Message Switch System Replacement

The County of San Mateo is requesting proposals for replacement of its legacy Message Switch System, a mission-critical platform enabling secure, real-time exchange of criminal justice information among approximately 30 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, with proposals due September 21, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. A local business preference ordinance applies, providing up to 10 percent preference points for local micro-businesses or micro-non-profits.

The system must support 24/7 operations processing approximately 1.5 million inbound and 2.5 million outbound messages monthly for approximately 2,500 authorized user mnemonics. It must provide centralized gateway connectivity to CLETS, NCIC, DMV, Automated Warrant System, County CJIS, and other criminal justice databases serving approximately 800,000 residents throughout the County. The replacement must be modern, secure, scalable, and fully CJIS-compliant under the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Security Policy Version 6.1 (effective June 25, 2026) and CLETS Policies, Practices and Procedures. The County encourages cloud-native or hybrid deployment but will consider on-premises solutions demonstrating equivalent scalability, resiliency, security, disaster recovery, and maintainability.

Proposers must meet minimum qualifications: five years of relevant Message Switch System or comparable public safety experience; successful implementation of at least three similar systems within the past seven years; current interface with California criminal justice systems; CJIS compliance capability; five years of continuous operation under the current business name; project managers with five years of comparable enterprise experience; and 24/7/365 production support capability.

The contract term is three years with one optional two-year extension at the County's discretion. Pricing must comprehensively cover implementation, software licensing or subscription, cloud hosting if applicable, hardware, integration, data migration, training, and maintenance and technical support through year five, with clear separation of one-time and recurring annual costs. Questions are due September 3, 2026. Proposer demonstrations and technical presentations occur October 12, 2026, with anticipated award December 11, 2026. The procurement is structured as a cooperative agreement, allowing other organizations to use the resulting contract terms.