Small Towns, Big Tech

Transcription

1 A Question for Attendees Small Towns, Big Tech What comes to mind when you reflect on the topic for this session? Employees and constituents are increasing the demand for IT resources in state and local government. Government needs to respond to this increase and respond with existing assets. IT departments must determine three things: What services constituents desire Which departments are consuming their resources How they will utilize and leverage their current asset base The primary goal of shared services is to make the most efficient use of existing assets and investments for government to fulfill its mission to effectively serve employees and constituents. Shared services ranked as the highest 2012 technology initiative for state governments in the 2012 Midyear Market Assessment by the Center for Digital Government. City and county governments were similarly committed to the approach, placing it third and fourth on their respective to-do lists for

2 Sharing services can be a powerful aid in satisfying two big mandates common in the public sector today: lowering costs and improving efficiency. By sharing services across numerous agencies, organizations can achieve economies of scale that weren't possible before. Colorado Government Association of Information Technology (CGAIT) A 501(c)(6) non-profit business association of local government IT professionals Managers, Directors, CTOs, and CIOs 300+ representatives from over 70 cities, counties and special districts throughout the State of Colorado The group promotes state-wide and regional cooperation, and shares ideas on how to improve technology solutions while saving money. Source: Shared Services: Obstacles and Solutions, Jan 9, 2008, By Jim Meyers Government Shared Services Council (GSSC) GSSC Progress Report Chartered CGAIT Standing Sub-committee, based on CGAIT Bylaws Mission Statement - "Utilize collaborative technology and resources across Government entities to provide effective and efficient citizen centered services" Goals Establish a means to discuss opportunities for shared IT services; provide governance for implementing shared IT services; create a shared IT services catalog utilizing best practices; and provide opportunities to reduce costs for citizen centered services Surveyed CGAIT membership regarding their Challenges and Opportunities Awareness raising: presentations to various groups Summer 2010 hired North Highland with CGAIT funds to research issues and facilitate a business plan. Created a process for vetting shared services based on best practices Created shared services catalog Shared Services Defined A single Jurisdiction consolidating and centralizing a business service A Jurisdiction consolidating and centralizing a business service that will be shared by other Jurisdictions Agreement between two or more Jurisdictions to set up and operate Shared Services Contractual arrangement with a third party provider for a range of services which include Shared Services Joint Venture between a Jurisdiction and a third party provider A third party taking full responsibility for managing and operating the service City of Littleton: IGA s with Arapahoe County regarding Fiber Infrastructure and Facility Access City of Littleton: Utility Billing system credit card payment processing services provided by SIPA CGAIT: Public website hosted by SIPA Larimer County: Google system in partnership with SIPA City and County of Denver: Dell Computer purchasing agreement (may be expired) 2

3 City of Arvada and City of Boulder: Shared web content management technologies Douglas County: sex offender registration, tracking and public website presentation system Douglas County: Multi-jurisdictional hazmat application Douglas County: North Central Region's shared GIS repository Grand Junction: Regional Communications Center plus a Communication Training Officer Academy Jefferson County: New Data Center / Co-location facility (GSSC service catalog) Metro Assessors System Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, and Jefferson Counties Pueblo County GIS services (GSSC service catalog) Background 2007 Vendor driven Assessor System upgrade costs too much for several counties needed another option. Solution Fall 2007 Assessor s conference Big Idea: Share Pueblo County s in house system! Host (Pueblo County): Invest in making system sharable Put other projects on hold; Re-allocate 75% of the application development staff to the project; Increase virtual desktop capacity by 50% Add staff: 3 Programmers Adopt multiple IGAs, herd cats Subscribers: Prepare to move Received a $250,000 DOLA grant to upgrade subscribers desktops and printers Prepared data for conversion and testing Total timeline: A year and a half Currently six counties, including Costilla, Conejos, Alamosa, Saguache, Rio Grande, and San Juan, plus Pueblo County on the system Subscribers get a good system for less $$. Plus no vendor driven upgrades Cost for everyone goes down as more counties join In 2012, Pueblo County is charging $ per month per user 3

4 2011 Estimated Revenue over Expenses: Shared Services will generate $325, with expenses of $145, for a net revenue gain of $179, Actual Revenue over Expenses: Shared Services generated $346, with direct shared services expenses of $153, for a net revenue gain of $193, Shared Services Revenue compared with overall IT Expenses of $2,729, was 12.69% 2012 Estimated Revenue over Expenses: Shared Services generated $312,000 with direct shared services expenses of $153,167 for an estimated net revenue gain of $158,833 The 2012 numbers may go up some, Pueblo County is currently looking at bringing on another County that has eighteen users Summary GSSC has heard from some potential shared service providers the question: What s in it for me? One answer: Potential source of revenues Pueblo County is a perfect example of a shared services business model Do not expect revenue generation overnight it is a process that requires investment, focus, time, and patience Other IT Shared Service Programs Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) Created in 2004 by an act of the Colorado State Legislature Provides efficient and effective e-government services for eligible governmental entities and citizens through the use of modern business practices and innovative technology solutions Eligible governmental entities include state and local governments, school districts, and other eligible entities within the State of Colorado One of the primary missions is assisting governmental entities to be successful with utilizing shared services to reduce costs and increase functionality Other IT Shared Service Programs Minnesota LOGIS quasi-governmental service agency: JDE ERP for 44 Cities (Other services too) Seattle Area ecitygov Alliance Virtual shared services organization: 9 cities host applications for 28 subscriber communities. Texas North Central Texas Council of Governments COG Services + HR and IT Services. Lessons Learned Sharing services can be a very good business model: Saves money Service levels not possible going solo Staff pooling for depth of bench There are risks and shared services need to be done the right way: Use best practices Ad hoc approach OK, but transformational models require investment, structure, and support Executive leadership and commitment Long term vision and work plan Good governance Adequately resourced program management 4

5 Questions and Discussion Contact Information Ken Price 2012 CGAIT Chair IS Director, City of Littleton Don Ingle CGAIT CML Section Chair IT Director, City of Boulder 5