Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) update, Vol. 3, Issue 6 (June 3, 2011)

Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) Update

Volume 3, Issue No. 6

June 3, 2011

In This Issue

Service providers offer immediate help after
tornadoes

Assessment of RFS process under way

Internet failover testing successful

Easier access to status updates

Comparing notes with other states
At the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Midyear Conference last month, state CIOs were asked to list their state's top IT priorities. Not surprisingly, we found a great deal of common ground and learned about areas where others are trying new approaches. Across the nation, states are grappling with similar issues including consolidation, cloud computing and security.

Additional services available through AT&T
IBM event: Analytics for a Smarter City
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Most of us who attended are still getting our feet on the ground. Of the 42 states and territories represented, I was certainly not alone in being relatively new to the job - there were 14 new CIOs and 16 others serving on an interim basis.

GTA Chief Technology Officer Steve Nichols and I also had an opportunity to

meet with several members of Georgia's congressional delegation to encourage the repeal of a provision of federal law that will require federal, state and local governments to withhold three percent on payments for most goods and services. The cost of implementing systems to capture and report the data would likely far outweigh any savings the provision might generate. In addition, we discussed cyber threats facing governments at all levels and urged the federal government to give higher priority to state cyber security programs.
Federal CIO Vivek Kundra pledged to work closely with states, sharing reports and analyses, and enabling states to participate in federal contracts.
Discussions among CIOs during the conference centered on achieving savings and efficiencies. It was clear to me that Georgia is moving in the right direction; other states continue to be interested in the progress of our privatization initiative and the lessons we have learned so far.
Thank you for your ongoing support.

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Calvin Rhodes State Chief Information Officer GTA Executive Director
Service providers offer immediate help after tornadoes
When tornadoes devastated northwest Georgia in late April, IBM and AT&T acted quickly to support state agencies to enable them to provide assistance to the Georgians who needed it.
The Catoosa County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) office was completely destroyed. Fortunately, no one was in the office when the storm struck. There was also another bright spot - the office's Novell GroupWise/file server was protected by brick walls and remained usable. IBM immediately set up the server in the DFCS office in neighboring Whitfield County.
The next challenge would be setting up 106 laptops and desktops as well as VPN IDs for Catoosa staff working in alternate locations. The IBM team also established VPN IDs for staff of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency

(GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who would be working in 16 disaster recovery centers throughout the state. In total, the team set up 107 IDs in just three days.
IBM provided additional assistance as needs arose, including moving the server from the Whitfield County DFCS office to a more permanent location in Fort Oglethorpe and establishing VPN IDs to support the issuance of food stamps across the state.
AT&T played an equally important role in responding to the disaster, with technicians on site the morning after the tornado and ready to remove all communications equipment from the destroyed building. AT&T technicians began work on the relocation to the temporary site and were available to assist in search and rescue efforts.
Dial tone and temporary DSL service for Internet access in interim locations were installed in a single day. Fifty new telephone lines with 45 new telephone sets were installed. Over the next 21 days, installations continued with voice and data cabling, a temporary DSL line followed by a permanent DSL line, and routers and switches.
Once a permanent location for the office was determined, AT&T installed 42 telephone lines with permanent DSL and routers. Work also included re-cabling the new location, disconnecting phone numbers at the demolished building and referring calls to the new lines.
Thanks to the prompt and thorough work of AT&T and IBM, Catoosa County DFCS workers now have the equipment and services they need, allowing them to focus on the people they serve.
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Assessment of RFS process under way

Many agency IT projects depend on the GETS Request for Solution (RFS) process, but at times, the process has been frustratingly slow. To ensure it is as efficient as possible, GTA has ordered an independent, third-party assessment, which is currently under way. GTA contracted with North Highland, an established consulting firm in the IT arena, to conduct the assessment, which will provide GTA, IBM and your agency:
q a facts-based view of the current process from initial discussions through solution delivery,
q an informed understanding of strengths and weaknesses, q a list of priority issues to address, and q recommended next steps.
Work began May 9th, and it is expected to be completed in 60 days. As part of the assessment, key members of your agency staff will be asked to participate in one-on-one interviews and/or focus groups. We appreciate your support of requests for their time.
The assessment will help everyone to understand, communicate and act to improve a key process for effective technology support to state agencies. If you would like more information, please contact your GTA Service Delivery Consultant.
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Internet failover testing successful

An outage during a recent test of the state's backup capability for Internet access ended up demonstrating just how resilient the state's Internet access is, thanks to the GETS program.
AT&T performed a test on the security nodes that guard the perimeter between agency networks and the Internet by failing over to the backup facility in Nashville, TN, on Sunday, May 15. This test confirmed the state's failover capability following AT&T's security node upgrade in March 2011.
AT&T experienced an outage at the Nashville site on Monday, May 16, which affected all state of Georgia agencies that receive Internet access from AT&T through the GETS Program. AT&T resolved the problem by immediately moving the traffic from the Nashville security nodes back to Atlanta on May 16. Originally, the testing plan called for migration back to the Atlanta site on Sunday, May 22.
The unforeseen outage offered an opportunity to test the failover capability sooner than anticipated. Because the migration went smoothly, no further testing is required at this time.
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Easier access to status updates
AT&T is making it easier for agencies to obtain timely status updates on voice and data orders and Request for Solution (RFS) projects.
Previously, customers had to go through approximately six steps to find out the status of a service request. AT&T's new process has just two steps: (1) the agency contacts AT&T directly for status, either by phone or e-mail request, then (2) AT&T gives the status directly to the requestor.
For the status of a voice order, contact AT&T Managed Customer Service at 1.888.269.3250, option 3.
For the status of a data order, contact the Service Request Handler on the acknowledgement notice or e-mail AT&T at sog.order.status@att.com. You

will need to include Status Request and the order number in the subject line. You will receive an e-mail reply with status.
For the status of an RFS, contact the project manager on the acknowledgement notice or e-mail AT&T at sog.project.status@att.com. You will need to include Status Request and the order number in the subject line. You will receive an e-mail reply with status.
Escalations for service requests and incident tickets should continue to go to the Consolidated Service Desk at 1.877.GTA.3233 (1.877.482.3233).
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Additional services available through AT&T
When AT&T's Mark Roberts addressed the Agency Advisory Council last month to talk about additional AT&T services available to GETS customers, he made an important observation. "A deal this big has to change to meet customers' needs," he said. "It can't be static."
AT&T is offering an array of additional services that can be customized to suit particular agency needs. Here are a few examples:
Voice Services - Voice over IP and enhanced services such as Hosted VoiceTone Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Hosted Contact Center
AT&T Consulting Services - IP applications (convergence, contact center, unified communications), network security, and network and application infrastructure
Other Professional Services - network architecture, network engineering, program management, project management, dedicated technicians, and structured cable and wiring
For more information about any of these services, please contact Mark Roberts at mr6643@att.com.

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IBM event: Analytics for a Smarter City
IBM and The Performance Institute invite you to attend a forum focusing on the value of analytics in making sound program and budget decisions in government. There is no charge to attend.
What: Analytics for a Smarter City When: June 23, 2011, from 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Where: The Omni Hotel at CNN Center Registration and more information: www.PerformanceInstitute.org/Atlanta
The forum features a keynote address by Duriya Farooqui, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, City of Atlanta. Breakout sessions will take a closer look at advanced case management in government, predictive crime analytics and performance management.
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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.