Technology Initiatives

Information Technology Initiatives are infrastructure projects that support the organization and ensure the security and safety of all City data and systems. These projects are worked primarily by the IT Operations staff and are in direct support of all Information Technology projects.

Initiatives Underway

• Implement Sustainable BCDR Architecture

• This initiative will provide the architecture to support BCDR for multiple City systems leveraging the infrastructure implemented for the Utility Billing BCDR Project.

• Plexar Line Reduction Initiative

• In 2015/2016, AT&T increased the cost of Plexar lines resulting in overdrawing the expense account for these services. In effort to reduce our operating costs while maintaining necessary services, Network Services will be disconnecting unused Plexar lines and migrating as many as possible to VOIP. Due to the number of budget cuts made this year, if no reductions are made, a budget amendment would be required to cover the increase in cost.

• Active Directory Upgrade

• The City is currently operating on a 10 year old active directory (domain login and authentication system) which puts the City at risk for security breaches as well as limits the City on the selection and implementation of newer systems. The Server Services team will setup new domain controllers and upgrade the existing domain system to address these concerns.

• Increase Internet Bandwidth

• The City is in the process of implementing the new ERP system which will be Cloud based. This will require additional bandwidth to account for the increased activity across the internet. This upgrade will result in the replacement/upgrade of several networking components along with the additional bandwidth provided by our internet provider.

• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Pilot

• Many of the City’s computers are approaching their 5 year life cycle replacement. In an effort to reduce the cost of new computers and IT support, IT has setup a pilot system for Virtual Desktop’s. Along with the cost reductions, this system will allow the city to make better use of its compute resources while providing improved end user performance.

Initiatives Planned

• New Intranet/DocLibrary Implementation

• This initiative will provide an improved user experience and document sharing for City Employees.

• Redundant Technology Implementation
  • SQL Server Always
    • This will provide data redundancy for City systems
  • Server/Storage Replication
    • This will provide system redundancy for City systems
  • Backup to Disk and Disk to Disk Replication
    • This will provide storage redundancy for City systems as well as a more reliable backup solution.