Georgia Infrastructure Transformation (GAIT) 2010 update, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Feb. 6, 2009)

Georgia Infrastructure Transformation (GAIT) 2010 Update

Issue: No. 1

February 6, 2009

In This Issue

Transition and transformation: What's the difference?

Planning for service transition
When will I get my new PC or laptop?

Quick Links GTA Website

Our Commitment to Keeping You Informed
At GTA, we are committed to keeping you fully informed about the state's technology transformation. As part of our commitment, I am pleased to send you the first edition of our twice-monthly e-newsletter. It will provide you with the information you need and, in many instances, include links to our website for even more details.
Key staff from state agencies are working with us almost daily to prepare for the upcoming transition of IT infrastructure services to IBM on April 1 and managed network services to AT&T on May 1. The transition of infrastructure services will affect specific executive branch agencies while changes to managed network services will affect all of GTA's telecom customers.
In many respects, service transition is just the beginning. The transformation in how we use technology to support state government will take place over

Milestones
April 1 - IBM begins providing IT Infrastructure Services
April - AT&T service pilot
May 1 - AT&T begins providing managed network services
June 1 - Statewide Service Desk with 24/7/365 coverage

many months, and our e-newsletter will document the progress we are making together.
As I have said before, what we are doing is more about change management than technology. We are taking an enterprise approach to managing technology services, and to do so effectively, we are sharpening our focus on both governance and statewide policies and standards.

launches View All Milestones

With our e-newsletter, we are striving to provide a coordinated and comprehensive view of our work. I hope you will take time to give me your feedback about the work we are doing and our efforts to communicate with you.
Patrick Moore GTA Executive Director State Chief Information Officer

Transition and transformation: What's the difference?
It's easy to confuse transition and transformation. Transition refers to those activities leading up to the day our new technology service providers assume responsibility for the delivery of services: IBM will provide IT infrastructure services beginning April 1, 2009, and AT&T will provide managed network services beginning May 1, 2009.
Transformation refers to the longer-term activities around consolidating, centrally managing and implementing significant operational improvements to the state's technology infrastructure and services. The state's technology transformation will result in:
q an enterprise-wide service desk with 24/7/365 coverage q consolidation of application servers and data storage q consistent enterprise-wide IT security q improved disaster recovery q standardized service levels across all agencies q comprehensive asset management q up-to-date technology through regular equipment refreshes

These improvements will not be present at service commencement. It will take careful planning and implementation over a two-year period or longer to achieve them all.
More GAIT 2010 questions and answers
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Planning for service transition
Agencies continue to play a critical role
You won't notice much difference on April 1 when IBM begins providing IT infrastructure services or on May 1 when AT&T begins providing managed network services. Many current state IT workers will wear the badge of one of our new technology service providers, but otherwise operations will continue much as they do today. Noticeable differences will take place over the weeks and months following service commencement.
Despite the lack of visible changes at service commencement, a great deal of work is taking place, and key staff from state agencies are playing a critical role in preparing for the upcoming transition and transformation.
Planning for service commencement begin almost immediately after GTA announced its intent to award contracts on November 7, 2008. IBM and AT&T were both on site at GTA within days, even though contracts were not signed until November 20.
A transition planning kickoff meeting took place December 2 with our technology service providers and transition leads from the 12 state agencies initially taking part in IT consolidation. The initial kickoff meeting was followed by detailed planning sessions with agency subject matter experts on December 10 and 11.
By January 16, we completed one-on-one kickoff meetings with individual agencies. At these meetings, we scheduled transition activities, making sure

they do not interfere with an agency's day-to-day business. GTA and our technology service providers are working with each of the 12 agencies to:
q conduct job shawdowing q develop asset inventories and databases q implement processes and tools to support industry best practices q further analyze previously gathered agency data q integrate agency and service provider business processes.
We are also helping agencies prepare for a new services model and pricing structure. After an education session for agencies on January 22, 2009, we began holding individual meetings with agency budget directors, other finance and budget staff, and IT directors. These meetings take a closer look at each agency's estimated service usage and cost, both today and after service commencement. We are verifying data and going over pricing structure and other financial aspects of the contract, which most of the agencies helped to develop during the Request For Proposal process.
In addition to the service and finance changes our transformation will bring, we have said from the beginning that governance would play a major role in our new way of doing business. We are making headway on that front as well. On January 29, we held the first meeting of the Agency Advisory Council. It will serve as a forum for representatives from GTA, agency customers and service providers to share information with each other and promote effective service delivery. Future editions of our e-newsletter will feature details about our governance structure.
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When will I get my new PC or laptop?

Keeping the state's technology up-to-date through regular equipment refreshes is an important part of the contract with our new technology service providers. In fact, the difficulty state agencies face in keeping up with rapidly changing technology was one of the reasons for our transformation initiative. In agencies receiving their IT infrastructure services through IBM, PCs will be replaced every five years while laptops will be replaced every three years. We are currently developing a detailed plan for PC and laptop refreshes, which will take place in phases beginning in November 2009. Of course, everyone cannot get a new PC or laptop at the same time, so we will focus first on replacing the oldest equipment. You will be notified well in advance of your PC or laptop refresh. More details about equipment refresh schedules will be provided as soon as the refresh plan is completed.
More GAIT 2010 questions and answers
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We welcome your comments and questions about the upcoming service transition and the state's IT transformation.
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