Implementing a Shared Services Strategy for Information Technology

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The County of Orange has been operating with a decentralized IT environment for the last 20 years, following a tumultuous bankruptcy that severely depleted the County’s financial resources, including the resources needed to invest in technology. With 24 different agencies, outdated computers, lack of adequate funding, stagnant development, and an inability to implement a cohesive IT vision were all issues faced by the County. To address these challenges, the Shared Services Initiative was launched with the creation of a new IT organization: OC Information Technology (OCIT). OCIT’s mission is to provide innovative, reliable, and secure technology solutions that support County agencies through a Shared Services model that will drive both efficiency and greater effectiveness. The organization’s core values include fostering a collaborative work environment that encourages creative thinking with an emphasis on customer service. So far, the program has successfully consolidated staff resources from five major County agencies. Successes to-date include creating hardware and software standards across the five Shared Services agencies, which enables more efficient technical support and reduces administrative burden. For example, three standard desktop computer models will replace the 60 different models currently deployed across the five agencies. Additionally, the creation of the Business Relationship Management (BRM) team allows OCIT to quickly respond to the needs of its business customers by dedicating staff to building relationships with each of the Shared Services agencies. Lastly, OCIT has embraced a culture of innovation that has been taken to scale throughout the County; applications such as OC Expediter, myOCgov, and the HR Data Portal are bridging the gap between the IT department and the business, increasing stakeholder buy-in and overall productivity. As the Shared Services Initiative goes into year two, OCIT will focus on taking its previous successes to scale, consolidating additional agencies and growing as the County’s leading provider of innovative public sector IT services and business solutions.