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November 2, 2009

Volume 4, Number 11

From the CIO

George Coulter

I had the pleasure of participating in the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) annual conference last week. Between Virginia receiving the most 2009 NASCIO Recognition Awards (listed below) and the fine contingency of speakers from our state, the Commonwealth was well represented.

I met many of my peers, spending a portion of my time with the CIOs of California, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, among others. The conference opened with a thoughtful  presentation and lively panel discussion about IT consolidation. It explored lessons learned about what should be consolidated, how to generate stakeholder buy-in, how to predict and measure savings or efficiencies, and communication strategies. The panelists included CIOs from Massachusetts, Georgia, West Virginia and Florida.

Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB) member Scott Pattison facilitated a session on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Two former Secretaries of Technology/ITIB members also were featured on the agenda. Eugene Huang served as an expert on a panel exploring broadband deployment. He currently is the government operations director for the National Broadband Task Force at the Federal Communications Commission. U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra delivered an enthusiastic closing keynote address.

Having come from the private sector, the annual conference of public CIOs was eye opening in that IT concerns across the board are similar, and we can share solutions with our peers – whether in the private or public sector. We also can share our concerns and solutions within Virginia state government, and I look forward to doing just that and to your continued input.

George

VITA responds to Northrop Grumman's plan

VITA has responded to the Corrective Action Plan regarding the IT infrastructure transformation submitted by Northrop Grumman. CIO George Coulter said the plan is a significant improvement from an operational standpoint. It represents a substantial amount of work by Northrop Grumman, and improves agency planning and VITA’s ability to analyze Northrop Grumman’s performance. The plan does not change or supersede the Comprehensive Infrastructure Agreement that is in place. VITA and Northrop Grumman will use components of the plan that help get transformation scheduled at agencies and completed by June 2010.

VITA's response

CIO George Coulter's comments

Northrop Grumman's Corrective Action Plan

Three national IT awards for Virginia announced

Three Virginia IT projects recently received prestigious national Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology from NASCIO. Winning initiatives exemplify best practices, support the public policy goals of state leaders, assist government officials to innovatively execute their duties and provide cost-effective service to citizens. The Commonwealth received more awards in the 2009 NASCIO program than any other state. Honored projects include:

  • Virginia Performs: Virginia's Performance Leadership and Accountability System - Council on Virginia’s Future, in the category Data, Information and Knowledge Management
  • Virginia.gov Portal Widgets - Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), in the category Government to Citizen
  • Virginia Technology Portfolio 2.0 - VITA, in the category IT Project and Portfolio Management

The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy also was honored as a NASCIO finalist in the category Cross Boundary Collaboration for its University IT Internship Program.

See short videos about the winning projects on the Virginia government YouTube channel

Read Governor Kaine's news release on the honors

IT Infrastructure Partnership

VITA and Northrop Grumman continue to modernize IT infrastructure and support services.

PC refresh

More than 40,090 desktops, laptops and tablets have been replaced across the Commonwealth. Thousands more are receiving software updates because the existing PCs are newer. All agencies are either in progress (eight agencies) or complete (82 agencies). Agencies currently being refreshed include Medical Assistance Services, Motor Vehicles, Social Services, Transportation and Virginia Employment Commission.

Network migration

Approximately 1,707 agency sites have migrated to the new centrally managed network, providing for enhanced application security and interoperability.

Help Desk

Eighty-five agencies with approximately 59,929 users now are calling the central VITA help desk. The VITA Customer Care Center (VCCC) offers a single point of contact for VITA customers to report computer-related trouble or obtain a wide range of technology services. The VCCC can be contacted at vccc@vita.virginia.gov or (866) 637-VITA (8482).

Messaging

Twenty-five agencies and 57 domains with approximately 20,330 users have been migrated to enterprise e-mail and are benefiting from enhanced file sharing and e-mail security. Fifty-five agencies are in progress; 18 of those are in the transformation phase.

Change management overview session

On the third Tuesday of each month, the change management team conducts a change management overview briefing for Agency Information Technology Resources (AITRs) from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Commonwealth Enterprise Solutions Center (CESC). This session utilizes WebEx for those who telework or work remotely. The agenda each month includes a brief overview of the change management process, instruction for using the HP ServiceCenter change management module, and a question-and-answer session. If you are interested in signing up to participate, please contact Sreedhar Makarla at Sreedhar.Makarla@ngc.com.

Webmasters will meet Nov. 12

Virginia Government Webmasters will meet from 1-4 p.m., Nov. 12, at the Department of Rehabilitative Services. Topics will include information security and tools to reduce risk, Web accessibility compliance, the 2010 state portal upgrade, member spotlight on the Web accountability/metrics project at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, administration transition and changes to the YouTube channel format.

The group is open to anyone connected with a Virginia government Web site and includes representatives from localities, state executive and legislative branches, and higher education. Teleconferencing is available. Registration for either in-person or teleconference attendance should be completed online in advance.

Register online 

ISOAG meeting is Nov. 18

The next meeting of the Information Security Officers Advisory Group (ISOAG) will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the State Corporation Commission Building, Court Room B, 1300 E. Main St., Richmond.

Registration information is delivered by e-mail to the ISOAG member list. If you would like to attend but are not yet a member, please send an e-mail request to CommonwealthSecurity@vita.virginia.gov so that you can receive registration information.

Information Security Resource Center is online

The latest security advisories and recorded attack statistics on Commonwealth systems are posted online. These resources are available at no charge to anyone interested in improving information security.

Investigate the Resource Center

October Service Bulletin now online

The October edition of the VITA Service Bulletin features John Tyler Community College's "green" initiative and its use of state IT contracts to help meet goals, 2009 Governor's Technology Awards and  information security resources as part of Information Security Awareness Month.

Read the October Service Bulletin

October Information Security Tips posted

This month's issue presents the Top 10 Cyber Security tips.

Read October Information Security Tips