Overview/Strategic Plan

About Information Technology

The mission of the Information Technology (IT) Department is to provide information, communciation and business solutions to the departments and agencies of Montgomery County.

Issue Statement

Montgomery County will apply information technology in a manner that elevates the level of productivity and efficiency to the highest extent possible, including working only on projects that have been appropriately funded. The proper application of technology will improve individual productivity, improve the quality and timeliness of work outputs, and provide County staff with an enhanced quality of life by automating and simplifying many processes and tasks. IT will further develop an environment and culture in which Elected officials, directors and their staff look upon technology as an effective tool for supporting the daily activities as well as the critical business functions within Montgomery County.

Goal Statements

• Provide for an effective and efficient infrastructure
• Provide for mobility and remote operations
• Provide a secure network
• Provide technology to improvement County government work
• Provide for employee efficiency and improved productivity
• Provide for an efficient technology project management program

Program Structure

• Network Operations Management
• IT (Information Technology) Project Management
• Software/Application portfolio management
• Voice Communications
• User Mobility
• Information Management
• Training/Professional Development

Network Operations Management

Purpose Statement

The purpose of Network Operations is the administration, monitoring and maintenance of the Montgomery County network enterprise, which consists of a network operations center and a data center. Montgomery County Network Operations is the focal point for network troubleshooting, software distribution and updating, router and domain management, performance monitoring, and coordination with affiliated networks and contracted support.

Performance Measures

• Network Operations
  • Network & System tracking/monitoring
  • Electronic Storage management
  • Email management
  • System troubleshooting
  • Printer management/administration
• Data Center Management
  • Environmentals (humidity, temperature)
  • Power management
• Information/Network Security
  • Antivirus protection (PC and server)
  • AntiSpam
  • Network intrusion protection
  • Mobile data device encryption
  • Passwords
  • User permissions/rights
  • Data protection (confidential, classified, etcetera)
  • User rights (read, write, delete, modify, etcetera)
• Infrastructure management
  • Routers/Switches
  • Internet access points (charges, vendor management)
  • Cabling (Ethernet, fiber optic)
• Hardware Support (PC and Server)
  • Repair/maintenance
  • Lifecycle replacement
  • Hardware acquisition/procurement
• Disaster Recovery
  • Data backups
  • Business continuity
  • Server replication
• Helpdesk operations (customer/user support)
  • PC maintenance response
  • Application support
  • Metric tracking (determination of common problems)

IT (Information Technology) Project Management

Purpose Statement

IT Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

A project is a finite endeavor (having specific start and completion dates) undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value. This finite characteristic of projects stands in sharp contrast to processes, or operations, which are permanent or semi-permanent functional work to repetitively produce the same product or service. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management philosophy.

The primary challenge of IT project management for Montgomery County is the attainment of project goals and objectives while adhering to project constraints—usually scope, time and budget. The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives. A project is a carefully defined set of activities that use resources (money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, motivation, etc.) to achieve project goals and objectives.

Montgomery County IT will promote the use of technology within County departments and agencies. Departments will be encouraged to request technology enhancements on a regular basis. Department requests will be reviewed by applicable subject matter experts to determine if the request has a positive impact on constituent services or represents an opportunity for service delivery cost reductions and savings. Once a project and associated budget has been approved, the IT department assigns an internal project manager to develop project documentation, and shepherd the project to successful completion.

Performance Measures

• Methods/Processes
  • Project request submittal
  • Project planning (identify phases and milestones)
  • Project prioritization
  • Deliverable acceptance – close the project
  • Contract negotiations with outside vendors
• Communications Plan
  • Project Sponsor
  • Project stakeholders
  • Project Team
• Change control processes
  • Effects of changes (timelines, budget, people)
  • Change approval process
• Budgeting
  • Project funding
  • Funding sustainment for long term projects
  • Maintenance for completed projects (if required)
• Vendor/contract management
  • Supervision of contracts and/or contractors as required
  • Deliverable acceptance from outside contractors

Software/Application Portfolio

Purpose Statement

Software portfolio management organizes the counties software and application inventory into a single portfolio consisting of reports that capture application objectives, costs, lifecycle, resources, risks and other business factors. The IT Department will regularly review the entire portfolio, replace legacy software as appropriate and adjust projects to produce the highest departmental returns, maximizing existing applications before pursuing alternative solutions.

Performance Measures

• Software Development/Programming
  • Software Development Lifecycle
• HTE
  • AS400 maintenance and administration
  • Database management
  • Software management/administration
• MUNIS
• Microsoft Office 2000, 2003 and 2007
• Windows Operating Systems (2000, XP and Vista)
• SQL (2000 & 2005)
• ArcView
• APSU – GIS (Geographical Information System)
• Election Commission Software
• Jira (helpdesk)
• Software Development Lifecycle
  • Legacy software
  • Data conversion issues
  • Third party product versus development in-house
• ESO
• Datapoint
• Tritech

Voice Communications

Purpose Statement

This program addresses three main functional areas of voice communications management – Call Accounting, PBX and/or PRI Performance Monitoring and Security/Compliance Tracking. This is an area that is not centralized under the IT Department (except for the VoIP system), but the department can, and should, manage for maximum cost effectiveness and convergence of technology.

Performance Measures

• Desktop Telephone
• Voice over IP
  • Cisco Call Manager
  • Phone management (IP based)

User Mobility

Purpose Statement

This program administers and manages the application of remote access, mobile devices and wireless technology to enable communication, information access, and business transactions from any device, from anyone, from anywhere, at anytime.

Performance Measures

• VPN
  • Laptops (remote access)
  • Satellite stations, i.e., EMS
• Android/iOS smartphone support

Information Management

Purpose Statement

This program manages the technology methods the IT Department implements on behalf of Montgomery County for collecting, processing and condensing information with a goal of efficient management. This program also encompasses information dissemination tools to the public and internal to county employees.

Performance Measures

• Public Website (Portals)
  • Public information by department (director choice)
  • Public Information Act (legal requirements)
• County Intranet
  • Internal county information dissemination
• ListServ
  • Subscription based
  • ListServ mediator
• County Commission audio recordings
• Document Management
  • File Server
  • Public Folders (exchange)
  • Records Management (defined by department)
• Database Management
  • SQL
  • DB2
  • Access

Training/Professional Development

Purpose Statement

This program is responsible for any and all related technology training as required or requested by the user community. Training opportunities will be made available as the IT Department is capable of incorporating. Additionally, this program oversees the professional development objectives for IT Department personnel.

Performance Measures

• IT Staff Professional Development
  • Staff proficiency – cross training
  • Network enhancement training/keeping pace with technology changes
• User training
  • Microsoft Office
  • HTE
  • MUNIS
  • Miscellaneous