HomeMy WebLinkAboutIT 01-16 edy 611 Report PICKERING Executive Committee
Report Number: IT 01-16
Date: September 12, 2016
From: Paul Bigioni
Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor
Subject: Information Technology Strategic Plan, Broadband and Intelligent
Community Initiatives
- File: A-3700-002-13
Recommendation:
1. That this Report and the Technology Review and Roadmap (Attachment 1) prepared by
Prior & Prior Associates Ltd. and dated January 11, 2016 be received.
2. That the Technology Review and Roadmap be endorsed, provided that funding
requirements, if any, be subject to the budget approval process.
3. That Council recognize the importance of fast, reliable and affordable high-speed internet
access for all residents and businesses within the City of Pickering.
4. That Council endorse the "Dig Once" Standard, providing for the inclusion of conduit to
accommodate fiber optic (internet) cable in the standard design specification for all future
City road construction projects.
5. That Council direct appropriate City staff to communicate and collaborate with their
counterparts at the Region of Durham and at the other lower tier Durham municipalities, to
encourage the other municipalities within Durham Region to adopt policies similar to the
City's Dig Once Standard, so that the infrastructure necessary to accommodate a Region-
wide broadband system can be built over time.
6. That staff within the City's Information Technology Section be directed to continue their
efforts to have the City recognized as an Intelligent Community by the Intelligent Community
Forum.
7. That copies of this Report be forwarded to The Regional Municipality of Durham and area
municipalities.
8. That the appropriate officials of the City of Pickering be authorized to take the necessary
actions as indicated in this Report.
Executive Summary: Attachment 1 to this Report is the Technology Review and Roadmap
prepared by Prior & Prior Associates Ltd. and dated January 11, 2016 (the "IT Roadmap"). The IT
Roadmap is a multi-year strategic plan which represents the City's first comprehensive review of
the role of information technology in the City's administration. The IT Roadmap identifies the need
for (i) adequate staffing to meet service demands, (ii) governance of IT decision-making to ensure
IT 01-16 September 12, 2016
Subject: IT Strategic Plan Information Report Page 2
that the needs of the City as a whole are met by every IT project and (iii) upgrades and
improvements to existing IT infrastructure and business systems.
The importance of high speed internet (broadband) service is now widely recognized, and is
crucially important for the City's ongoing economic development. By adopting the "Dig Once"
Standard, the City will take a modest first step toward building the broadband infrastructure
necessary to serve the growing demand for broadband from residents and businesses.
Recognition of Pickering as an Intelligent Community will demonstrate the City's commitment to
maximizing the use of technology to enhance the lives and opportunities of its residents. Intelligent
Community status will assist the City in its ongoing economic development activities.
Financial Implications: There are no financial implications arising directly from this Report, as
any budget allocation required further to any of the Recommendations will be subject to future
Council approval.
That being said, it is essential for the economic development of the City of Pickering that high-
speed Internet access be more widely available to residents and businesses. Furthermore,
recognition of the City of Pickering as an Intelligent Community will serve to elevate Pickering's
profile and further increase economic development opportunities.
Discussion:
The IT Roadmap
The City of Pickering is on the cusp of major expansion. The development of Seaton will bring
significant growth and change to the City. Combined with planned intensification of development
within the City center, as well as proposals for a major tourist and entertainment complex and the
possible Federal airport, this new growth will demand that we use technology to continue the
City's ongoing transformation from a bedroom community to a thriving urban center. A corporate
culture that embraces the strategic role of technology will give the City a competitive advantage.
Strong and innovative IT solutions will improve City services, support growth and development in
a sustainable way, spur investment from global players, and enable more open, transparent and
responsive government.
The IT Roadmap (Attachment 1) is a multi-year strategic plan which represents the City's first
comprehensive review of the role of information technology in the administration of the City and
the delivery of its services. The IT Roadmap represents an opportunity to rethink the use of
technology at the City and to assess what changes are required to ensure that the City and its
residents obtain the maximum possible benefit from technology-enabled services. City staff must
work within the financial constraints imposed upon the City, but short-term cost sensitivity should
not deter the City from considering strategic investments that will enhance efficiencies and save
money over the long term.
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The IT Roadmap identifies a number of key issues which are summarized below:
1. The IT Section is understaffed and challenged to meet current demands.
The City of Pickering IT division is underfunded and understaffed as compared with similar
municipalities, according to a municipal benchmarking study completed by Prior & Prior and
research conducted by Deloitte (Appendix "B" of the IT Roadmap). In order to meet the demands
of a growing municipality, it is important to realize efficiencies and position staff for success
through investment in technology today. The City of Pickering's IT Section has managed to stay
the course over the last 15 years with a net zero increase in resources, however the ability to meet
current, let alone future needs may be unsuccessful without immediate improvements. Many
important business systems, including our financial application and telecommunications
infrastructure, require attention ranging from upgrades to complete replacement. This upgrading
will place additional demands on the City's existing IT staff complement. The current inability to
meet staff technology needs, from both a support and a strategic perspective, is a barrier to the
City being able to realize its full potential.
2. IT Infrastructure requires attention.
Many technology infrastructure components currently supporting the business operations of the
City of Pickering are 8 to 10 years old. During an investigation of the City's Network and Security
Infrastructure performed in 2015, staff found that the City was about 3 years behind on security
related updates. Critical security flaws in the City's network infrastructure were found and fixed,
but IT staff require training and additional IT processes and procedures must be put in place.
3. Major business systems require attention ranging from upgrades to complete replacement.
The City is in dire need of a new financial system. With additional investment, many existing
systems such as the planning and permitting system (Amanda) could provide significant increases
in efficiency and automation, resulting in improved service levels and increased ability to manage
a higher volume of planning and permit transactions. Without investment in new applications and
the associated IT staff necessary to design and administer them, the City will increasingly run the
risk of system failure and may miss out on opportunities to leverage technology to keep current
with residents' expectations for service delivery and community engagement.
4. Corporate oversight on technology projects.
"IT governance" is the process for direction, management and monitoring of how the City makes
use of technology. More than a single committee, IT governance consists of all the various staff
teams that are involved in IT decision making. Council is of course involved in IT governance, to
the extent of authorizing major projects and approving any necessary budget allocations. The goal
of IT governance is to ensure that the right people are making the right technology decisions at
the right time and for the right reasons.
Until now, decisions regarding the prioritization of technology projects have been left to the IT
Manager. These decisions may have far reaching consequences for the operation of the City as a
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whole. For this reason, staff(with the support of the CAO) have formed an IT Steering Committee
to provide advice regarding the prioritization and initiation of new technology projects. Drawing
staff from all Departments, the IT Steering Committee will ensure that technology decisions are
made with the best interests of the entire corporation in mind.
5. Following the IT Roadmap.
Implementing the IT Roadmap is subject to Council's budget approval process. To date, the IT
Section has taken on one new staff member to increase its capacity to deliver basic technical
support on a daily basis. An additional staff position has been added in the approved 2016 budget.
These changes will increase the ability of the IT Section to meet the growing demand for its
services. The creation of the IT Steering Committee will provide a coherent framework for IT
governance. These changes recommended by the IT Roadmap are already improving the
effectiveness of the City's IT Section.
Broadband Service in Pickering
Technology enhancements are necessary to enable the success of the City's businesses and
residents — now and in the future. Access to high speed internet service (broadband) is becoming
essential for health care, education, employment, social and political inclusion and overall
economic success. With the opening of a Microsoft data center inside Canada, the use of cloud
computing will only increase, and the need for broadband will increase along with it.
Some of the benefits of accessible and reasonably affordable fibre optic connection to the internet
are:
1. It provides businesses, public organizations, residents, and farmers equitable access to
marketplaces, healthcare, education and government services, putting Pickering on a
competitive footing with some of the best connected communities in Canada and around
the world;
2. Federal and Provincial funding is available to subsidize the cost of building fibre optic
infrastructure, with most of the remaining funds coming from telecom service providers;
3. It will provide residents and businesses in Pickering with more competitive choices, leading
to better services and lower prices — a platform for future economic prosperity and social
equality; and
4. It will reduce operational costs that the City currently pays to ISP's for network
connectivity. These costs will continue to grow as the need for connectivity increases and
broadband access becomes critical for both administration and service delivery.
Increasingly, high-speed Internet service is looked upon as a necessity. In the USA, the Federal
Communications Commission and many cities now regard broadband as a new public utility - a
service to be delivered like water pipes and highways. Robust and widely accessible broadband
infrastructure is needed for Pickering to become recognized as a prime location for new
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businesses to operate. Broadband will help attract new investment to the City. Following the
example of many American jurisdictions, City staff have introduced the "Dig Once" Standard for
future City road construction. "Dig Once" simply means that the standard design specification for
future city road construction projects includes an additional conduit to accommodate future
broadband requirements. The conduit will then be in place to accommodate fibre optic cable as
and when the City wants to have it installed.
Corporate Services staff have worked together with staff in Engineering & Public Works in order to
implement "Dig Once". Over time, as road construction proceeds, "Dig Once" will ensure that
broadband service can be accommodated with only a tiny incremental increase to the cost of
future road construction projects. "Dig Once" is a modest but necessary step towards the
construction of broadband infrastructure throughout the City.
In an effort to expand broadband service throughout the Region of Durham, the City's Information
Technology and Economic Development staff currently participate in a Regional Broadband
Working Group consisting of staff from the Region, Veridian, Whitby and the Whitby Chamber of
Commerce. City staff strongly recommend the adoption by all municipalities within Durham Region
of policies similar to "Dig Once". The construction of broadband infrastructure on a region-wide
basis will increase opportunities within Pickering and throughout the Region to provide broadband
access in areas which are currently underserviced.
Intelligent Community
The Intelligent Community Forum ("ICF") is a global network of cities and regions with a think tank
at its center. Its mission is to help communities use information and communications technology
to create inclusive prosperity, to tackle social and governance challenges and to enrich quality of
life. The ICF formally recognizes eligible municipalities as "Intelligent Communities" on the basis of
criteria including broadband availability, knowledge level of workforce, digital equality and
innovation.
The main purpose for seeking recognition as an Intelligent Community is to attract innovative and
tech-oriented businesses to Pickering. Intelligent Community status signals that Pickering is a City
that strives to enhance the quality and efficiency of municipal services, and to reduce costs and
resource consumption. Achieving these objectives will enhance opportunities for the City's
residents and businesses.
IT staff have already begun the task of having Pickering recognized as an Intelligent Community.
No specific budget allocation has been required for this purpose.
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Attachments:
1. Technology Review and Roadmap prepared by Prior & Prior Associates Ltd. dated
January 11, 2016.
Prepared By: Appr -d/Endorsed By:
Dale Quaife Paul Bi•
Manager, Information Technology Director, ors•rate Services & City Solicitor
PB:ks
Recommended for the consideration
of Pickering City C•uncil
1 / 2.o
Tony Prevedel, P.Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer .
CORP0227-07/01 revised
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J a n u a r 11 2016 Prior & Priawr
Y Associates Ltd.
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Executive Summary 4
1. Introduction & Background 8
1.1 The Importance of Technology for Municipalities 8
1.2 The Importance of the IT Roadmap 8
1.3 Developing this Roadmap 8
2. The Current State 9
2.1 Technology Environment Assessment 9
2.1.1 Infrastructure Layer Recommendations 11
2.1.2 Major Business Systems Layer Recommendations 12
2.1.3 Integration Layer Recommendations 12
2.1.3.1 GIS Environment 13
2.1.4 Customer Facing Layer 13
2.2 Technology Management Practices Assessment 14
2.2.1 Technology Management Practices Recommendations 14
2.3 Survey Results 14
2.3.1 Respondents 14
2.3.2 Technology Overview 15
2.3.2.1 Technology Overview Recommendations 15
2.3.3 Business Applications 15
2.3.3.1 Business Applications Recommendations 16
2.3.4 IT Department 17
2.3.4.1 IT Department Recommendations 17
2.3.5 After Hours Support 18
2.3.5.1 After Hours Support Recommendations 18
2.3.6 Access to Systems 18
2.3.7 Training 18
2.3.7.1 Training Recommendations 19
3. Municipal Comparisons 19
4. Emerging Trends 19
4.1 New Pressures 19
5. IT Decision Making: IT Governance 20
5.1 What is IT governance? 20
5.2 IT Department 21
5.3 IT Policies and Standards 21
6. IT Organization 25
6.1 Current IT Organization Structure 25
6.2 Future Goals for the IT Team 25
6.3 Proposed IT Organization Structure - 26
6.4 Opportunities for Partnership 29
6.5 IT Service Delivery-the Help Desk 29
Prior&Prior Associates page 2
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
6.6 Adopt a Hybrid Delivery Model 29
6.7 Resource Technology Projects Appropriately 30
6.8 Building Trust 31
7. Conclusions and Major Recommendations 31
Appendix A—G.I.S. Review 33
Appendix B— Benchmarking Study 36
Appendix C—Current Project List, and Work Plan 38
Appendix D—Architecture 45
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Prior&Prior Associates page 3
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Executive Summary
Introduction
This Corporate Technology Multi-Year Plan is the first technology review that the City has
undertaken and the first technology plan that the City has developed. It is an opportunity to re-
think the way technology is perceived at the City and assess what changes are required to re-
position both the IT department and technology enabling services at the City. Enhanced
Technology services align with all five corporate priorities and in the near term will enhance our
ability to realize better opportunities for community engagement and corporate best practices.
The City of Pickering is poised on the precipice of significant growth and expansion. Development
in Seaton alone is noteworthy and combined with concurrent initiatives including Downtown
Intensification, the Durham Live Entertainment Complex and an International Airport, our ability
to transform from a sleepy bedroom community into a hub for sustainability, innovation,
technology, culture and commerce will be tested.
A corporate culture that embraces the strategic role technology can play has a competitive
advantage. Strong and innovative IT solutions will improve City services, support growth and
development in a sustainable way, spur investment from global players, and lead to more open
and transparent government systems. A technologically advanced city will attract a higher caliber
talent pool to Pickering needed for ICT and a Broadband Infrastructure plan should be developed
in order to attract Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies and advanced
manufacturing employers.
In order the meet the demands of a rapidly growing municipality, it is important to realize
efficiencies and position staff for success through investment in technology platform today. The
last 25 years has seen an insurgence in technology innovation and many organizations have
attained competitive advantage and realized success while others who failed to innovate, no
longer exist. The City of Pickering's IT department has managed to stay the course over the last
15 years with zero increase in resources, however the ability to meet current, let alone future
business and technological needs may be unsuccessful without immediate improvements.
Municipalities operate on tax dollars. As a result, often times we are too focused on short term,
cost sensitive items, rather than strategic investments that will enhance efficiencies and save
money in the long run.
Prior&Prior Associates page 4
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
The Opportunity
While many organizations are reaping the benefits of technology as a competitive advantage,
Information technology as a platform and an enabling mechanism at the City has yet to appreciate
its full potential and operational efficiencies have not been realized. Municipalities large and small
face daunting challenges as they continue to deliver the same or enhanced services with fewer
resources and tax dollars.
In response to this challenge,the Corporate Technology Review and Roadmap sets out tactical
directions and frameworks to position the City of Pickering to be an organization that is SMART
(Sustainable, Modern, Agile, Resilient and Technology enabled).
Smart City ecosystems enhance quality and performance, reducing costs and consumption while
better engaging residents, businesses and key stakeholders. Enhanced technology can aid in real-
time decision making, helping senior staff make informed and timely decisions.
The goal is to increase the efficiency of municipal services to residents and businesses.Technology is
central to the City's success and building a City that does business differently, more efficiently, a City
that looks at all opportunities to work smarter is a central concept of the IT Roadmap.
An independent assessment of the City's IT landscape and its technology management approach
confirms that the City needs to address challenges in IT Service delivery and governance as staff and
resident's expectations for online services and solutions continue to increase. The more traditional
methods of service delivery are no longer acceptable and certainly not in a community that will grow
and transform quickly in the very near future.
There are several risks and gaps that have been identified that should be addressed, specifically:
• The IT Organization is understaffed and challenged to meet current demands.
• The infrastructure has some solid components but there are significant gaps such as with
remote facility connectivity, a lack of a test environment and limitations to the security and
disaster recovery capacity.
• The major business systems all require attention ranging from upgrades to complete
replacement. An overhaul of the project methodology is required in order to move forward
efficiently and effectively.
• The customer facing layer of technology has identified several opportunities to improve the
customer experience from enabling online payments and other online service offerings.
• A lack of corporate oversight on technology projects including decision making and priority
setting.
In order to meet the demands and expectations that technology can deliver, the City will have to
invest in IT, both resources and products. New technologies are emerging every day that can have
great impact on municipal operations. The City should be prepared to take advantage of
Prior&Prior Associates page 5
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
opportunities as they are presented in order to implement the solutions that deliver the best value •
for this h s co mmunit .
Y
Reflecting the growing importance of technology, the roadmap recommends changes to the
governance of IT to help ensure that the City can execute effectively. Specific recommendations
include:
• Establishing a corporate Information Technology Steering Committee to oversee information
management and technology decision making and priorities
• Establishing a project intake and prioritization process for all technology projects
• Maintaining an approved IT project list
• Revising corporate IT policies.
The strategy also recommends changes to the IT Team to support the sustainability of the technology
environment and the delivery of the projects, including:
• Reorganizing the IT team into 3 discrete sections to better service current and future needs of
the organization.
• Grow the IT team—according to a municipal benchmarking study completed by Prior & Prior
and research conducted by Deloitte, the City's IT department is significantly understaffed to
meet the current requirements never mind the future requirements expressed by the business
departments or through the surveys. The following positions are recommended:
• Short term:
o Hire the Network Analyst position (currently approved)
o Hire a new Database Administrator/Analyst
o Hire a new Supervisor of Client Services
• Hiring new resources as soon as possible will transition the IT Manager from day-to-day
operational responsibilities in order to focus on more strategic activities.
• Progressively adding several new IT positions over the next 5 years to support the growing
business demands for new technology solutions:
• Medium term:
o Business Analyst/Project Manager
o Web and Digital services coordinator
o Application Administrator
• Longer term:
o Business Analyst/Project Manager (2nd position)
o Application Administrator (2nd position)
o Web Analyst/Developer
• Since IT is key to 24/7 business operations for several departments, there needs to be formal
support for IT outside of'normal' office hours established.
Prior&Prior Associates page 6
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
In response to the issues,the roadmap outlines a plan that addresses, as a priority, the current gaps
in infrastructure and business systems areas; these include initiatives pertaining to:
o Improving remote network access and Wi-Fi at all municipal facilities,
o Establish a test environment
o Enhance desktop/laptop device management
o Implement mobile device management strategy and tools
o Develop robust policies and operating procedures
o Modern collaboration tools (instant messaging, video conferencing)
o Preparing the City to address security, redundancy and other business continuity threats
Implementing and/or expanding major business systems that can be used to automate business
processes, such as:
•
o Develop an application inventory and lifecycle standard for all business systems.
o Develop in-house application support expertise to ensure products are implemented
that meets the business requirements and overall data strategy. .
o Conduct a review or analysis of the Planning, building and permitting solution,
(AMANDA).
o Recreation management solution upgrade, review and upgrade or replacement.
o Review the Financial system (Vailtech) for upgrade or replacement.
o Corporate Enterprise Document Management solution review (LaserFiche).
o Continued growth of the GIS system. •
o Develop a training/learning strategy for all technology users.
The customer facing services requires an expansion of the City's website to focus on offering online
services, service request submission and tracking online, moving bill and invoice payments online and
handling permits and licenses online.
It is clear that continued investments in, and development of,technology capabilities are required for
the City to meet Council, customer and management expectations. This roadmap identifies
appropriate initiatives and activities that must be undertaken to leverage technology effectively to
meet these demands. Initiatives and recommendations identified in the roadmap will be brought
forward as appropriate through the annual budget and capital planning process.
Prior&Prior Associates
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page 7
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
1. Introduction & Background
1.1 The Importance of Technology for Municipalities
Today, all businesses rely on technology.Whether a firm is in the business of selling products, delivering
packages, or providing healthcare—people, process, and technology need to work together for those services to
be delivered effectively.
Municipalities are no different.Technology is increasingly central to the City's ability to deliver services. Services
as diverse as collecting taxes, dispatching fire trucks, planning a sub-division, communicating and engaging the
community, checking out library books, and managing recreation program registration all rely on technology to
operate effectively and safely.
While email and smartphones keep every part of the organization connected and communicating, it is the back
office systems that allow managers and staff to track permit and planning applications, to manage customer
requests,or monitor budgets.These are the tools that will enable the City to maximize its operational efficiency.
Looking to the future,technology will continue to grow in importance. More customers will expect to use their
computers and smartphones to make an inquiry, report a problem or submit an application. Increasingly sensors
will be used to monitor critical infrastructure throughout the City and notify staff where problems are
anticipated,or have occurred. City's need to invest in infrastructure to attract/retain business investment, and
meet the diverse needs of a growing population.
1.2 The Importance of the IT Roadmap
Given the importance of technology and its role in delivering City services, and particularly given the many
competing demands of the municipal setting,an IT roadmap is very important. It addresses questions that are
fundamental to the City's future success:
• Are we doing the right things with technology?
• Are we making the right technology decisions?
• Is our Information Technology environment properly managed, maintained, secured, and able to
support our clients?
• Is it cost effective?
• What are our future community and organizational needs?
• Is our technology environment equipped to meet current and future business requirements?
• Are we using technology innovatively to optimize operations, and proactively respond to the future?
Crucially it allows the City to determine the strategic priorities, and set out the key initiatives and activities that
will be critical to supporting the City's business goals and objectives.
1.3 Developing this Roadmap
The City engaged Prior& Prior Associates to collaboratively develop this roadmap in the summer of 2015. Prior
& Prior worked with the IT Manager and the IT team to understand the current environment and issues they
were facing. We also surveyed all departments and staff to conduct a current state assessment of the City's use
and management of technology, and to identify future corporate and departmental technology needs.The
consultants worked with the IT Manager to identify priorities and directions,develop the organizational plan,
and to develop this document—the Technology Review and Roadmap.
Prior&Prior Associates page 8
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
2. The Current State
In developing this roadmap, Prior& Prior Associates conducted a current state assessment of the City's
Information Technology landscape.The consulting team looked at the current Technology environment,the
City's existing IT Management practices and considered the range of future pressures that the City faces.This
assessment is summarized over the next few pages, and is the basis for the Roadmap.
The City's current approach to technology is delivering far less than optimal results. The IT Department(and
technology) has been viewed as a cost center,a support organization, not an engine of innovation, growth and
service delivery improvement.The IT Department operates at a basic level—focusing on the basic sustainment
of software systems- keeping the computers running. IT staff are fully utilized supporting what is currently in
operation, not working on strategic initiatives that can simplify customer interactions with the City or streamline
and automate administrative tasks.
Although many major systems have been implemented by the City(most over a decade ago), many of the basic
capabilities needed to run the City are not working well. Because of this, managers and staff spend an
inordinate amount of time on administrative processes and tasks that remain largely manual despite
opportunities for automation. Excel spreadsheets and word documents are used to manage critical business
processes because the systems cannot do the job. Staff cannot quickly access or assemble critical information to
carry out their day-to-day tasks. Consequently, Coordinators, Supervisors, Managers, and Directors may
operate without the necessary intelligence to effectively manage their operations, increasing the risk of
producing inaccurate or incomplete information.These major gaps must be addressed.
Currently,the IT Department manages and supports over 500 staff in 17 locations throughout Pickering
consisting of over 465 desktops, laptops and mobile devices supported by 60 Physical and Virtual Servers and 13
business applications and 6 databases. IT staff do a good job of maintaining the existing systems considering
the number of resources available however many of the applications are outdated. IT does not have the time
to maintain the current technology portfolio let alone investigate new opportunities for technological
applications within the City.
Technology Trends and Areas of focus for City IT in the next few years should be:
• Security, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning
• Internet of Things—Smart Grid/Smart City/Interconnected Systems
• System Integration and IT Automation Process Improvements
• Big Data/Business Intelligence, Data Analytics and Open Government
• Customer Relationship Management System
• Online Services,e-commerce,online payments
• City Mobile Strategy, Mobile Device Management
• Asset Management
• City Financial System Replacement
2.1 Technology Environment Assessment
Prior& Prior's standardized municipal technology architecture shown in Figure 1 below was the basis for
evaluating the City's technology environment.'
1 The architecture presented here will be used as a future state architecture for the City,which will guide future technology
decision-making.
Prior&Prior Associates page 9
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
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Figure 1:Municipal Technology Architecture
This is a generalized municipal IT model that introduces a number of key concepts that are important for the City
at this time, including:
• There are 4 main technology layers (labeled in Figure 1 as: infrastructure, business systems, integration,
customer facing), each of which require different IT skill sets to manage effectively
• The Infrastructure layer is the foundation.This must be robust and reliable as it forms the basis for all
other layers
• A municipality should focus on a small number of rationalized corporate business systems,to eliminate
process and information silos.These business systems are the foundations for automated business
processes and will enable online services.
• The municipality's IT architecture must build from the bottom up—Infrastructure first,then business
systems and so on.
Prior&Prior Associates page 10
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
The following diagram describes a high level assessment of the City of Pickering's technology architecture. The
consulting team's assessment has been validated with the IT Manager for accuracy.
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Figure 2:City of Pickering Assessment .
At the base of the architecture (the Infrastructure layer)the assessment indicates that the City has made
progress towards a reliable infrastructure.The City has been successful in implementing a virtualized
infrastructure.which has reduced operating costs.
2.1.1 Infrastructure Layer Recommendations ,
The following bullets identify areas that should be addressed as part of the Infrastructure Strategy.
• Remote facility connectivity continues to be problematic due to limited and inconsistent connectivity in
. the City. Work is ongoing to improve the network and additional work will be required to continue to
design and build a cost-effective corporate network with sufficient bandwidth for future needs.
• The City should create and maintain a test environment (sandbox)for technology in which to test
upgrade and technology platform changes.
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
• The City should develop a backup strategy that consolidates their backup solution; addresses de-
duplication of data, and ensure processes are documented including the testing of backup/recovery
procedures.This would result in a decrease in storage and support costs and ensure continuity in case of
system failure.
• Significant work is also needed in the areas of security and disaster recovery/business continuity to
ensure that the City is appropriately secured and business continuity ready. Currently the firewalls are
managed externally, although there is value to have external support where necessary to augment the
expertise and resourcing of internal staff,there was some indication that the responsiveness of services
has been problematic. Additionally,the current location of the DR data center is in the Recreation
Building which is not suitable due to the close proximity to the main site.
• The City is currently utilizing Citrix technology which provides remote access to applications and internal
application delivery. Although Citrix provides the required functionality to users, it is not currently
deployed to all staff, and does not address issues around application management for systems that
cannot operate in the Citrix environment. IT will actively monitor the environment, and further
implement changes the Citrix and Physical Desktop environment as the technology evolves.
• The City is currently on Exchange 2010 and has internal expertise to manage the email environment.
However, for the size of the IT department there is value in evaluating Microsoft 365 as a solution that
will potentially decrease IT costs, provide additional redundancy in functionality, and lends itself well
within the disaster recovery strategy.
2.1.2 Major Business Systems Layer Recommendations
Continuing upwards through the architecture,the Major Business Systems layer highlights areas of work with
respect to the major business systems—the key corporate systems that the municipality requires.
Specifically,the City needs to determine direction and implement solutions across a range of areas including but
not limited to:
• Planning, building and permitting solution review, and upgrade (AMANDA)
• Recreation management solution upgrade, review and replacement(Class)
• Financial system review and upgrade (Vailtech)
• Document Records Management-Corporate Enterprise Content Management(ECM) solution
implementation (LaserFiche)
A detailed assessment of business applications with business users is required to accurately determine the
level of work needed on major business systems. This work was outside of the scope of this engagement.
In order to effectively manage Major Business systems,the IT department will need to adapt new skills
(Project Management, Business Analysis, Software Application expertise) as well as continue to establish
and maintain the infrastructure foundation.
The City will also need to adopt a corporate approach to technology architecture decision making(IT
•
Governance). These recommendations require a reorientation of the IT team (new skills and staff) and
corporate attention to these expanded corporate needs.
2.1.3 Integration Layer Recommendations
The Integration layer also features a number of opportunities, including corporate reporting capabilities and
expanded systems integration to eliminate errors and staff time wasted on duplicate data entry.There is also a
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
gap in the ability to discover/search unstructured content and image management (files, documents, images,
etc.), requiring further development of the Intranet as a corporate collaboration environment. The Integration
Layer can only be addressed once the City has come to an agreement on the major business systems to focus on,
as much of the functionality in the Integration Layer is dependent on those decisions.
2.1.3.1 GIS Environment
A detailed assessment of the GIS environment and requirements is recommended. Currently the City has
invested in an industry leader GIS system (ESRI), however,the system is managed primarily out of the Planning
department, with limited access to other users, or integration with other systems.The GIS environment should
be managed in the same way as any other system, in particular systems used by the enterprise. Technical
implementation such as project management, business needs analysis, database management and software
development should be provided by the corporate IT department with some services such as data management,
requirements definition and implementation testing and assistance provided by the user departments. A
preliminary review included a current state assessment, an identification of immediate issues and initial
recommendations are included in Appendix A. A detailed review, such as a GIS Strategic Plan will further
identify user requirements, establish data standards and system governance principles, and design the
technology architecture required for the city to fully utilize the product and enhance services delivered to
employees and citizens.
2.1.4 Customer Facing Layer
Assessment of the Customer Facing layer identifies that the City has established a foundation with the website
and the introduction of some e-Services. Currently,the website is managed within the Communications
department which causes some coordination and resourcing issues for IT. Some user feedback also suggested
that the tool providing the service was not easy to use. Opportunities exist to offer many new services online—
although in some cases these projects will be dependent on first implementing the right business systems.
Additionally, a majority of citizen based traffic is mobile in nature, and the City should invest in building a
responsive website to address this requirement. Key opportunities include:
• Service request submission and tracking
• Billing and online payments (e-commerce)
• Permitting and licensing online
• Online registration and bookings
• Online forms
Overall,the assessment points to a need for the City to direct immediate attention to finishing the remaining
work on the corporate infrastructure layer, next the focus should shift toward the business system layers of the
architecture.This means:
• Ensuring the infrastructure is sustainable by building out the corporate network, implementing effective
security and DR provisions and appropriately staffing the infrastructure function
• Turning attention to the corporate business systems area, re-organizing the IT team, and establishing
the business systems that will drive the City's business processes and improve the City's operational
effectiveness.
Thereafter, in the medium-term (two to three years), attention can move to the top 2 layers—integration and
customer facing,where significant value and improvements in customer service can be gained.
Appendix D provides a more detailed explanation of the Enterprise Architecture.
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
2.2 Technology Management Practices Assessment
In reviewing the City's technology management approach, a number of positive aspects were noted, including:
• Strong leadership from the new IT Manager
• The IT team is well liked, respected and appreciated
• The IT team is customer oriented and works hard to resolve issues and deliver solutions.
• Many best of breed infrastructure technology solutions capable of scaling to meet the City's growth
have been implemented
A number of areas for improvement were also identified:
• There is a lack of formal Corporate IT governance.This means that IT decisions and priority setting occur
without Senior Management Team involvement, which can result in un-coordinated activities, missed
opportunities and missed expectations
• There are limited IT policies, procedures, practices and documentation
• Some internal partnerships between IT and departments are not effective due to IT not always being
consulted on initiatives involving significant IT requirements
• Improvements to the efficiency of the helpdesk service will be necessary to maintain high service levels
without disruption to operational and project activities of all IT team members
• The IT department can leverage their existing help desk tool to assist them in formalizing IT processes,
as well as enhance user self service capabilities
• There are opportunities to improve IT processes including change management,to ensure more
reliability of IT services, and to support traceability of problems
• There are opportunities to allocate IT staff more effectively based on the city's priorities and
requirements,their skills and capabilities
• The City requires a formalized approach to providing after hours IT support
2.2.1 Technology Management Practices Recommendations
• Establish an IT Steering Committee to support corporate wide decision making on technology projects.
• Establishing IT helpdesk standards and expectations, including prioritization of incidents.
• Implement a formalized help desk, and optimize use of existing help desk system.
• Implement self service capabilities (e.g. self service password resets and group membership management).
• Develop a formalized after hours IT service (staff on standby/call-out rotation).
• Establishing change management procedures, including a standardized IT maintenance window.
• Developing formalized agreements with arm's length organizations regarding IT service levels.
Further details regarding Technology Management Practices can be found in Chapter 5.
•
2.3 Survey Results
An online survey was distributed to all employees, and an email survey provided to department managers and
supervisors. Overall,the survey results and comments are very much aligned with the consultant's team
infrastructure review, and IT department meetings. The following is a compilation of those results and
recommendations.
2.3.1 Respondents
• 25 departments responded to the online survey, 196 staff, 9 departments to the email survey
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
• 74% Employees, 21% Managers/Supervisors, 5% Directors
• Staff with a good distribution of service years, slight majority over 20 years of service
• , Responses were primarily from Pickering Civic Complex
• All Staff that responded have access to business technology
2.3.2 Technology Overview
In general staff is Neutral/Satisfied with their business technology. Overall, 75%of staff are satisfied with IT
Services at the City.
About 25%of respondents commented on:
• slow network performance, mobility
• issues with their PC/Laptop,
• challenges with printing.
• access to accurate updated GIS information, and
• consistent access to projectors/equipment in meeting rooms.
• technology(inconsistency as well as performance)was noted by employees outside of the Civic
Complex.
2.3.2.1 Technology Overview Recommendations
1. Create a consistent, stable and reliable network in all facilities for all employees. •
2. Implement a network strategy to support the needs of a mobile workforce.
3. Implement an IT asset management program for all desktops/PCs, loaner laptops, mobile devices,
projectors, and meeting room equipment in all buildings.This program should query all departments to
confirm their user requirements annually. This program will provide all staff with equipment that is
reliable, and reduce workload on IT staff to support equipment that is outdated.
4. Equip meeting rooms with fixed projectors and computer equipment.
5. Evaluate telecommunication requirements and resource availability to provide effective functionality for
all users.
2.3.3 Business Applications
Generally, staff seemed to have neutral perceptions of the existing applications used by the City. This suggests
that staff may not be aware of the possibilities of technology, are unable to form a knowledgeable opinion and
have become accepting of the current software status. Additionally,since a number of employees have a high
number of years of service, it can also mean a hesitation to raise concerns due to the changes that may result in
the work environment.
A significant number of respondents were dissatisfied with Vailtech, OnPoint GIS, and AMANDA. Both OnPoint
and AMANDA are considered best of breed application in the municipal space which suggests dissatisfaction
may be related to a number of issues such as lack of in house expertise for timely user support, lack of
integration with other applications, awareness of users on functionality and business process improvement
opportunities, and/or maintenance/upgrade cycles that cause service disruptions.
Based on our discussions with IT staff, management of business applications (software evaluation, purchases
and ongoing maintenance, upgrade cycles) have been decentralized to departments. IT is invited into a
discussion very late during the procurement cycle, and is not able to proactively manage licensing, and update
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
cycles. IT should also have the opportunity to evaluate how the application can integrate into the environment
to ensure the City optimizes access to data, and reduces duplicate information entry, or purchases: IT can assist
the department by supporting an evaluation of business processes, and software functionality to ensure the
product is fully utilized, and other departments that may benefit included in the conversation and
implementation. Centralizing the business application budget will also give the organization insight into the
overall application spend, and begin the dialogue on return on investment, and impetus to fully utilize available
functionality.
A number of"other" systems were identified by employees as problematic (see list below)that were not listed
by IT,this is likely as a result of decentralization,and individuals refer to systems with different names.
1. MES
2. CCTS (Customer Care Tracking System)
3. Supply Bidding
4. ADP ezLabour Manager
5. ADP Payroll
6. Guardall System
7. Past Perfect
8. Adobe
9. GTechna Parking Ticket Software
10. Vital Stats
•
11. Integrated Library System/Horizon
12. GPS/Webtech Interfleet GPS Software
13. Crisys
14. Identicam
15. Corporate Customer Care
16. Lizard GeoViewer
17. PAD AED
18. Late/Absence/Early Departure
19. Vacation/Lieu
20. RFID
21. Woordworks Structural Program
22. H&S Functional Abilities •
2.3.3.1 Business Applications Recommendations
1. In conjunction with departments, develop a business application inventory and lifecycle standard that
outlines the core business applications used by the City,the primary business owner, business and IT
support protocols (e.g. database,version maintenance, upgrade cycles), and funding requirements.
Annually,the IT department should review business requirements to determine new areas/problematic
areas/services that need to be considered to enhance citizen services or internal employee productivity.
2. Create a centralized business application budget that is funded by departments that primarily use the
application (primary business owner). IT should be the steward of this application budget to ensure
departments are funding the appropriate number of licenses, maintenance dollars, hardware, database
licensing/maintenance, and ongoing support. Final decisions on procurement still reside with the
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
primary business owner, however, decisions to purchase will include appropriate dollars to handle the
ongoing software maintenance and support charges.
3. Develop in-house application support expertise with business analyst skills on major business systems to
support end users leverage technology, and formalize partnerships with external agencies with subject
matter expertise to ensure products are fully utilized and managed effectively.
2.3.4 IT Department
A majority of those surveyed are satisfied with timeliness of IT response, resolution, quality of response,
knowledge and the Help Desk. Individuals commented freely on the quality of the Help Desk, and helpfulness of
Staff. In general, comments around 24x7 coverage,vacation coverage, issues that not everyone can support
everything and general lack of resourcing were raised. Currently the IT department does not have a dedicated
help desk environment, rather,the help desk phone line is responded to by members of the Network Support
team. Centralizing the help desk with consistent staffing will provide a higher level of service to staff, provides a
consistent approach to dealing with issues, and creates an avenue to identify reoccurring problems that can be
prevented moving forward. A knowledge base can also be maintained to assist staff in solving problems quickly
and eventually lead to a self-service environment where end-users can find answers to their problems
conveniently. IT staff also commented on the silo environment in which they generally function, and their
inability to support one another effectively.
2.3.4.1 IT Department Recommendations
1. Focus is required to create a team environment within IT. Time should be spent developing a shared
vision, and updating IT's mission as related to the new services and processes IT will be embarking on as
required by the City.
2. Create a help desk environment with appropriate staffing to provide effective coverage during business
hours, provide staff training and proactively manage work orders. A focused help desk environment
would also enable staff to proactively work with the business to develop service level agreements based
on user requirements, provide an avenue to escalate issues, and ensure ongoing capture of IT metrics to
proactively improve IT services and prevent issues. IT currently uses Alloy Software to manage help desk
tickets. Alloy is based on ITIL principles which are considered industry best practice in managing IT
services. It includes service management, asset management and other enterprise IT tools that would
be valuable improving the overall effectiveness and functionality of IT.
3. Processes should be implemented to ensure all IT staff have the capacity to develop good
documentation.The City is at risk because individual IT staff members are solely responsible for
particular services which results in support issues when they are away. Although backup resources are
identified,staff commented on their discomfort on backfilling a service because they weren't aware of
any resources that could help them (e.g. documentation), or they didn't feel they were trained
sufficiently to support the issues. Time must be allocated to cross train resources, and create effective
documentation to ensure ongoing coverage and continuity of IT services to the City.
A more detailed overview regarding the IT Organization is included in Chapter 6.
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
•
2.3.5 After Hours Support
17%of respondents indicated they have a need for after-hours support. Although the majority suggest it is not
a requirement, recognizing the City operates on a 24x7 basis, and the increasing dependence on technology, it is
necessary for IT to evaluate after hours support requirements.
2.3.5.1 After Hours Support Recommendations
1. Based on user requirements, IT should develop an afterhours support strategy that identifies additional
staffing to provide support, provide support outside of regular business hours balanced with redundant
systems, and spare equipment for areas whose service hours extend outside of the core business hours.
2.3.6 Access to Systems
In reviewing comments related to "Are there IT systems, technologies or tools that you don't have access to
that the City should have in place?Are there systems you think the City should implement?", and are there new
IT services that the IT team should provide, respondents recognize the need to leverage technology to provide
convenient online services to citizens, and enhance internal productivity. Comments related to:
• Customer data mining software
• integrating systems(e.g. AMANDA and GIS),
• providing mobile real-time solutions
• leveraging the GIS
• training
• high performing wired and Wi-Fi network
• access to technology equipment in meeting rooms
• new infrastructure and asset management system
• Utilize/upgrade Amanda
• Upgrade Class
• Upgrade Vailtech
• Security systems
• LaserFiche licensing
• Phone system issues
• Image Management
• Audio Visual Management
• Online customer/citizen portals
• Employee self-service (online processing of leave requests, password resets)
• Access to City Development applications
• Project management tools
Recommendations provided earlier will address the issues described above.
2.3.7 Training
Although a majority of respondents felt they were adequately trained to use the technologies available to them,
23%of staff never received any type of training and 27%staff received training more than 2 years prior. As the
pace of technological change continues to increase,and citizen expectations continue to rise, it is important to
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•
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
provide staff with training not only to do their jobs, but also create an environment to explore-using existing
technology to improve business processes and service provided.
2.3.7.1 Training Recommendations
IT in partnership with HR and other departments,develop a technology training/learning strategy that address
the core competencies in business technology, as well as addresses business specific applications to ensure all
staff have the capabilities to carry out their roles.
3. Municipal Comparisons
Nine municipalities were included in the environmental scan— Ajax,Aurora, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgina,
Newmarket,Stratford,Waterloo and Whitchurch-Stouffville. (It should be noted Stratford was included as it has
achieved the Intelligent Community designation that the City of Pickering has expressed interest in pursuing.)
The City of Pickering's population size of 95,000 positions it in the middle of these comparative municipalities.
The information provided by these organizations focused on number of staff, budgets, support volumes,
governance, staff compensation and organization structure.
Benefits to be derived from this type of scan have become increasingly difficult to achieve, in part due to the
range of services provided by the different municipality,as well as the types of services provided by the IT
organization and to whom.
Findings on IT resources and spending on IT initiatives suggests that the City of Pickering funding of IT projects is
a very low proportion of the overall capital budget.
The City currently employs 7 Full time resources to support and provide services to its xxx staff who are
becoming more dependent on technology than ever before. At the City,the ratio of users to IT staff is 89:1. In
comparison,the median of the benchmarked groups studied is 45:1. This means that City IT staff are supporting
twice as many end users as their comparators.
Another way to compare is IT cost per capita of the population. The City of Pickering spends$20 per person
whereas the median for the comparators is$44 per person. Indicating a significant underspend to service the
residents.
The detailed benchmark study can be found in Appendix B.
4. Emerging Trends
4.1 New Pressures
In addition to the current gaps and opportunities,the City must also take into account new or emerging factors
that will affect future business and IT strategic directions.
• Population Growth and Focus on Investment
• Changing Resident and Council expectations. Residents expect to be able to interact with the City
_ electronically,when they want, where they want, using devices to interact with the City, instead of
coming in to the Civic Complex. Processes in the back office must be digitized so that they can be
g p g Y
offered electronically to residents.
• Changing staff requirements. City staff require access to the information and systems necessary for
them to effectively deliver services. Millennial's are replacing boomers in the workforce, bringing with
III
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
them different expectations.Attracting and retaining this new talent will be important—and technology
will be part of that.They expect a range of technologies to be readily available to them, and not just
during standard business hours.They will place new demands on technology and the IT team,and
expect their employer to provide the necessary tools.and solutions.
• Everything is becoming digital—The Internet of Things. New technologies are constantly emerging,
transforming everyday'dumb' devices into smart devices that must connect to the network.Today
traffic lights and building security controls,garbage trucks and irrigation systems,even the garbage cans
themselves are becoming smart devices that connect to the City's technology infrastructure.These
devices connect to databases and systems that allow staff to monitor and manage their operation more
effectively and efficiently than in the past.This places additional demand for the IT division to be
involved with projects in which they previously may not have been—further creating the need for
additional IT resourcing.
• New technologies are emerging daily that promise to help staff do their jobs more effectively. Examples
include solutions that borrow from consumer technology such as virtual reality headsets that help field
workers identify buried assets,or real time glasses-based video streaming that allow building inspectors
to seek a second opinion from a colleague.This may sound like sci-fi, but progressive municipalities are
using this real technology today. As a small municipality,with limited resources,the City will need to be
cautious, identifying and selecting only those initiatives that deliver real value.
• Continuous improvement relies on operating insights. Digitization of processes means that data is
available to provide insights that can enable benchmarking and spark continuous improvement of
operations.
All of this results in an overwhelming amount of demand. In light of this the City must determine;
•
• Which, of the hundreds of possible IT initiatives, are the right priorities
• How can IT activities be coordinated so that the City gets the best value for its IT investments
IT Governance is the process by which senior management can take a leadership role to align IT decisions to the
overall strategy of the City.
5. IT Decision Making: IT Governance
5.1 What is IT governance?
IT Governance is the processes and structures which inform, direct, manage, and monitor how the organization
makes the best and most effective use of technology.This is more than a single steering committee, this is the
various teams and groups that are involved in IT decision making.
The goal of establishing an IT governance framework is to ensure that the right people are making the right
decisions, at the right time and for the right reasons. In some cases this will mean collective decision on
corporate priorities, in other areas it will involve technical decision making on the best data storage technology
or networking protocol.
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Organizations often view such decisions about technology as complicated,technical and "best left,to the experts
in IT". However, in many cases, decisions about technology have ramifications,well beyond the technology
itself:
• How do we want to use technology in our business?
• What technology do we want our people to use, and how do we want them to use it?
• How much should we spend on technology?
• Which of our business processes should we direct our IT dollars towards?
• What do we need to tackle first?
• Should we do this now, or later?
• How secure do we want to be?
These are not decisions that technologists alone should be making,they are important business decisions that
the leaders of the organization must address through a corporate IT Steering Committee. There are of course
purely technical decisions to be made, and the right IT staff(with the appropriate skillsets) need to be involved—
but in most cases IT experts should be advising the business leaders.
The IT Steering Committee can evolve and grow as needed but this is a recommended starting point.
5.2 IT Department
The IT Team remains responsible for delivery of IT services,and the IT team continues to be responsible for
operational IT matters.The IT governance arrangements are designed to assist the IT Manager in strategic
decision-making—not take over operational responsibilities.The IT Manager is responsible for sharing the
insights about IT operations (e.g. IT resource availability,emerging risks)that are necessary to assist the IT
Steering Committee in strategic decision-making.
In terms of project work,while IT staff will lead technology infrastructure projects,for business systems,
integration and customer facing projects,the IT team will be a strategic business partner with the.business lead
for the initiative. In these cases, it is not IT who will project manage the initiative, a business leader will lead this
work.The IT Manager will be the communication conduit for project status updates.
5.3 IT Policies and Standards
5.3.1 IT POLICIES
Policies and standards establish the parameters within which the City uses technology, creating clear
expectations for those that use and manage technology. In keeping with the commentary throughout this
section, many of the decisions related to technology are business or management decisions.These are not
decisions to be made by IT on behalf of the corporation. For example;
• Which employees get smartphones
• Who is authorized to register a web domain for the City
• Which websites staff can access, and whether that activity should be tracked
• What content is saved when an employee retires
• How much space does an employee have in email
For each of these decisions a number of factors need to be weighed, including business impacts, employee
impacts and importantly, cost impacts. A standard IT policy framework typically addresses the following areas.
• Acceptable use
•
• IT Security*
Prior&Prior Associates page 21
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
•
• Backup, recovery, BC and DR *
• Asset lifecycle management *
• Hosted/cloud solutions *
• Data management(lifecycle, privacy) *
• IT procurement processes *
• Email&voicemail standards (including archiving)
• Encryption standards
The IT team should review, revise and augment the corporate IT policy framework in the context of this
roadmap,to ensure that it accurately reflects how the City wishes to use and manage technology.The items
flagged with an * should be of particular focus for the City.
5.3.2 IT STANDARDS
Documentation of IT technical standards, or SOP's(Standard Operating Procedure's), are important internal
documents and tools to help the IT team deliver its mandate and comply with policy directives.
5.3.3 PROCESSES AND METHODS
The main challenge facing the City is there is too much demand for technology projects.
"Keeping the main Picking the right technology projects and ensuring that selected projects are executed
thing the main well is the primary goal for the new IT governance model.
thing,is the main
thing" To deal with this the City will create and manage an approved list of active technology
projects, for which progress can be reported and monitored at senior levels. It is
Stephen R Covey recommended that the City adopt a 3-step process in considering new technology
opportunities;the 3 steps are:
1. Identify
2. Evaluate
3. Select
f opportunity Evaluate
okey
5.3.3.1 PROJECT INTAKE—IDENTIFY at( c
L r
It is recommended that all new projects that include a • technology
Select
component must be reviewed between the business lead and the IT
Manager in sufficient detail to reach a full understanding
of the opportunity and the approach.
Figure 3:Project Intake and Evaluation
The business lead and the IT Manager must jointly complete an
Opportunity Statement Document(standard to be proposed by the IT Manager), which captures the scope,
project size,cost and resource requirements.The IT Manager will complete an evaluation of the technology
requirement with the business lead,and depending on thresholds will be in a position to make
recommendations to IT Steering Committee as to whether the project can proceed, or whether it should be
considered the opportunity.
No projects will be added to the 'Active Project List'without this step being completed.
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
5.3.3.2 PROJECT PRIORITIZATION—EVALUATE •
Evaluation of all projects will be based on two "'' , ' factors:
Urgency and Importance.
This will help the City realistically compare -� -
disparate projects to ensure the IT Steering •
Committee can select the highest priorities. _
Figure 4 illustrates a sample of results of the °"° _�:° evaluation
for a collection of IT projects. In this example, the
projects identified in the top right hand quadrant """ are those
that the City should focus on as priorities.
5.3.3.3 APPROVED PROJECT LIST—SELECT Figure 4:Sample Prioritization Grid
The IT governance process, involving IT Manager,
Director of Finance and the Steering Committee will determine which projects are added to the Approved
project list(based on prioritization and resource availability).The IT Manager will maintain a live 'Approved
Project list',which will be published for transparency purposes.This will be the basis for regular(monthly)
reporting to the Steering Committee on project status.
5.3.3.4 PROJECT EXECUTION
Selecting the right projects is a good start. Executing the projects effectively is critical. Therefore, it is
recommended that the IT Manager lead the adoption of a more formalized methodology for running IT projects.
Many organizations, including municipalities, have adopted the Project Management Institute—Project
Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) methodology(note other methodologies are also available)for
. structured project management.This is a methodology that has proven to improve project outcomes and
success rates.These methodologies establish a structured approach,with prescribed steps, activities and
documentation as integral to the project management lifecycle. Figure 5 below illustrates the key stages and
activities of the lifecycle.
'a' - l k T ri b 'jt A44
If i4 S
Ocgta
•What 1 *Project manager 1 *Scope 1 *Kick off 1 *Complete
•Who *Define governance *Resource Execute.tasks 1 °Handover
'Define outcome I*organization I requirements Monitor 1 *Lessons.Learnt
*Define approach Allocate resources Budget+ .1 •Report
*Obtain •Document project. 1 schedule Risk:+.issue mgmt
commitment 1 scope 1 *Communications I •Resource rngmt
*Agreement and s •Risk.:mgmt. . •Stakeholder mgrnt 1
I buy-in ,*Project controls *Approve
"*integrated plan deliverables
Figure 5: Project Management Lifecycle
Prior&Prior Associates page 23
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
It is recommended that the IT Manager work with the IT Steering Committee to introduce an appropriate
methodology for the City's IT projects.
5.3.4 MEASUREMENT&REPORTING
5.3.4.1 PROJECT PORTFOLIO REPORTING
Reporting on the status of the project portfolio is important, in order that the IT Steering Committee can
monitor both overall portfolio performance and the progress of individual initiatives.The Steering Committee
should regularly receive a status report on the Approved Project List.The IT Manager will be responsible for
developing the portfolio status report.
As part of the review of the IT portfolio on a monthly basis the IT Steering Committee will review
• Prioritization changes
• Review red and yellow status projects
• Projects due for completion
• Projects due for startup
• New proposals
5.3.4.2 OTHER REPORTING
•
In addition, the IT team will develop a new set of business-focused metrics to help better monitor the City's
performance in executing this roadmap, as well as the day-to-day operations.Topic areas for new metrics
include:
• Ideas portfolio (new,transitioning to project)
• Service Requests (volumes, performance against targets)
• Change Requests (volumes, performance against targets)
• Assets(status, investment by category, resource use by asset)
• IT Resource (availability, utilization, allocation)
• Financials (cash flow, budget vs. actual, spend by portfolio category, spend by asset)
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 24
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
6. IT Organization .
6.1 Current IT Organization Structure .
. W
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Figure 6:Current IT Organization
A number of staffing risks and challenges emerged during the assessment, including:
1. Having all IT staff involved in support activities leads to high levels of satisfaction, however the reactive
nature of this activity diverts from critical project and maintenance activities, in turn leading to project
delays and some missed maintenance activities ,
2. There is insufficient staffing in IT to support the implementation of the services required by the City.
3. The City has one resource focused on web development. The City should focus on leveraging existing
products, opposed to in house web development which is resource intensive and difficult to support
long term. ,
4. There is need to separate technical side of database administration back into infrastructure, and
application support into Business applications.
5. In addition to the new and changed positions, it is recommended that all of the current job titles and
roles and responsibilities of the existing IT positions be re-visited to ensure alignment with the intended
roles of the new teams.
6.2 Future Goals for the IT Team r
The consulting team has identified the following goals for the IT Team: .
1. Transitioning the IT Manager from day-to-day operational responsibilities to focus on IT strategy and
planning, business systems, project delivery
Prior&Prior Associates page 25
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
2. Reorganizing the team to establish dedicated teams within IT,that allows for specialization in three key
areas:
a. Client Services (help desk and customer support)
b. Business Applications
c. Technology Infrastructure
3. Building sustainability into the IT organization by:
a. Addressing the staffing gap
b. Increasing staffing to support Business Applications(based on identified strategic directions)
c. Re-allocating some staff to roles that best suit their capabilities
•
6.3 Proposed IT Organization Structure
Ideally the IT Department would be set up to specialize in three teams to address all the different functions and
requirements around technology implementation and support. The following is a best practice breakdown of
the different job functions:
tpuesicano, €y �' z`.- F,`- F '"'�"�. 1'' .-x firth '� er .' ��
Services € `1�eC i obogy S 4�C ,_ es
System Services ervices
•First line of helpdesk •2"d and 3rd level support "Help departments and
support(answering calls, > •Implementation,, vendors support and
fielding and responding ''" ' operation and support of exploit the City's main
and resolving requests, all IT infrastructure(data applications
escalating to other IT centre,network,storage, •Assist and advise upon the
experts where necessary) servers,messaging, :. implementation of new
•Account management ? computing devices, solutions and integrations, ,-
•PC support telecoms) •Assist in developing the
'procurement(of software, •Backups"+data protection ' right application strategies
licenses and hardware),.".' ` "Security"
'Provisioning of new
devices,
'User familiarization with
new technologies
Figure 7:Recommended IT Organization Structure
Prior&Prior Associates page 26
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
The following table outlines the recommended resources,the timeframe for their new positions to support
strategic plan activities and the rationale for the new position.
Year Resources .Rationale
2016 Supervisor,Client Services Transforming the user experience of IT is a top
priority.This requires a leader who has experience
running a service desk,that can dedicate the time
required to redesign services and processes,and
help staff through the transition.
2016, Help Desk Technicians(2) Front-line Help Desk Technicians provided much-
needed immediate response support. They are
able to resolve the majority of routine support
requests at point of contact. They will perform
initial triage on other calls before escalating to a
more senior IT resource. This frees up the senior
resources to focus more on projects and major
issues. (to be funded through existing FTE change)
2016 DBA(Database Administrator/ The IT team requires more DBA capacity, initially
Analyst) this in order to transition database activities that
departments have taken on,and to support future
work on reporting,data standards and integration.
2016 Network Security Analyst This is a senior IT position with a focus on security
and network expansion. Security is a growing
concern for any organization and requires more
daily monitoring and planning.
2017 Business Analyst/Project Manager Dedicated business analyst/project management
staff,with training and experience will be critical
resources to help translate business needs into
systems requirements,and then help implement
the projects.Creating this position will help ensure
that the IT Manager can be less involved in leading
projects—and more focused on strategy and •
developing team capabilities.See section below for
more details re: Business Analyst function.
2017 Application Administrator For major business applications,•the City should
hire Application Administrators to fully support the
applications—to accelerate the implementation of
new capabilities, but also to ensure that as the •
systems are more broadly adopted,support can be
provided in a sustainable way.This
recommendation is for an Amanda or GIS
Application Administrator to start.
•
2017 Application Administrator See rationale for Amanda Application
Administrator.This is recommended for an ERP
(FIS) Application Administrator—which will bring
Prior&Prior Associates page 27
•
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Year Resources Rationale
the complement to two. Serious consideration
should be given to adding this position to support
the new FIS requirements and potential solution.
2018 Business Analyst/Project Manager See rationale for BA/PM.
2018 Help Desk Technician A third Help Desk Technician to handle to expected
growth of the City as well as the increased reliance
on technology.
2019 Web and digital coordinator No staff member currently has responsibility for
the web.Given the importance of the web as a
communications and customer service vehicle a
•
coordinator is required to spearhead web,social
media and other digital activities.
2019 Web Analyst/Developer To support the ongoing growth of web and e-
Services,the City should expect to retain in-house
analyst/web developer capabilities within the IT
department.
6.3.1 BUSINESS ANALYST
Larger organizations separate out IT roles, because specialist skills are required for different functions—it is
unusual and difficult to find staff that are good at all of the roles required in IT. For example, in larger
municipalities,the Project Manager, Business Analyst, System Analyst, Network Specialist, Helpdesk Analyst(and
many others) are separate job roles.At Pickering,the small team tries to cover off all the different roles.
Technology projects represent an opportunity to streamline business processes, reduce duplication, make
processes more customer friendly/accessible as well as faster and more efficient. However,this is dependent
upon conscious effort being applied to rethinking business processes before any implementation of technology
begins. To be successful before an IT project can begin or a technology solution can be chosen,the business
problem must be fully explored and understood,the project must be scoped, and the scope agreed with all
stakeholders. Without getting this part right,the City may implement the wrong solutions,to the wrong
problems,with unsatisfactory and costly results.
Leading this definition of the needs of the organization requires different skills from the technical skills required
to ultimately implement the chosen solution.The Business Analyst role brings the skills of process analysis and
process improvement, which can be put to use on more broad corporate and departmental projects that do not
necessarily involve technology.
6.3.2 CONTRACTING POSITIONS
It is also important that the City recognize the significant resource demands of some of the major projects
identified such as Work Management and Document Management.These are significant undertakings that will
require fully allocated resources with previous experience. When undertaking such significant projects,the City
should consider funding contract staff(e.g. project manager, analysts) as part of the overall capital project, to
resource the project and to backfill existing resources both in IT and the departments.
Prior&Prior Associates page 28
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City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
6.4 Opportunities for Partnership
The City is fortunate to be located in an area that is fertile for partnership working. Moving forward there will
continue to be a wealth of opportunities to work with partners. Given the size of the City and some of the
challenges this presents—specifically the limited availability of technology and software solutions for small to
medium sized municipalities-the City should always be seeking to identify partnerships with other
municipalities and Durham Region that could help the City implement a shared solution (with lower operating
costs)or provide a higher caliber solution than the City could realistically afford independently.
6.5 IT Service Delivery-the Help Desk
To accommodate the new demands and to achieve the goals laid out in this roadmap,further IT service
improvements are also recommended. IT service delivery must become more agile and responsive to new and
emerging needs as well as become more proactive and strategic.
Partnerships are built on trust, and unless departments can rely on IT for basic services, they are unlikely to
trust them with such complex activities as business transformation. It will be very important tactically for
the IT team to earn its credibility by making significant improvements to this service. Improving the help
desk service is therefore a priority for IT and the City. A number of organizational recommendations are
made to help give the help desk authority within IT, to gain more focus, attention and improve its services.
• Establishing IT helpdesk standards and expectation, including the prioritization of incidents
• Implement a new help desk system and processes
• Develop a formalized after hours IT service—by/call out)
• Establish change management procedures
• Strong IT governance to prioritize projects and deliver on corporate requirements
6.6 Adopt a Hybrid Delivery Model
Traditionally the IT team has undertaken most of its work in-house,occasionally contracting out specific tasks
where technical expertise has been required. The reality of current IT departments, particularly with smaller
teams, is that maintaining all of the necessary skills and resources in-house to manage the complex technical
environments is impractical. To do so would mean hiring a large number of additional and specialized staff.
Smart IT organizations rely on a small team of in-house staff who in turn work with a network of trusted
partners,vendors and solution providers to deliver the required services. The focus is on "getting it done"
rather than IT staff figuring out how to do it themselves. This is a hybrid model of IT service delivery that relies
on a combination of internal IT and business skills and market based expertise and services. Ultimately this
means the IT team and the IT manager take on the new role of coordinator of IT services.
Some of the IT systems that the City operates are specialized for the municipal business such as tax
management and building permit systems. Some technologies however, such as networks, servers,file storage
and email are more generic. It is recommended the IT team secure the ongoing services of a third party
technology provider on a retainer basis to support and mange the complex technical environment, under the
direction of the IT Manager.
Prior&Prior Associates page 29
City of Pickering Technology.Review and Roadmap
6.7 Resource Technology Projects Appropriately
One of the key reasons that projects fail is simply due to the lack of resources allocated during implementation.
Major corporate projects such as those the City is now considering (e.g. Document Management,Asset
Management) are complex, business transformation solution, and typically need far more resources to
successfully implement them than initially expected.The current list of demands to implement new solutions
and improve existing solutions far outstrip the IT(and departmental) resources of the City.
It is clear from experience that projects face particular challenges in securing the level of staffing needed for
effective project management, configuration, implementation and training.The resource constraints impact
both IT and the departments. It is particularly important to secure departmental buy-in as part of the planning
process to ensure that the need for appropriate subject matter experts is acknowledged and supported.
Some key suggestions in terms of resourcing projects and initiatives include:
• For major projects, resources must be dedicated (projects cannot be in addition to existing day-to-day
responsibilities); in future backfilling resources should be considered as part of original project funding
requests (and should be funded through capital budget).
• Where appropriate, specific skills needed for a defined period of time should be secured externally.
• Projects should not commence until the right level of resources can be committed,which should be
enforced by IT Steering Committee and the project management methodology.
• The City must be realistic about the capacity that they have to deliver major IT projects (1-2 large
projects in any one year).
• All projects that implement a solution will have ongoing operational impacts (maintenance, licensing
and operational support costs)therefore future operating funds must be considered and included in the
budget at the time of purchase.
• One approach that many other municipalities have embraced is utilizing more external resources and
funding these resources through capital project funding. When new staff cannot be hired, external
resources can be used to support both operational and project initiatives—to relieve internal staff to
focus on value added services.
• External resources can be in the form of:
o a consultant on a term and task basis,
o an in-house contractor(short term 1-2 year contracts on a project basis),
o or a service provider.
• Backfill departmental resources to ensure dedicated project availability(e.g. Business Specialists);for
example, if the City plans to implement a new HR system it should look to backfill (with a short term
resource) a senior member of the HR team to work/lead the project.This person will return to their
permanent job at the end of the project thus ensuring that key knowledge is retained within the City
• Application development and application support may be provided by vendors (e.g. Amanda)
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 30
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
6.8 Building Trust
As has been noted throughout the document successful business transformation comes through a combination
of people-process-technology. IT, in partnership with the business units are responsible for the technology
component—but departments are responsible for the people and process elements.
Developing stronger trust and
partnership between business areas l Tfs integral fo how wedo business:IT and
IT will be critical to the City's ability to
A creasit� d a'" organization is expected to closely
approach technology in a new way, i` with the business to help identfy,plan and and
,Costs SEE deliver significant business transformation
to successfully deliver this strategy. , Rattner
arid/or P initiatives-plus be a:trusted supplier.
Figure 8 illustrates the transition that
Resources ti I T delivers critical functionality rind
is required—moving from an IT l I
services:IT organization is expected to
,?
organization that is focused upon � deliver application projects on time and on
keeping the lights on,to a trusted 3 budget,based upon the operating units
requirements and priorities-plus be a solid
supplier,to a proactive business
utility:
t•: �
partner. I
, '=' Keen the liahts on.'The IT organize tion is
Figure 8:IT organization type pyramid
The strengthening of the
governance arrangements through the new IT Governance framework recommended in Chapter 5 is one
mechanism that is designed to foster stronger partnership and joint working between business units and IT.
The leadership of IT will become more connected to the departments and providing stronger leadership around
the Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Business Systems.
•
The IT Manager will continue to build strong relationships with other managers and directors, regularly meeting
to communicate plans and directions, discussing business strategies, goals, and the ways in which technology •
can support those goals.
However, simply put,the City needs a better IT team. One that works effectively together, both between the
teams inside IT, and with staff in departments, one that has the right skills and resources to execute, and one
that has a customer centric mindset.
•
7. Conclusions and Major Recommendations
In summary,the City has made progress on technology initiatives over the past number of years. However,the
reliance on current technology and the ever-growing demand for new solutions dictates additional resources in
the IT division,as well as Senior Management attention in terms of IT governance.
The roadmap makes a range of recommendations with regard to the way in which the City approaches and
manages technology. Each is designed to ensure that the City can be more effective in dealing with technology.
The key recommendations are:
1. Receive the assessment findings, and acknowledge the identified gaps and risks
Prior&Prior Associates page 31
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
2. Adopt the municipal architecture as a framework for IT decision making, and follow the 'bottom up'
concept it reinforces
3. Adopt the recommended IT governance framework, including:
a. Establishing a corporate IT Steering Committee to oversee technology decision making and
priorities
b. Establishing a project intake and prioritization process,
c. Maintaining an approved IT project list,with only projects that are fully evaluated and resourced
d. Revising corporate IT policies
e. Reporting to communicate IT effectiveness
4. Grow the IT Team, by:
a. Establishing a dedicated 'helpdesk'function
b. Planning to add additional IT positions over the next 5 years to address the resourcing
requirements
5. Improve core IT services through a focus upon:
a. Establishing helpdesk service standards and formalizing the IT helpdesk service
b. Improving change management practices
c. Adopting industry standard approach to project management
d. Providing after hours IT support
6. Continue investment in core infrastructure initiatives,to establish a modern,flexible, scalable, reliable
and secure shared technology environment, including:
a. Technology asset management and lifecycle
b. Long term network strategy and build out
c. Security
d. Disaster recovery planning and readiness
7. Determine the direction for core business systems, and implement new business systems to address key
gaps.
8. Continued investment in technology, as a driver of efficiency and improved customer experiences.
Investments will be overseen by the IT Steering Committee, and will be managed through the corporate
budget process, using this strategy to guide the priority setting.
•
This roadmap recommends a range of municipal IT best practices. By adopting the recommendations presented
here, particularly with regard to staffing and governance, the City will be position itself well to deal with the
ever-growing demands of delivering efficient and effective services in a municipal environment.
Prior&Prior Associates page 32
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1
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Appendix A—G.I.S. Review
The City of Pickering has a Geographic Information System (GIS)with the following components:
GIS technology platform
• The City's GIS platform is built around ESRI GIS products, a widely used GIS software, consisting of
• ArcGIS desktop software,ArcGIS Server software,ArcSDE database(that uses Microsoft SQLServer
Database Management System)
• In addition,AutoCAD drawing systems are used by Engineering& Public Works Department for
engineering and technical designs and drawings(which in many cases use the GIS property layer as base)
• Rolta's Onpoint Web GIS to provide Web based viewing access to the GIS data for the more occasional
users
GIS data
The scope of GIS related data that have been created in the GIS ArcSDE database includes:
• Property/parcel data with the base property data provided by MPAC(Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation) monthly and continuously maintained by the City Development department staff to ensure
that the property boundaries, ownership and address data in the City are more up to date (relative to
the frequency of data provision from MPAC)
• Street network as provided by Durham Region and maintained by the City Development department
staff
• Planning data (Local Official Plan, Zoning, Development Applications) created and maintained by the City
Development department staff
• Digital Airphoto(via sharing agreement with the Region) updated yearly
• Storm Water data as provided by Durham Region on a yearly basis
• Water Hydrant data as provided by Durham Region on a yearly basis
• Street light data
• Park details, initially created as part of the PSAB Tangible Capital Asset project
• Natural resources data as provided by Ministry of Natural Resource's LIO (Land Information Ontario)
facility
GIS Applications
The main applications for the GIS system include:
• • Property/parcel, street network, address information
• Regular mapping products and outputs (e.g. local official plan, zoning maps, park trail maps)
• Mapping and data support for planning projects(e.g. location maps,geographic analysis, data
extraction)
• Data provision (e.g. data extraction of base mapping information to support Engineering design) and
data analysis (e.g. geographic analysis, reporting, queries)
• Provide the capabilities for mapping view via integration with CSDC Amanda system (Permitting,
Development Applications, Enforcement, Service Request)
• Information inventory and data provision (e.g. Storm, Hydrant, Streetlight)
• Vacant land inventory
• Information product such as quarterly publication of Active Development Applications list
Prior&Prior Associates page 33
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
• Viewing of GIS information via the Rolta's Onpoint Web Mapping platform
User Community
There are two power users of the GIS system,who access the system directly use the ESRI desktop software to
import data, create data, maintain data, and use the data for analysis, production of mapping products and
reports. They are located in the City Development department. Otherwise there are no regular direct users of
the GIS software (i.e. using the ESRI GIS software functionality directly).
Indirect access to GIS data is available via the Onpoint Web Mapping product(for viewing access only).
However,the implementation of the product was quite limited and there are very few users thereof.
There is also viewing access to the GIS data via the Amanda to GIS interface, within the context of the
functionality of Amanda (e.g. in the context of permits and development application processing).
Information Technology Services provide GIS software platform support (software and database installation and
maintenance)through its DBA(Database Administrator).
Issues
Software:
• The GIS software is a couple of versions behind. A software upgrade is planned.
• The performance of the software is not an issue.
• Workstation performance is reasonable for GIS functionality. However, dual monitors workstation
configuration would enhance the usage efficiency for the power users.
Data and applications:
• Other than noted above (power users and Amanda interface),the City's GIS data and functions have not
been widely used and leveraged.
• Onpoint(Web GIS viewer) implementation was very limited and the functionality of the software itself
has fallen behind somewhat in the past few years. The product is planned to be replaced by a more
robust GIS Web mapping product GeoCortex (for distributing GIS functionality to the occasional users,
including public users, and for integrating with myriad public open source data).
• Given the limited implementation of Onpoint,the user base is limited and the GIS data and functionality
are therefore not leveraged.
• City's policy is not in place to support the offering of GIS data and Web functionality for the public. GIS
offers a convenient and effective method of providing"what is there"type of information (events, road
closures, road projects, planning projects and applications, etc.)to the public via the City's Web site.
• Among City staff,there is not a good level of awareness of the GIS data and functionality and
applications
Recommendations
The implementation of GeoCortex provides an opportunity to establish a prominent GIS presence for both
internal and external users. The software capabilities to support occasional users are well regarded. Much of
the data foundation is in place. The initial functionality(internal and external) can be readily established.
Prior&Prior Associates page 34
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
However, a planned and resourced implementation,with the wider user participations, is required to ensure a
more robust roll out.
As part of the GeoCortex project, it should be considered as providing the platform to serve the "what is there"
type of applications (that have geographic context)to the public users,with the mapping functionality allowing
for a more convenient and efficient method to offer the information.
Information Technology should provide overall project management for the GeoCortex project. It should also
provide technical implementation resources for database setup, limited complementary development,
integration,technical configuration,etc. The power users and other end users will participate for requirements
articulation,output definition and layout,testing, review and so on.
GIS software and application implementation should be managed in the same way as other systems,with
technical implementation resources (project managers, analysts, developers)from Information Technology
• Services, supplemented by user resources (requirements definition,and roll out participation). GIS software
technical training for these IT resources is needed (as in the case of other systems) so that they are aware of the
nuisances and particularity of the GIS software. GIS is moving more mainstream and is just another system with
capacities for geographic data processing and presentation. .
Given the limited resources in Information Technology Services for system implementation, additional resources
are needed for GeoCortex implementation. A minimal resource level of 6 person month of IT implementation
resource is needed, plus end user participation. On a continual basis, an allocation of 3 to 6 person months of
resources annually is required for new or enhanced functions in the public Web usage area.
Power users, mapping and cartographic expertise should continue to reside in user departments. It would not
be efficient for Information Technology Services to provide such specialized services that also require detailed
knowledge of data context.
Resources for creation and maintenance of GIS data should continue to reside in the corresponding"owner"
departments. Being the owner of the data,they understand the data and its context, and are in the best
position to work with the data that flow through their departments.
Basic data documentation should be developed to document the existence and context of the GIS data (data
contents, currency,ownership, etc.).
•
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 35
•
•
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Appendix B Benchmarking Study
The City is under • invested in technology when
compared to peers
Deloitte compared the City's operating and capital spend on information systems against comparable
municipalities in Ontario.The data is gathered from publically available sources and classifications of
spend may differ across municipalities.The municipalities include:
• Niagara Falls;
• Claiington;
• Chatham-Kent; and
• Ajax.
The table below demonstrates that the City is below average in all four financial metrics measured
indicating an under-investment in technology. It is noted that one of the comparator municipalities has
undergone a recent ERP implementation which results in higher capital and operating investments in IT.
metric ft-agora Ciatington Chatham 'Ajax Average of Picketing
Fails -Kern comparators
20141T operating budgetkonstituent $23_09 $3.39 $25.21 $17.69 $17.34 $8.70
2014 IT capital budgetkonstituent 54 28 $4.32 SO 01* $4A0 $3 25 $2.14
2014 IT operating spend as a%of total operating budget 1.90% 0.47% 1_76% 3.00% 2% 1.30%
2014 IT'capital spend as a%of total capital budget .126%, 2.26% 901% 1 77% 4% 0_36%
Population 82,997 87,700 103,671 109,600 95,992 88,721
"Chatham-Kent is completing an ERP implementation and had high amounts of capital IT dollars allocation in 2011-2013,however 2014 dollars are minimal as
the transition completes and costs shift to operating
Dela:ale LLP and affiliated errtmes
i
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 36
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
•
Ajax Aurora Cambridge Clarington Waterloo Newmarket Pickering Median(All)
Director of
IT Leadership IT Manager IT Manager Technology Services IT Manager Director IT Director,IT Manager,IT
Legislative and Corporate&
Reporting Information Financial Services Corporate Services Corporate Services Corporate Services Corporate Services Corporate Services
Centralized? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GIS Yes No Yes Yes yes Yes No
IT and IT and
Web/CMS No No No No Communications Communications No
FTE 11 11 25 9 20 14 7
Contract Staff 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total fT Staff 11 11 25, 9 20 18 7
Tech support- Asset Management
IT people in depts. Library 0 Team(6) 0 1 1 0
IT provides primary front line support.
Through IT Help IT. One application support and vendor 2nd level
Desk. Then (Maximo)is contact."Peer IT Supports all but escalation to other
escalated to supported in IT supports. IT will support"for Maximo is IT staff. 3rd level
Application Support appropriate staff. Engineering Dept escalate to vendor application issues. supported by dept. to vendors. IT
Yes-new client
service division being
created. Heat for Yes,inhouse Yes-Alloy
Formalized Helpdesk Yes,KACE Yes. BMC Track-It! tracking calls. solution Yes-Track-IT Yes Navigator
Yes,password Yes-SLA's
resets,total established for No. Manager and
application,WAN, Yes. Policy currently No. IT Manager on different dept Supervisor are
Formal Out of Hours Phone failures No under review call. Yes 24x7 requirements called
Population 130000 56700 132000 85,000 98780 86,000 95000
Users 500 400 602 630 550 521 624
Employees 630 498 700 616 600 832 678
Workstations 344 291 750 340 600 404 300
Telephony 300 270 447 150 586 584 414
Smart Phones 45 114 143 90 222 214 75
Cell Phones 100 50 150 60 135 63 74
Radios 0 0 140 0 50 0 31
Town/City
Operating 49,000,000 74,412,700 111,500,000.00 172,655,144 $ 171,300,000 $ 112,926,115 $ 55,336,613
Town/City Capital 28,000,000 17,932,600 63,000,000.00 79,561,987 $ 71,800,000 $ 29,333,475 $ 24,984,853
IT Operating 1,800,000 1,807,458 4,846,954.00 1,500,000 $ 3,320,366 $ 2,834,374 $ 1,449,578
IT Capital 550,000 72,800 1,408,000.00 400,000 $ 1,049,672 $ 955,525 $ 432,375
Total IT Spend 2,350,000 1,880,258 6,254,954 $ 1,900,000 �$ 4,370,038�$ 3,789,899 '.$ 1,881,953
Yes-Executive
IT Governance No Yes. BMC Track-It! yes-steering cte No Not any more Team&IT Director No
IT Manager IT Director
recommends to CFO&Corporate recommends to
Decisions Senior Steering Committee Steering Cte IT staff Management Team Executive Team IT Manager
IT Strategy Yes expired 2014 Yes No Yes No No
Calculations
fT staff per 100,000
residents 8.5 19.4 18.9 10.6 20.2 20.9 7.4 18.
IT Staff%of total
staff 1.7 2.2 3.6 1.5 3.3 2.2 1.0 2
IT users per IT staff 45.5 36.4 24.1 70.0 27.5 28.9 89.1 36.
%of IT operating of
Total Operating 3.7 2.4 4.3 0.9 1.9 2.5 2.6 2
%of IT capital of
Total Capital 2.0 0.4 2.2 0.5 1.5 3.3 1.7 1
IT Spend as%of
Operating 4.8 2.5 5.6 1.1 2.6 3.4 3.4 3
Total IT Spend as%
of Total Oty Spend 3.1 2.0 3.6 0.8 1.8 2.7 2.3 2
IT Cost per capita 18.1 .33.2 47.4 22.4 44.2 44.1 19.8 33.
IT Operating 76.6 96.1 77.5 78.9 3919.9 2979.7 2940.4 96.
fT Capital 23.4 3.9 22.5 21.1 1643.0 774.0 1327.6 23.
PC:IT Staff 31.3 26.5 30.0 37.8 30.0 22.4 42.9 30.
$$per staff $ 3,730.16 $ 3,775.62 $ 8,935.65 3084.42 $ 7,283.40 $ 4,555.17 $ 2,775.74 3775
$$per PC 6831.4 6461.4_ 8339.9 5588.2 7283.4 9380.9_ 6273.2 6831
Prior&Prior Associates page 37
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Appendix C—Current Project List, and Work Plan
The following table provides a detailed list of all of the current projects as categorized by the technology
architecture.These are intended as a guide only, and the Steering Committee will be responsible for
setting the annual priorities and the investment levels.
Projects Layer Sublayer Why Status
Ping Street Customer Facing Customer Service Keep Current/ In Progress
Systems Platforms Functionality
C&R- Membership Customer Facing Customer Service New Service/ In Progress
Email Facilitation Systems Platforms Tech Trend
IT Strategic Plan Governance IT Service In Progress.
Management
•
On call/After-hours Governance Service In Progress
support Improvement
IT Organizational Governance Service
Review Improvement
Change Control Process Governance Maintenance
Implementation
Operational and Capital Governance Financial In Progress
Budget Management
Smart and Intelligent Governance Residential In Progress
Durham Services/E.D.
IT Service Request Governance Efficiency
•
Management Review
Pay Phone Infrastructure Corporate Bell/Cost Savings In Progress
Replacement Infrastructure
Applications
Alloy Navigator- Infrastructure Corporate Service
Configuration for Infrastructure Improvement
Service Mgmt Applications
Citrix Upgrade Infrastructure Corporate Keep Current/ In Progress
Infrastructure Functionality
Applications
Prior&Prior Associates page 38
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Mobile Device Infrastructure Corporate Risk Management
Management Process Infrastructure
Applications
Oracle RMAN Infrastructure Storage Keep Current/ In Progress
Implementation Functionality
Dell Compellent Infrastructure Storage Service In Progress
Upgrade/REC COMP Improvement
DRP Infrastructure Disaster Recovery Risk Management In Progress
Planning/Replacement Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Maintenance In Progress
Scanner/Copier Services
Bell/Rogers Rate Plan Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Cost Savings In Progress
for Cell Phones Services
Help Desk Software Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Keep Current/ In Progress
(Alloy Nav) Upgrade Services Functionality
Facility Review for Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Maintenance In Progress
Claremont- Phones, Services
Network, etc.
Blackberry Server Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Cost/Compliance
Decommissioning Services
Tape Backup Review/ Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Cost/Compliance
Backup Design Services
What's Up Gold - Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Systems.and
Upgrade and Services Network Mgmt
Configuration
PCI Compliance Review Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Risk Management
Services
Office 365 Review Infrastructure Essential Infrastructure Keep Current/
Services . Functionality
GFI Upgrade Infrastructure = Essential Infrastructure Keep Current/
Services Compliance
Prior&Prior Associates page 39
•
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Civic Complex-Wi Fi Infrastructure Network Consistency In Progress
(Next steps)
Rogers/Radiant MPLS Infrastructure Network Increase In Progress
Network Review Reliability
Cisco Network/ Infrastructure Network Keep Current/ In Progress
Cleanup/Upgrade/ Performance
Replacement
Library Wi-Fi System Infrastructure Network Service
Upgrade Improvement
Firewall Replacement Infrastructure Network DRP/Functionality In Progress
City Wi-Fi'Expansion Infrastructure Network Service
Improvement
Monitoring and Infrastructure Security Availability In Progress
Reporting System
Evaluation
Security Assessment- Infrastructure Security Security In Progress
Pen Test
Security Monitoring Infrastructure Security Risk Management In Progress
Review
Desktop Application Infrastructure Security Security
Patching/ Updates
Network Security- Infrastructure Security Risk Management
Managed Services
Review
McAfee AV-VM/ Infrastructure Security Security
Network
Desktop Management Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Maintenance In Progress
Strategy
HP Chassis Upgrade/ Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Keep Current/ In Progress
Replacement Performance
HP Blade Server Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Keep Current/ In Progress
Replacement Performance
Desktop Hardware Infrastructure Servers&Desktops. Functionality
Purchase/Build
Desktop OS Imaging Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Efficiency
Solution
•
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 40
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Desktop Patching Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Compliance
Solution Review
Monitor Replacement Infrastructure Servers&Desktops In Budget In Progress
Review for Eng and PW
VMWare Upgrade 5.1 Infrastructure Servers&Desktops Keep Current/ In Progress
to 5.5 Functionality
Backup Solution Review Infrastructure Storage Everything In Progress
Dell Compellent Infrastructure Storage Keep Current/
Controller Upgrade- Performance
CIV
Backup using VEAM/ Infrastructure Storage DRP/Functionality In Progress
RDM -VMDK
Open Data/Big Data Integration Dashboards/Performan New Service/
ce Reporting Tech Trend
ESRI Upgrade Integration GIS Keep Current/ In Progress
Functionality
Fire Services Mobile Major Business Dispatch and RRMS Keep Current/ In Progress
Inspections Solution Systems Functionality
Emergency Major Business Dispatch and RRMS Risk Management In Progress
Management Systems
Configuration-Civic
Complex
Fire Services-Crysis Major Business Dispatch and RRMS Service In Progress
Device Review Systems Improvement
EOC-Claremont- Major Business Dispatch and RRMS Risk Management In Progress
Configuration and Systems
Testing
Laser Fiche Licensing Major Business Document&Records Cost/Compliance In Progress
Review Systems Management
Laser Fiche Forms Major Business Document&Records Keep Current/ In Progress
Module Systems Management Functionality
Library Printing Major Business Document&Records Service
Solution Review Systems Management Improvement
Corporate Print Major Business Document&Records Service
Solution Review Systems Management Improvement
Prior&Prior Associates page 41
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Facilities Management Major Business Facilities Functionality In Progress
System Systems
Geocortex Major Business GIS Service
Implementation Systems Improvement
Amanda RFS Major Business Infrastructure, Asset Process In Progress
Implementation Systems Mgmt
Asset Management Major Business Infrastructure,Asset Maintenance In Progress
System Systems Mgmt
GPS Tracking System Major Business Infrastructure,Asset Service
for City Vehicles Systems Mgmt Improvement
C&R Court Booking Major Business Recreation Service In Progress
Application Systems Improvement
Fire Services-Fire Site Major.Business Other Service
Facility System Systems Improvement
Road Patrol Major Business Planning, Permitting, Compliance In Progress
Systems License, Inspection
City Reporter- Parks Major Business Planning, Permitting, Compliance In Progress
Inspections Systems License, Inspection
Bylaw Enforcement Major Business Planning, Permitting, Keep Current/
App Systems License, Inspection Functionality
Amanda System Major Business Planning, Permitting, Keep Current/
Upgrade- Permits Systems License, Inspection Functionality
Class System Review Major Business Recreation Software Upgrade
Systems
Weblink Upgrade/ Major Business Service In Progress
Review Systems Improvement
Adobe SW Upgrade/ Major Business Software Upgrade
Cloud Connect Design Systems
Prior&Prior Associates page 42
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Proposed Work Plan and Schedule
This work plan represents the recommendations included in this Technology Review and Roadmap
combined with the highest ranked projects on the current IT Department's Project List.
Est.Total Est.OpEx
Projects Budget Impacts '15 '16 '17 '18 '19
Infrastructure - -
Cisco Network/Cleanup/Upgrade/
Replacement
Citrix Upgrade
Firewall Replacement • •
Dell Hyperconverged Infrastructure •
Implementation
Dell Compellent Upgrade/REC COMP •
EOC-Claremont-Configuration and Testing •
•
Dell Compellent Controller Upgrade-CIV •
Review and upgrade where needed, remote
facility connectivity • •
Build a test environment • •
Mobile Device Management Plan • • •
Backup using VEAM/ RDM-VMDK • •
Identify Meeting Room technology
requirements and upgrade where appropriate. • •
Business Systems -
Develop a business application inventory and
lifecycle plan.
•
Laser Fiche Licensing Review •
•
ESRI Upgrade •
• •
Geocortex Implementation •
•
Class System Review •
• •
C&R Court Booking Application •
•
Fire Services- Fire Site Facility System •
•
Amanda System Upgrade—Public Portal, etc •
• •
Facilities Management System •
•
Citywide Asset Management Reconciliation •
•
Prior&Prior Associates page 43
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Est.Total Est.OpEx
Projects Budget Impacts '15 '16 '17 '18 '19
Customer Facing - -
C&R- Membership Email Facilitation • •
Supporting Activities - -
Governance - -
Establish IT Steering Committee - - • •
Establish project intake and evaluation process - - • •
Setup project reporting - - • • •
Establish project management process - - • •
Develop IT Standards, procedures & policies • • • •
Identify budget planning—plan for the future
and sustainability •
IT Organization - -
Develop an IT Vision& mission—team-
building • • •
Revamp all IT roles and responsibilities/
service delivery standards - - • • •
Operational and Capital Budget Management • • • •
Review all IT job descriptions (take through
the JIQ process) - - • • •
IT Organizational Review—add new positions
to properly resource IT to support the City's
goals.
• • • • •
IT Service Improvements - -
Set IT Helpdesk service expectations and
implement supporting processes - - • •
Implement self service tools (e.g. password
resets) - • •
Formalize after hours IT support - • •
Establish change management processes,
including change window - - • • •
Review IT recharge mechanisms - - • •
Review device provisioning annually - - • • • • •
Develop a user training program • • •
Ongoing System Upgrades&Maintenance
CapEX and Opex Budget Forecast
• • • • •
System Maintenance upgrades
• • • • •
Annual software licence renewals
• • • • •
Totals
Prior&Prior Associates page 44
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
Appendix D —Architecture
The following section introduces and explains the Prior& Prior technology architecture.
)° Web/Digital J ( Customer Service Platforms(Face to Face,Email,Telephone)
l t 1 l l
Apps )( epay J [ eTax j[epequest 1 1 Phone/311 J( Email 11 IM/5M5 )(Letter/Counter 1 im,
c
a
/. 1 11 ePermit — — — — _ ———
ecnLSge 1 ePlen eBOdk 1 eLitense ,
I — - - - - —CaIlCentre� — —
$ A A 1 a
I. CRM J
, t Search/ ' Dashboards/ \t"—.‘GIS ' , ,
Integration Technologies Data Standards
J (ESB,Hub,MOM) Place,People,Asset
i r Bl/Big Data
E■
a Simri;r.d 5¢s: rrtirier, 1
Planning, 1 r 1 r V ■r 1 l Ni Dispatch/ )f �� Prov. 1 „
Building, RRMS Fled&Fue 1 „
In'ra,Asset Finance& Document Systems
Permit, c= 11
&Work Recreation HR Budget, &Records f „
License,
Mgmt POS Mgmt r
Inspect, Billing l f Facil es A Other_.
1 a I\ Jt I\ l • A
, • •( I1
( 1
Remote Access Corporate Infrastructure.Applications I Mobile Computing
1 I Mail I Telecom Essential Infrastructure Sere i es Messaging I DirectoryServicen I
> Physical(Desktops) Servers•Desktops Virtual )
f l f.
_ I DNS I I DCHP I Infrastructure Core IP Management
z r
a I DAS 1 Storage I NAS I I SAN 1 I DBs I
l-
( Routers I Switches I WAN N023v_ofr., Firewalls Wifi i
Power Cooling Facilites I Space I Access
The diagram illustrates Prior& Prior's Municipal 'Enterprise Architecture'
There are four layers.The layers are interconnected.That is each entity within a layer relies upon the
other layers for City staff to deliver services to internal and external clients.
Infrastructure:The core underlying technology infrastructure,or computing environment(such as
networks, servers, PCs,database, data storage,telephony and security),that provides staff with access
to critical computing resources,the Internet,communications tools and business systems.The
technology infrastructure provides the necessary technology to staff and the public, in a reliable and
secure manner,that is backed up and ready to support business continuity in the event of an
emergency.The infrastructure the City provides reflects the needs of the users, is nimble and responsive
to new technologies (e.g. tablets, smartphones, file sharing) and changing business norms (e.g. video
conferencing, screen sharing) and enables rather than blocks staff from being effective in their jobs.
Business Systems:The business systems (such as Great Plains, Land Manager,Work Manager, CLASS,
GIS)that are used to run the department's day-to-day business operations (e.g. track applications,
dispatch fire trucks, issue building permits, book recreation classes and take customer payments).The
goal here is to minimize the number of major business systems that the City operates. A small number
of shared corporate wide business systems are needed to tackle common themes and business
Prior&Prior Associates page 45
City of Pickering Technology Review and Roadmap
processes(land and property, assets,financial, human resources and spatial), digitally connecting cross-
departmental business processes. In addition, many point solutions that enable specific areas of the
business, Fire dispatch for example, are operating with a clear support model in place.All of the
business systems rely upon the underlying infrastructure to allow them to operate (e.g. databases,
servers, network and a PC). Without reliable infrastructure, business systems will not be effective.
Integration:These are the tools,technologies and data standards that allow information from separate
business systems to be connected and combined.This integration minimizes work for staff by reducing
the amount of duplicate data entry. It also allows staff to easily source information and enables
management to gather insights and identify trends and patterns that will help them manage their
services more cost effectively. Setting and enforcing common data standards across systems is central to
enabling the City to build a common view across all departments of the interactions it has with
customers or with properties. GIS ties together all of the work the City does as well as its interactions
with a given location, enabling power analysis and spatial trend identification.
Customer Facing Systems/Customer Access Channels:These are the services such as the website,
telephone and face-to-face services,with which the City's customers interact directly. Beyond
providing information for customers to self-serve,the web should be viewed as a customer service
platform.
Using the web(and apps) and web technologies,customers should be able to interact directly with the
City—submitting and tracking service requests and enquiries,applying and paying for services, booking
City facilities and other routine and complex services. Web apps, and smart phone apps should interact
with business systems to feed requests and applications directly into the systems that back office and
field staff use to process them. In some cases, back office solutions may have public facing components
which can be integrated into the City's website. In other cases, solutions that use the integration layer to
pass customer requests through the CRM and into the back office systems will need to be built.This
allows the CRM to keep a consistent record of interactions between individuals and the City, irrespective
of the department with which they are interacting.
All of the layers are interconnected.Without a stable,secure, infrastructure layer, reliable business
applications cannot support efficient and effective service delivery. Without these back-end
applications, delivery of integrated end-to-end online services cannot be achieved.And without the
integration layer, information remains locked within individual application silos.
The architecture must be implemented from the bottom up—there is simply no other proven way of
doing it.
Prior&Prior Associates page 46