GTA Update - Jul-Aug 2020

Update newsletter

Jul-Aug, 2020 | Vol. 12, Issue 4

State CIO's column

This pandemic hasn't shut down IT innovation in Georgia

The things you make time for in the midst of a pandemic, those must surely be tasks you consider a priority. So, we at GTA are especially gratified by this year's response from Georgia state and local government entities to our IT showcase. We received nearly two dozen entries to the 2020 Technology Innovation Showcase , and I'm pleased to share with you this year's honorees.

Projects selected for recognition include the following:

Twenty-First-Century Technology Tracking Georgia's Eighteenth-Century Treasures: The Governor's Mansion RFID Project - Georgia Building Authority
Enterprise Asset Management and Work Order System - City of Augusta
Cybersecurity for a Safer City - City of East Point
State Driver Services New Card Production Services - Department of Driver Services
Automate Tax and Wage Reports via SFTP - Department of Labor
Voucher Capture and Retrieval System - Department of Natural Resources
Georgia DRIVES (Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System) - Department of Revenue
The Mission Personnel Accountability System - Georgia Army National Guard and Georgia Department of Defense
OneUSG Connect Payroll Standardization - University System of Georgia
Redesigned Event Valuation Process - World Congress Center

You’ll find project overviews on our website. I think you’ll be impressed by the work you’ll read about. Projects listed above will be honored during the Georgia Virtual Digital Government Summit this fall. Each showcase project is a testament to the caliber of public-sector efforts to use technology to better meet constituents’ expectations and operate more efficiently. Those are goals all of us in state government IT share and pursue every day.

Our Technology Innovation Showcase has built momentum since its 2012 launch, but we wondered if this year it might go quiet. We opened the gates for project submissions just before focus turned to battling COVID-19. Agencies large and small, state and local, have had their hands full delivering much-needed services to communities dealing with a pandemic. That has required heroic effort. You’ve lived it, and you know very well the extra hours poured into government’s response across our state. And it continues.

Still, for a ninth consecutive year, your innovative work and your project entries kept the showcase going strong. That allows us to spotlight IT projects improving the way government does business, plus the teams doing the game-changing work. Looking over this year’s showcase honorees, I’ll say you’ve cemented my respect and admiration for the work you do for Georgians. As I’ve said before, I appreciate your service to our state.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Calvin Rhodes

State Chief Information Officer

GTA Executive Director

Also in this issue:

Ga. pandemic response has heavy behind-the-scenes IT

Broad slate of new server services via GETS program

Briefly … GTA admin fee, Wireless service contracts, Mainframe right-size, EUC refresh

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State pandemic response powered by behind-the-scenes IT

By April, Georgia agencies and entities had already revved into high gear with extensive COVID-19 response steps. Many of those capitalized on technology and included high profile efforts like the addition of chatbots on state websites to handle ballooning inquiries, bolstered SSL VPN capacity for an expanded state tele-workforce, and maps of free wifi locations across Georgia, among others.

Now two months later, with pandemic pressures still widely evident, many of those early responses have grown in magnitude, while other initiatives have been added to the list. All of it is directed toward ensuring Georgians can access the state government services they rely on. Here are highlights from just the subset of work GTA contributed to. A full listing is much longer and more varied.

Surging web traffic – Some state websites have experienced significant traffic increases this spring. (The DPH site saw an 11,000 percent jump.) Website enhancements have accommodated the enormous added demand. A chatbot was introduced on multiple state websites to answer constituents’ questions related to COVID-19. By late June, the chatbot had responded to 2.9 million questions from 1.5 million users.

Support in a changed reality – A mountain of service tickets has been processed via the GETS Service Desk since mid-March. Standing at 104,000 as of early June, that’s requests for everything from help with SSL VPN access and password resets, to much more involved technology service requests. Ticket counts for a full year usually total ~250K, so the scale of the surge of tickets is clear, and the efforts to address them in a short period are truly impressive.

COVID-19-related software – The Department of Public Health deployed a Microsoft Dynamics software solution to support COVID-19 testing. The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget is using that same platform to implement a GrantCare application for distribution of federal COVID-19 grants.

Mobile workforce – DPH quickly mobilized a team of contact tracers more than 1,000 strong in just weeks. To help ensure that team was properly equipped to perform their essential work, GTA began delivering laptops to them in May. Now, in the range of 1,400-1,500 laptops have been channeled to DPH, and in an environment where supply of those computers is challenged.

Intensified cyber attacks – The state’s Office of Information Security has partnered with agencies to protect state networks from ransomware attacks as cyber criminals seek to take advantage of the pandemic. And, cybersecurity awareness training specifically addressing COVID-19-related threats (e.g., phishing) has been delivered to state employees at all executive branch agencies.

Extensive server services now provided via new GETS partner

Back in June 2018 GETS teams mobilized to bring a new provider of GETS server services into the community, and with it a host of new services. That ambitious effort, with its share of twists and turns, is now complete. Global IT company Unisys is firmly established as GETS server services provider. Server offerings have been updated and augmented. And agencies served by the state's shared IT services program are already benefiting widely.

A quick look at some highlights illustrates an expansive transition as Unisys replaced former server services provider IBM when their state contract ran its course:

Unisys takes responsibility for the state’s data center operations.
CommVault becomes primary data storage tool for agencies, replacing TSM.
Rapid server provisioning is enabled for standard physical, virtual and cloud servers, dramatically cutting the time it takes to deliver a new server.
Managed cloud server services (including GovCloud) are brokered by Unisys.
Access and identity management tool Okta replaces FIM and adds new capabilities.
Active directory consolidation merges what were previously two distinct directories.
GETS network and Office 365 email passwords become one, and single sign-on follows.
Onboarding/offboarding is made cleaner and faster thanks to automation.

Putting that in place required collaboration among GTA, GETS service providers, and importantly the very agencies served via the GETS program. All came together in an impressive achievement for the state’s IT enterprise.

Briefly ...

As FY 2021 opens, GTA has lowered the administrative fee it charges on GTA services consumed by agencies. Effective July 1, the fee was moved from 8.52 to 5 percent of the cost of services invoiced through GTA. The step was taken as part of GTA efforts toward helping state agencies with required budget tightening in the face of state revenues that have dipped during the pandemic.

With recent widespread reliance on teleworking, some Georgia government agencies saw larger bills for wireless service. Often it was because usage exceeded a finite pool of minutes provided under a wireless plan. GTA recommends agencies take good-sense steps to most effectively manage wireless service expense such as: 1) speak to your mobile carrier about which plan type best suits your current needs and check back routinely for recommendations on reducing costs, 2) monitor wireless bills to avoid surprises, and 3) consider wireless services available through statewide convenience contracts that may allow securing wireless services from AT&T, Southern Linc, Sprint/T-Mobile or Verizon at attractive rates. Carriers are also happy to discuss offerings like online account access for agency wireless admins, mobile VPN, mobile hotspot (aka tethering), pooled plans and unlimited usage plans, international coverage, and push-to-talk.

In mid-June, GETS teams adjusted the GETS mainframe processor, right-sizing it to suit changing mainframe needs of state agencies. The mainframe processing capacity was trimmed from 1811 to 1402 MIPS (MIPS is a measure of task performance speed). This better aligns with needs as key state systems (e.g., DOR’s GRATIS and soon DDS’ driver’s license application) are updated and migrate off the mainframe. GTA expects the state’s mainframe processing volumes to continue to decline, and GETS mainframe service plans account for this.

As of late June, installations of refreshed end user computers (laptops, in particular) have resumed more broadly for GETS agencies as some state employees begin to return to the office setting. GETS EUC service provider NTT DATA is contacting affected agency staff to schedule refresh installations in cases where it’s feasible. Of course, many state employees will continue teleworking, and GETS teams are developing alternatives (details still to come) for completing EUC refresh installations in those instances. In the meantime, wherever possible, refresh installations will resume at an agency’s office facility. NTT DATA is following heightened health safety protocols for these deskside visits.