Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) update, Vol. 2, Issue 9 (Apr. 30, 2010)

Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) Update
Volume 2, Issue No. 9

April 30, 2010

In This Issue
Which way to go: RFS or Service Catalog
RFS checklist improvements on the way
Service Desk continues to earn high marks
Briefly,,,

What if we had done nothing?
Almost 300 business and technology leaders from our full-service customer agencies and representatives from our service providers and GTA attended last week's Transformation Kickoff. Response was extremely positive, and many of you told us you left with a clearer understanding of what transformation will mean for your agency and why it is so important for the state. (All of the day's presentations are posted on GTA's Web site.)
We talked a great deal about bumps in the road and what we and the service providers are doing to work through them. I understand how frustrating dips in service levels are, even though we all anticipated them from the beginning. The results from the customer satisfaction survey for the first quarter of 2010 confirmed that we have issues to resolve. We know that service delivery is critical to the success of the program, and we are taking decisive steps to

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improve the customer experience.
But there is a flip side to the coin. What if we had done nothing? What if we all had not come together to launch this groundbreaking initiative two years ago? What if we had accepted the status quo, the burning platform of the state's IT enterprise?
I can tell you this. We would be in a far less favorable situation. If we had done nothing, technology would have remained a low priority, undervalued for its importance to agencies' ability to serve constituents. If we had done nothing, we would not see long overdue improvements taking place such as end user computing refresh and network upgrades that are resulting in greater security and faster Internet access. If we had done nothing, technology would have taken a step backward and agencies would have had to go on with less.
If you attended the kickoff, you heard Jim Lientz, the state's chief operating officer, remind us that despite any disappointment that some aspect of the initiative has not gone precisely as planned, we must keep moving, keep doing our jobs, and remain focused on the good of the entire IT enterprise. He also encouraged us to remember where we started - with a highly decentralized technology environment that was inadequate and insecure, difficult if not impossible to support, and inconsistently funded.

May
Internet migration
Active Directory migration
Preparations for e-mail migration and consolidation
Application remediation
Preparations for server and storage consolidation
IT asset refresh
Disaster recovery planning

That's not a place any of us would return to, and it is your leadership and vision that have enabled us to leave it behind. Thank you for your partnership in this initiative. We are counting on your continued support to see it through.

Patrick Moore State Chief Information Officer GTA Executive Director

Which way to go: RFS or Service Catalog
One of the sessions at last week's Transformation Kickoff offered guidance about when to submit a Request for Solution (RFS) and when to use the Service Catalog. In case you missed the session, here are the most common instances when an RFS is necessary:
Office relocations
q 10 or more users/equipment (Infrastructure Services) q 20 or more users/equipment (Managed Network Services)
Complex projects
q Services requiring custom pricing or a designed solution q New sites/buildings with no previous service q Multiple service provider coordination
Any service not established in the Service Catalog
q
New hosting environments or new images
q
Any MPLS (Multi-Protocol Line Switch) or AVPN (Virtual Private Network) services - such as add, move, change or disconnect - with or without voice services
q
Non-enterprise data jack installations
q
Labor-only work efforts
q
Purchase of equipment due to funding stipulations
q
Non-standard end-user computing equipment
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RFS checklist improvements on the way
The Request for Solution (RFS) checklist is becoming easier to use, thanks to several improvements we are making. The checklist, which is required on every RFS, was created using feedback from customer focus groups to help speed the process and monitor progress at each phase.
Improvements implemented this month include tabs to help you move through the checklist more easily. Also, questions about Managed Network Services have been shifted to the front section since most RFS submissions are related to MNS. After the May release, you will find that the number of questions has been pared down considerably.
If you have questions or are unsure about which tabs you need to complete, please contact your IBM client solution advocate, AT&T account manager or GTA service delivery consultant for assistance.
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Service Desk continues to earn high marks
Last month, the GETS survey team held a second onsite session with Consolidated Service Desk (CSD) agents as part of a continuous improvement plan designed to keep the focus on providing the best service possible. The session generated positive response, leading the CSD's customer service manager to comment, "This meeting is very informative to our team and revitalizes them to perform a better job."
According to March point-of-service surveys, customer satisfaction with the Service Desk continued to exceed expected levels: IBM scored 8.33 and AT&T scored 8.20. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) requires a minimum score of 7.5 and sets the expected level at 8.0. Scores are based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the most positive response.
The response rate was 34.59%, the highest since July 2009. Thank you for your continuing participation in the surveys.

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Briefly...
A new ready-ship procurement process now in place will speed delivery time for orders of standard catalog end-user computing hardware from full-service GETS agencies.
By stocking ready-built, imaged, and tagged assets such as PCs and laptops at an equipment holding facility, we expect to deliver hardware to an end user's desk in 14 business days - nearly half the current 25-business-day average.
All refresh, custom or project-related hardware needs will continue to be addressed through the existing procurement channel since these arise from scheduled events and require additional lead times to fulfill.
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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.

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