GTA v.2010: a new way of doing business [Aug. 2007]

GTA v.2010: A new way of doing business
At the Georgia Technology Authority, we are changing the way we do business. We are calling our effort GTA v.2010. Our goals are to:
ensure IT operations meet industry standards manage the state's IT investments more effectively provide greater support for the state's business needs
GTA began an indepth look at its operations in 2006. The analysis revealed shortfalls in our IT operations when compared to industry best practices. We lack many of the processes and automation necessary to operate efficiently. At the same time, much of our hardware and software is running well beyond its intended life cycle. Almost half of GTA's IT infrastructure is 610 years old, and updating the infrastructure would require a significant capital expenditure. Many other agencies face similar challenges with their IT infrastructures.
In addition to problems with IT operations, GTA must address a changing customer base. Many customers are turning to other providers for telecom services because GTA cannot keep pace with the marketplace. As a result, GTA is facing unsustainable financial losses.
To address these issues, GTA is pursuing a twopronged strategy: focus on investment management fix the infrastructure
Focus on investment management State agencies often see IT as an expense instead of an investment. We tend to spend the least amount possible on minimally acceptable technology and to delay those expenditures as long as we can. GTA's new strategy calls for making investment decisions to maintain or improve current applications or create new functionality through application and system development.
Fix the infrastructure GTA will conduct an assessment of IT infrastructure services to determine whether to continue providing certain IT services directly or outsource them to a commercial provider. The sourcing assessment will closely examine data center, telecom and desktop services and will be conducted with the help of an experienced vendor.
The assessment presents an opportunity to address problems with IT operations in other state agencies. As many as 12 agencies are participating in the assessment, and each agency's IT operations will be evaluated with the same criteria.
GTA selected TPI of Woodlands, Texas, (www.tpi.net) to assist with the assessment. TPI was chosen through competitive bidding. The company is experienced in sourcing assessments and implementations and advised the State of Texas on its data center consolidation project. The sourcing assessment will be completed by January 2008, and TPI will work with GTA to implement the resulting recommendations.
Among the possible recommendations are the following: retain state service delivery but make improvements outsource services GTA manages the vendor, and the state owns the IT assets outsource services GTA manages the vendor, and the vendor owns the IT assets
August 2, 2007