2011 NASCIO Recognition Award Application Enterprise IT Management Initiatives

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1 2011 NASCIO Recognition Award Application Enterprise IT Management Initiatives West Virginia Office of Technology Unified Desktop Program West Virginia Office of Technology Client Services Delivery Rob West, Acting Director Capitol Building #5 10 th Floor Charleston, WV

2 Executive Summary When former Governor Joe Manchin assumed office in January of 2005, one of his primary goals for the State of West Virginia was to eliminate duplication, streamline business processes and reduce administrative operating costs. Technology was a specific area of concern. The governor requested that the CTO conduct an analysis of the existing technology environment within the Executive Branch and report back with findings and recommendations. The findings showed significant opportunities for efficiencies and cost savings from broad IT infrastructure consolidation. As a result, the West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT) was created and plans were made to consolidate the agencies into this new IT support organization. As reviews of each agency were conducted it became evident that there were very few common standards, environments, and practices between the agencies. Each agency ran their own network. Whether the philosophy of the agency was to keep equipment and software up to date, or to stretch the life of the equipment and software until it became nearly non-functional, each agency prided itself in its unique approach to managing IT. The differences between the agencies contributed to lack of interoperability, duplicative functions, and higher costs. WVOT s challenge was to implement a program to manage the 75 unique agency environments at 1075 different locations for nearly 20,000 employees from a single, newly formed organization and to support the individual agencies even better than they had been supporting themselves. The initial attempts at managing and supporting this complex, distributed, and disjointed environment were daunting. In order to reduce complexities and attain efficiencies, the unified desktop program was identified as priority by the CTO. Jumping ahead to 2011, the Office of Technology has created a single unified desktop environment for all agency customers. Hardware is procured from a single manufacturer which applies the WVOT developed standard or custom images prior to shipment to customers. A common set of productivity tools are provided to all agency employees. Multiple avenues of training for agency customers are available to ensure they have the greatest opportunity for success in the use of their technology tools. Software licensing is managed and the maximum value of software investment is being realized. The single domain model has allowed for simplification of PC administration and a common system. Advanced PC management tools have allowed for automation of configuration management, power management, software distribution and inventory. The overall result of this implementation has been an annual cost savings of over $11.5 million dollars in IT associated costs, which has met the mandate of the governor and ultimately benefited the taxpayers in West Virginia. 2

3 Problem and Recommended Solution How do you converge 15,000 PCs and 5,000 laptops from 75 different agencies into a single, unified desktop environment in order to simplify support, gain efficiencies, and fully maximize the IT investment? Prior to agency consolidations, WVOT implemented a field pilot project which proved the conceptual value of the consolidated support model and identified many of the best practices as well as challenges that would lie ahead. The pilot project revealed a PC environment that was enormously diverse with multiple operating systems, versions and patch levels; multiple network architectures; a variety of software productivity tools and versions; antiquated equipment; underutilized equipment; and both managed and unmanaged IT environments. The formal training and skill set of the consolidating employees varied widely. The need for a standard, unified desktop program became evident. The unified desktop program had several high level components that were incorporated into an action list of best practices which included: Implementing a single manufacturer and standard hardware configurations through release of statewide contract; Entering into statewide software licensing agreements for desktop software; Creating a single Executive Domain for authentication of users, management of desktops, standardization of network file and print services, VPN authentication and single statewide ; Acquiring PC management tools and developing processes for managing the environment; Developing a standard desktop image with a customization layer when required; Enhancing the skill set of OT staff in infrastructure tools, custom support environment and focusing on industry standard certifications. Single manufacturer and standard hardware configurations: Prior to the creation of WVOT, agencies developed individual specifications for each procurement and acquired their PCs through a contract bid process. There was no guarantee of manufacturer, model, or third party reseller. Equipment was non-standard throughout each agency and the state. The single PC manufacturer concept was not initially well received by all agencies. Some agencies had manufacturer preferences while others utilized lower cost white box solutions. Regardless of their purchasing strategy, many agencies were skeptical of the new direction. The contract was developed and evaluated with the assistance of agency representatives, which increased buy-in of the concept. Currently, agencies are very satisfied with the products available on the statewide contract and are 3

4 extremely happy with the affordability and cost savings. With standard hardware being rolled out to the agencies through the age and condition process, WVOT now has a more stable and manageable hardware platform to support. Software licensing agreement: Agency desktop software was generally procured with the original PC purchase and was not refreshed throughout the life of the PC. Each time a new PC was purchased, the software was purchased again. Therefore a multitude of software types and versions existed throughout the agencies. To further complicate the matter, add-on software was purchased through different mechanisms and installed as needed. There was no effective way of tracking the licensing for PCs within the agencies. The WVOT entered into licensing agreements on behalf of the agencies which allows for upgrade to the current versions of software, standardizes the productivity suite throughout the agencies, moves from four vendors to one for anti-virus security tools, allows for single system and adds instant messaging, VoIP, unified communication, and voice and data conferencing to the standard suite of offerings. The standard suite of tools has increased user functionality and productivity and reduced the complexity of the support environment for WVOT. As a bonus, on-line end user training was included with the software licensing and has been leveraged, along with classroom and virtual training to increase end user skills with the toolset. Single Executive Domain: The 75 agency networks were utilizing approximately 50 different agency network domains, with the remaining 25 being supported through four different environments by the state s central support organization. In preparation for the consolidation, the framework for a single statewide domain was designed and implemented. That allowed for a unified desktop environment to be deployed. It also allowed for future maintenance of the desktop and for productivity tools to be handled efficiently. The single domain model also provided the entry point into the network for authentication to a central VPN service, defined a standard for file and print services, and laid the groundwork for the single statewide system. PC Management Tools: Of the approximate 55 different network domains, only a dozen were proactively managing patches and security scans, and none were distributing applications. Those that were patching and scanning were doing so upon start-up or during daytime hours which impeded productivity of employees. Inventories varied and PC configurations were not standardized. Many were applying patches and uploading software by hand. WVOT acquired PC management tools which has allowed for advanced management for software distribution, patching, configuration management, power management, and inventory. In order to save energy, the process suspends PCs that are inactive for a period of time during the day, and shuts down inactive PCs at the end of the work day. If desired by the customer, the system can wake up the PCs in the morning prior to the 4

5 arrival of the employee to work. PCs are activated after hours to distribute new versions of software, conduct security scans, patch systems, and conduct maintenance activities. This allows for minimal impact on user productivity. The advanced management tools allow the flexibility to deploy to new tools and update the existing ones with very little human intervention. Standard Desktop Image: Very few agencies were utilizing desktop images, and most were applied by agency staff after the computers were shipped. Many agencies were installing applications individually by hand. Only one agency was applying an image at the manufacturer level and that agency added the custom layer manually after the computers arrived. A thorough evaluation was made of agency needs to identify the components required for the standard desktop solution. After reviewing and identifying the software tools needed for State employees to do their daily work, a standard image was put into place. WVOT manages the images by keeping them up to date with current patch levels and software releases, and applies them to new desktop and laptop models as released by the manufacturer. WVOT also applies a customized software layer when there is a specific business need. After thorough testing, WVOT supplies the standard and custom images to the manufacturer who loads them onto the machines prior to shipping to customer. IT Skill Set Enhancement; All IT infrastructure support staff from the various agencies were consolidated into the WVOT organization. They came with varying degrees of education, experience and skill levels. In order to ensure they would have the skill sets needed to support the desktop environment and customer base, a training initiative was undertaken. The first step was agency cross training, followed by opportunities for classroom and on-line training for industry standard certifications. Certification requirements were added to job descriptions as a requirement for future promotional opportunities. IT desktop support staff continuously receive mentoring and on-the-job training for standard desktop practices, and are among the first to load and test new operating systems and applications prior to roll-out to customer. The skill set enhancement philosophy has been in place since the beginning of the personnel consolidations. The Unified Desktop Program was defined in The final phase, PC management tools for power management, went live 19 months ago. Significance to the improvement of Operations of State Government: The unified desktop program achieves the mandate to eliminate duplication, streamline business processes and reduce administrative operating costs. The program also 5

6 addresses the top two priorities of NASCIO s State CIO Priorities for 2011: Consolidation / Optimization, and Budget and Cost Control. By establishing the unified desktop program: the original 75 agencies at 1075 locations are now being configured and serviced with a consistent single desktop solution; the staff previously serving these multiple sites has been able to learn new skills, support new tools and technology, and add business value to the agencies; the effective use of PC management tools has streamlined the PC support process for patching equipment, managing inventory, and distributing software across the single domain; the PC management tools also result in operating cost reduction and time efficiency for the state employee workforce by allowing updates and servicing to occur after normal business hours; the power management system has taken the best of what technology has to offer and returned utility cost savings to the agencies; hardware acquisition is more efficient and cost effective by utilizing the single manufacturer contract which conforms to configuration standards; a consistent set of productivity tools is provided to each State employee and training on the toolset is provided; software is acquired at the best cost for state government, and licensing is tracked and managed. All state agencies benefit from the unified desktop program allowing each agency to focus on their business functions and utilize technology to support them in their missions. The WVOT, as a new organization, has been able to succeed in its mission of IT consolidation, cost reduction and customer satisfaction. Benefits of the Project The goal mandated by former Governor Joe Manchin is being achieved. The standard desktop solution has moved the fractured, disjointed computing environment to a solid, unified IT solution in the State of West Virginia. Standardizing the desktop tools available to state employees quickly returned payoffs of increased productivity, and IT management efficiencies. There are many obvious benefits resulting from the standard desktop, but the three most significant are: a stronger IT foundation in state government for delivery of services at a substantial cost savings to the taxpayer; security risk is reduced by routinely applying patches and antivirus updates across the enterprise; 6

7 a more collaborative and efficient workforce. The financial savings realized by implementing the unified desktop program are: The single manufacturer PC contract has significantly reduced the cost the State was paying for PC hardware. Approx. procurements per year 10 Average Precontract price 7 Average 2010 price Annual savings Desktop 4,291 $1,633 $543 $4,677,190 67% Laptop 2,465 $1,645 $800 $238,500 51% % reduction Overall savings per year if the procurement rate would have remained steady is $4,224,900 per year. However, PC orders from agencies increased from 4,700 PCs per year in 2007, to 6,756 in 2010, placing the 2010 annual savings estimate at $4,915,690. The standardized and custom image used to load the hardware is installed by the manufacturer. The previous practice of manual load took an average of 1 ½ hours per machine. The average technician s loaded hourly rate is $25 per hour. At 6,756 PCs per year the associated cost savings is $253,350 for The technicians are now more available to work on higher value tasks. By using advanced PC management tools for upgrading, patching, software deployment, and servicing of PCs after hours, a conservative estimate of average time savings is six hours per year of productive time regained per State employee and six hours service time per PC for IT technicians. The average State employee s loaded hourly rate is $26 per hour. With 20,000 PCs currently managed by the tools, the dollar value associated with regaining employee productivity is $3,120,000. The dollar value of regained technician time at six hours per year; $25 per hour for 20,000 PCs is $3,000,000. The total value of regained productivity through the use of PC management tools is $6,120,000 for Using power management software to enforce power management policies for the 70% of employees who weren t following a manual shutdown request has resulted in an average monthly cost savings per PC of $1.70 per month. At 10,500 PCs the resulted in electric utility savings, based on WV utility rates is valued at $214,200 for this first full year of use. Reducing antivirus software programs used from 4 to 1 has resulted in a savings of $150,000. The total bottom line annual financial savings to the State of West Virginia as a result of the unified desktop program is $11,653,240 compared to previous practices. The true bottom line is everyone wins, the WVOT mission is successful, the Governor s goals are met, and the CIO priorities are addressed.