Summary#
Montréal city council adopted its position on a proposed five-year software subscription contract with Software AG (Canada) inc. The city council’s position is to award a contract for up to $9,308,154.10, taxes included, from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030; the agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting. City staff say the goal is to keep essential city systems running while applications are moved off the mainframe.
- The contract would cover Software AG’s Adabas and Natural software, including upgrades, security updates, fixes and technical support.
- City staff say the software supports applications used for municipal taxation, court operations and payroll, among other services, and by the SPVM.
- The proposed contract is a direct award to the supplier, not a competitive call for tenders. Staff cite compatibility with existing applications and exclusive rights as reasons.
- The city’s IT director would be authorized to sign documents related to the contract.
What it means for you#
- Residents and businesses: This decision does not directly change taxes, fines, services or eligibility. The software supports systems used for some city operations, including taxation and the municipal court.
- City and SPVM operations: The subscription would keep software available for applications that staff say are essential to ongoing operations. The city is also migrating applications to replacement systems, but the decision does not set a deadline for completing those migrations.
- City administration: The contract would be paid from the IT department’s operating budget. It would replace the city’s existing perpetual licences with a subscription model; staff say the supplier’s offer takes financial compensation for those licences into account.
Money#
Maximum contract cost: $9,308,154.10, taxes included ($8,499,585.38 net of taxes).
- Annual costs are listed as $1,684,541.27 in 2026, rising to $2,047,570.23 in 2030.
- City staff say the 2026 cost is 35% higher than the 2025 contract cost; annual costs then rise by 5% each year.
- The expense is charged to the IT department’s operating budget. Staff say the required budget credits were considered when setting the rate for general administrative expenses charged to the agglomeration budget.
- No renewal option or separate cost for staffing is stated.
What is unclear#
- The materials do not say when each application will move off the mainframe, or whether all will be replaced by the end of 2030.
- They do not give service standards, performance measures or remedies if the software or support does not meet expectations.
- The materials explain why staff chose a direct award, but do not provide a comparison with the cost of other possible approaches.
Case for#
- The software supports systems that city staff say handle more than 4,300 batch processes each day and over 72 million transactions.
- A five-year subscription could help maintain those systems while replacement applications are developed and put into use.
- Staff say the subscription includes upgrades and security fixes without additional charges, as well as round-the-clock technical support.
Case against#
- The direct award means there is no competitive bid price in the materials to compare with the contract cost.
- The first year’s cost is 35% higher than the previous contract’s annual cost, and the full commitment is over five years.
- The contract could continue to support mainframe applications for years, but the materials do not give a firm timetable for replacing them.