500 new computers coming: Council to vote Wednesday on PC purchase plan

HILO — Five hundred new Dell desktop computers with the latest Windows 10 software are heading to county offices, if the County Council approves a modernization plan proposed by the administration.

The council is scheduled to discuss the $571,676 lease/purchase plan at its meeting Wednesday.

Information Technology Director Jules Ung said the county will put the purchase out for bid while specifying the computers, operating system and software. In addition, she said, the price includes Dell ProDeploy Plus, a service that installs and integrates the software and augments the county helpdesk for tech support over the five years of the contract. The county owns the computers after that.

“Many of our computers are at end of life,” Ung said. “We’re unable to upgrade to Windows 10. They have to be replaced.”

The 500 new computers will replace 500 that were purchased in 2015, she said.

“The last computer refresh was done in 2015 to replace outdated hardware that was causing bottlenecks countywide in employees’ ability to perform work duties,” she said.

The old PCs will be assessed, cleaned, and redeployed to replace 500 other PCs that can’t be upgraded. The goal is to have all the Windows 7 units replaced as Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 on Jan. 14.

“This means that any PC running Windows 7 will be a security risk from that date onward,” Ung said in a communication to the council justifying the purchase. “Additionally, this lease will help us keep our inventory of computer hardware and software up to industry standards to support efficient workflows countywide.”

Resolution 237 is up for its only vote when the council meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Hilo. The public can participate at that site or by videoconference from the West Hawaii Civic Center, the Pahoa and Waimea council offices, the old Kohala courthouse and the Naalehu state office building.