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Robinson considers switch to cloud services as on‑site server costs spike
Summary
Staff recommended transitioning finance and records systems from an aging on‑site server to cloud services (Tyler/Encode/LaserFiche) citing security and remote‑access benefits; recurring subscription and transition costs prompted council questions about annual fees and GIS dependencies.
Staff told council the city's on‑site server is approaching the end of its service life and presented a cloud‑migration option that would consolidate LaserFiche, payroll, finance and other systems for remote access and improved backups.
"A server that this past year was $40,000 is now a $112,000," the staff member said to illustrate rising hardware costs. Staff described a one‑time setup fee (~$11,000) and an estimated annual subscription in the mid tens of thousands (Tyler cloud ~ $37,000/yr was cited), and warned of potential additional software or GIS costs depending on feature needs.
Council members asked for clarity on transition vs. recurring costs, whether GIS services would be required for certain modules, and how cloud backups would interact with the city's on‑site copies. Staff said the cloud option offers built‑in redundancy and remote access for off‑site staff and that they would refine the cost presentation ahead of final budget adoption.
