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IT seeks approval to upgrade county Avaya phone system; 2025 upgrade/support costs ~ $149,000
Summary
IT staff told commissioners the county’s on‑premise Avaya phone software is end‑of‑life and requires an upgrade to maintain security patches, vendor support and modern virtual features. Staff requested authority to amend purchasing contracts to cover a near‑term upgrade and multi‑year support.
County information‑technology staff briefed commissioners on Nov. 4 about a proposed upgrade and contract renewal for the county’s Avaya on‑premise phone system.
IT staff said the county has used the same vendor relationship for decades and that current Avaya software (version 8.8.1) is at end‑of‑life with no further security updates. Staff recommended upgrading to a supported release (version cited as 10.2) to restore security patches, improve compatibility with virtual and hybrid work environments, and gain newer contact‑center features.
The presenter said existing purchasing contracts do not contain sufficient funding for both a one‑time upgrade and the annual vendor support renewal. Staff outlined benefits of the vendor partner relationship, including 24/7 monitoring, Avaya escalation capability, and a one‑hour critical response SLA.
Staff estimated 2025 upgrade and annual support costs near $149,000 for the initial year, with multi‑year projections and typical per‑line cost estimates lower than enterprise averages. Staff asked the board to approve purchasing contracts to permit the upgrade and continued annual maintenance; the item will be placed on the consent agenda for formal procurement authority.
Commissioners asked about decommissioning underused desk phones and whether deleting physical devices saves recurring system costs; IT staff said numbers remain in the system and that per‑line maintenance is a system‑level expense, though removing hardware can save device replacement costs.
No vote was taken at the briefing; staff will return with recommended contracting language and budget adjustments on the consent agenda.
