| Owner | ITS Project & Application Management Team |
| Revised Date | 10-20-2010 |
| Status | Current |
What is the service?
ITS works closely with customers to manage 'Packaged Applications' - which is software that has been purchased to fulfill a business need of the city or a Department.
What is included?
- Assistance in selecting an application.
- Assistance in identifying what the requirements are and which ones are most important
- Negotiations with vendors to purchase the application and coordination with the Department and Purchasing Division if a formal bid/RFP process is required
- Analysis to ensure the application will be compatible with our computer systems, other software you utilize and any applicable standards
- Various levels of assistance in configuring and managing the application
- Support to employees in the use of the application or in resolving issues/errors
- Ongoing maintenance to ensure the software is updated when necessary
What are the optional services?
- Management of User Accounts within the Packaged Application can be done by ITS or by an approved/trained Department employee.
Who can use the service?
All Departments and employees who have purchased an approved packaged application.
What is the level of service provided?
Standard Support is provided via the ITS Help Desk from 8AM until 4PM Monday through Friday.
After Hours support is availlable for applications used outside of ITS Help Desk hours but within standard operating hours of a Department.
Emergency Support is available for mission critical applications on a 24x7 basis, such as those which are used in Fire or Police to respond to emergencies.
Refer to individual Department Service Level Agreements for a list of relevant Packaged Applications and the service
What does it cost and how do we pay?
ITS employees track the time spent in support of each Packaged Application. The annual amount of effort is used to estimate the cost of support in subsequent years.
"Enterprise Packaged Applications", which are applications used by more than 3 Departments in the City, are supported as part of the "ITS Shared Operating Cost Allocation"
"Department Specific Packaged Applications", which are applications used by 3 or less Departments in the City, are budgeted as an expense to be charged to the appropriate Fund (Enterprise, General, etc)
Packaged Applications must have a current software maintenance and support agreement with the vendor. Departments are required to budget/pay for any Department Specific Packaged Appliation maintenance. ITS manages all software maintenance contracts centrally and will provide budgetary information to you and will assist in processing the annual renewal of these contracts.
The purchase of the software is typically done through the annual Capital Expansion Request process.
How do I get this service?
- For Standard Support, Call the ITS Help Desk at 816-969-1234 or email them at itshelpdesk at cityofls.net
- For After Hours or Emergency Support, call Fire Dispatch at xxxx and ask them to page the ITS On Call staff person.
- To evaluate the purchase, upgrade or installation of a Packaged Application; please contact your ITS Services Coordinator.
What else do I need to know and what should I expect?
Most Packaged Applicatinos have a limit on how many employees can use the product. You may need to review and prepare a Capital Expansion Request to purchase additional licensees for the product to accomodate any expanded use. This will also result in an increase in the cost of the annual maintenance agreement.
Packaged Applications which were obtained for free, via a grant or as a component of another project must still be evaluated by ITS.
What can I do to help?
- Keep your applications current to prevent security issues and technology obsolescense.
- Get trained and consider attending a vendor or users conference for more information about the software.
- Read the manual or check the vendors web site for specific features/issues you may be investigating.
- Contact ITS as soon as you start to think about needing a new Packaged Application. The sooner we are involved the better job we can do to assist in your selection and support.