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San Joaquin Digital Roadmap Has Points of Interest for Vendors

The delta county's innovation strategy includes an ongoing interest in enterprise solutions, cybersecurity enhancements and a dashboard that will be accessible to the IT industry and the public.

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San Joaquin County has completed its “Digital Services and Innovation Strategy” for fiscal years 2020-2023, and the 18-page blueprint sets an ambitious course.

The county’s Chief Information Officer Chris Cruz prefaces the report by noting: “The onset of a pandemic and the emergence of additional significant County priorities means that it is more important than ever to increase the efficacy of our technology investments and to deliver tangible, measurable business outcomes. The focus in 2020-2023 will be to transform the digital delivery of cost-effective services that both provide the end-user with a high-level, satisfactory experience and enhance business outcomes.”

Cruz, long an advocate of metrics and measurable accountability, underscored those values in comments to Techwire.

“I would also emphasize that we are actively working a roadmap from the priorities as derived from this plan,” he told Techwire. “These include an internal dashboard to monitor all active and future project initiatives. I want people to understand that this is an actionable plan with performance metrics attached.”

He added: “Vendors will be able to access this dashboard in the near future.”

The report cites the IT Department’s three key goals:

  • “Build a Future-Focused Technology Organization,” which includes implementing strategy and following governance as well as developing the county workforce’s culture and skills;
  • “Modernize and Leverage Our Technology Environment,” to include a focus on enterprise solutions and strong cybersecurity; and
  • “Transform the Digital User Experience,” by making more services accessible online to residents and using “data-driven technologies” to enhance county leaders’ planning and decision-making.
The CIO’s message also acknowledges the county’s ongoing emphasis on collaboration with regional leaders.

“Partnerships are more critical than ever,” Cruz writes. “We will continue to lead San Joaquin County Regional Innovation for Sustained Excellence (SJC RISE), a countywide collaboration with San Joaquin County cities, special districts, colleges and universities, the state of California, and technology vendors to explore opportunities for alignment and collaboration on future initiatives.” The county sees this as a way to “reduce costs through shared services or pooled purchasing power.”

One way the county hopes to build those partnerships through transformative technology is next month’s scheduled rollout of a floating data center anchored in the Port of Stockton, which it will use as a backup for disaster recovery and business continuity.

Cruz envisions the Nautilus Data Technologies barge, for which the county is the primary tenant, as a draw for other entities — governments and educational entities in the region as well as the private sector. The vessel itself, revolutionary in its water-cooled design and low energy consumption, is seen as a “green” solution that’s cheaper and more efficient than traditional land-based data centers.

Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.