To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marc Shorr, Information Technology Director
Report Title: Purchase order with IBM
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent, on behalf of the Chief Information Officer, to execute a purchase order with IBM in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for the purchase of IBM’s IPLA (zOTC) Z Performance Capacity Analytics subscription and support software to assist the County in planning for capacity needs and optimizing system performance, subject to the terms of IBM’s Customer Agreement, for the period of October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of this product is included in the department’s FY 26-27 budget (100% User Departments).
BACKGROUND:
The IDSZ software is being replaced with IPLA (zOTC) Z Performance Capacity Analytics software for Tivoli Support, which provides the County with a modern, Eclipse-based development environment designed to improve developer productivity and code quality on mainframe systems. Its core features include intelligent code editing, graphical debugging, real-time error detection, and seamless integration with version control tools such as Git. This solution streamlines application which will help the team understand workload trends, plan for capacity needs and optimize system performance. The included Subscription and Support package ensures continued access to software updates, security enhancements, and IBM technical support.
IBM’s Customer Agreement limits liability to the greater of $100,000 or the fees paid for the specific product or service involved in the claim (up to 12 months of charges for recurring services). Similarly, the International Program License Agreement caps IBM’s liability at the amount paid for the program in question, with a maximum of twelve months’ charges if fees are recurring.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If not approved, the County may experience reduced efficiency for developers, increased reliance on legacy expertise, slower system debugging and maintenance, limited vendor support, and potentially higher operational costs.