IT Governance Business Case
Hardware Refresh for A/V equipment at
Background
The Durham Emergency Communications Center (DECC) is the primary public safety answering point for the City and County of Durham. DECC helps to ensure that Durham is a safe and secure community by providing around-the-clock 911 access and services to the residents and user agencies in and around Durham. DECC communication operations relies on various audio-visual (A/V) equipment that is used to display critical information and updates. This ensures that staff are meeting operational and training requirements.
Business Problem
The current A/V equipment is at the end of life. This equipment no longer effectively supports the operations, training, and policy requirements of the organization. Since this equipment is always on, the refresh requirement for this A/V equipment is more frequent than others.
This impacts overall communication and collaboration capabilities across agencies.
Pain Points
• End of life A/V equipment and needs to be refreshed
• Reduced quality of A/V output
Strategic Alignment
City of Durham's Strategic Objective:
TS Departmental Business Plan Objective 3: Maintain and modernize all the city’s assets to align to the evolving and emerging technologies in the marketplace for city business units.
Future State Benefits
• Refreshed and supported A/V equipment
• Improved quality of A/V output
Analysis & Recommended Solution
Analysis
• A/V equipment in DECC 911 communication room and conference team space is past end-of-life, having been installed in 2018.
• A/V equipment in this DECC environment has an average 7–10-year life-cycle.
• Equipment failure may affect training sessions for staff, potentially hindering their ability to maintain compliance with City of Durham requirements for all 911 call takers.
• An initial site survey was conducted to assess the state of the equipment and recommend a refresh strategy. The survey confirmed that an overhaul of the A/V equipment in the main communication room and the conference room is required. Evaluating multiple vendors capability to resolve the business problem is in the best interest of the City.
A/V Equipment in Scope
Conference Room
• 98" display monitor
• Streaming camera
• Video conference microphone
• Tabletop touch screen control
• Backend hardware and cabling
Main Communication Room
• (Qty 24) 55" monitors for video wall
• (Qty 14) 2-way ceiling speakers
• Touch screen control panel
• A/V rack inside server room
• Backend hardware and cabling
Conference Room Equipment: Itemized List
Main Communication Room Equipment: Itemized List
Recommended Solution: Upgrade DECC's A/V equipment
Description
The recommended solution is to replace the A/V equipment in both the main 911 operation center and the DECC main conference room. An RFP will be issued to select an implementation vendor.
Pros
• High Resolution Video
• Improved Audio
• Increased Reliability
Cons
• N/A
Architecture Review
The identified solution would be required to meet the architectural standards of the City of Durham.
Security Review
The identified solution would be required to meet the cyber security standards of the City of Durham.
Recommended Solution - Project Financial Estimate
Audio & Visual Upgrade
Risk Identification
Mitigation Risk (Costs)
• N/A
Contingency Risk (Costs)
• N/A
Our ask
We are asking the IT Governance Steering Committee to approve and score the business case to upgrade the DECC's A/V equipment. The approved and ranked business case will be submitted to the Budget Management Services Department for funding and approval by the City Manager.