Wenatchee City Council to consider $102 million backup infrastructure agreement

WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee City Council will vote next week on a $102 million agreement to replace and upgrade the city's data backup infrastructure, according to documents released ahead of the October 10 meeting.

The three-year agreement with Ivoxy Consulting would provide new backup hardware, software licensing, cloud-based archiving, and technical support. City officials say the current backup system is outdated and lacks sufficient storage capacity.

The proposal is described in city documents as crucial for protecting critical data from loss due to system failures, cyberattacks, or human error. Officials emphasize the importance of backup and restoration capabilities for disaster planning and security response.

If approved, the agreement would have a $102,039.83 budget impact in 2024, including the purchase of new hardware and first-year software licensing. Additional software costs of approximately $59,800 per year are projected for 2025 and 2026.

The proposal represents a significant increase over the city's current annual backup software costs of $8,200. However, officials note the new solution includes storage hardware with sufficient capacity for anticipated growth over the next six years.

Funding for the initial 2024 expenditure would come from IT reserve funds, which currently have a balance of $177,000. City documents indicate the reserves would need to be replenished through increased interfund billings in future years to cover the ongoing costs.

The City Council will consider the agreement at its regular meeting on October 10. If approved, implementation is slated to begin later in October.

Meeting agenda.