Ector County IT Strategic Plan

Information Technology Strategic Plan
Plan Years 2012 2016

2012 Plan Update
Developed by: eGov Consulting Services

Plan Update: 31 May 2012 COMBS Consulting Group | eGov Consulting Services | TelResources, Inc. Page i
Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update
Letter from County Commissioners

Dear Reader: Thank you for your interest in Ector Countys technology direction. The Information Technology Strategic Plan developed in 2011 has provided a technology roadmap that advances us towards the future. The Plan was a snapshot in time; as deployment has progressed the technology initiatives have been adjusted that take advantage of the opportunities presented by the improvements in technology options. The plan was approved in September 2011 and a series of projects were initiated to address each of the Courts objectives. We have followed an implementation process that continuously evaluates the projects for the optimal technology, costs and benefits. The results of this process have allowed us to reduce the plans Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) while positioning Ector County to take advantage of the emerging broadband wireless and internet based applications. We are committed to the successful implementation of the Plan and accomplishing the initiatives contained within it. These initiatives lay the foundation for the Countys future technology use by streamlining our processes, solidifying our infrastructure and improving the cohesiveness of our team. We are always interested in your feedback, both corrective and complementary. Please forward any comments you may have to Commissioner Dale Childers at childd@co.ector.tx.us. Again, thank you for your interest. Regards, Ector Board of County Commissioners
eGov Consulting Services
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Table of Contents
SECTION 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 ADDRESSING THE GOALS .................................................................................................. 1 PRIORITIZING THE INITIATIVES ............................................................................................ 3 IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN ................................................................................................. 4
SECTION 2: REALIGN IT DEPARTMENT WITH COUNTYS NEEDS 2012 GOAL UPDATE .......................................... 5 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 IT PLAN OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 5 DEVELOP IT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND PROCESS ............................................................. 5 REORGANIZE THE IT DEPARTMENT ...................................................................................... 6 EXPAND THE IT STAFF AND SERVICES ................................................................................... 9 DEVELOP IT POLICIES AND PROCESSES ............................................................................... 10
SECTION 3: SOLIDIFY AND PROTECT THE COUNTYS TECHNICAL INFRASTRUCTURE 2012 GOAL UPDATE .......... 12 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 IT PLAN OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................... 12 ACQUIRE AND IMPLEMENT A SERVICE DESK TOOLSET ............................................................ 12 DEPLOY A STORAGE AREA NETWORK (SAN) / BACKUP SYSTEM .............................................. 13 DEPLOY A NEW NETWORK .............................................................................................. 13 BUILD-OUT NEW COMPUTER ROOMS AT THE ANNEX AND SHERIFF'S OFFICE .............................. 17 MIGRATE DISTRIBUTED COMPUTER ROOMS TO OFF-SITE MANAGED COMPUTING CENTER ........... 18 NEW VOICE OVER IP SYSTEM .......................................................................................... 19
SECTION 4: IMPROVE SERVICEABILITY OF COUNTYS APPLICATIONS ENVIRONMENT 2012 GOAL UPDATE ...... 20 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 IT PLAN OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................... 20 DESKTOP REPLACEMENT PROGRAM .................................................................................. 22 CONSIDER VIRTUAL DESKTOP .......................................................................................... 22 INTEGRATE GIS INTO COUNTY APPLICATIONS ...................................................................... 23 RE-INITIATE THE DEPLOYMENT OF ODYSSEY COURT/PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM.............................. 23 CONSIDER THE MIGRATION OF INCODE TO A CLOUD-BASED ENVIRONMENT ............................... 24
SECTION 5: INVESTMENT UPDATES ..................................................................................................................... 25 5.1 5.2 5.3 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................. 25 UPDATED IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE ............................................................................. 25 UPDATED CALENDARED INVESTMENTS ............................................................................... 26
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Section 1: Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction
The IT Strategic Plan was developed through a consensus process with County Management, IT Departments staff and IT Departments customers. The intent was to take a holistic, corporate view of information technology for the County, in order to better understand how the IT Department could best serve the Countys needs. During the planning process, the Commissioners were interviewed individually to better understand the direction that they wanted to set for the IT Department and information technology in general. The Commissioners expressed their desire to see the following goals pursued by IT Department: Realign the IT Department with the Countys Needs Solidify and Protect the Countys Technical Infrastructure Improve the Serviceability of the Countys Applications Environment.
1.2
Addressing the Goals
A series of project initiatives were developed to support each of the Commissioners goals. These long terms initiatives were designed to change not only what IT Department did, but how it did it. The goals and associated initiatives are: Goal Realign the IT Department with the Countys Needs Initiative Description
Develop IT Establish an IT Governance Committee with authority Governance to determine the ongoing technology direction for the Structure & Process County, associated charter, and processes for projects and IT Department performance review. Reorganize IT Expand IT Staff and Services Develop IT Policies and Processes Implement the new organizational structure with job descriptions that detail responsibilities. Add at least an additional four staff to the IT Department. Provide for ongoing technology planning support. Develop and continue to refine IT processes to address needs. Provide ongoing IT planning support. Acquire and implement a toolset to be used by IT Page 1
Solidify and
Acquire &
Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update Goal Protect the Countys Technical Infrastructure Initiative Implement a Service Desk Toolset Description Customer Service to record incidents, track progress and identify trends in order to continuously improve service desk performance.
Deploy SAN/Backup Deploy a storage area network (SAN) with a System supportable system that provides de-duplication capabilities. Deploy New Network Build-Out new computer rooms at the Annex and Sheriff's Office Migrate Distributed Computer Rooms to Off-Site Managed Computing Center Develop a new MAN/LAN, layer 4 transport, and network management system Countywide. Build out new computer room capabilities, one at the Annex to provide core communications functions, and one at the Sheriff's Office to provide support for core law enforcement systems. Consolidate all application servers throughout the County, except CAD, to a single location; provide managed services for backup, monitoring and alerting in a virtual environment. Since the County is short 5 IT Staff members, and users are requiring greater amount of analytical support, the County should migrate the support of the servers at County Annex, Courthouse, and Sheriff's Office to an off-site hardened site. The outsourcing would include the moving the distributed servers and new SAN to the off-site location and the purchase of a new Core Switch, fiber network access. This would allow IT to focus more on business analysis functions rather than infrastructure support. Network integrated Voice over IP system to replace aging PBX once the maintenance contract expires on the existing system and the County network infrastructure is fully deployed. For the next four years, continue to operate applications environment as currently configured. Consider the deployment of cloud based financials once the fundamental infrastructure is in place and the applications environment fully matures. Place all County desktop assets (desktops, laptops, incar computers) on a 4-year replacement cycle. Page 2
New VOIP System
Improve Serviceability of Applications Environment
Consider migration of Incode to a Cloud-based environment. Desktop Replacement Program (short-
Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update Goal Initiative term) Virtual Desktop Program (longterm) Integrate GIS into County Applications Re-initiate the Deployment of Odyssey Court/ Public Safety System Consider migrating to a virtual desktop to minimize desktop management requirements; purchase servers to support virtualized environment. Utilizing the GIS infrastructure from Odessa, integrate with County applications as possible. Initiate project management over the Odyssey project to get the project on course. Description
1.3
Prioritizing the Initiatives
Each of the initiatives was prioritized by the Court according to technical sequencing and business need as shown below.
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1.4
Implementing the Plan
A detailed project plan was developed that incorporated resourcing and detailed project tasks. The overall IT Strategic Plan Project Structure and May 2012 status is provided below.
Task Name % Complete IT Strategic Plan Implementation 31% Project Kickoff 100% Monitoring, Planning and Management 58% On-Site 56% Ongoing Cutover Progress 62% Realign IT Department with County Needs 55% Reorganize IT 100% Develop IT Policies and Processes 100% Expand IT Staff and Services 62% Develop IT Governance 0% Solidify and Protect the County's 22% Technical Infrastructure Service Desk Toolset 100% Preliminary Network Design 100% Network Integrator Vendor Research 100% Detailed Network Design 67% IT Staff Office Requirements 0% Implement IT Staff Office 0% Deploy Physical Layer 0% Deploy Network Layer 0% Network Complete 0% Improve the Serviceability of the County's 32% Applications Environment Re-initiate Odyssey Deployment 37% Integrate GIS into County Applications 0% Duration 722.25 days 0.25 days 254 days 254 days 244 days 479 days 21.75 days 30.5 days 142.25 days 61 days 438.25 days 24 days 64.75 days 14 days 92 days 13 days 85 days 241.25 days 257.25 days 0 days 722.25 days 722.25 days 154 days Start Finish Tue 9/20/11 Mon 7/7/14 Tue 9/20/11 Tue 9/20/11 Tue 10/4/11 Tue 10/2/12 Tue 10/4/11 Tue 10/2/12 Mon 10/10/11 Mon 9/24/12 Tue 9/20/11 Wed 7/31/13 Tue 9/20/11 Wed 10/19/11 Wed 11/30/11 Wed 1/18/12 Tue 10/18/11 Mon 5/14/12 Tue 5/7/13 Wed 7/31/13 Tue 9/20/11 Tue 6/4/13
Tue 9/20/11 Mon 10/24/11 Tue 10/4/11 Thu 1/12/12 Thu 1/12/12 Tue 1/31/12 Wed 2/1/12 Thu 6/7/12 Mon 7/16/12 Wed 8/1/12 Thu 8/2/12 Wed 11/28/12 Tue 9/20/11 Fri 8/31/12 Fri 6/8/12 Tue 6/4/13 Tue 5/28/13 Tue 5/28/13 Tue 9/20/11 Tue 9/20/11 Tue 6/11/13 Mon 7/7/14 Mon 7/7/14 Mon 1/13/14
The following sections provide an update to each of the commissions goals.
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Section 2: Realign IT Department with Countys Needs 2012 Goal Update

2.1 IT Plan Overview
Many County IT organizations are undergoing a significant, strategic transformation to a customer-focused service delivery organization. This requires that governance structures and processes, organizational structures, sourcing methods and core policies and processes must be reevaluated. This is accomplished through the initiatives included in this section: Develop IT Governance Structure & Process Reorganize the IT Department Expand IT Staff and Services Develop IT Policies and Processes
2.2
Develop IT Governance Structure and Process
IT Plan Initiative The County should establish an IT Governance Committee with authority to determine the ongoing technology direction for the County, associated charter, and processes for projects and IT Department performance review. May 2012 Update This initiative was postponed until the IT staff could be increased. The IT staff has been operating with very limited staff due to staff resignations, illness and maternity leave. The limited staff had capacity to only manage critical support calls. As of May 2012 the County has hired an additional Help Desk Technician and the IT staff members that were out for illness and maternity have returned. Once the core network is installed and stabilized the governance structure will implemented. Next Steps Postpone the Governance process until the hiring of the IT Manager in Year 3 2014.
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2.3
Reorganize the IT Department
IT Plan Initiative The County should implement the new organizational structure, shown below, with job descriptions that detail responsibilities. This structure serves to: Separate reactive functions (e.g., Customer Service) from pro-active functions (e.g., Technology Planning) Provide a technology-oriented, systems capabilities-focused position that is responsible for making activity happen on-time and on-budget within IT in the form of a project manager, who is also a business-oriented and customer-facing Provides formalized major applications support with within the IT Department Provides professional network management and systems administration, including security, and Isolates the triage mindset in Customer Service from the rest of the project-oriented IT Department.
This organization assumes that the IT Department has made and is utilizing the necessary operational improvements (e.g., Remote Control Software, Lock Down administrative rights) and streamline key IT processes (e.g., Service Desk Management, Incident Management) to allow the IT organization to operate more effectively. The structure of the Information Technology Department is designed to support both strategic, proactive activities as well as tactical, reactive activities. It will evolve over the first four years of the Plan: Beginning with a re-organization in Year 1 Hiring of the Infrastructure Support Supervisor and Odyssey Support Analyst in Year 2 Hiring of the IT Manager and the Applications Support Supervisor to support the new financial applications in Year 3
The Year 1 staffing changes are illustrated below.
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Commissioners Court
Ector County IT Staffing Plan Year 1
Contracts Management Project Management Business Analysis
IT Manager
Technology Planning
Applications Support Supervisor
Infrastructure Support Supervisor
Customer Service Supervisor
Odyssey Support Analyst
Systems Administrator
Help Desk Technician
Key
New Hires Outsourced Function
Major Applications Odyssey Support GIS Support WEB-based Systems Interface Development
Security Windows Server Network/Storage Colocation Site
Proactive
Reactive
May 2012 Update The plan called for the re-organization of the department in Year 1 and hiring into the infrastructure area in Year 2. The re-organization was completed by moving one of the Help Desk Technicians to the infrastructure area as the Infrastructure Support Supervisor rather than the System Administrator. The technician demonstrated the ability and commitment to perform the position. However, during the transition all of the Help Desk Technicians were unavailable due to resignation, illness, and maternity leave. The existing Customer Service Supervisor was reassigned to support the Public Safety area. The focused support of the Public Safety area proved to be beneficial due to the complexity of the law enforcement technology, thus a Public Safety Service Supervisor position has been created to support the Sheriff and Jail Complex.
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Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update The following is the revised organizational structure implemented in Year 1.
Commissioners Court
IT Manager
Technology Planning
Public Safety Service Supervisor
Key
Public Safety End User Dispatch, Jail and Sheriff Operation support
Administrative End User Annex, Courthouse and all non-public safety support.
Proactive
Reactive
Next Steps Create a permanent position for Public Safety Service Supervisor. Create a new System Administrator position to support the new domain, email and server infrastructure. Transfer one of the Help Desk Technicians to the Odyssey Support Analyst and provide them with Odyssey training. The Year 2 reorganization is shown below.
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Commissioners Court
IT Manager
Technology Planning
Public Safety Service Supervisor
Key
Public Safety End User Dispatch, Jail and Sheriff Operation support
Administrative End User Annex, Courthouse and all non-public safety support.
Proactive
Reactive
2.4
Expand the IT Staff and Services
IT Plan Initiative The County should add at least an additional four staff to the IT Department and outsource ongoing technology planning support. May 2012 Update A new Help Desk Technician was hired and the other two Technicians have returned from sick and maternity leave. They temporarily report to the Public Safety Service Supervisor until a Customer Service Supervisor is hired. Next Steps Complete the hiring of the Customer Service Supervisor. Re-assign one of the Help Desk Technicians to the Odyssey Support Analyst. Hire a Systems Administrator. Backfill the reassigned Help Desk Technician and have them all report to the Customer Service Supervisor. eGov Consulting Services Page 9
2.5
Develop IT Policies and Processes
IT Plan Initiative A recent research study1 used the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) to develop an ITIL deployment roadmap that focused the key ITIL processes that most impacted customer service needs. Those primary processes that are linked to providing optimized service request fulfillment were: Service Desk Incident Management.
Additional ITIL Processes that support the operation include: Network Management Security Management Storage Management
The implementation of the Service Desk and Incident Management processes will have the greatest effect on Customer Service and should be a priority for the IT Department. The IT Department has very few replicable processes in place. However, due to its low turnover rate, many of the processes are inherently performed by the IT personnel. The organization has worked because the staff simply knows what to do. However, if the County has an increase in turnover rate or explores alternate support and staffing options such as business process outsourcing, it must address the lack of documentation of the process being considered for outsourcing. In a recent 2005 study2 conducted by the MIS Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) of 90 outsourcing deals at 84 companies, CIOs showed much greater satisfaction with outsourcing arrangements where the processes were well-defined and had clear business rules. Nine out of 10 IT executives in the study reported success with their transaction outsourcing. If the County chooses to outsource any functions, then the vendor chosen should be advanced in their development and practice of ITIL processes. The County should be careful to choose a vendor that has a mature process (i.e., documented process with available metrics on process performance) in place.
1
ITIL implementation roadmap based on process governance Dorota Nicewicz-Modrzewska, Przemysaw Stolarski, Adam Mickiewicz University Computer Centre, ul. Umultowska 89a, Poznan, Poland, 2 Simple Successful Outsourcing by Stephanie Overby, October 1, 2005 CIO Magazine
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Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update May 2012 Update With the deployment of the Service Desk software, the Service Desk and Incident Management Process were codified and training was provided to the IT Staff and End-Users. In addition, a super user and subject matter experts group was created to assist the Customer Service group by distributing the problem resolution process. With the temporary vacancies of the IT Help Desk Technicians and the lack of direct Customer Service Supervision performance statistics have not been adequately maintained. Next Steps With the expected completion of the Local and Wide Area Network, the Network, Security and Storage management processes will have to be developed in conjunction with the Infrastructure Supervisor. Also once the Customer Service Supervisor is hired they will be able to adequately track the support statistics, and manage the incident process with the super users and SMEs.
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Section 3: Solidify and Protect the Countys Technical Infrastructure 2012 Goal Update
To best meet the rising demands of its customers and address the complexities of connectivity required by the Countys enterprise applications, the County must solidify and protect its technical infrastructure. This is accomplished through the initiatives included in this section: Acquire and Implement a Service Desk Toolset Deploy Storage Area Network (SAN) / Backup System Deploy a New Network Build-Out New Computer rooms at the Annex and Sheriff's Office Migrate Distributed Computer Rooms to Off-Site Managed Computing Center New VOIP System
3.2
Acquire and Implement a Service Desk Toolset
IT Plan Update The County should acquire and implement a toolset to be used by the IT Departments Customer Service to record incidents, track progress and identify trends in order to continuously improve service desk performance. May 2012 Update Completed
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3.3
Deploy a Storage Area Network (SAN) / Backup System
IT Plan Initiative The County should deploy a storage area network (SAN) with a supportable system that provides for the safe and recoverable storage of the core applications (i.e. Odyssey and Incode) May 2012 Update The County has explored the use of Region SAN as a disaster recovery backup. However, the County has also begun to explore the outsourcing of the core Tyler applications (i.e. Odyssey and Incode) to a Tyler hosting facility. This would mitigate the need for an extensive SAN and would delay the deployment to a limited outsourced SAN in Year 3 2014. Next Steps Pursue an Outsourcing contract with Tyler for the Odyssey system after completion of the new network and of the Odyssey civil applications. This process could be initiated in Year 2 2013 and completed in Year 3 2014.
3.4
Deploy a New Network
IT Plan Initiative The County should develop a new metropolitan area network (MAN) / local area network (LAN), layer 4 transport, and network management system Countywide. This would include: A Countywide MAN inter-connecting all major County facilities to the Annex (Network Core) Standardizing and simplifying the network architecture and systems management by initially integrating access switching, core switching, and eventually providing for server virtualization, telephony services and building wireless access so that systems management and security can be managed end to end. Centralizing the network core on fault tolerant network switches Installing a new Data network at each County Facility supporting 10/100/1000 switched Ethernet, supporting QoS.
The diagram below illustrates the conceptual design for the new network.
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Future Deployment
Internet
DPS
Sheriffs Office Campus SO Headquarters External Computing Center

Computing Center
Firewall DC Odyssey All County Servers SO Computer Room NG 911 CAD Firewall Backbone Switch First Floor Local Access Switch PC Communications DC MSS Firewall Radio Controller CT DP Map CT DP Map PC
911 Phone Network

SAN
Financial/HR Backbone Switch
New Fiber Trunk
Public Works Campus Jail

Local Access Switch PC PC
New Fiber Trunk
Existing County Fiber
Local Access Switch PC
Radio tower
Vehicle Maint
PC
Annex
Network Center
Firewall DC VDI Call Manager Firewall
Public Works
Local Access Switch PC PC
Backbone Core
First Floor Local Access Switch PC PC
Microwave
SAN
Phone Network
Downtown
Internet
VPN
PC Medical Examiner
PC Local Access Switch Backbone Switch PC
PC
Courthouse
Local Access Switch Remote Sites PC (1) Local Access Switch Remote Sites (10) PC
Existing County Fiber

Local Access Switch PC PC Health Department PC PC PD/EOC PC Local Access Switch PC
ECTOR COUNTY CONCEPTUAL NETWORK DATE: 7/31/2011 V3

FILE: ECTOR CONCEPTUAL NETWORK
May 2012 Update Various connectivity options were considered including combining Fiber trunking with Wireless Microwave backhaul. The options were evaluated for installation and complexity, system disaster recovery capability and long term viability of the courthouse. The conclusion was to deploy a self-healing microwave backhaul network with manageable switching systems at each of the facilities. As of this update the county has selected JTS as the overall systems integrator responsible for the deployment of the microwave backhaul and switching. They are responsible for the deployment of GE MDS microwave backhaul equipment, and HP Switching for facilities switching.
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Ector County Information Technology Strategic Plan for 2012 2016 2012 Plan Update The design called for the reuse of as much of the existing tower assets within Ector County, including the use of City of Odessa towers. However, the City Odessa expressed concerns regarding the loading stress on their towers. The County has had to build an extra tower in order to obtain the appropriate line of site network connection. The backhaul microwave network is shown below:
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Next Steps Finalize network IP subnetting and switching design. Deployment is expected to be completed in Year 1 by the fall of 2012. A review of the legacy LMR radio infrastructure should be performed in Year 2 2013 in order to verify integrity of the LMR system. eGov Consulting Services Page 16
3.5
Build-Out New Computer rooms at the Annex and Sheriff's Office
IT Plan Initiative The County should build out new computer room capabilities, one at the Annex to provide core communications functions, and one at the Sheriff's Office to provide support for core law enforcement systems. This would include: Upgrading the Annex computer room to house the network core and potentially the virtual desktop servers. Although these items could be externally hosted, due to the fundamental importance of the network and desktop management, the network core and the virtual desktop environment (if implemented) should be internally hosted and managed at the Annex. Creating a single domain structure for all County users. Implementing a SAN and modernizing server platforms to blade systems at the Annex for the core Odyssey applications. This will leave the existing distributed servers at the remote locations until they are either migrated to the external computing center or consolidated in the Annex computer room if an adequate external data center is not available.
May 2012 Update The main computer room is being centralized at the Annex. This room was further evaluated for adequacy of space to house the core switching and internet connection. New racks are being deployed by JTS to house the new switching and wireless backbone interconnects. The Sheriff Office was further reviewed for adequate computer room space. After reviewing the existing computer room and the 911 room, the 911 room was selected due to space availability, ease of interconnection to the critical servers, and reduced cost of installation. The courthouse computer room, although inadequate from a wire management perspective, will be continued to be used in the short term since the court does not want to make substantial infrastructure investments in the Courthouse. The computer room houses the Odyssey servers and switching. However, once the Odyssey servers are remotely hosted the need for this room will be reduced. Next Steps Continue deployment of the new racks at each of the County facilities, verify cabling adequacy replacing any bad cabling. This is expected to be completed in Year 1, second quarter of 2012.
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3.6
Migrate Distributed Computer Rooms to Off-Site Managed Computing Center
IT Plan Initiative The County should consolidate all application servers throughout the County, except CAD, to a single location; provide managed services for backup, monitoring and alerting in a virtual environment. Since the County is short IT staff members, and users are requiring greater amount of analytical support. In order to provide improve the level of systems management and overall support the County could migrate the support of the servers to an off-site hardened managed data center site. The migration would include: Moving (or replacing as required) the remaining distributed servers throughout the county. In considering the move of the servers to a potentially virtualized outsourced data center, a server test bed would have to be created to verify with the applications vendors those that could operate in a virtualized environment. Purchasing, deploying and integrating a new core switch with the existing County network. Deploying a new secondary storage area network (SAN). Deploying a fiber network link from the Annex to the managed data center.
The outsourcing of these systems to an external site could then allow the IT Department to focus more on business analysis functions rather than infrastructure support and provide the County with disaster recovery site. May 2012 Update The outsourcing of these systems has been explored with Region 18. Region 18 will be providing the core switching and fiber trunking between the Annex and their data center for Internet access and offsite storage. This migration will allow Ector County to save the cost of deploying a long haul fiber link and SAN storage. It will allow for the outsourcing of the Odyssey and Incode applications to the Tyler hosting facility. Next Steps An overall migration of all of the Ector County servers will be reconsidered in Year 3 once the WAN and Internet is deployed and the Infrastructure support staff is fully engaged to support the existing systems. The County will also consider using Region 18 as an external SAN storage host.
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3.7
New Voice Over IP System
IT Plan Initiative The County should deploy a new network integrated Voice over IP system to replace aging PBX once the maintenance contract expires. May 2012 Update This was planned for Year 5. Next Steps Continue with original plan strategy.
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Section 4: Improve Serviceability of Countys Applications Environment 2012 Goal Update

Ector County has traditionally had a siloed approach to its applications architecture, with disparate applications used for most County functions and little integration between them. Historically, systems were originally acquired based upon their ability to support departmental needs; the systems acquisition process did not require the development of detailed specifications against which all vendors would be evaluated, nor did it consider the wider technology environment in which applications would be deployed and supported. Two relatively recent acquisitions by the County have challenged the siloed approach: Incode and Odyssey. These are state-of-the-art applications recently introduced to the marketplace have the ability to integrate or interface to other systems; in fact, these fully integrated systems are available that handle end-to-end functionality for key functional areas, such as County operations and public safety. In addition, these applications have the inherent ability to (a) leverage key data, such as GIS, that could be used to link disparate systems together, and (b) streamline operational workflows for improved process efficiency when done in conjunction with process re-engineering. The future state of Ector Countys applications and their various interacts are illustrated below.
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Adult Probation State Server
Correction Software Solutions (CSS)
ESRI GIS Data (City of Odessa)
Compliance
Maysi2 IPLOW Compliance Management (Cloud Based)
Juvenile/Adult Probation
Juvenile SQL Server
Medical Examiner
County Website
Adult Probation
CaseWorker5
Medical Examiner Management (Cloud-based)
Elections
RAS Server Early Voting Votec Jail Manager SQL Server Law Enforcement CAD
Sheriff
Public Works
GIS
Cemetery Management (Cloud-based)
Cemetery
CJIS
Arcview Computerized Maintenance Management / Work Order System (Cloud-based)
GIS ESRI
Nexus
Courts/Criminal Justice
Prosecuter
Building Maintenance / Equipment Services

Court Admin Payroll Fixed Asset Check Reconciliation Document Management Computerized Maintenance Management / Work Order System (Cloud-based)
Hot Checks
CCM Criminal Justice Odyssey SQL Server Images on Image Server Check Manager Purchase Orders Finance/ Administration (Cloud Based)
Project Accounting
Coliseum
Jury Financial Manager Case Manager JP Prosecutor General Ledger Accounts Payables Inventory
Cash Collections
EventSoft Coliseum Management (Cloud-based)
Finance/Administration
Key Countywide Single Department Courts/Safety Interface Portal Internal Application External Application Provider Internally Hosted Countywide Use Database External Data Provider
The County will begin this transition to this future applications environment through the initiatives included in this section: Desktop Replacement Program (short-term) Consider Virtual Desktop (long term) Integrate GIS into County Applications Re-initiate the Deployment of Odyssey Court / Public Safety System Consider the migration of Incode to a Cloud-based Environment.
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4.2
Desktop Replacement Program
IT Plan Initiative The County should consider investing in a multi-year budgeted desktop equipment replacement plan, which, in the short term, would bring all the computers up to a capability that would support Windows 7. May 2012 Update This project was postponed to Year 2 due to limited staff and lack of network connectivity to deploy new software. Next Steps Deploy new workstations with Windows 7/Office connected to MS Exchange once the network is completed.
4.3
Consider Virtual Desktop
IT Plan Initiative The County should consider the deployment of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, which would allow it to leverage the limited IT staff it has available for upgrades of hardware and software. However this should be considered once the Countys network infrastructure is mature, the IT staff is prepared to support the higher level of complexity, and the economics of the virtual desktop environment is more favorable than the replacement of legacy desktop units. May 2012 Update The project was not planned until Year 4. With the delay of the desktop deployment this project can be delayed to Year 5. Next Steps Continue with plan strategy for Year 5 implementation.
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4.4
Integrate GIS into County Applications
IT Plan Initiative The County should begin development of its GIS capabilities in cooperation with entities in the area that share similar geo-codes (e.g., City of Odessa). To do this, the County must acquire industry standard GIS software, i.e., ESRI and integrate it with the Odessa GIS Server. May 2012 Update This project has been postponed to Year 3 due to lack of network connectivity an effective Odyssey implementation. Next Steps Deploy in Year 3.
4.5
Re-Initiate the Deployment of Odyssey Court/Public Safety System
IT Plan Initiative The County should re-evaluate the Odyssey deployment, including: Reviewing functional requirements and acceptance criteria to determine original functional needs. Reviewing Tyler deliverables to date and how they met the acceptance criteria. Reviewing the project management and governance methodology to determine functional decision making process and progress to date and path forward.
May 2012 Update All of the plan initiatives were completed. The next steps were further reviewed with the Council of Urban Counties (CUC) in order to determine the cost estimate for resolving the existing deployment issues. In addition, the Ector County court staff was engaged and trained on the use of the Odyssey system. As of this update the Court Staff is coordinating with IT to schedule a business workflow review of the civil processes. As of this update a date has not been agreed by the Court staff. Next Steps Finalize date with court staff to perform business workflow review. Obtain detailed cost from Tyler to resolve deployment constraints. Implement required changes to the civil systems in Year 2 2013 and the Criminal Systems in Year 3 2014. eGov Consulting Services Page 23
4.6
Consider the Migration of Incode to a Cloud-based Environment
IT Plan Initiative Continue to operate with the existing version of Incode. Consider the migration of Incode to a Cloud-based Environment as the application and County network infrastructure matures. May 2012 Update The Incode migration to the Tyler hosting site was explored and the feasibility verified. Next Steps Complete network/internet deployment as well as Odyssey migration to the Tyler hosting site. Continue with the original plan for deployment in Year 4.
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Section 5: Investment Updates

5.1 Overview
This section details the calendarized investments for the implementation, both one-time and recurring, and the related implementation schedule for the initiatives described in the plan.
5.2
Updated Implementation Schedule
The following reflects the timeline updates to the Strategic Plan.

Year 1 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Year 2 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Year 3 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Year 4 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Year 5 Q2 Q3 Q4
Goal 1: Realign IT Department with County Needs

Develop IT Governance Reorganize IT Expand IT Staff and Services Develop IT Policies/Processes
Goal 2: Solidify and Protect the Countys Technical Infrastructure

Service Desk Toolset
Deploy San/Backup System

Deploy New Network New Data Centers Migrate Computer Rooms New VOIP System
Goal 3: Improve the Serviceability of the Countys Applications Environment

Migrate Incode to Cloud Desktop Replacement Program Virtual Desktop Program
Initiate GIS
Re-Initiate Odyssey Deployment
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5.3
Updated Calendared Investments
The 2012 updated calendared investments, both one-time and recurring, are shown in the diagram below. The original plan forecast is also shown for comparison. 2012 Calendared Investments
$1,400,000 $1,200,000 $1,000,000 $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 $200,000 One-time Recurring
$0
1 2 3 Years 4 5
One-Time Recurring TOTALS
Year 1 $1,384,445 $18,767 $1,403,211
Calendarized Investment Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 $1,308,376 $482,938 $135,100 $585,328 $1,176,660 $1,250,460 $1,893,704 $1,659,598 $1,385,560
Year 5 $1,000,100 $1,300,460 $2,300,560
Total $4,310,959 $4,331,675 $8,642,633
Original 2011 Plan Calendared Investments

Year 1 $1,811,500 $49,000 $1,860,500 Calendarized Investment Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 $365,235 $2,390,000 $340,000 $628,905 $859,105 $710,105 $994,140 $3,249,105 $1,050,105 Year 5 $725,000 $903,855 $1,628,855 Total $5,631,735 $3,150,970 $8,782,705
One-Time Recurring TOTALS
Page 26

Ector County IT Strategic Plan

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Ector County IT Strategic Plan

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

Plan Years 2012 2016

Developed by: eGov Consulting Services

Letter from County Commissioners

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Section 1: Executive Summary

Addressing the Goals

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New VOIP System

Improve Serviceability of Applications Environment

Consider migration of Incode to a Cloud-based environment. Desktop Replacement Program (short-

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Prioritizing the Initiatives

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Implementing the Plan

The following sections provide an update to each of the commissions goals.

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Section 2: Realign IT Department with Countys Needs 2012 Goal Update

Develop IT Governance Structure and Process

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Reorganize the IT Department

The Year 1 staffing changes are illustrated below.

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Ector County IT Staffing Plan Year 1

Contracts Management Project Management Business Analysis

Applications Support Supervisor

Infrastructure Support Supervisor

Customer Service Supervisor

Odyssey Support Analyst

Help Desk Technician

Security Windows Server Network/Storage Colocation Site

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk Technician

eGov Consulting Services

Ector County IT Staffing Plan Year 1

Contracts Management Project Management Business Analysis

Applications Support Supervisor

Infrastructure Support Supervisor

Public Safety Service Supervisor

Customer Service Supervisor

Odyssey Support Analyst

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk Technician

Security Windows Server Network/Storage Colocation Site

eGov Consulting Services

Ector County IT Staffing Plan Year 2

Contracts Management Project Management Business Analysis

Applications Support Supervisor

Infrastructure Support Supervisor

Public Safety Service Supervisor

Customer Service Supervisor

Odyssey Support Analyst

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk Technician

Security Windows Server Network/Storage Colocation Site

Expand the IT Staff and Services

Develop IT Policies and Processes

eGov Consulting Services

eGov Consulting Services

Acquire and Implement a Service Desk Toolset

eGov Consulting Services