It’s no easy task to consolidate an entire state’s computing infrastructure into one central area. That’s why the new State Data Center, or SDC, has hired away three ODOT employees as managers, according to Ben Berry, ODOT’s chief information officer. Berry is sad to lose the in-house talent but proud of his former employees’ accomplishments. And not so secretly, he’s thrilled to have some contacts "on the inside" where ODOT’s future IT data center and network infrastructure will reside!
In reality, Berry — and nearly every other state agency CIO — already knows this project inside out. Even so, he’s happy about Dave Howard, Randy Whitehouse and Marshall Wells joining the Computing and Networking Infrastructure Consolidation project’s State Data Center.
"Having three former ODOT IT experts over at the SDC is good for us," Berry said. "What’s really been neat is that the center can offer the opportunity for career ambitions to be realized. If my staff can get a promotion, that’s even better."
State saves money through consolidation
Meanwhile, the consolidation, or "sharing of services," continues. A while back, the state realized it was duplicating many services in the computing technology area. By consolidating the information technology of as many agencies as possible, the state can save money by reducing the cost of the infrastructure previously required to run all the separate units. Other benefits include increased security, more purchasing power, standardization and 24/7 operations.
And Oregon isn’t the only state realizing these benefits. Recently, the Computing and Networking Infrastructure Consolidation was recognized nationally in NASCIO’s IT Consolidation and Shared Services: States Seeking Economies of Scale.
Changes in location, staffing
The Departments of Administrative Services, Human Services and Transportation are the first large agencies to join the state’s efforts to consolidate IT infrastructure. Several major steps are already complete, such as transitioning the State’s Wide Area Networks into the data center, where the SDC will assume central network management. According to Berry, most ODOT employees won’t notice any difference in their everyday work. But in IS things are different. In addition to physical changes in location of hardware, staffing changes loom as the SDC moves forward in hiring, largely by mid-year.
Originally, SDC received approval for 93 positions. The CNIC Steering Committee (agency CIOs and other stakeholders) and CNIC Governing Board (agency directors) realized the need for a revised strategy. Based on the most current IT asset inventory and expenditure information available, an increase in mainframe capacity is needed, as are hundreds of additional servers not previously identified in the original business case. Consequently, a revised staffing model was proposed to increase SDC staffing to 149 positions (138 in operations and 11 in network security). This proposed staffing model was approved by the Legislative E-Board in early April, and plans are to reduce the number over time to 101 positions (assuming no program growth) during the 2011-13 biennium. These changes will delay the Legislature’s expected consolidation savings by one biennium, but they mitigate unacceptable risks identified by the CNIC Governing Board.
Opportunities during change
ODOT IS employees have been working through the changes by learning about their options. Some employees are affected; others are not. All CNIC in-scope employees are invited to apply for SDC jobs when the recruiting begins.
"There are always opportunities during times of change," Berry said. "You just have to find them." Berry remains optimistic and excited about what’s happening in his department and with his employees. "My belief is, anyone who wants a job will be able to find a job."
Over the next few months, IS will continue to seek a balance between the demands of CNIC and all of the division’s regular, ongoing projects. Right now, much of their time and energy is focused on CNIC, so other projects will take longer than they would under normal conditions. By mid-year, however, 233 of ODOT’s servers and mainframes will be in place at the SDC. Shortly thereafter, the SDC should be fully staffed and operational. The center will continue bringing nine additional agencies on after it has fully migrated DAS, DHS and ODOT.
Overall, Berry said, ODOT is making good progress and is well placed to complete its components of the CNIC project as envisioned. That will undoubtedly bring a sigh of relief to both our customers and the IS team — and a feeling of pride in a job well done!
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