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3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction City Profile Background Project Purpose and Benefits Approach Current Environment Assessment Assessment Activities Findings and Recommendations Roadmap ITSP Enablers Projects Conclusion NexLevel Information Technology, Inc. assisted the City of Pismo Beach in the development of this IT Strategic Plan. The Plan is intended to be used as a roadmap to help ensure information technology effectively supports the City s current and future needs. Page 2

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5 1 Introduction 1.1 City Profile Pismo Beach s Vision: Pismo Beach is a beachfront Provide a safe place; community located on the Central Coast along six miles maintain its small beach of the Pacific Ocean in San town character; manage Luis Obispo County. The City growth effectively; and encompasses approximately enhance a vibrant touristbased economy, while 3.6 square miles, with a significant amount of recreational beach area becoming a world-renowned available to residents and tourist destination. visitors. Pismo Beach is primarily a residential and tourist community, with a base population of approximately 7,700 residents and a peak-season population of more than 30,000. Pismo Beach was first incorporated in 1939, then disincorporated the following year due to concerns over the possibility of increased taxes. Reincorporation as a general law City occurred in The City Council is made up of five members: the Mayor is elected to a two year term, and the remaining four City Council members serve four-year staggered terms with two members elected every two years. The City operates under a council-manager form of government. The City Council appoints the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk. The City of Pismo Beach has 94 authorized full-time equivalent employees and delivers municipal services through five departments: City Clerk; Administrative Services; Public Works; Community Development; and Police. Fire services are provided through a contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CALFIRE). 1.2 Background Pismo Beach has a history of being fiscally conservative. In recent years, when the economy deteriorated, the City reduced costs in ways that avoided major service impacts to residents and businesses. Today, the City is experiencing overall economic stability and advancement due to the improving economic climate and the City s active tourism industry. Given this outlook, the City continues with the budget goals of maintaining the levels of service currently provided to residents, reducing expenses wherever practical, meeting employee obligations and maintaining adequate general fund reserves. At the same time, technology in general has been progressing at breakneck speed, and citizens have become more technology savvy, expecting increased and more efficient services through the use of technology. Technology has the potential to improve citizen and tourist access to services, increase staff productivity, extend availability of services beyond the normal business hours, and provide more transparency regarding operations. As a part of the budget, the Pismo Beach City Council established a set of City Council Goals and Priorities. Included in these were three technology related objectives: Acquire and install 21st century technology in the Police Department Page 4

6 Move to paperless agendas incorporating best practices from elsewhere Acquire and install 21 st century financial management software Establishment of these goals reflects the City Council s desire to move Pismo Beach forward in terms of technology leverage. With the City Council s leadership in prioritizing technology initiatives, along with City management s desire to maximize the use of technology to increase efficiency and service to the community, the City of Pismo Beach selected NexLevel Information Technology, Inc. (NexLevel) to assist in the development of an Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP). NexLevel is a Technology Management Consulting company that specializes in helping California local governments plan for and implement technology. This document presents the resulting IT Strategic Plan. 1.3 Project Purpose and Benefits Over time, local governments typically struggle to keep up with technology demands. Technology needs and reliance often exceed what can be delivered by the supporting IT organization s resources and capabilities. As shown in Figure 1, the IT Strategic Plan provides a roadmap that will help Pismo Beach close the gap between current and future technology needs compared to available resources. Figure 1 Technology Gap For Pismo Beach, the ITSP addresses the key technology issues facing the City, describes the technology projects necessary to address the issues, as well as the IT organizational changes and hardware lifecycle management approach that will provide for the successful technology operation for the next three to five years. The ITSP also includes a project timeline, which addresses project priorities by fiscal year budget cycles. Implementation of the ITSP will provide the City with the following bottom-line benefits: Improved public safety delivery Improved business operations Improved customer service Increased staff productivity Improved succession planning Improved technology project decision making It is recommended that Pismo Beach make annual updates to the ITSP. By evaluating progress, while also revisiting goals and objectives, annual updates help identify any adjustments Page 5

7 necessary to keep Pismo Beach focused on the best technology outcomes for its residents and businesses. Page 6

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9 2 Approach The ITSP development process The use of a structured was a City-wide effort involving planning approach and City staff from every department. It focused on methodology encouraged identifying both the City s participation and buy-in current and future technology from all stakeholders. challenges and needs. A goal of the planning process is to identify a business driver for each technology need. To support prioritization and planning, it is important that the business impact of any proposed project is well defined, because ultimately the return on the investment in technology is defined in business terms. The information gathered during the planning process, along with research regarding how other cities are addressing technology needs, was used to identify specific technology projects. In developing the ITSP, NexLevel provided expertise regarding best practices and industry standards. Figure 2 identifies the major tasks and general timing of the activities performed to develop the ITSP. Figure 2 Project Activities Timeline At a summary level, the major activities included: Initiate - development of project materials and conducting a kickoff meeting. Analyze - administration of a user satisfaction survey; interviews with City management and staff; tours of City facilities; review of existing documentation; and development of a comprehensive IT Assessment report. Strategize compilation of a technology project listing from information coming out of the user satisfaction survey and department interviews; development of a prioritized project timeline resulting from the Project Prioritization Workshop; and completion of draft and final ITSP documents. Page 8

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11 3 Current Environment A reliable and high performing technology infrastructure is critical to obtaining the maximum benefits from business and operations technologies (e.g. finance, payroll, permitting, document management, etc.). The City Council s commitment to technology enhancements provides the driver to build upon Responsibility for management of to realize the full the City s technology infrastructure benefits technology has and applications resides with the to offer. Administrative Services Director. The Director is responsible for management and oversight of all IT related activities. The City contracts with a local vendor, TechXpress, for hardware support, help desk services, and data communications management. Under the agreement with TechXpress, additional services can be requested when needed. While TechXpress participates in software installations and provides a limited role in version upgrades, users in City departments generally manage the implementation of new technology, provide on-going application administration, and coordinate software version upgrades. The City contracts for application support from the various software vendors. The departments contact the vendors when support is needed. The departments also coordinate application administration (i.e. adding new users) and the installation of release upgrades. The City s IT support resources are limited to the services provided by TechXpress and the technology knowledge of staff Page 10 in the various departments. These limited resources present a challenge to the organization today, and will increase when new technology is procured to support the City s goals of increasing efficiency and providing additional services to the community. The challenges presently facing the City in the absence of a coordinated strategy for information technology include: Inability to readily leverage technical assets and knowledge across Departments. Inability to readily scale the environment to take advantage of bulk license purchases, upgrades, and other features. Incurring additional costs for activities such as business continuity planning, disaster recovery, and application security. Inability to accurately and easily calculate the City s return on investment and total cost of ownership for its IT related assets and activities. The City supports approximately 150 full and part time technology users. Support hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM 5:00 PM, with on-call service available after hours. The IT support (including the Administrative Services Department and TechXpress) scope of services includes: Hardware support and deployment (desktops, laptops, printers, servers, etc.) Communications (voice and voice mail, wide area network, local area network, wireless network access, internet, network security) Help Desk services

12 Website oversight, including integration with outside vendors Broadcasting of City Council and other public meetings Limited support of City-issued cell phones and pagers In addition to the technology services provided through the Administrative Services Department and TechXpress, the City also relies on vendor hosted and supported software applications via the Internet (referred to as cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) applications). Additionally, the City relies on third party service providers to support certain software applications. Table 1 identifies the City s core applications, the department that owns the application, and the vendor responsible for maintenance support. Table 1 Core Application Support Responsibilities Application Application Owner Maintenance Support Vendor Finance / Payroll / Utility Billing Administrative Services Harris Wintegrate Document Management City Clerk Laserfiche Agenda Management, Streaming City Clerk Granicus Video City Website City Clerk Civic Plus Communications Tracking Software City Clerk Comcate Customer Relationship Management Permitting Community Development CitizenServe Recreation Registration and Community Development - Active Net Facility Scheduling Recreation Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Police EIS Records Management System (RMS) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Public Works ESRI ARC GIS Work Order System Public Works iworks Page 11

13 4 Assessment In order to help the City maximize its investment in A comprehensive technology and provide the understanding of how an highest level of service to its organization uses customers, it is first necessary to assess the current state of technology to support its the City s technology business provides the operations. To complete the foundation upon which to assessment, NexLevel used plan. the processes and data identified in Section 4.1 below. NexLevel then compared this information against research regarding how other municipalities address technology needs, and against a series of operational best practices that represent the typical roles and responsibilities for a municipal technology service delivery organization including: Technology Governance - The leadership, reporting structure, management overview, method of communicating with stakeholders, and consistent tracking of technology services that ensure end-user business needs and requirements are met. Service Delivery - The function of coordinating the processes involved in providing robust customer technology support including training, helpdesk, and service delivery management. Business Technology The business and operational software applications supporting City departments. Infrastructure - The data center, hardware/equipment, storage area network (SAN), server virtualization, operating systems, support software, and communications network services used within the City to provide technology services to end users. Security - The effective application of policies and standards, user conduct, software tools (filtering, monitoring, etc.), and audits to validate that the City s material and software resources are used only for their intended purposes. Administration The management of the technology in terms of budgets, maintenance agreements, and software licenses. Documentation The development and maintenance of current and accurate documentation of all technology activities such that processes can be completed in the absence of any one individual while promoting cross training, enabling backup and recovery, and reducing the risk of change. The resulting IT Assessment report provided a high-level view of each best practice area (dimension), as a weakness in any one area can adversely impact the overall effectiveness of the organization. To achieve best practices for technology management, an organization needs to perform strongly in all dimensions. 4.1 Assessment Activities The Assessment included the following activities: Interview with City Manager Jim Lewis Interview with Director of Administrative Services Nadia Feeser Interviews with more than 30 City staff Page 12

14 Web-based user satisfaction survey distributed to 150 City staff and responded to by 51 staff Tour of the offices of the City s IT services provider, TechXpress, and interview with the City s primary representative from TechXpress Tour of the City s data centers Review of technology related documentation (e.g. budget, policies, procedures, etc.) Review of results from the IT survey the City conducted in December 2012 Follow up interviews and queries with the Administrative Services Director and Tech Xpress to resolve or clarify issues Compilation of information regarding technology practices in similar organizations Research and analysis of findings Project prioritization workshop attended by executive management staff 4.2 Findings and Recommendations NexLevel evaluated the City s use and management of technology and plotted performance, by best practice area, on a diagram as presented in Figure 3. The diagram identifies areas requiring focus, as well as areas that are performing at or near best practice levels (as indicated by green). In order to evaluate each best practice area, NexLevel used information gathered from a user satisfaction survey, department interviews, review of documentation, and site tours. The results were representative of the feedback and findings obtained during the department interviews. NexLevel evaluated all information compiled to arrive at the best practice ratings, and accompanying recommendations, as presented in the following pages. Figure 3 - Assessment Dimension Summary Results The following sections ( ) provide information on each of the 7 dimensions illustrated in Figure Technology Governance The City s technology governance includes informal and formal processes associated with the daily IT operations and the City s strategic planning activities related to technology. NexLevel Page 13

15 observed that the IT function is challenged to keep up with existing demands, and is not adequately staffed to meet the growing department technology needs. The City s overall technology governance would benefit from a more formal steering committee structure with active participation from department directors on a regular basis. NexLevel provides the following recommendations: Add a City IT position to proactively direct and manage the City s technology service providers and provide Citywide oversight for all IT activities. Continue to utilize outsourced support services for help desk, desktop support, and 24/7 network monitoring. As new technology is introduced, allocate the necessary budget to ensure support resources are available. Consider partnering with neighboring jurisdictions for the provision of IT support and / or specialized IT services. Establish a Technology Steering Committee to oversee the City s technology strategic direction and ensure that IT resources remain aligned with the City s priorities. Provide dedicated project management for technology projects Service Delivery The City s present technology support agreements are sufficient to support day-to-day customer support operations. However, these agreements do not sufficiently address macrolevel items such as disaster recovery and business continuity. As with virtually any technology environment, there are opportunities to improve the level of support provided and to respond to unmet support requirements as well as new requirements that may be identified in the future. The City has been proactive in maximizing the value of the technology services it receives through sourcing support services; however, in the absence of centralized IT direction and support, it is likely that some proportion of staff resources in City departments are being used for IT support services. The performance of IT duties by individuals in non-it classified positions is often referred to as hidden or shadow IT spending and this typically results in: A proliferation of ad-hoc applications, databases, and spreadsheets that are non-standard and undocumented, creating islands of information that cannot be readily shared. Potential business continuity and disaster recovery risks, along with IT systems that are seldom properly secured against unauthorized access, disclosure, and modification. The use of resources on projects that may be departmental priorities, but that are less critical from a City-wide perspective. Increased risk of disruption in City operations and increased total cost of ownership. NexLevel is recommending the City take the following actions to ensure that it continues to receive the services and service levels it requires: Review and document the scope of services that TechXpress provides the City. For those services that TechXpress does not provide to the City, identify alternate resources for the provision of those services Page 14

16 including additional service contracts, expansion of existing service contracts and/or partnering with neighboring jurisdictions for service delivery. It should be noted that many of these service delivery gaps may be addressed with the addition of an IT management position to the City s workforce. Implement a process whereby TechXpress provides monthly statistical reports on all help desk tickets. Utilizing help desk reporting, identify the most common concerns of users in order to address those concerns organization-wide. Survey City staff regarding specific IT training needs to establish a formal training schedule. Identify specialized training needs that TechXpress cannot provide (i.e. Wintegrate), and contact the technology vendor to provide this training. As a part of all future technology implementations, ensure that training is a key component, and budget for refresher training by the technology vendor. Note that the implementation of a formal technology governance structure will also help improve service delivery as it will help quickly identify and ensure focus on timely resolution of service delivery issues. technology investment. The sum of the City s applications is called the Application Portfolio. The City s Application Portfolio supporting the City s business and operational functions are providing the features and functionality consistent with similar size municipalities. However, it should be noted that some software applications are nearing the end of their useful life, while others such as the Wintegrate financial system are past their useful life. In addition, there are several business and operational functions that are currently not leveraging applications or are relying on internally developed software that does not provide the functionality that is needed. To help evaluate the effectiveness of Pismo Beach s Application Portfolio, NexLevel plotted core applications on a chart where the vertical axis represented Application Capabilities (i.e. features and functionality) and the horizontal axis represented User Effectiveness (i.e. how effectively is staff at leveraging the application). The following figure plots Pismo Beach s current application effectiveness Business Technology The effective selection, implementation, and management of department software applications is critical toward attaining a high level of staff productivity, cost-effective service delivery, efficient business processes, and a return on the City s Page 15

17 Figure 4 Business Technology Effectiveness Diagram Page 16

18 Since the applications are critical to the City s ongoing success, NexLevel provides the following recommendations: Comcate - Citizen / business requests for services Establish City-wide policies and processes for responding to citizen requests, and ensure that all departments adhere to the policy. Active Net - Recreation class registration Continue to remain current with software releases and look to take advantage of new features and functions as they become available. Active Net - Facility reservations software Dedicate the necessary resources to implement this module and fully train staff. Laserfiche - Document Management software Establish and enforce a City-wide standard for indexing documents. As time permits, examine the existing repository of documents in Laserfiche for re-indexing. Granicus Agenda Management and Streaming Video Review the connectivity and performance of the Council Chambers local area network to determine if Granicus issues are related to the network. If network issues are not identified, Granicus should be alerted to resolve issues. ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS) Acquire an interactive GIS viewer to provide simple access to all City departments and the public. Consider providing a resource to load and maintain information in the GIS so that it is fully functional for all City departments. Civic Plus - Website Application Procure and install the most current version of Civic Plus, and arrange for training for City staff. CitizenServe - Permitting & inspection system Replace the CitizenServe application with a full feature permitting system that includes, among other items, electronic application and plans submittals, electronic workflow, and a public portal for citizen access to the status of pending projects. iworks - Public Works Work Order System Procure a full feature work order system that can integrate labor information from payroll, vehicle and equipment, and other pertinent data into one system, so that the City can capture the true cost of its work order responses. Harris Wintegrate Financial system Replace the Wintegrate financial system with a full feature financial system including payroll, human resources, and utility billing modules. EIS - Police Records Management System Elevate City s concerns with the vendor and with the other system users in the County. Hold meetings between EIS and all users in the County to outline the issues and request a plan from the vendor for resolution of the issues. On a regular basis, communicate the status of the issues resolution to all affected Police staff. Section 5 of the IT Strategic Plan identifies projects to address the above recommendations. Page 17

19 4.2.4 Infrastructure While the majority of the City s technology infrastructure is performing well, during staff interviews and in responses to the user survey, some staff indicated they are not satisfied with the network performance or the inability to work from remote facilities. NexLevel provides the following recommendations: Expand the Wide Area Network (WAN) to all City facilities where network access is needed. Reconfigure the network with Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) to improve communication speed. Implement procedures to monitor Internet capacity. Provide Department Directors with monthly Internet usage reports. Implement an Intranet and establish City-wide protocols for loading and managing the information contained on it. Implement virtual server technology to replace existing servers. Establish a server refreshment schedule. Replace existing routers with equipment that improves the ability to proactively monitor and manage the network performance. Implement a switch management protocol to help maximize network speed. Publish a technology refreshment policy and budget that supports the policy. Install standardized versions of Microsoft on all desktops, and standardized versions of other popularly used applications (i.e. Adobe). Utilize CISCOM to periodically survey City staff regarding items such as hardware and software needs and compatibility issues. Publish a Remote Access policy with guidance from the Technology Steering Committee. Monitor mobile computing devices (i.e. smartphones, tablets, etc.) and implement standards, training, and support as necessary to allow staff to leverage mobile technologies to improve service delivery. Evaluate the mobile computing features and functions of current and future business applications to take full advantage of mobile computing. Implement security procedures, policies, and tools for the use of mobile computing devices, and to ensure mobile devices can be wiped clean if lost or stolen. Make necessary modifications to the City Hall data center to protect equipment and eliminate unauthorized access. If feasible, modify the overhead fire sprinklers in the Police Department data center Security The City has recently implemented security policies and practices that appear to be performing well. However, in today s world, municipalities are prone to malicious attacks, and as such, NexLevel makes the following recommendations: Perform an annual network penetration test. Secure the data center in City Hall (see Infrastructure recommendation). Page 18

20 Implement encryption to protect confidential information. Implement a process to restrict unauthorized access to user devices. Consider establishing a limited number of designated representatives who have desktop administrative rights. Ensure that TechXpress responds immediately to all requests asking for assistance for the installation of software and/or equipment that require administrator privileges. Implement more robust data backup protocols after the completion of a security assessment and disaster recovery / business continuity plan. Create and publish a Business Continuity Plan (BCP). During development of a Business Continuity Plan, include in the BCP a process to ensure the EOC has access to key systems in the event of an activation. Establish a procedure to periodically install patches on the EOC laptops. Centralize log files to prevent overwriting Administration Overall, the City has been adequately managing the administrative aspects of its technology operations. At present, the City dedicates approximately 2.43% of its general fund budget toward IT, which is below the typical resource allocation of between 3% and 5%. The City s IT operation would be better served with the dedication of additional funding toward IT along with continued focus on administration of budgets, maintenance agreements, and software licensing to ensure effective operations. NexLevel makes the following recommendations: Establish a management level IT position (see Technology Governance recommendation). Review the current processes and procedures in place that enable the Finance division to capture and report on the full cost to provide information services to the City. Establish a dedicated internal service fund for technology related activities. Centralize all IT purchases in the Administrative Services Department budget. Require that all major technology procurements are reviewed by the Technology Steering Committee. City-wide, review all maintenance agreements annually to confirm the agreements provide the appropriate level of service. Create a centralized repository for all technology maintenance contracts and review annually to ensure they align with the City needs. Implement a centralized license management role (which should include department applications) in the Administrative Services Department Documentation Best practice organizations maintain current, accurate, and comprehensive documentation on all activities such that processes can be completed in the absence of any one individual. NexLevel makes the following recommendations: Page 19

21 Regularly review technical documentation for all aspects of the City s day-to-day IT operation to ensure the documentation is kept current and is retained in a centralized location. Engage the Computer Information Steering Committee (CISCOM) and / or the Technology Steering Committee in the review of all existing IT policies to obtain input on potential gaps or shortcomings. Develop and publish new policies as needed. Distribute policies to staff and require signatures during annual performance evaluations to acknowledge receipt of the policies. Establish processes whereby the Administrative Services Department monitors compliance with established policies and the Technology Steering Committee acts as the enforcement mechanism of the policies. project recommendations, will be addressed by staff over time. Some will be implemented quickly, while others may take significant planning, hardware/software purchases, and additional personnel resources to execute Summary The City performs effectively in many of the assessment dimensions. However, as shown by the recommendations, there are still opportunities for improvement and, as a result of constantly changing technology and user needs, the City must continue to evolve technology management and support activities to ensure a secure, reliable, and robust technology environment. It is important to note that some of the recommendations presented are incorporated into the IT Strategic Plan as projects, while others should be addressed at an IT management level. The latter, considered non-strategic Page 20

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23 5 Roadmap The IT Strategic Plan focuses on the identification and definition The ITSP provides a of strategic projects and provides the opportunity to roadmap, as well as a call carefully consider each project s to action, to take the relative priority to maximize the City s technology from value the City receives from the where it is today to where utilization of limited technology resources. An industry research it needs to be to meet firm reported that: business needs. Creating the right mix of investments to properly use limited resources while providing the maximum business benefit is the ultimate challenge for IT leaders balancing resources, technology, business needs, and changing situations while simultaneously maximizing returns and minimizing risk. 1 Organizations with limited IT resources, such as the City of Pismo Beach, must be able to: Select and prioritize IT investments by identifying strategic projects that provide the greatest value. Establish performance indicators, monitor the status of each strategic project, and reallocate resources as needed. Modify plans and priorities based on changes in requirements (such as mandates), changes in resources, and changes in technology. 1 Best Practices, Defining IT Portfolio Management, Forrester Research, Page 22 Within this context, a strategic project is one that has the potential to provide benefits to the City and/or the citizens and businesses it serves. A strategic project may: Streamline existing processes or enable new capabilities to improve service delivery. Remediate or mitigate a serious risk to the City s ability to provide services and to meet public expectations. Improve operational processes to allow staff to be more productive, potentially reducing costs to meet budget demands. Improve public safety. The City should look at the components of its information technology environment (applications, hardware, etc.) as infrastructure assets similar to buildings: all of them require maintenance (some more urgently than others), some need minor repairs, some need major renovations, and some need to be replaced. The primary focus of the IT Strategic Plan is to provide a roadmap for the City that identifies the strategic projects that will be implemented over the next three to five years and the resources required to complete them. 5.1 ITSP Enablers As discussed in the previous section, the IT Assessment recommendations that are not deemed to be strategic projects should be addressed by City management over time. However, NexLevel believes there are several recommendations that are critical to the overall success of the IT Strategic Plan and referred to as Enablers. The key Enablers, as shown in Figure 5, include Governance, Infrastructure, Project Management, Standards, and Organization. They form the foundation upon

24 which the plan is built and should be addressed as soon as possible to provide the best chance for a successful ITSP. Figure 5 IT Strategic Plan Enablers In the remainder of this section, we discuss the key Enablers Governance Industry studies completed by respected research firms have suggested that as high as 20% of all technology investment is wasted each year. When you factor in the potential wasted investment, along with the annual technology expenditure, the importance of IT governance in managing and ensuring an adequate return on investment is significant. The City would enjoy significant benefits by implementing a formal technology governance structure to oversee and guide technology activities that are being performed at the staff level and within other groups. A formal technology governance structure would create an effective forum to plan, communicate, manage, and coordinate technology projects from an enterprise perspective. The City should establish a Technology Steering Committee whose members are comprised of department heads and selected line staff from each department as needed. The Technology Steering Committee will create an effective forum to plan, communicate, manage, and coordinate technology projects, as well as to ensure decisions about projects, resources, and priorities are made with an enterprise-wide view. The scope and responsibilities of the Technology Steering Committee will include: IT Strategic Plan The Technology Steering Committee will provide input to, and review of, the technology project priorities and timelines. Strategic Direction/Alignment The Technology Steering Committee will provide input and feedback relative to each activity. This dialog will ensure appropriate priority and efficient and effective use of technology systems and services. IT Operations Project Review The Technology Steering Committee will review IT projects for consistency and compliance with the ITSP to ensure the City s business systems are supported by the existing platforms and that they can be easily integrated, as needed, with other City applications. This will be a collaborative effort to ensure technology solutions are solving real business needs and that the requirements of all impacted departments are addressed. Page 23

25 Policy Guidance The Technology Steering Committee will review technology policies and guidelines. The Technology Steering Committee will approve these policies, communicate them to staff and ensure Citywide compliance. Platform Usage The Technology Steering Committee will discuss how new technologies will be used and provide input relative to performance metrics, equipment utilization and hardware/software acquisitions. Technology Information The Technology Steering Committee will receive updates and status reports relative to technology issues, information security and evolving technology trends. Members will disseminate this information, when appropriate, to their respective staffs. The Technology Steering Committee will oversee the City s technology strategic direction; thus it is important that membership consist of department heads and selected line staff as needed, and attendance and participation should not be delegated to others with less authority. Those with limited technical knowledge or experience may hesitate to participate in technology governance. However, technology impacts the delivery of business services, and participation in governance by senior executives of the organization is needed for effective service delivery to meet organizational needs Infrastructure To ensure a reliable, robust, and secure technology infrastructure, best practice encourages timely replacement (refreshment) of technology infrastructure hardware and equipment. Technology infrastructure includes all hardware and equipment (from the desktop to the data center) that ensures the City s technology users are able to access software applications. As technology infrastructure hardware ages, it becomes less reliable, resulting in higher support costs and increased staff disruption. In addition, as software applications are upgraded or replaced, the new applications are generally optimized to run on the most current hardware. Technology infrastructure replacement cycles typically run three to five years depending upon the hardware Project Management Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing and managing resources to achieve specific goals. Ineffective project management can result in extended timelines, budget overrun, and project failure. For each of the IT Strategic Plan projects that are initiated, the City should assign a project manager who has the skill set and authority to effectively perform the required project duties. The project manager should be accountable to the project owner, as well as the Technology Steering Committee for project updates. For some of the projects outlined in the IT Strategic Plan, the project manager may be a subject matter expert from the using department; for other projects, management could be provided by the IT management position being recommended as a part of this report. Technology projects should be executed following basic standard project management methodologies, practices, and templates. Prior to initiating a project, a formal project charter should be completed to help ensure that the project is well defined. A project charter authorizes a project and ensures that necessary resources are provided to be successful. It is a document that provides an understanding of the role and responsibilities of all affected staff before the project starts. It Page 24

26 simply provides a common understanding of what the project is about, why it is being done, who is involved, roles and responsibilities, schedule and delivery approach. Once a project is initiated, the City should have standardized templates for the project manager to track and report on project progress. At a minimum, the project manager should complete the following tasks throughout the project. Project Plan (inclusive of issues management, change management, risk management, etc.) Project Schedule Budget Tracking Project Status Reports The use of a standardized project management framework will help ensure a comprehensive understanding of projects among stakeholders and impacted staff and help mitigate any risks to the project Standards Establishing City-wide technology standards provides the following benefits: Promotes consistency in common infrastructure systems Minimizes duplicative efforts among departments Ensures or enhances continuity of ongoing technology operations Promotes efficiencies relating to ongoing support and problem resolution Promotes short or long-term cost savings or cost avoidance Streamlines the delivery of information or services by promoting consistency in the handling, collection, transport or storage of data information Protects and secures the City s technology infrastructure and/or data Increases productivity Enables greater workforce mobility Promotes ease in training new staff and support succession planning While standards may define or limit the tools, vendors, and software that is implemented, the tradeoffs are generally well worth it. Standards should be established, monitored and enforced by the City s technology governance structure. General equipment standards include desktops, mobile devices (i.e. PDAs, Smartphones, Tablets, etc.), network equipment, data center servers, and printers. In addition, standards should be maintained for desktop software environment (i.e. versions of Office, Adobe, etc.) and database software (i.e. SQL, Oracle, etc.) Organization Effective leverage and organization of the City s technology resources is critical to the successful implementation of the IT Strategic Plan and in ensuring cost-effective ongoing support. Currently, the City s IT operation lacks adequate resources to provide its customers with the level of service expected by the organization. There is no City staff dedicated to providing the type of specialized support necessary in public organizations, particularly public safety departments. This structure contributes to limiting the City s ability to respond to and resolve technology issues. Page 25

27 In addition, the organization is not placing an appropriate level of focus on technology issues. Lack of a formal technology governance structure is resulting in constantly changing priorities and a lack of strategic technology direction. The IT Assessment included the following recommendations that would improve the City s ability to support current and future technology. Add a position to the existing City staffing structure that provides for a management level individual with experience supporting IT in a municipality to oversee the City s technology related activities. This individual s skill set would require knowledge of infrastructure, data communications, data center management and network security. This position would be responsible for overseeing the City s overall IT needs rather than be reactionary in a break/fix environment. Continue to utilize outsourced support services for help desk, desktop support, and 24/7 network monitoring with oversight and direction provided by the newly created IT position. Supplement the services provided by the City s IT resource to ensure coverage is available when the IT resource is unavailable (i.e. vacation). As new technology is introduced, carefully evaluate the required technology support for both implementation and ongoing support, and allocate the necessary budget to ensure support resources are available. As the City moves forward with the implementation of new technology identified in the ITSP, demands for IT operational support will increase. If the resource requirements are temporary (i.e., project management for new system implementation), then an effective service approach is to use outside resources to augment the City s IT resources. This strategy will allow the City to access resources with specific skills on an asneeded basis. Consider partnering with neighboring jurisdictions for the provision of IT support and / or specialized IT services such as public safety initiatives. 5.2 Projects The technology planning process culminated in the identification and prioritization of technology projects that will help ensure the City s technology environment supports current and anticipated business needs. These projects span across all departments and will improve services, operations, and/or increase the security and reliability of the existing technology environment. Projects were prioritized based on criteria such as financial impact, health and safety impact, customer service impact, business operations impact, alignment to business vision and mission, and technology obsolescence. In addition to these criteria, the plan also considered the limited resources (both human and capital) available to implement and manage technology projects. The IT Strategic Plan strives to set reasonable expectations as to when the projects will be completed. However, a project s ultimate start date will be based on funding or budget approval. It is the intent of the IT Strategic Plan to support the City s annual budgeting process by providing direction and input necessary to justify expenditures. The IT Strategic Plan does not include detailed specifications, requirements, or recommended vendor solutions. When a project is initiated, the Strategic Plan assumes City department Page 26

28 staff will follow traditional project planning and management processes that would include detailed requirements analysis, formal procurement and selection, and implementation processes. With the rapid change in technology and vendor solutions, City departments would be best served by carefully evaluating the market solutions available at the time a project is scheduled for procurement Project List by Department Table 2 on the following pages lists each of the projects by department. Page 27

29 Administrative Services Information Technology Project Name IT Security Assessment / IT Policy Development IT Disaster Recovery Plan Server Needs Assessment City Hall Computer Room Assessment / Improvements Primary Dept. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Table 2 Projects by Department Project Description The City should conduct a comprehensive security assessment utilizing a qualified IT security consultant. At a minimum, the assessment should include network penetration testing, system accessibility and protections, existing infrastructure configuration and physical security, and data backup and storage protocols, and should provide a comprehensive report of findings and recommendations. The recommendations contained in the assessment could then be utilized as a starting point for the development of IT policies and procedures. This project is to develop, test, and implement a disaster recovery plan to ensure the City's technology infrastructure can respond to an adverse event according to the timeline needs identified by the departments. The project will include completion of a business impact assessment to determine recovery requirements by the departments, assessment of the options and cost to meet those requirements, and the implementation of an IT disaster recovery plan to support established requirements. The City currently utilizes several servers for data storage, management and backup. Some servers are at end of life, others are at or near capacity. The City would benefit from a comprehensive assessment of the current server environment with a resulting go-forward strategy that may include server replacement, virtualization and / or a combination of solutions. The City Hall computer room requires several improvements in order to assure uninterrupted service to internal and external customers, including a redundant cooling system, removal of non-it related items currently stored in the room, and securing the room from entry by other than IT personnel. This project would evaluate and make recommendations for improvements to the City s computer room. Wide Area Network and WIFI Connectivity Admin. Services Info. Tech. The ability to access systems while working remotely would increase staff effectiveness. The scope of this project is to determine how the City s network could be expanded. City WIFI would allow the parking kiosks to connect without the use of solar powered cell phones, establish the framework to add security cameras in additional locations, provide network access from the downtown parking office, and establish the framework for providing mobile access for field crews. The scope of the project would identify how a private wireless network could be established for use to support City activities. Page 28

30 Administrative Services Information Technology (continued) Project Name Desktop Refreshment / Public Counter PCs Telephone System Replacement Intranet Implementation Facilities Cabling Upgrade Primary Dept. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Admin. Services Info. Tech. Project Description The City has an informal PC refreshment policy (review of needs is completed during budget cycle); however, several Departments reported slow PC performance and a policy that includes moving older PCs to less critical positions in the organization. In addition, Departments expressed a need to provide public access PCs at public counters. This project would identify the immediate needs related to PC desktop replacement, along with identifying the number and placement for PCs at public counters. The current telephone system does not utilize functions and features available in new systems, such as automated phone trees, forwarding and other features. A replacement telephone system would allow the City to more fully automate processes. Desired features include automated call out to assist departments (ie Utility Billing, Police, Public Works), and the ability to establish hotlines for incoming callers to access important City information. An intranet is a tool to allow information to be shared internally (MOUs, forms, etc.). The intranet can be a tool for collaborating on projects or documents. Currently, the City utilizes a shared network folder to access and share data, which is cumbersome to navigate. Establishment of an intranet would increase efficiencies in information sharing across Departments. Currently, City facilities contain CAT 5 cabling. Technology demands going forward will place additional demands on this infrastructure; thus an upgrade to CAT 6 cabling is recommended. This project would identify a detailed plan for the replacement of cabling throughout all City facilities. Page 29