Summer 2005 A Publication of the Georgia Technology Authority Legislation centralizes procurement beginning July 1 Important changes are taking place in the process agencies follow to obtain IT products and services beginning July 1, 2005. The Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) will assume responsibility for activities related to all Requests for Proposal (RFPs). DOAS will release RFPs manage the process of reviewing vendor responses award contracts resolve vendor protests. Centralizing state procurements in DOAS was mandated by HB 312, which the General Assembly passed during the 2005 legislative session. Governor Perdue's Commission for a new Georgia recommended the change to make the state's procurement process more efficient. GTA continues major role in agency tech projects GTA will continue to advise agencies about planning and preparing their technology-related RFPs. GTA will also participate in evaluating vendor responses as appropriate. IT initiatives costing more than $100,000 must be approved by GTA before the procurement process begins. All IT procurements, regardless of cost, must meet GTA standards and policies. In addition, GTA will continue to manage statewide master IT contracts to be used by all agencies, such as those for purchasing computers and wireless services. The administrative process for procuring statewide master contracts will be managed by DOAS. GTA and DOAS are working closely to ensure that pending agency procurements remain on schedule. DOAS will apply GTA procurement rules in completing technology RFPs released before July 1. GTA will complete the administrative process for resolving vendor protests filed before July 1. See HB 312, page 6 Data center operations prepare for relocation Georgia Technology Authority GTA is preparing to relocate data center operations later this year after signing a lease for a modern and more secure facility in metro Atlanta. Built in 2000, the facility offers high levels of availability, reliability, security and access to utility and telecommunications services. It occupies 33,000 square feet of raised floor space for computers and air-handling equipment. It also includes 5,000 square feet for offices and a backup command center. Building maintenance and operations are the responsibility of an industry-leading company recognized for its expertise in facilities management. The facility boasts biometric access four diesel-powered generators for emergency electrical power eight uninterruptible power supply systems redundant controls for all electrical and mechanical systems modern fire detection and fire fighting systems. An advisory board made up of state agencies meets on a regular basis to provide GTA with input about moving specific applications and computer systems. In addition, GTA selected SunGard through a competitive bidding process to assist with the See Data center, page 2 Volume 4, No. 2 Inside this issue GTA employee profile: Kathi Mostefai. . . . . Page 2 New WAN helps agencies be more productive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3 Agencies exercise business continuity plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 2005 legislative update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Bringing the benefits of technology to Georgia government Kathi Mostefai: "We need to be clear about the impact of the move . . ." What does cooking have to do with the upcoming Kathi serves on is charged with verifying how relocation of the Archives Data Center? Before you say, applications and computer systems at the data "Nothing," meet Kathi Mostefai. center are connected to each other. Kathi is among the many people working long "We need to be clear about the impact of the hours every week to prepare for one of the most move on each application because the systems important events to take place in state government in and applications have interdependencies," Kathi years, and escaping into the kitchen with her husband, said. Sadek, is one way she handles the stress. Kathi and The data center has four major computing Sadek are both accomplished chefs. environments IBM mainframe, Unisys mainframe, Her "regular job" is leading the GTA team that's Unix and the Advanced Windows Environment responsible for testing and installing new software and and a single application might connect to two or software upgrades more. For example, on all mainframe the "face" of an and Unix systems at application that the Archives Data users see on their Center. Her team computer screens also keeps up with might run in new technology Windows, but the and suggests ways information it to improve the displays may be operation of pulled from a computer systems. database on an IBM As if her plate mainframe or a weren't full enough, server running Unix. Kathi is a member Kathi is on other of four of the 10 GTA teams that are teams who are assisting SunGard in methodically developing an up- working out every detail of the relocation. It to-date inventory of In addition to her regular duties, Kathi Mostefai is a member of all the equipment in four teams involved with moving the state's data center operations. the Archives Data involves disconnecting, moving and reconnecting Center. SunGard was chosen through competitive complex information systems that are indispensable to bidding to help plan the relocation. the operations of state government. One of the teams See Kathi, page 5 Data center, from page 1 relocation. SunGard has taken part in planning and implementing data center relocations for other organizations. GTA is scheduling the moves to minimize disruptions to agency operations as much as possible. Some relatively brief disruptions will be unavoidable as equipment is installed in the new facility over the course of several months beginning in the fall. The facility's exact location is not being disclosed publicly because of concerns about security. The signing of the lease culminated more than two years of efforts to find a new home for the state's data center operations. The existing facility is about 30 years old and lacks many of the features now considered essential to modern data centers. GTA explored many different options, including constructing its own facility or purchasing an existing one outside metropolitan Atlanta. The data center supports more than 125 business applications for 76 state agencies, including those for law enforcement, motor vehicle tags and titles, drivers' licenses, revenue collections, child support and the state's financial and human resources systems. T Fast Forward Georgia Page 2 State's new WAN helps agencies be more productive More than 300 circuits have been upgraded at the offices of child protection caseworkers state agencies to provide faster and more reliable throughout Georgia. Beginning this summer, connections to the state's new wide area network caseworkers will use electronic forms on tablet PCs (WAN). The number of circuit upgrades is expected to gather information about clients while working in to total as many as 500 by the end of June, and the field. At their offices, caseworkers will transfer agencies say the new WAN is giving their staffs the information from the forms to a central database, technical support they need to be more productive. and for the first time, caseworkers will be able to "What would take me all morning to do only share vital information with other caseworkers took about two hours," said an employee at the around the state. Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in The upgraded connections to the new MPLS- Valdosta following the office's based WAN are providing upgrade. "They feel like they can caseworkers with the speed and "This is a group of committed actually work now and get bandwidth they need to send and folks who are happiest when they something accomplished." receive time-sensitive information can just work," said an OCSE from the central database. It also manager. "They feel like they can means caseworkers are spending actually work now and get something less time on administrative tasks. accomplished." New WAN supports automated case Doing whatever is necessary management at Workers' Comp to get the job done The state's new network is also supporting an Through competitive bidding, GTA contracted automated, electronic system for managing cases with BellSouth in 2004 to upgrade and manage the at the State Board of Workers' Compensation. state's WAN. The new network is based on multi- The board recently upgraded WAN connections at protocol label switching (MPLS), which offers several its nine regional offices, and when the case advantages over the frame-relay technology of the management system is fully implemented, staff will state's old WAN. Among those advantages are be able to quickly access information from a central greater redundancy and reliability database. greater speed About 40,000 claims and 15,000 requests for competitive pricing hearings are filed each year, resulting in about support for new services like voice over IP 1,400 hearings. The system will make it possible to support for "quality of service" to set priorities file claims over the Internet, and physicians and for transmissions and to prevent loss of data insurance companies will be able to send and or transmission delays receive information online. As a result, the board can greater security. respond more quickly to requests for GTA and BellSouth are working together to mediation upgrade agency connections to the new WAN. schedule hearings more efficiently When workloads reach their peak, 300 circuits will pay benefits on a more timely basis be upgraded each month. settle claims faster. "When it comes to the bottom line, it seems GTA Other agencies scheduled for circuit upgrades and BellSouth are doing whatever is necessary to get the job done," For the first time, this spring include the Department of Technical and said another OSCE official. caseworkers will be able to Adult Education and the Georgia DHR's electronic forms a major upgrade priority GTA and BellSouth have made share vital information with other caseworkers throughout Georgia. Bureau of Investigation. Agencies preparing for upgrades this summer include Juvenile Justice, Labor, Corrections, Driver the electronic forms project at the Services, Public Safety, Revenue Department of Human Resources one of their top and Secretary of State. More than 2,400 circuits priorities this spring. Over 150 WAN connections will eventually be upgraded to connect to the have been upgraded at state's new WAN. T Fast Forward Georgia Page 3 Fast Forward Georgia State agencies exercise business continuity plans In an emergency, state agencies must work together to make sure essential services keep operating, and many of the state's larger agencies are already preparing for such an emergency by developing and exercising business continuity plans. Several agencies are taking part in a facilitated review of their plans on June 20 so they can increase employee awareness and identify areas for improvement. Participants include the Secretary of State's Office, State Board of Workers' Compensation, Department of Human Resources and Department of Community Affairs. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), Public Service Commission, Department of Technical and Adult Education, and Department of Education will take part as observers. The "tabletop exercise" is a continuation of activities begun last year at the Digital Academy on Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, which attracted 87 participants from 29 state agencies. GTA sponsored the Digital Academy and contracted with Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) in Marietta to oversee training. Business continuity refers to the processes and procedures an organization puts in place to ensure essential functions continue during and after an emergency or disaster. The goal is to prevent the interruption of mission-critical services and to resume essential operations as soon as possible. The exercise will be facilitated by GTA, SPSU and KPMG, which provides risk management and advisory services. GEMA is providing funding. "We will walk through agency plans, validate processes and identify areas needing improvement," said James Price, who oversees GTA's business continuity and disaster recovery planning. "We want to focus on training and getting people familiar with their roles and responsibilities." Agencies participating in the tabletop exercise are sending at least two representatives, one from business or program operations and another from IT operations. A report about the results of the tabletop exercise will be distributed to agencies, and they'll also be given guidelines for conducting their own inhouse exercises. For information about an association of state agencies that supports work on business continuity and disaster recovery plans, contact James Price at 404-651-8421, jprice@gta.ga.gov, or Digital Academy Project Manager Doris Konneh at 404-463-4407, dkonneh@gta.ga.gov. T 2005 legislative update In addition to HB 312, the General Assembly passed the following technology-related bills during the 2005 session. HB 293: Creates State Accounting Office The bill formally transfers the PeopleSoft financial and human resources systems from GTA to the State Accounting Office. It consolidates functions that were previously the responsibility of the Office of Planning and Budget, Audits and GTA. Effective July 1, 2005. SB 46: Directories of wireless phone numbers The bill requires publishers of directories of wireless telephone numbers to obtain written consent from an individual before including his or her number in the directory. It also prohibits wireless service providers from providing the telephone numbers of their customers to telemarketers. Effective July 1, 2005. SB 62: Georgia Slam Spam E-mail Act The bill makes the e-mailing of false and misleading advertisements either a criminal misdemeanor or a felony depending on the volume of e-mail sent within specific time periods. Effective July 1, 2005. SB 230: Requires Georgia residents to be notified about breaches of data security The bill requires "any information broker" to notify residents of Georgia if their personal information is acquired in any manner by an unauthorized person. The bill exempts government agencies whose records are maintained primarily for traffic safety, law enforcement or licensing. Examples of personal information include Social Security numbers, driver's license or state identification card numbers, credit or debit card numbers, account passwords or personal identification numbers and other access codes. Effective May 5, 2005. SR 298: Joint Study Committee on Emerging Communication Technologies The resolution creates a committee to study ways to encourage investment in emerging telecommunications technologies such as voice over IP, broadband and wireless. The committee will also review the role of the Public Service Commission in regulating new telecommunications technologies. It will be composed of three senators and three representatives. T Page 4 Kathi, from page 2 them directly. As part of the IBM upgrade, she I was always questioning things Kathi didn't set out on a career in information technology when she first entered the workforce. She started as secretary to a shoe company executive. "An opening came up in operations, and I applied for it and got it," Kathi recalled. "I was always questioning things and showed an interest in programming. In about two years, they moved me into systems programming." Her career in state government began in November 1981 when she started at the Department of Administrative Services as a Customer Information Control System (CICS) worked with Philip Jones, another data center employee, to set up a Web site for state agencies. While Philip took charge of the technical aspects of running the Web site, Kathi managed most of the content, which included customer meetings, testing and implementation schedules, contact information, questions and answers, issues logs and news. "I looked at it from what I would want to know if I were on the other side. What information would I need?" Kathi said. She's bringing that same perspective to the data center relocation as a member of the team overseeing communications to agencies. systems programmer. (For those of you who Never trust a skinny chef aren't so technical, CICS controls the interaction Technology has also played an important between applications and users and lets part in Kathi's private life. She met Sadek on the programmers develop Internet. At the screen displays time, he was without needing detailed knowledge of Kathi Mostefai: Career Highlights studying at a university in the terminals being used.) Joined state government in 1981 as CICS France, where he received a She worked her way up to positions of increasing responsibility. In five years, Kathi was in charge of CICS systems programmer; five years later, she was in charge of CICS support Led team responsible for IBM middleware support Managed a major upgrade to IBM systems doctorate degree in statistics. He's now a Unix systems engineer at CNN. Although their support. Seven years lives often later, she was leading the team that supports Currently leads the team responsible for testing and installing new software and revolve around technology, Kathi IBM middleware. Five software upgrades on all mainframe and and Sadek also years ago, she was Unix systems at the Archives Data Center have other placed in charge of a major upgrade to IBM systems. Serves on four of the 10 teams planning the data center relocation interests. Kathi's love of Indian cuisine led her to Kathi is quick to give credit to others. "The people in support An accomplished chef and cooking instructor who specializes in Indian cuisine take cooking classes from the owner of an are the ones who get the job done. These Indian restaurant. She became so proficient, she people perform," Kathi said. "If you don't have a started teaching classes herself. group of people who can get the job done, you're not going to make progress." Kathi's advice when it comes to cooking? "Never trust a skinny chef." And when it comes A focus on customer service and keeping agencies informed to the data center location, a lot of people have rightly chosen to put their trust in Kathi. T Kathi is also known for her focus on customer service and especially for keeping agencies informed about data center operations that affect Fast Forward Georgia Page 5 GTA supporting New Georgia IT initiatives GTA is working on several statewide IT initiatives that were recommended by Governor Perdue's Commission for a New Georgia as ways to save the state money while improving operating efficiency. GTA also provides project managers to ensure the success of IT initiatives. Enhancing asset management The state is planning an enterprise asset management system to track, maintain and use assets more efficiently. A Request for Proposal was posted May 10 on the State Procurement Registry to solicit bids for the system. Vendor proposals are due July 13, and a final contract is expected to be signed by the end of the year. Teams made up of representatives from several state agencies are being formed to evaluate vendor proposals. The system will be implemented in phases over a three- to four-year period. It will be used by all state agencies to track real estate, motor vehicles, office furniture, computers, cell phones, surplus property and all other state property. Core and fleet asset management will be implemented first, followed by general asset management, which includes surplus property. IT asset management and capital asset management will be implemented last because additional requirements for these systems must be developed. Unified e-mail address book A state employee e-mail address book is expected to be available this summer. The address book will give employees the information they need to communicate quickly and easily with other employees regardless of agency or e-mail system. It lays the foundation for a statewide e-mail system and for an identity-management system to provide greater security when teleworkers connect to an agency's computer network. GTA is working with Novell to build the address book, which will be expanded over time to include more addresses. Sharing hardware and software A pilot project expected to begin this summer will enable participating agencies to share software for verifying addresses before they send mail. The software automatically checks a United States Postal Service database for address changes. Lowering costs for personal computers GTA plans to initiate pilot projects within the next year to evaluate the extent to which "thin clients" can simplify IT operations and reduce costs. In this approach to computing, employees are given less powerful PCs to connect to a central computer where most of the processing takes place and information is stored. Enterprise Architecture: blueprint for IT investments The Governance Council is coordinating work on an IT blueprint to guide agency decision making about technology purchases. The IT blueprint helps to ensure agency business needs and priorities are met. The council is comprised of senior executives from 10 state agencies and the Governor's Office. T HB 312, from page 1 DOAS will complete the administrative process for resolving vendor protests filed after July 1, but DOAS will apply GTA procurement rules if the RFP is posted before July 1. DOAS will make every effort to assign pending IT procurements to members of its procurement staff with purchasing experience in either the specific project or the technology to be purchased. Additional details will be provided to state agencies through e-mails and at monthly meetings of CIOs and IT directors. State agencies may also e-mail questions to gtainfo@gta.ga.gov. T Fast Forward Georgia Fast Forward Georgia Published quarterly and available online at www.gta.georgia.gov 100 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 404-463-2300, FAX 404-463-2370 Paula Calhoun and Michael Clark, Editors; Hettie Smith, Designer Tom Wade Cigdem Delano Steve Nichols Chris Tomlinson GTA Executive Director & State CIO , twade@gta.ga.gov Chief Operating Officer, cdelano@gta.ga.gov Deputy Director & Chief Technology Officer, snichols@gta.ga.gov General Counsel, ctomlinson@gta.ga.gov James D. Lester III, Chairman, GTA Board of Directors Page 6