IT Today
Technology continues to move at an astounding pace. While technology creates great opportunities, ever-changing security threats highlight how the use (or misuse) of information technology creates both advantage and risk.
As Dauphin
Security - incidents and prevention
Information Technology Security has been a hot topic for the last few years, and the growing threats of viruses, malware, phishing, and other targeted attacks will not diminish. However, the growing complexity of security issues requires a more unified approach so that we can respond effectively to the full range of risks. Concepts such as Adaptive Security, incident management, and endpoint security or network access control will become essential components as new solutions are developed to protect the County's IT infrastructure.
SharePoint and other collaborative technologies
For many years, IT organizations have worked on procedures for efficient data management. Today, new processes mandate the need for efficient content creation. Our culture of a dispersed workforce with instantaneous tool sets to create useful and important information requires peers to collaborate on the creation of knowledge-based deliverables. It is clear that the timely creation and efficient management of this content will improve performance and reduce costs.
Unified messaging
Mobile working is taking hold in County government just like in the private sector. Employees like probation officers and human service case workers spend considerable time out of the office servicing their clientele. Many communication devices are already in place to assist these workers with their daily tasks. Unified Messaging is technology designed to manage the multiple communication environments of voicemail and email to provide consistency and reliability for mobile employees. The release of Microsoft Exchange 2007, which incorporates unified message as a standard product set, will provide an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of this technology and increase efficiency for these workers.
Bedrock technologies
More advanced solutions are taking hold throughout County government which allows for the adoption of technology that radically improves operations. However, the backend infrastructure must continue to keep pace and evolve to support these new developments. New enterprise servers and communication networks are being created to provide the ongoing delivery and support of these new technologies.
Information life cycle management
This is a bedrock technology platform that has significant long-term consequences on how each department operations with the County. Almost all of the county data assets are now stored electronically in one form or another. The effective administration of this data for current and historical purposes is critical to improve operations and control costs. Additionally, a greater emphasis is being placed on regulatory compliance requirements, such as freedom of information.
Electronic Content Management
Document management has received a lot of focus over the last few years, but it continues to be important as it affects every facet of County government. In addition, the necessity to efficiently manage, store and archive electronic data content such as email, voicemail and web sites expand the service needs in this area and are evolving the technology into a composite "Electronic Content Management" solution. In total, the efficient implementation of these technologies can greatly improve operations and significantly reduce costs.
