REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 25, 2024
FROM
LYNN FYHRLUND, Chief Information Officer, Innovation and Technology Department
SUBJECT
Title
Agreement with Gartner, Inc. for Subscription-Based Research and Education Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Contract with Gartner, Inc. for subscription-based research and education services, in an amount not-to-exceed $403,820, for the period August 1, 2024 through July 31, 2025.
(Presenter: Lynn Fyhrlund, Chief Information Officer, 388-5501)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Innovation and Technology Department’s (ITD) operating costs are recovered via service rates approved annually by the Board of Supervisors. The cost associated with the Gartner, Inc. (Gartner) contract for subscription-based research and education services is $403,820. Sufficient appropriation has been included in ITD’s 2024-25 budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ITD is the County’s principal information technology (IT) department that provides comprehensive IT support and infrastructure services. ITD strives to stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations in the IT field, which includes the use of consultants and other industry experts for research and advisory services, benchmarking, leadership tools, and professional development. ITD has worked with Gartner since 2014, as Gartner is an industry expert, offering comprehensive IT research and advisory services, including government-specific analysis. Since 2014, the Purchasing Agent has issued purchase orders for Gartner services according to County Policy.
Through the continued use of Gartner services, ITD will further explore the scope of IT related innovation and services that will impact not only how ITD functions, but how the County as a whole moves forward with innovative technology, including a focus on IT leaders and other IT technical roles. Gartner will provide actionable, objective insights to ITD. The expert guidance and tools available from Gartner enable faster, smarter decisions and stronger performance for ITD’s mission-critical priorities. Additionally, Gartner will provide an assigned service delivery team who facilitate and respond to individual requests, an annual technology-centric strategy meeting, access to research experts, key metric data reports and analysis, peer engagement, and expert perspectives related to IT.
ITD recommends approval of the contract with Gartner, to provide ITD leadership and technical staff with subscription-based research and education services.
PROCUREMENT
ITD has been utilizing Gartner for their expertise in consulting services since 2014 and they continue to meet the needs of ITD with proficiency in IT innovation. Gartner is recognized as an industry expert in IT research and advisory services, including government-specific analysis. The Purchasing Department concurs with the non-competitive procurement of specialized training/expertise for the purchase of subscription-based research and education services offered by Gartner.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Bonnie Uphold, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 15, 2024; Purchasing (Christina Reddix, Buyer III, 387-2060) on May 10, 2024; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst, 386-9008) on May 16, 2024; Finance (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on May 31, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 7, 2024.