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Techwire Takeaways: IT Opportunities Await in LA County

The county's Department of Auditor Controller is looking for mobility solutions and a new tax system. The Probation Department's focus is on improving the experience for employees as well as juveniles.

Techwire held its latest Industry Briefing on Wednesday with Los Angeles County at its data center in El Segundo. We were joined by over 100 industry members as the county’s IT leaders shared their organizational, strategic and technology priorities. As I was flying back to Sacramento, I thought I’d share my key takeaways and a breakdown of where opportunities are present.

The Department of Auditor Controller
The department is looking to let its employees work from anywhere and lower their office expenses by going mobile. Karen Loquet, the assistant auditor controller/chief information officer, said that the department is looking to mobility to increase productivity and will work to deploy a variety of mobile applications including time sheets and mileage claims.

Loquet said that they have a variety of systems in use today dating from the ’60s to the ’90s. Clearly, there will be legacy modernization opportunities coming from the county. Most notably, its property tax system is in need of replacement, but the county has struggled to find a vendor that truly understands the property tax business.

Last, the department detailed its priorities around data-sharing and management, which include a data hub, self-service analytics and data literacy. It is clear that the department is data-rich but desires to extract more insight from their data. Looking ahead to 2020, this will be a priority area for the department.

Los Angeles County Probation Department
Probation Department CIO Jim Green detailed a really impressive initiative to modernize its facilities to make them more accommodating and welcoming for their juvenile populations. These modernizations were not only breathtaking but also purposeful. The objective is to help to improve the overall experience and rehabilitation process. Green discussed the various trends that are impacting the Probation Department and juveniles and the impact they are having on their organization. Here is a breakdown of its current and future projects and needs:

Current IT projects:
• Tracking the use of force
• Bail reform pilot
• Pretrial case management system replacement
• Closed-circuit TV in juvenile halls and camps
• Internal affairs case management
• Grievance system: juvenile halls and camps
• Staff scheduling: juvenile halls and camps
• Laptop security management
• Access management

Future:
• Adult case management
• Juvenile case management
• Learning Management System
• Revenue support claim system
Potential vendor opportunities:
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Consulting
• Case management systems
• Staff scheduling
• Grievance system
• Tools: IT service management, (ITSM), project management, business process modeling, architecture
• Training
• Contract Staffing — Project Managers, Business Analysts
• Recruitment

Joe Morris is Vice President of Research for the Center for Digital Government, which is part of e.Republic, Techwire's parent company. He can be reached at jmorris@erepublic.com

Vice President of Research, e.Republic