Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) update, Vol. 4, Issue 11 (Nov. 5, 2012)

Georgia Enterprise Technology Services (GETS) Update

Volume 4, Issue No. 11

November 5, 2012

Helping agencies better manage IT consumption and costs
Ensuring that agencies get the IT services they need is a critical part of GTA's role. Equally as important is helping agencies find ways to better manage their technology consumption and costs. The Governor's Office and the Office of Planning and Budget recently directed agencies to trim their GETS IT budgets by 10 percent, and GTA is preparing to assist full-service GETS agencies in identifying ways to reduce their IT expenditures for FY 2013 and 2014.
When we introduced GETS in 2009, IT services changed from a capital expenditure model to a monthly operating expense model. We now have detailed insight into agencies' consumption of technology resources, and we've seen a significant increase in consumption over the past three years. The increase in consumption is particularly evident in areas such as tape storage, servers and the number of end-user devices per individual.
GTA is putting together a team to help full-service agencies analyze their usage of IT resources so they can make informed decisions about reducing their consumption. We have temporarily brought a seasoned program manager on site to develop recommendations for addressing increases in resource usage at the enterprise level and for governing future growth. Our goal is to complete the first set of recommendations by mid-December.

In This Issue
Streamlined process for EUC refresh saves agencies time
AT&T completes remote access upgrade
for GCIC
Success for Disaster Recovery exercise
Service Desk continues to receive high ratings
from survey respondents
More than 100 participate in IT Strategy Summit
Briefly
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Reducing budgets is never an easy task, and thanks to GETS, GTA and the agencies we serve have the data necessary for making wise, responsible decisions.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Calvin Rhodes State Chief Information Officer GTA Executive Director
Streamlined process for EUC refresh saves agencies time
The GETS team is making it easier for agencies to prepare for End User Computing (EUC) refresh activity. In particular, a new timesaving electronic asset validation tactic will trim the planning lead time for agencies from 180 days to 75.
The new process allows GETS to electronically validate computer equipment information when assets are eligible for refresh - that means less manual review. And because data will now be collected straight from the source (the end user), it will be more accurate and up to date.
Two months before an agency site's scheduled refresh, employees at that site will receive a pop-up screen on their computers. They will be asked to verify/provide information about the computer and its user. Doing so will take only a minute or two.
The EUC Refresh Handbook is being revised to reflect the new 75-day planning process. The EUC Refresh team will work with each agency to implement the new process.
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AT&T completes remote access upgrade for GCIC
AT&T has upgraded the Secure Socket Layer Virtual Private Network (SSL VPN) remote access site for the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC).
Users who currently use the SSL VPN Firepass will now use the new site (referred to as the SSL VPN Juniper) for remote access to the GCIC network. Part of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the GCIC network provides round-the-clock access to information needed by officials and agencies of the criminal justice system. Information on accessing the new URL can be found on the GCICWEB, and users are being asked to report any remote access difficulties to GCIC Connectivity at gcicconn@gbi.ga.gov.
The SSL VPN upgrade for the GCIC is part of a solution to provide remote workers more secure, reliable access to their agency's resources using the Internet. The project involves moving agency users to a new, centralized solution hosted in the North Atlanta Data Center (NADC) and the IBM/Boulder disaster recovery facility. The new SSL VPN service replaces a number of aging remote VPN solutions housed at agency remote data centers and in the NADC.
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Success for Disaster Recovery exercise
One measure of the maturity of an IT enterprise is its ability to recover from unexpected events. The GETS program successfully completed its most thorough Disaster Recovery (DR) exercise at the end of September.
The exercise - the fifth for the enterprise since August 2010 - involved nine agencies. For the first time, testing also involved some of the state's thirdparty IT service providers. The exercise showed advances in testing of systems used by the Department of Driver Services, Department of Human Services, and the Georgia Department of Corrections, among others. Improved network preparations by IBM and AT&T prior to the testing, along with cooperation from GETS agencies, contributed to the success of the exercise.
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Service Desk continues to receive high ratings from survey respondents
For the seventh consecutive quarter, the Consolidated Service Desk earned high ratings for overall customer experience. Both AT&T and IBM scored between Satisfied and Very Satisfied on customer surveys during July, August and September 2012 - exceeding targets set for the service level agreement (SLA) for Service Desk satisfaction.
The survey asks respondents to choose from a range of answers:
Very satisfied Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Somewhat Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied
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More than 100 participate in IT Strategy Summit
The Georgia Enterprise IT Strategy Summit provided a forum for agencies to learn and exchange ideas about leveraging existing and emerging technology to achieve Georgia's State Strategic Goals.
Presenters - including Matt Hauer, who leads the Carl Vinson Institute's Applied Demography Program, and Dr. Curtis Carver, vice chancellor and CIO of the University System of Georgia - reminded participants that Georgia is changing in fundamental ways, making it imperative that state government pay attention to shifts in population, diversity and educational attainment. The agility and economies of scale offered by the enterprise use of technology become increasingly important as the state plans for the future.
More than 100 agency business leaders, technology leaders and strategic planners attended the November 1 event and offered insights for an updated Georgia IT Strategic Plan. We will share more details about the plan in a future issue of GETS Update.
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Briefly...
State employees can purchase technology devices and services for personal use at discounted prices. For more information, please see the Team Georgia website.
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December 10-11 InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta Only $25 for public-sector employees Planned specifically for managers, executives and policy makers For conference topics and registration information, visit the Summit website
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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.