Agenda - 10-08-2013 - 5 - Laserfiche WebLink

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M PRIORITY LEVEL THREE Location of Geographic Information Systems: Currently, GIS is decentralized with staff in both the County Planning and IT Departments. As the criticality of GIS to all departmental and enterprise functions has increased, the location and reporting structure for the GIS division should be examined. Comparing Orange County with peer counties, based on size, the scope of GIS work, and the staffing within the GIS division, the most common location for GIS is within the Information Technology Department or as a stand -alone department. The County should consider the relocation and restructuring of the GIS department to facilitate greater service delivery to the various internal departments and external customers of the County. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (Desktop Virtualization): Virtualization, as a technology, is fast becoming an in- demand technology solution for local governments. It allows for local governments to maximize current resources, which is an attraction in these challenging budgetary times. Virtualized Servers and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) provide a quick response to the business needs of the organization. These projects also reduce the cost of business continuity planning and solve major security issues within the organization. Virtual Desktops can extend the lifecycles of existing computers. Current desktop lifecycles are two to three years. By implementing a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), computer lifecycles can be extended to five years or more. Desktop Virtualization will simplify the management of desktop computers. Virtual Machine (VM) Images can be created based upon the user and departmental needs. These images are stored on a central server and can be installed (pushed) onto desktop computer remotely. Desktops can be updated without having any downtime. VDI also saves money by reducing the amount of computing capacity that is needed for each desktop, which results in lower requirements for computing which then lowers overall energy cost for the organization. Furthermore, the VDI model is likely the most realistic mechanism to support "bring your own devices" (BYOD) approach that many staff desire. In this approach, the individual employees utilize their own devices (laptops, smart phones, tablets) and access the County's resources through a secure Virtual Desktop environment. The secure environment is not only critical to the integrity and security of data within the County's systems, but also makes the BYOD model tenable for IT support of those various devices. Standardization of Applications and Data: As the County continues to invest in technology to gain efficiencies, increase effectiveness, and enhance transparency and accountability, standardization becomes more critical. Stand -alone systems are still being used across Orange County departments, limiting the utility and cross - functionality of data sharing and importation between business units, especially between like functions such as permitting and inspections or tax. Orange County should seek to standardize as 38