Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) update, Vol. 2, Issue 20 (Oct. 1, 2010)

Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) Update
Volume 2, Issue No. 20
Technology from the legislative perspective
IT and business leaders from state agencies came together this week at the annual Georgia Digital Government Summit to explore issues facing those of us who set the direction of government's use of technology. I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion focused on technology from the legislative perspective. Panelists included:
q
State Representative Amos Amerson, Chairman, House Science and Technology Committee
q
State Representative Barry Loudermilk
q

October 1, 2010
In This Issue
Emergency off-boarding process provides faster
service Additional Service Catalog
updates New resources for asset
managers Migrations to AT&T security
continue
Quick Links
Previous Newsletters
GTA Web Site GETS Customer Resource
Center GETS Financial and Billing
Resource Center GETS FAQs
GETS Activities

Lewis A. Massey, partner, Massey & Bowers, LLC, and former Georgia Secretary of State
Panel members agreed on technology's ability to enable new and innovative services to constituents but cautioned that competition for funding for IT projects will become more intense because of declining revenues. It is imperative that we be able to clearly show legislators the value that a project will bring in terms of better service delivery to citizens and cost savings.
Legislators often see the benefit that technology can bring, but lack a clear understanding of the challenges and costs associated with implementation. As Rep. Loudermilk said, a wise investment in technology, while costly now, can mean savings in the future.

October
Internet migration
Active Directory migration
Preparations for e-mail migration and consolidation
Application remediation

As technology advances, it becomes even more important to help legislators understand the underlying complexities and associated costs. An example is cloud computing, where data and applications no longer reside locally, and ensuring a secure computing environment becomes an even more critical issue.

Preparations for server and storage consolidation
IT asset refresh

At the same time, panel members cited citizens' concern about government's implementation of technology and our ability to protect their data and their privacy. If we ask citizens for personal information, they warned, we should only ask for what is absolutely necessary and demonstrate a clear benefit.

Lewis Massey complimented our IT transformation, which is providing the foundation for innovative service delivery, enhanced security, and greater operational and cost efficiencies. In addition, as Rep. Amerson noted, it enables us to facilitate more effective information sharing among agencies.

I enjoyed the opportunity to share ideas with many of you at the summit, and I appreciate your continuing support.

Patrick Moore State Chief Information Officer GTA Executive Director

Emergency off-boarding process provides faster service
A new process helps to ensure a quicker response when employee terminations require the disabling of IDs and access to networks and servers.
GETS full-service agencies are being asked to supply a brief list of approved end users who are authorized to request deactivation of employee IDs and access. Agencies are to call a special phone number to begin the process and then open a service request through the Service Catalog (OrderNow!). After the ID Admin and IMAC teams complete the deactivation, an e-mail is sent to the agency to confirm completion of the request.
The process has a service objective of five hours, but in many instances, it is completed in less than an hour.
Back to top
Additional Service Catalog updates
We are continuing to implement updates that make the Service Catalog (OrderNow!) easier to use.
Based on feedback from focus group sessions, several changes have been made to improve ease of navigation. Some buttons have been renamed to make functions clearer. For example, the button to go back and edit a request has been renamed "edit" rather than "continue." Also, some descriptions have been reworded to clarify catalog items.
Among other September updates:
q
Ricoh printer models have been added to the catalog.
q

AT&T auto attendant request and toll-free number request have been added to the voice services catalog category.
q
New Hire and Employee Separation categories have been consolidated into a single catalog category.
We will keep you posted as we keep working to improve the usability of the Service Catalog.
Back to top
New resources for asset managers
Agency asset managers and leads gathered at GTA this week for a workshop about new functionality related to asset management recently added to the Service Catalog.
Participants learned about tools accessible to them, including asset management data available in Maximo and GSMRT reports. Thanks to recent enhancements to the Service Catalog, asset managers will find it easier to complete tasks such as updating data and requesting a software entitlement update or a move or disposal of assets.
For more information, please contact your Service Delivery Consultant.
Back to top
Migrations to AT&T security continue

AT&T is continuing to migrate GETS full-service agencies to its managed security services. Migrations take place during weekends to minimize disruption, and any intermittent network service interruptions typically occur during an early-morning time window. The departments of Natural Resources and Corrections completed migration during September. AT&T's managed security services include firewall, intrusion detection and prevention, managed e-authentication, vulnerability scanning and incident response. The cloud-based approach not only safeguards network data, but also identifies and stops cyber threats before they reach the network perimeter. Back to top
We welcome your comments about service delivery, the state's IT transformation and related topics. You can submit comments online or call our toll-free number to leave a recorded message.
Email Marketing by