administrative burden, and provides predictable multi-year pricing. By moving forward with this purchase, the City will strengthen its technology infrastructure, enhance staff efficiency, and support the continued delivery of high-quality public services. Staff recommends approval of the attached cost proposal.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Zones, LLC - Cost Proposal
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager