Local vendor pitches managed IT and cybersecurity partnership, projects $2–4M annual savings

Ricky Wilkes, a technology consultant with Relevant Tech, told the court the company was proposing a phased managed-services partnership offering 24/7 support, enterprise monitoring and a five-year price guarantee for core managed services. "We are a Lubbock based company, and we offer 24 7 unlimited remote support and proactive management for all users and devices," Wilkes said.

Wilkes asserted that Lubbock County's current IT spend is $12,270,000 per year and that Relevant Tech was projecting "an immediate annual savings of 2 to $3,000,000" with further savings after phased implementation. Commissioners questioned which line items were included in that figure — software, licenses and hardware — and noted peer comparisons the vendor used omitted some categories. "Does not" include software, Wilkes said when asked whether his comparison included software costs; commissioners identified that county budgets do include large software items.

Tag Davis, Relevant Tech's CEO, responded to concerns about data separation and ownership by saying the county would retain ownership of its data: "Laws clearly state that the owner of the data is the owner of the data, which would never be relevant to take. It would be the county." Several commissioners sought references and noted mixed vendor reviews; commissioners asked the vendor to provide more detailed backup, to clarify what costs and savings were included, and to schedule a launch assessment if the court wanted to proceed.