Carmel Unified to modernize data center, relocate disaster-recovery to county facility

Carmel Unified’s information-technology director asked the board to approve a plan to replace the district’s core data-center hardware and move disaster-recovery infrastructure to the Monterey County Office of Education facility.

Manny Carrera, the district’s director of information technology, told the board the current systems — purchased in 2018 — are at end-of-life and that vendor support and licensing quotes have become unavailable. The recommended replacement is a single procurement for new enterprise-grade hardware, professional installation and three years of premium support at a cost of $750,615.08, funded in the district’s 2024–25 technology budget.

“We have attempted to procure additional licensing and support for the systems that were purchased in 2018 since last May. And to this point, we have not received 1 single quote to allow us to continue utilizing them,” Carrera said. He said one of the district’s existing disaster-recovery nodes at Carmel High School is vulnerable to power outages; the county data center has backup power and more robust physical and network security.

The district reported a staggered refresh plan that would replace portions of the infrastructure in years four through six to avoid a future single large capital expense. District staff said Monterey County Office of Education has offered to host the district’s disaster-recovery equipment with nominal cost and that a formal agreement will be presented to the board in a future meeting.

Board questions and next steps: trustees asked about ongoing licensing costs, refresh-cycle budgeting and whether an MOU with MCOE would be presented. Carrera said licensing is being paid upfront for three years in the procurement and that the county is preparing a hosting agreement the district will bring to the board for review.

What was decided: the board voted to award the contract to ConvergeOne (procured via CMAS) for $750,615.08. Staff said they will return with the hosting agreement and additional contract details.

Ending: trustees praised the IT staff’s work to stabilize core services, and staff said the purchase will reduce the risk of extended outages and better support classroom systems and district operations.