DATE: February 6, 2018
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PROCUREMENT OF FIVE YEARS OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES AND SUPPORT FROM LOGIKCULL INC. FOR ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY SYSTEM AND SERVICES FOR USE IN HANDLING PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS, LITIGATION DISCOVERY, AND INVESTIGATIONS NOT TO EXCEED $744,000, FOR A 5-YEAR TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP NOT TO EXCEED $744,000 AND AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIPTION AND SUPPORT RENEWAL FOR FUTURE YEARS AT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S DISCRETION WITH ANNUAL COSTS NOT TO EXCEED 10% MORE THAN PREVIOUS YEAR COSTS PURSUANT TO BOARD POLICY NO. 110 SECTIONS II.F AND II.U; FY 2018 expenditures are budgeted
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In April of 2015, the District issued a Request for Proposals (RFP 15-17) for eDiscovery software, at the request of the Office of the District Clerk, Office of the General Counsel, and Human Resources Department, to assist with management of public records requests, litigation discovery requests, and employee investigations. The responses to this RFP were all deemed unacceptable due to cost. The RFP was cancelled and a search for an adequate cost-effective system was conducted. The result was Logikcull, a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider which meets most of the eDiscovery requirements for a reasonable cost. Since 2015, the District has been using Logikcull primarily to mitigate the costs of reproducing documents for public records requests and discovery for litigation. The District cost for printing, finding and removing duplicates and redacting documents, and the number of hours spent in these activities has been greatly reduced by employing this service.
To ensure continued functionality for the Office of the District Clerk (ODC) and the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), as well as general overhead efficiency gains, staff recommends the Board authorize, consistent with BPC Policy No. 110 section II.F, procurement of 5 years of continued licensing, maintenance, and support for the Logikcull electronic discovery system at a cost not to exceed $744,000. Additionally, with this approval, the Board would be authorizing the Executive Director, in her discretion, to continue licensing, maintenance, and support for the Logikcull system beyond the 5 years for the life of the product, as needed by the District, with annual costs not to exceed 10% more than previous year costs, pursuant to BPC Policy No. 110 section II.U as the Board has been presented with, and will have approved, a 5-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Resolution authorizing procurement of five years of annual subscription services and support from Logikcull Inc. for electronic discovery system and services not to exceed $744,000, for a five-year total cost of ownership not to exceed $744,000 and authorizing additional subscription and support renewal for future years at the Executive Director’s discretion with annual costs not to exceed 10% more than previous year costs, pursuant to Board Policy No. 110 Sections II.F and II.U.
Body
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funds for the first year of this expenditure are budgeted for in the FY17/18 Technology Management Project Professional Services expense account. Funds required for future fiscal years will be budgeted for in the appropriate cost account subject to Board approval upon adoption of each fiscal year.
Compass Strategic Goals:
This agenda item supports the following Strategic Goal(s).
• A Port that the public understands and trusts.
DISCUSSION:
Prior to using Logikcull, District personnel employed a manual, time consuming process that involved printing hundreds of thousands of documents in support public records requests and litigation discovery. For public records, the review process of these documents includes 1) excluding information that is exempted from disclosure by law, 2) finding and removing duplicates, and 3) redacting personal information. Litigation discovery follows a similar process. Searching through these hardcopy documents - which primarily consist of emails - by hand is an arduous, time consuming task resulting in significant inefficiency costs.
The District was able to address these needs and reduce the manual intervention required by the former process by implementing Logikcull which is a cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. For public records requests, Logikcull allows the ODC to effectively upload various data sets from the Microsoft Discovery Center, such as Microsoft Office files, emails and attachments. When these documents are sent to OGC for legal review, the system allows the OGC to perform its review in a more efficient manner. When used for litigation discovery, the Logikcull system also allows for in-house teams or contracted reviewers to collaborate on document review and other litigation tasks. Because this system is a cloud based SaaS, this work can be accomplished from any computer with an internet connection if the user has proper permissions.
The Logikcull system has been in use at the District since May 2016. Primarily related to public records requests, the District currently stores approximately 815,825 documents equaling over 12 million pages and totaling 464GB. It is estimated that the Logikcull system has saved an estimated 600 personnel hours since the systems’ inception just under 2 years ago.
Due to the costs, the District would incur in transferring this data to another system, including implementation and training costs, and to continue leveraging these efficiencies, Staff believes there is a significant business case to continue the subscription services and support through 2022, which requires authorization by the Board per BPC 110 section II.F to authorize 5 years of continued service. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through 2022 is detailed below. Staff from IT, ODC, and OGC will be testing potential process efficiencies which may prevent the total volume of data stored in Logikcull from continuing to increase at its current rate. While authorization is sought to cover the continued increase in data volume, the District will not commit to these high-volume costs if data volume can be kept lower. Therefore, the TCO presented below shows scenarios with a the potential reduced TCO if data volume is kept lower.
General Counsel’s Comments:
The Office of the General Counsel has reviewed and approved this agenda as to form and legality.
Environmental Review:
The proposed Board action does not constitute a “project” under the definition set forth in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 because it will not have a potential to result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment and is, therefore, not subject to CEQA. No further action under CEQA is required.
In addition, the proposed Board action complies with Sections 30, 71.5, 81 of the Port Act, which allow for the Board to manage the business of the District by providing technology services and support to improve the public records request process with a cloud based software program, for independent contractors to provide services of a professional, scientific or technical nature, and for the use of funds for expenses of conducting the District. The Port Act was enacted by the California Legislature and is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine. Consequently, the proposed Board action is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.
Finally, the proposed Board action does not allow for “development,” as defined in Section 30106 of the California Coastal Act, or “new development,” pursuant to Section1.a. of the District’s Coastal Development Permit Regulations. Therefore, issuance of a Coastal Development Permit or exclusion is not required.
Equal Opportunity Program:
Not applicable.
PREPARED BY:
Richard Zinne
Senior Business Systems Analyst, Information and Technology Services