Explanation
The City Auditor originally entered into a Professional Services Agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc., for the Purchase and Installation, Maintenance, and Support of City Financial Management System. The contract was authorized by Ordinance No. 1077-2013 and passed by the Columbus City Council on May 20, 2013.
The contract included annual renewal provisions for hosting, maintenance, and support for the Dynamics AX system manufactured by Microsoft with services provided through its partner Tyler Technologies, Inc. The most recent renewal for 2017 was authorized by Ordinance No. 0152-2017 and passed by Columbus City Council 2/6/2017.
This legislation authorizes the City Auditor to provide funding for the support and hosting of the city's financial management system, Dynamics AX according to the existing contract with Tyler Technologies, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation. This ordinance is to allow the extension of the contract for up to two (2) additional years, funded annually and subject to appropriation by Council, in order to continue operations without interruption and while the City plans its migration strategy to a newer version of the product.
Since the original implementation of Dynamics AX 2012 (DAX) for the Public Sector, Microsoft has released a major product version update called Dynamics 365 (D365). It is likely the City would want to migrate to the newer version, which can be hosted in the Microsoft cloud versus using a third party host, before the end of any hosting term and it would be impractical to bid and move the existing version to a new host. Most hosting companies require a 2-3 year term with early opt out penalties in order to recoup the initial investment in hardware and software licenses to support the product platform. The renewed contract will also include a sixty (60) day opt out clause without penalty allowing the City to migrate earlier if it becomes advantageous and desirable for the City to do so.
The two year exte...
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