To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marc Shorr, Information Technology Director
Report Title: Purchase Order with BMC Software, Inc
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent, on behalf of the Chief Information Officer, to execute a purchase order with BMC Software, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $85,000 for the purchase of mainframe software tools, subject to BMC’s End User License Agreement, for the period of August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026, and for annual periods thereafter.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of this product is included in the Department’s FY 25-26 budget. 100% User Departments.
BACKGROUND:
The Department of Information Technology (DoIT) seeks to renew its BMC mainframe software licenses to maintain critical support for key functions across the County’s mainframe environment. This includes development and debugging tools like Abend-AID and Code Debug for TSO, as well as data management with File-AID/MVS. The renewal also covers backup and recovery solutions such as FDR and FDRABR, storage optimization with COMPAKTOR, encryption via FDRCRYPT, and disaster recovery planning through FDRDRP. Additionally, fast hardware-assisted snapshots are enabled by FDRHDS INSTANT. Renewing these licenses ensures continued reliability, security, and efficiency of the County’s mainframe operations.
The BMC End User License Agreement includes a limitation of liability clause that caps BMC’s liability to the total amount the County paid for the specific licenses related to the claim.
This purchase is being made through a sole source because the proprietary software is only provided by the original equipment manufacturer. The sole source was approved by Purchasing on July 30, 2024.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Not renewing the licenses could compromise the reliability, security, and efficiency of the County’s critical mainframe operations.