In the 26-page document’s opening remarks, CIO Bill Kehoe writes: “The five strategic goals described in this plan (mobility, data as a utility, workforce empowerment, digital civic engagement, and transform procurement) have active teams sponsored by department directors that are collaborating on a continual basis to refine the objectives and associated measures and aligning current and future initiatives to drive the strategic goals forward.”
The key highlights include some potential opportunities of interest for the technology industry:
- In the area of data governance, one county goal is to establish a road map for integrating new data sources, platforms and technologies, and developing and supporting the proof-of-concept process to test new technologies.
- In the area of data as a utility, the county sets future initiatives such as establishing an Enterprise Architecture Review Group to review all IT architecture decisions.
- And in the area of procurement, county IT leaders plan to find and refine a new end-to-end solution to modernize the procurement user experience.
In addition, it will seek to implement “novel solicitation approaches to increase the effectiveness of technology solutions.” As part of that effort, the county will work to improve the speed of the sole-source process, including initial contracts and amendments. One example: ISD plans to release a solicitation for an Enterprise PC Leasing Program, and to have in place by this fall a program of novel sourcing methods.
Among the county’s “future initiatives” is a request for proposals, scheduled for this year, to identify and partner with a managed-service provider to replace the current process in the area of enhancing access to technology solutions.
The county plan acknowledges that making all these initiatives work requires more attention to the workforce — changing the culture of county government to embrace mobility and enhance employees’ ability to work anywhere, any time. Some departments are further down this road than others, but top county officials note that employees’ interest in having more flexibility in how they perform their work is high, and many view the county as lagging behind in providing policies, procedures, tools and infrastructure that enable mobility.
“Moving to a mobility culture is critical in the recruitment of new employees, especially millennials, and in the retention of existing employees,” the report states.
To this end, the county plans to buy more laptops and tablets to enable remote working — and to reduce the purchase of desktop computers.
The county is also emphasizing leasing of computer equipment as an option over purchasing. The goal is to increase by 10 percent the portion of leased equipment.
And finally, making all this technology more useful to residents will take the form of at least two new mobile apps, with a goal of reducing the number of in-person and mail transactions between residents and government.
Currently, the department is working to identify the five most frequent types of transactions that require the public to visit a county office in person or by mail. The goal is to develop apps that address two of those transaction types, based on the impact to the public and the readiness of the department to move forward.
The report in its entirety may be viewed online.
