The Sunnyvale City Council voted Sept. 30 to approve a contract for a new customer relationship management system and public service portal using Salesforce implemented and licensed through Catalyst, an authorized reseller and systems integrator.

What staff recommended and council approved

Staff recommended entering a multi‑year agreement with Catalyst to implement a Salesforce Government Cloud solution (including a web and mobile portal for resident service requests and backend GIS integration). Procurement staff explained Catalyst resells licenses and provides implementation services; that arrangement yielded a multi‑year pricing model that staff said is more favorable than purchasing directly from Salesforce.

Key features and staff comments

- Resident experience: Portal options include web and mobile submission, guest reporting, status checks, and the potential for email or opt‑in SMS notifications.

- Back‑end and data: Staff proposed GIS integration to reduce duplicate reports and to show request history by location; departments will be able to configure workflows.

- Procurement and pricing: Catalyst’s reseller model provided fixed pricing for an initial term and better volume discounts than the city could secure alone, staff said. The contract includes optional modules but allows departments to scale. Staff also noted flexibility to update modules and avoid being locked to legacy on‑premise systems.

Council discussion and vote

Council Member Srinivasan moved to approve the staff recommendation and said the system would serve as a central interface for residents to report issues. The motion was seconded; the council approved the contract 5–0 (Council Members Mellinger and Lay absent).

Implementation next steps

Staff will begin discovery and configuration with departments and perform usability testing with users before rollout. The project includes integration with GIS, duplication‑matching for incoming requests, and a planned staged rollout to city departments.