- the Board is converting its database to a PeopleSoft program
- the Board is switching to VOIP
- IT purchases are heavily dependent on strategic goals
Bill Glaholt: For the last year, CHRB has worked with the Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) to pilot a horse identifier (“chip”) program. Horses are chipped to ensure that the horses that enter racing track grounds are the same ones that run any specific race. We envision they will also use this automatic identifier system to get a list of the horse’s recent medications, injuries, transports and so on. Additionally, we use mainframe software and associated databases to record license information for all our licensees. That software is 35 years old; we are now underway in converting that system into the same software base as is used in Fi$Cal (PeopleSoft). We have a number of business rule requests that we will be able to implement with such a modernized system, including gate security, automated or online licensing, and interfaces with external systems such as ARCI or other veterinarian databases. Finally, we publish information on our website regarding the status of licensees, as well as a “vet’s list.” The vet’s list is a list of horses that CHRB veterinarians publishes stating which horses are under medical suspension and not allowed to race.
TW: What’s the board’s approximate IT budget for the current fiscal year? If you don’t have an individual budget under BCHS, what would be on your tech wish list if you did have a budget?
BG: I typically have a budget of around $900,000, which includes salaries for five staff and represents approximately 7 to 8 percent of the CHRB budget as a whole. I’m happy to say that we’ve actually been able to purchase all of my wishes using that budget over the last three years, which include: PC, laptop and printer refreshes; Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) package; Skype for Business; complete server virtualization; new power backup supplies; Office 365; and even the Oracle PeopleSoft development toolkit. This year, we will be switching over to digital phones.
TW: If a vendor had just two or three minutes to pitch you on a product or service, what specific advice would you offer him or her? Do lobbyists and vendors approach you often?
BG: For advice on how to talk to me, be real and authentic. Do some homework: Know what CHRB's strategic goals are, since that strategy directs how our IT goals are aligned. Nothing I buy or invest in lacks a strategic goal, so if you have something that aligns with those IT goals, let me know how your product or service helps us to meet them. I get about six calls from vendors per week; I have worked well with the ones that have done their homework, and they have earned my call-backs when we encounter a scenario in which they can meet our needs.
TW: What do you like best about working for California state government, and what do you like least?
BG: I love that we work for the betterment of the citizens of the state of California. My career vision is to give the California taxpayers the service they deserve; being a “state worker” allows me to do exactly that. If there was anything I like least, it would be the “big bang” approach to large, multi-million-dollar state projects. I would prefer that larger projects proceed with small, intermediary "quick win" goals that build upon each other.
TW: Other than tech and government, what would your dream job be?
BG: My absolute dream job is a state of California position: to be the lead architect and/or project manager of a reboot of the State Controller's Office's 21st Century Project. If I could no longer work in government or in computers, I would own a hobbyist shop that catered to gamers and electronics hobbyists. I wouldn’t make any money at it, but it would be a complete blast!
