Want a Better Phone System with a Smaller Budget? Sourcewell Can Help

By: Marco
July 26, 2017

Want a Better Phone System with a Smaller Budget? NJPA can HelpWhen it comes to investing in IT infrastructure upgrades, government agencies, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations often find themselves between a rock and a hard place.

For government agencies and educational institutions, the ebb and flow of tax income has a direct impact on the budget of these groups. Nonprofit funding often relies on grants and private donations to keep their services up and running, creating a fairly unpredictable economic landscape from one year to the next.

Phone systems are a must-have feature for all of these organizations, but budgets don’t always match needs. Sourcewell can help these organizations upgrade their phone systems without committing resources to a request for proposal (RFP) process, stretching budgets too far or receiving low-quality equipment and service.

Sourcewell: Working for Your Organization

Sourcewell, is a governmental agency that operates as a municipal contracting agency that can assist government agencies, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations in the purchase of telecommunication solutions and other products. Sourcewell contracts help save these entities time and money by satisfying their competitive solicitation requirements and getting them a high-quality product.

Rather than preparing an RFP document to elicit competitive solicitations from potential vendors for a new phone system, Sourcewell helps these organizations find solutions without the hassle. A traditional RFP process can require significant time and monetary resources, plus risk the implementation of a phone system that could be ineffective for your operations because it was the lowest.

Sourcewell contracts provide these entities with affordable, relevant competitive solicitations that meet the requirement to hold a process. In order to take advantage of these benefits, your organization must be a member of Sourcewell, which comes with no cost, obligation or liability. There are no contract minimums for purchasing and no commitments for members. In our experience, many eligible organizations are already Sourcewell members because of a previous fleet/supply purchase, though not all purchasing authorities within the organization are aware of this membership.

Competitive Solicitations Without Sourcewell

A large school district in a densely populated suburb needed a robust phone solution that meets specific communication needs, but they were working within a confined budget. It was very important to maintain a budget that preserved money for students, but they understood that good communication between teachers, administrators and individual schools within the district was an important piece of the puzzle in serving their students.

An RFP document was prepared and submitted for competitive solicitations to multiple vendors. After receiving a number of options, it became obvious that none of the competitive solicitations were going to be able to satisfy their needs. Some of them were above the budget limit, while others were within budget but failed to provide a solution that delivered the necessary communication tools. Additionally, the school’s decision makers were hesitant about engaging in a partnership with a vendor that they weren’t familiar with. 

In the end, they were left to continue for another year using an aged phone system and hope for a larger budget allocation the next year. Submitting a new RFP the next year was not a pleasant prospect, but the unsuccessful first round of competitive solicitations options left them with little choice.

Competitive Solicitations With Sourcewell

Sourcewell partners with vendors across the country, such as Mitel, to provide government agencies, schools and nonprofits with high-quality products and services that conform to real-world budgetary constraints. Sourcewell offers these groups access to volume pricing and cooperative contracts. By using the contract opportunities provided by Sourcewell, you can satisfy the requirement to pursue an open competitive solicitations process, without worrying about the headaches that come with the RFP process.

Sourcewell contracts include custom business phone systems and collaboration solutions that are designed to meet your organization’s operational requirements. As an added benefit, you can choose the service provider you want to work with to design and implement your new phone system. Sourcewell is merely the contracting agency – they simply provide the cooperative contract. It is up to you to choose your trusted provider and the communication system that meets your needs.

The choice is simple: roll the dice with the RFP process or upgrade your phone system in a stress-free environment. Whether you’re the head of technology in a government agency or a school district administrator, your time and budget are limited. Get access to the telecommunication systems you need, without breaking the bank or compromising your needs.

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Topics: Phone & Collaboration