INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - R. GOMEZ
1. Approve retroactive contract with N-Able in the amount of $36,599.00 for the period of July 01, 2026, through June 30, 2027, for N-Able N-central Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform; and
2. Authorize the Chair, County Executive Officer, or designee, to sign.
SBC FILE NUMBER: 119
CONSENT AGENDA
The San Benito County Information Technology Department (IT) respectfully requests approval to renew the County’s existing N-able N-central Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform and continue implementation of N-able MSP Manager as the County IT Department’s new service desk and ticketing platform.
N-central is currently integrated into the County’s IT support and systems-management environment and is used by IT staff to centrally monitor, manage, maintain, and support County computers, servers, and other supported technology assets. The platform provides centralized visibility into device health and availability and allows technicians to remotely perform administrative, maintenance, and support functions.
As part of IT's efforts to modernize its support operations, the Department is also transitioning from its existing KACE K1000 (KBOX) environment to N-able MSP Manager for IT service desk and ticket management. The existing KACE/KBOX platform has become outdated for the County's current operational needs. Moving to MSP Manager will enable IT to modernize its ticketing processes and more closely integrate service desk operations with the N-central platform already used to monitor and manage County technology.
Together, N-central and MSP Manager will provide IT with a more unified approach to monitoring, remote management, incident identification, ticket creation, technician assignment, issue tracking, documentation, and resolution.
Sole Source Justification
Renewal of N-central and implementation of MSP Manager are recommended as a sole source procurement based on the following:
- Continuity of Existing IT Operations
N-central is already deployed and configured throughout the County's technology environment. County IT has established monitoring policies, alerts, device configurations, administrative processes, and support procedures around the platform.
Renewing the existing solution allows the County to maintain these capabilities without interruption and avoids the operational risks associated with removing and replacing an established management platform.
- Replacement of the Outdated KACE/KBOX Ticketing System
County IT currently uses the KACE K1000/KBOX environment for service desk and ticket management. The existing system no longer adequately supports the Department's goal of modernizing and integrating its IT service-management processes.
Rather than investing additional County resources into maintaining and expanding the existing KBOX environment, IT intends to transition service desk operations to N-able MSP Manager. MSP Manager will provide a modern platform for receiving, assigning, tracking, documenting, and resolving IT support requests, while improving alignment with the County's existing N-central RMM environment.
This transition will also enable IT to review and modernize existing ticket workflows, categories, technician assignments, documentation practices, and reporting during implementation.
- Integration of Monitoring and Ticketing Operations
A significant benefit of moving to MSP Manager is the ability to more closely integrate the County's RMM and service desk functions within the N-able product ecosystem.
Under the existing model, monitoring and endpoint management are performed through N-central, while service desk activities are maintained separately within KBOX. This creates additional administrative steps and requires technicians to work between separate systems. The N-central/MSP Manager environment provides an opportunity to establish a more streamlined workflow between system monitoring and IT service management.
For example, an issue identified through monitoring can be incorporated into the service desk workflow where it can be assigned, tracked, documented, and resolved. This improves accountability and provides IT management with better visibility into both system conditions and the work being performed to address them.
- Improved IT Service Management and Accountability
Transitioning to MSP Manager will provide County IT with an opportunity to establish more consistent ticket-management practices.
The new environment can be used to improve:
- Ticket creation, assignment, and escalation;
- Technician workload tracking
- Documentation of troubleshooting and resolution activities;
- Service request categorization;
- Tracking of open and unresolved issues;
- Reporting on IT support activity and workload;
- Visibility into technician assignments and ticket status;
- Historical documentation of recurring technology issues; and
- Management oversight of service desk operations.
Improved ticket tracking and reporting are particularly important as County IT continues to support multiple departments, locations, applications, and technology environments with limited technical resources.
- Existing Investment and Integration
The County has already invested significant staff time and resources in deploying, configuring, maintaining, and learning N-central. The platform has been incorporated into IT's day-to-day support and infrastructure-management processes.
Selecting MSP Manager builds on this existing investment rather than introducing another independent technology platform that requires separate implementation, administration, training, integration, and support.
This approach allows the County to leverage its existing N-able environment while consolidating additional IT operational functions within the same technology ecosystem.
- Avoidance of Duplicate and Unnecessary Costs
Although competing RMM and IT service management products are available, changing platforms would incur costs beyond the licensing cost of a replacement product.
Replacing N-central would require IT to evaluate, configure, test, deploy, and validate a replacement RMM platform across County-supported devices and systems. Existing management agents may need to be removed and replaced, while monitoring policies, alerts, automation, and administrative procedures would need to be recreated.
Similarly, selecting an unrelated ticketing platform instead of MSP Manager would require the County to independently configure, integrate, secure, train, and maintain another system.
Using MSP Manager with the County's existing N-central environment reduces the need for additional integration work and avoids unnecessarily introducing another vendor and management platform into County IT operations.
- Reduced Operational and Cybersecurity Risk
RMM platforms provide privileged administrative capabilities over supported endpoints and systems. Replacing an established RMM solution requires significant changes to endpoint agents, administrative access, security configurations, monitoring policies, and support workflows.
A migration could temporarily reduce visibility into County systems or cause devices to be improperly monitored during the transition.
Continuing with N-central while implementing MSP Manager minimizes the number of major platform changes occurring simultaneously. Instead of replacing both the County's RMM and ticketing platforms, IT can maintain the established N-central management environment while focusing resources on replacing the outdated KBOX ticketing system.
This phased approach reduces operational risk and provides greater continuity during the transition.
- Proactive Monitoring and Support
N-central enables County IT to proactively monitor supported systems and identify potential issues before they result in significant service disruptions. Combined with an integrated ticket-management process through MSP Manager, IT can move toward a more proactive support model in which detected problems can be tracked from identification to resolution.
This capability is especially important for County operations where technology interruptions can affect employee productivity and the delivery of services to the public.
- Improved Use of Limited IT Resources
The County IT Department supports a broad technology environment with limited staffing resources. Technicians must support users, endpoints, servers, network resources, applications, and multiple County locations.
Combining remote monitoring and management with improved ticketing and service management capabilities will enable technicians to spend less time switching between disconnected systems and performing manual administrative tasks.
Centralized monitoring, remote support, automated alerting, ticket tracking, and improved reporting will allow IT staff to prioritize work more effectively and provide management with better information regarding workload, recurring issues, and resource requirements.
- Staff Knowledge and Established Procedures
County IT personnel are already familiar with the administration and operation of N-central. Existing procedures and institutional knowledge have been developed around the platform.
Moving to an entirely different RMM solution would require additional training and testing before staff could achieve the same level of operational familiarity.
Maintaining N-central while introducing MSP Manager provides a more manageable transition by allowing staff to retain the existing RMM platform while learning and implementing the new service desk component.
- Technology Standardization and Consolidation
The proposed renewal and implementation support the County IT Department's broader objective of reducing outdated and disconnected technology systems where practical.
Standardizing N-central and MSP Manager within the N-able environment will allow the County to consolidate two closely related IT functions:
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM): N-able N-central
IT Service Desk and Ticket Management: N-able MSP Manager
This consolidation will reduce dependence on the aging KACE/KBOX environment and establish a more cohesive platform for managing County IT operations.
Consequences of Non-Renewal
Failure to renew N-central could result in the loss of centralized monitoring and remote-management capabilities currently used by County IT. This could reduce IT's ability to proactively identify system issues, increase the time required to troubleshoot and resolve incidents, require additional onsite support, and increase the risk that technology problems remain undetected until they affect County operations.
Additionally, not proceeding with MSP Manager would require the County to continue relying on the existing KACE/KBOX ticketing environment or begin a separate procurement and implementation process for another service desk platform.
Maintaining separate and aging systems would continue the current operational inefficiencies and delay IT's efforts to modernize its service desk, improve ticket accountability, and consolidate monitoring and support workflows.
Recommendation
For the reasons described above, the Information Technology Department recommends that the County approve the renewal of N-able N-central and the implementation of N-able MSP Manager as a sole-source procurement.
This procurement represents more than a software license renewal. It supports a planned modernization of the County's IT support operations by maintaining the established N-central RMM platform while replacing the outdated KACE K1000/KBOX ticketing system with MSP Manager.
The proposed approach will preserve the County's existing investment in N-central, maintain continuity of critical monitoring and remote-management functions, reduce the operational risks associated with replacing multiple systems simultaneously, improve service desk accountability and reporting, and consolidate related IT management functions within the N-able technology environment.
The sole source request is therefore based on continuity of operations, compatibility and integration with the County's existing N-central environment, replacement of an outdated ticketing platform, preservation of existing County investment, technology standardization, avoidance of unnecessary migration and integration costs, improved operational efficiency, and reduced implementation risk.
While other RMM and IT service-management products exist, procuring unrelated replacement products would require additional migration, integration, configuration, testing, training, and staff resources. Continuing with N-central and implementing MSP Manager provides the County with the most practical and cost-effective path for modernizing these critical IT management functions.
This agreement will be budgeted within the department's FY 2026-27 budget and will be available within existing appropriations. G/L 101.15.1065.1000.619.134
Past renewals are listed as follows:
| Status | Number | Description | Type | G/L Date | Amount | Expensed | Encumbered |
| Edit | N-Able RMM Renewal JULY 26-JUNE 27 | N-Able RMM Renewal JULY 2026-JUNE 2027 | STANDARD | 07/01/2026 | $36,599.00 | $0.00 | $36,599.00 |
| Completed | 2025-00000008 | N-Able RMM | IT | 07/03/2024 | $32,572.70 | $32,572.70 | $0.00 |
| Completed | 2023-00000015 | Remote Management Tool | IT | 07/01/2022 | $23,712.00 | $23,712.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $182,071.11 |
1. Approve retroactive contract with N-Able in the amount of $36,599.00 for the period of July 01, 2026, through June 30, 2027, for N-Able N-central Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform; and
2. Authorize the Chair, County Executive Officer, or designee, to sign.