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NASCIO: With the new Texas Data Center going live, how have you optimized your state's IT assets and delivery of service using a shared enterprise infrastructure model, especially as they relate to consolidation and shared services?
Rawson: The data center services (DCS) contract and new, upgraded data center facilities are key parts of our journey toward a shared infrastructure. With the DCS contract, for the first time, we will have a complete inventory of data center assets, locations, operating systems, and ages, across the participating agencies. This information and our enterprise goals for greater consistency are driving the consolidation plans. We will be reducing our mainframe count from 16 to six and our server count from over 5,300 to approximately 1,100. Much of this will be new hardware and upgraded software, greatly reducing the overall age of our systems and the risks associated with aging equipment. All of these changes will enable us to share facilities and hardware across agency lines, optimizing our investment in these resources.
NASCIO: Please tell us about the Team for Texas and what they are currently working on.
Rawson: The Team for Texas includes IBM and their primary subcontractors, Unisys, Pitney Bowes, and Xerox. IBM and Unisys manage data center and disaster recovery operations; Pitney Bowes and Xerox handle print and mail services. There are over 300 members of the Team for Texas working with our agencies. They have two major work streams - maintaining current operations in place at the agencies and preparing for consolidation to the shared facilities. The operations teams, including many former state employees who transitioned to the Team for Texas, work much like the data center portion of any IT organization, monitoring system performance, implementing patches, responding to incidents, and handling change requests. The consolidation teams are working with our agencies to plan and execute the migration to the shared state data center. They are reviewing network requirements, agency business plans and timelines, and developing the detailed plans needed to move and consolidate the operations. One agency, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, has moved to the data center with others to follow after their consolidation plans are finalized.
NASCIO:In an environment of increasing external threats as well as vulnerabilities created by more mobile workers and new technologies, what has been your major challenge with respect to IT security?
Rawson: Our major initiative has been providing and verifying the external security of the state communications network. The good news is that we have had the opportunity to leverage the convergence of communications technologies with convergence of security operations and have been able to stand-up and co-locate network operations and security operations. We leverage these operations to provide not only voice and data communications, but have integrated security into our network. Our capabilities are evolving and growing to include external network security monitoring, incidence response and external vulnerability testing.
Additional challenges include maturing our services and developing efficient and cost effective answers to customer demands and the ever more sophisticated threats.
NASCIO: Please describe some of the major IT projects and initiatives that your state plans to undertake over the next 1-3 years.
Rawson: Texas is transforming state government technology through shared infrastructure and collaborative activities that support individual agencies in the delivery of mission critical activities. After several years of determining the vision for the use of technology in state government we are now delivering on the vision and holding ourselves accountable for delivering on the value proposition of that vision.
Several key initiatives include:
