The Division of Technology Services (DTS) requires a delay in the upgrade to the new MacOS Sonoma (macOS14). DTS needs to conduct testing to ensure that the virus protection tool, Xcitium, is compatible with the new operating system. We have begun testing and will work as quickly as possible to ensure there are no issues. We will notify you when testing is complete, and you can upgrade to Sonoma. Currently we are asking all Mac users to refrain from upgrading.

We are pleased to announce that Troy Black has accepted the position of DTS COO. Troy has extensive experience in technology leadership, enterprise solutions, and relationship building. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a solutions oriented leader with a focus on continuous improvement and building high performance teams.  As COO, he will be overseeing the Network/Communications teams, Hosting teams, Edge teams, and Identity and Access Management teams. Troy is a Utah native and enjoys all things Utah has to offer. An avid outdoor enthusiast, on evenings and weekends you can find him hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, camping and fishing. Troy is also a music lover of all kinds. He will be joining the DTS team in the coming weeks. 

Date: Monday, October 16th, 2023

Time: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Location: Hybrid Event

• Taylorsville State Office Building – Bonneville Room (3rd Floor)
• A virtual workshop link will be provided

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) recently launched a new DABS Online Licensing & Permitting System. This new system enables businesses and others to maintain all alcohol licensing and permitting using a fully integrated, web-based system; eliminating long drives to the DABS administrative office to deliver applications and make payments. The new online system and IT improvements reflect Governor Cox’s goal for streamlining and modernizing government, and his goal for enhanced focus on customer service. See additional information here. 

As part of Utah Code 63A-16-204, Approval of information technology acquisitions, the CIO needs to approve all technology used in the state. The Technology Acquisition Approval (TAA) form was created for that requirement. It helps DTS and State Purchasing plan and assist with finding a solution if needed. Once a solution is found, the “Chosen Solution Approval Form” (Business Case) is completed by IT and submitted to the Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, and the Agency Executive Director for Approval. This form will help streamline acquiring new technology by providing a clear and organized method for evaluating and selecting new technology solutions.

You can additional information here. 

We are pleased to announce that Scott Jones is the new IT Director for Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). Scott grew up in Oakland, California and received a BS degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Brigham Young University. After graduation, Scott joined UDOT and has worked there for over 25 years. Much of his career has been spent in Operations and Safety, becoming a national expert in data analytics and visualization. In March 2019 Scott became the UDOT Director of Data, Technology, and Analytics, a newly created division with the purpose of providing consistent technology and data analytics support throughout the Department. Please join us in welcoming Scott to DTS.

The Department of Government Operations Rate Committee met earlier this month to discuss the proposed FY2025 DTS Rates. The Committee approved the rates, and now the Governor’s Office will consider the proposed rates. Ultimately, the Legislature will consider and give final approval for the FY2025 rates during the 2024 Legislative Session. You can see the full presentation and proposal here.

Included in the FY2025 rates is a new Seat Rate, which will make rates more simple and predictable. The rates will replace computer support (and helpdesk), security, security assessment, network, email, and software rates with a Device rate and a User rate.

Device Rate:  This rate would include the current computer support (and helpdesk), network, security, SCCM (software/patch management), and security assessment rates. 

User Rate: This rate would include Google Enterprise, AdobePro/Sign, Active Directory, and Identity Access Management.

The Tax Commission Contact Center team has recently enabled call recording in partnership with Qualtrics.  Call recordings are now captured on the Genesys system and pushed to Qualtrics for transcripted text. From there, both audio and text is analyzed for sentiment to help the Tax Commission determine how successful they are in the customer service. This solution gives the Tax Commission valuable information on how to improve customer service for tax payers that are calling in to Tax Commission agents for support.

The Department of Government Operations Rate Committee will be meeting on September 13 to consider the proposed FY2025 DTS Rates. DTS will be proposing some rate changes, and will be presenting the rate impacts to the committee during this meeting. You can see more information on the rates here. 

The new State of Utah Design System for official websites and applications is now available at designsystem.utah.gov. The Design System is a resource that agencies may refer to when implementing new or upgrading websites and applications. It will help guide the state on the components needed to ensure accessibility, security, and other industry best practices. 

What is a Design System? The System is a collection of reusable user interface (UI) components, elements, patterns, and templates—guided by a complete set of clear standards and design principles based on industry best practices. 

Join the Division of Technology Services for a Design System virtual workshop. The workshops will be held virtually on Google. If you are unable to attend live, we will record the sessions so you can view at any time. 

Business Overview Workshop

When: Tuesday, September 12

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Register here

This workshop is for agency leaders, managers, and communications specialists to learn more about how the Design System might benefit your agency. Learn how it can help your agency with a cohesive website strategy, and the benefits a Design System can bring to your customers. Participants can also discover potential operational efficiencies and ROI from using the System in your organization. 

Technical Workshop

When: Tuesday, September 12

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Register here

This workshop is for website content administrators, web and application developers, and anyone else interested in a technical deep dive into the System. Learn how to use and apply the system in your agency. You will also have the opportunity to ask the DTS team any technical questions you have about the System. 

Benefits of a Design System The Design System helps ensure compliance with industry best practices, accessibility, security, and Utah Code Subsection 63A-16-104(10), Subsection 63A-16-209, and Administrative Rule R895-14. The System can help guide agencies to:

• Address issues with out-of-compliance websites (accessibility, acceptable practices & standards, etc.)
• Minimize security risks (copycat/spoof websites, malicious domains, etc.)
• Build websites and be confident that they’re using best practices
• Easily implement the System using templates and provide code
• Implement citizen-centric web design & use

Have questions about the Design System or Workshops? Contact us at dts_ui@utah.gov. 

Earlier this year, the State of Utah discontinued the use of MOVEit for secure large file sharing via email. The Division of Technology Services approved the use of Virtru Secure Share, and it is now the official standard. 

The proposed changes are published in the current Rule Bulletin here: https://rules.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/b20230815.pdf. Comments will be accepted until September 14, 2023. 

Below highlights some of the changes you will see on your FY24 DTS Monthly Bill. 

Decreases:

• Simple Storage: This is no longer a service DTS is providing and has been removed from the rate sheet.

• VoIP and Persistent Chat: These communication services have decreased.

Increases:

• Overall, the DTS rates have increased due to compensation increases including COLA, health, and dental.

• Security Support: was increased to cover the Agency migration to the new Identity and Access Management (UtahID) system.

• General Purpose and Backup Storage: have increased as users have moved to the cloud and on premise utilization has dropped. 

• SQL and Oracle Database Core Model: DTS has been charging less than cost for both of these rates to bring Retained Earnings in line with Federal guidelines. The increase is to bring more in-line with actual costs. 

Other Rate Changes

• Application Developer Rate: In order to simplify billing and help to make agency costs more predictable throughout the year,the hourly billing for DTS application developers changed from 8 tiers to 4 tiers. 

• Other Storage and File Share Services: have been moved under the “6517:General Purpose Storage” rate.

Further information:

You can view all changes to the DTS Rates by going to https://dts.utah.gov/dts-rates. 

If you would like to see more details on why some of the rates changed and see your Agency’s impact reports, please go to the following links:

• Link to Rate presentation document share in rate committee Presentation – Updated FY2024 Gov Ops Rates-Technology Services September 15, 2022.pdf 

• Link to Rate Impact sheet shared in rate committee Rate Impact by Agency

The Genesys Pure Connect on premise Contact Center System has announced End of Life and End of Sale dates. You can see the announcement here.  These are the critical dates to be aware of:

• Now – No new development except minor bug fixes

• January 1, 2024 – End of Sale on anything new

• August 2024 – Last Renewal of License Maintenance

• July 31, 2025 – No Support/Final Shutdown

Because End of Sale is fast approaching, DTS needs all agencies that utilize the Genesys Contact Center to look forward to the next 24 months to determine if new licenses are going to be needed.  If an agency will need new licenses, please contact Debbie Bauman at dbauman@utah.gov before November 21, 2023.

DTS is working on a replacement for the Contact Center in the future. Additional details will be available soon. 

You can see additional information here. 

We are pleased to welcome Chris Williamson to DTS as the Chief Technology Officer. Chris has vast experience in technology engineering, management, and governance, most recently as CIO for Myriad Genetics. He has over twenty years experience of team building, program, and personnel management in technology and operations. Chris‘ innovative thinking will continue to help the state move forward to provide improved government services to the residents of Utah. Welcome Chris!

We are pleased to announce that Nick Mecham is the new Legislative and Planning Coordinator for DTS. Nick will be joining DTS at the end of August and will be responsible for managing legislative affairs for the division, organizing policies for DTS, and also delving into grant opportunities. He has vast experience in legislative affairs, most recently with the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office. Welcome Nick!

The FY2024 DTS DR/COOP report is now available here. The obligation of DTS is to provide seamless services in spite of any event. The public expects the same good customer service from state government as it does from business. With these issues in mind, DTS agency management is committed to the development and maintenance of an effective disaster recovery/continuity of operations plan (DR/COOP).

Microsoft Office 2013 products reached end-of-support in April 2023. Due to security risks, we will be removing Microsoft Office 2013 software from all employee computers beginning July 25, 2023. A few things you need to know:

• The removal of this software is happening automatically in the background. No action is required from you.

• The Microsoft Office files that you have created or stored on your computer will not be affected or deleted.

• If you need to continue to use Office products, please work with your agency purchasing contacts to place an order for Office 365.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact DTS at dts.utah.gov.

The Division of Technology Services (DTS) is implementing a new process to manage and monitor the performance of all external entities that support mission critical state systems. Based on an internal risk assessment of contracts, DTS will require vendors to provide an annual attestation that they are  following the terms of the contract and applicable federal requirements. 

DTS will begin sending contract attestations in August 2023. Vendors will receive these attestations annually during the month of the contract anniversary.  Vendors are required to sign and return this document within 30 days of receipt. For contracts that involve Payment Card Industry (PCI) data, the vendor must provide a third-party auditor certificate of compliance to the state annually. It will be indicated on the attestation if this form is needed, and a vendor must submit it within 30 days to be in compliance.

Join us on Monday, July 31 for State of Utah Tableau Day! Data is the foundation of good government. It is the connective tissue between technology and people. Fostering a culture of data literacy and embracing data-driven governance are essential to ensure the continued technological leadership of the state. Join us to learn more about one of the world’s most powerful data management platforms, Tableau.

The FY2024 DTS rates will be effective July 1. See the full list here. Agencies can expect to see the new rates on the July bill. Please reach out to DTS Billing at dtsbilling@utah.gov if you have any questions. 

 A new Google Learning Site is now available for state employees at https://dts.utah.gov/google. Training videos and documents for everything Google (mail, calendar, drive, chat, meet, etc.) have been published in one place to make it easier for employees to get more information on how to use Google. This information can be especially useful for new state employees who are learning how to use Google on a daily basis, or those that have a question about how to use a specific Google tool. 

State of Utah Chief Information Officer Alan Fuller announced winners of the 2023 Utah IT Excellence Awards at the Utah Digital Government Summit in June. The Utah IT Excellence awards honor emerging leaders and innovative projects in government IT that enable Utah to better meet constituent expectations for services and information, improve operating efficiency, and conserve tax dollars. The awards also provide an opportunity for state and local government in Utah to learn about IT leaders and projects that are changing the way government does business.

Congratulations to the winners!

Visionary Award: Provider Reimbursement Information System for Medicaid (PRISM)

In April, Utah Medicaid replaced the legacy Medicaid system with PRISM. This project has taken many years of hard work and dedication from the team. This new system replaces the Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ 40+ year old legacy mainframe Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and Implements a fully Modular and Cloud-Based Solution. PRISM is scalable and will comfortably process both the current and future Utah claims and transaction volumes. This project is a major milestone in moving the state from legacy systems to new modern systems to help provide government services to the residents of Utah.

Best Use of Social Media: UDOT Cottonwood Canyons

During the epic ski season this last winter, the Utah Department of Transportation was able to disseminate information quickly via the UDOT Cottonwood Canyons social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Flickr. Skiers, snowboarders, and outdoor enthusiasts got real time updates for Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons road closures and restrictions, traction laws, estimated wait times, parking availability, ski resort updates, public transportation, weather, and much more. UDOT Cottonwood Canyons kept all of us safe and informed so we could continue to enjoy all the snow. 

Best Use of Emerging Technology: Utah Outdoor Recreation OHV Education Course 

The Utah Outdoor Recreation OHV Education course, offered by the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation (DOR), is the first of its kind in the nation and helps to preserve access and increase rider safety. The trends with OHV use is increasing every year. The machines are so capable in getting us to the most scenic places in Utah. The community knew they needed to provide some educational resources for responsible trail use. 

With such a wide range of diverse users, the training needed to be accessible, simple, and handle a large quantity of users taking the course simultaneously. Tyler Tech provided an online course with materials and prompts for everyone to understand. This course is available to take on computers and mobile devices. It can be taken anywhere service is available. The course content was made to educate on the most important OHV issues that Utah is experiencing. Educational paragraphs, website links, and video were selected to capture the content. Tyler Tech was able to provide this simple yet effective format for all of our OHV users.

Over 175,000 people have completed the state’s new adult off-highway vehicle (OHV) education course since it was implemented January 1, 2023. 

The most significant change is what we are seeing on the trail systems. We have seen more hand signals as OHVs are passing each other. We are seeing a community talk about sections of the course on the trails. We are seeing a high compliance with courses completed. If any community is showing stewardship, the OHV community is leading the way!

Best Partnership: GreatSaltLake.utah.gov

Declining water levels of the Great Salt Lake over the past several years led to the need for data-informed guidance to help preserve this precious resource. The Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and Food, Department of Environmental Quality worked on a strike team to conduct research and assess potential recommendations. Together, this group quickly stood up a website, GreatSaltLake.utah.gov, to deliver valuable data and recommendations to policymakers for decision-making. The website also provides valuable information and guidance for the residents of Utah to help protect and preserve the Great Salt Lake. 

Best Use of GIS: Provo City Maps Portal

On the Provo City Maps portal, you can see 16 detailed maps covering parcels, trails, zoning, things to do, projects…even chicken counts. The portal is being recognized for its overall composition, user friendly design, breadth of services, utility to citizens, and creative applications. The portal provides spatial data, analysis, mapping and applications to city departments and citizens to improve efficiency, communication, and decision making. 

Best Use of Data: Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment

Domestic violence has continued to be a major problem across the country and in the State of Utah. Finding solutions to help protect domestic partners and curve the occurrence has become an item of much attention. During the last legislative session, a bill was presented and passed to help make changes to solve this problem.

The team has worked to develop a Lethality Assessment that law enforcement uses to help determine the potential danger a victim may be in, gather crucial data needed for study and future protection, as well as provide law enforcement with resources including live aid and support from specialists within the Department of Public Safety.

Time was of the essence on this project, and finding a way to get this in the hands of as many law enforcement agencies across the state as soon as possible became a priority. The data captured by this system will help provide better information on this crisis in the state. 

We are pleased to announce recent enhancements to the DTS Agency Billing Dashboard. These updates aim to significantly improve the functionality, accessibility, and overall clarity for our customers, including:

• Replaced the Service Name on the main DTS Billing Reports with the DTS Rate. This modification streamlines the information presented, reduces the number of lines, and facilitates easier matching of what you see with the associated DTS Rate.
• Added a new “Billing Summary” report conveniently located on the main dashboard page. This report provides essential details about your agency’s charges without overwhelming you with excessive information. You will still be able to drill down into the details to view all available details if needed.
• Made improvements to the dashboard’s filtering capabilities, ensuring a more seamless and efficient user experience.

To assist you in making the most of these updates, we have updated our instructions to reflect the latest changes. You can also see a new training video here. 

We hope that these enhancements improve your overall experience with the DTS billing dashboard. 

Executive Director Marvin Dodge has announced the appointment of Van Christensen as the new division director for the Utah Division of Finance. He succeeds Jonathan Ellis, who served as interim director since March following the departure of Janica Gines, who served in the leadership role since 2018. Welcome Van! See additional information here. 

The Utah State Tax Commission recently announced that e-services are now available at the Division of Motor Vehicles. The modern, streamlined experience offers fast, secure, 24/7 DMV interactions. Check it out at dmv.utah.gov. 

As the end of fiscal year 2023 approaches, DTS Procurement has outlined some important dates. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.

See more information on the dates here.

Interested in the impacts of population growth in Utah? Want to make sure your voice is part of the conversation about your community’s future? Take the new Guiding Our Growth survey at https://guidingourgrowth.utah.gov/beheard/.

Preserving Utah’s unique quality of life requires carefully weighing the impacts of potential decisions about housing, open space, water, transportation, and more.This new survey leads participants through zip-code-specific options for dealing with growth challenges. The answers aren’t easy, but the best solutions require collaboration and facing the toughest decisions head-on. 

Utah leaders statewide invite the public to share their opinions about how to guide Utah’s growth. The survey will extend through the summer. Results will direct the “big ideas” required in the near future to ensure the best Utah possible for future generations. 

Take the time to be heard.

Alan Fuller recently attended the National Association of State CIOs mid-year conference. Government Technology highlighted Utah’s modernization efforts in this article. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has issued an executive order directing Utah’s chief privacy officer to create a strategic plan to safeguard the personal information of Utahns.

“From getting a driver license to registering to vote to opening a business, state government requires the disclosure of personal information for almost all of the services it provides,” Gov. Cox said. “This is a sacred trust and we want to make sure that every state agency has a set of policies and procedures that will protect the privacy of all Utahns.”

In 2021, the Legislature created a chief privacy officer position in the Department of Government Operations to oversee the collection, storage and protection of the information state agencies acquire. Executive Order 2023-06 requires the chief privacy officer to complete a full assessment of state agency practices and present a coordinated strategic plan to the Governor’s Office by Aug. 1, 2023.

See the full Executive Order here. 

The DTS Administrative Services Team and Desktop Team recently completed a statewide surplus cleanup. Thanks to extraordinary efforts from the Administrative Services team and the Desktop teams, we have been able to get over half of the desktop sites complete, and should have the other half completed by the end of May.

Just last week they were able to dispose of over 12,500 pounds of surplus (IT equipment) from just two Salt Lake City buildings.

Before…

After…

On April 3, 2023, Utah Medicaid replaced the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) with PRISM. This project has taken several years of hard work and dedication. In PRISM’s first few weeks in operation we have seen great success. Priority issues right now include getting accurate eligibility files to managed care plans, processing submitted provider enrollment forms, and processing lab claims. The system has already started processing claims from the “freeze” period and has paid tens of thousands of claims totaling millions of dollars.

SocialMedia.Utah.Gov was deployed and made available to the public at noon on March 24th in support of Governor Cox’s initiative and bill signing of Senate Bill 152 and House Bill 311 to help protect children and youth from the negative effects of social media.   The website provides information about new laws that regulate social media companies and research on the effects of social media.  It empowers parents with information, education and tools to protect youth from the harmful effects of social media and provides an avenue for individuals to get regular email implementation updates.  

Many individuals played key roles in bringing this effort to fruition in a very short time period.   Eduardo Mendivil completed all the coding and was critical in the design, content and style of the page.  As Carolyn Dennis explained, “This site would not have been live for the signing without Eduardo.  He not only did the coding, he designed and styled our rough ideas into a professional and beautiful resource for the people of Utah.”  Carolyn Dennis was the Commerce point of contact with agency Executive Director  Margaret Busse, Katie Hart and Melanie Hall providing guidance on content.  Natalie Pyne was the Governor’s Office point of contact and provided content and resources from Aimee Winder Newton and Jennifer Napier-Pearce.  Destiny Calvano organized DTS personnel and ensured technology resources and capacity was sufficient to meet the technology need.   Conception, design, content and deployment were completed within 5 business days and the website was deployed just before Governor Cox signed the legislation into law the afternoon of March 24th 2023.  

We are sharing this information with DTS vendors to notify you of various changes to the way quotes and invoices are being processed. Your participation in including these items is appreciated in order for us to process IT procurements and invoice payments in a timely manner.

Contracts

Going forward, all quotes and invoices must have a contract listed. Please make sure the contract is added to any quote requested by a State of Utah customer and to any invoice sent to State of Utah customers or Accounts Payable. In addition, if there is not a contract for the requested item(s), please indicate this on the quote.

Purchase Orders

When a PO is received by your company please reply all with a confirmation that it has been received and is being worked on.

New Process for Quotes/Invoicing

Please add dates to anything time-related. This will include anything under software, licensing, support, maintenance and/or subscriptions. If it is quarterly, please specify which quarter(s) and for monthly, please specify which month(s). Start and end dates will need to be on quotes and invoices moving forward. If the start date is dependent on when the PO is received, please make sure the specific dates are listed on the invoice that follows.

We are pleased to announce that Joe Jackson is the new Chief Enterprise Architect for DTS. Joe will be working closely with Dave Fletcher on technical architecture standards and solutions while also supporting the Architecture Review Board. He will be coordinating with IT architects across DTS to implement new technologies and coordinate integration and support at the statewide level.

Joe left the private sector eight years ago to join the State of Utah. His time with the state has focused on ensuring government agencies have access to timely, complete, and accurate data to support their organizational objectives. He accomplished this with his teams through implementing process improvements, automation, system enhancements, and electronic data exchange. Joe previously managed the Division of Disease Control and Prevention Informatics Program at the Utah Department of Health where his team of DTS and UDOH staff maintained much of the core IT infrastructure for the COVID-19 response. His former roles in DTS include analyst, manager, lead application manager, and architect positions supporting DHHS and the single sign-on citizen and business portals. He applies technology and management experience along with degrees in biomedical engineering and business administration to improve the efficiency of service delivery.

We are excited to have Joe transition into his new role over the next few weeks. Congratulations Joe!

The 2023 Legislative Session has come to a close, and it was a great success for DTS. We have many exciting things to work on during the next year. Here is a summary of the bills passed during the session that will have impact on DTS:

HB0008 State Agency and Higher Education Compensation Appropriations

This bill includes the funding for additional salary and benefit increases for DTS employees for fiscal year 2024. 

• Eligible employees will receive a 5% labor market increase beginning July 1, 2023. 
• In addition, the bill provides funding for health (7.2%)  and dental (0.9%)  insurance benefit increases. 
• Other targeted and discretionary funding details will be available after they are reviewed and approved by agency executive leadership and GOPB.

HB0470 Government Digital Verifiable Records Amendments

This bill required DTS to create recommendations for government on the use of digital verifiable records, and create a pilot program to implement the use of digital verifiable records. 

SB0127 Cybersecurity Amendments

This bill codifies the Cyber Center responsibilities and reporting of security breaches, and requires governmental websites to use an authorized domain by 2025. 

HB0343 Government Records Modifications 

This bill implements recommendations from the State Privacy Commission, and the Chief Privacy Officer. The DGO Chief Privacy Officer will be working closely with all state agencies to implement the requirements to improve data privacy within the State of Utah. DTS will be working with the Privacy Officer to ensure our own data records meet the requirements, including:

• Maintain an inventory of records with PII owned by DTS
• Before January 1, 2026, prepare and maintain privacy annotation for records
• Submit required reports to the Chief Privacy Officer

HB0433 Public Land Geographic Data Amendments

This bill requires UGRC to compile a statewide GIS database of all government-owned property parcels in a map format on an annual basis. 

HB0545 Cybersecurity Infrastructure Modifications

This bill requires DTS to consider implementing policies, standards, and procedures for implementing zero-trust architecture and MFA.

HB0065 Division of Technology Services Amendments

The Security Assessments, in which a third party assessor evaluates the state agencies’ security standards,  will now be conducted every three years. The bill also clarifies the new IT procurement process, giving agencies authority to manage IT contracts. DTS will continue to approve IT procurements. 

We are pleased to announce that Bryan Brown is the new IT Director at the Department of Natural Resources. Bryan has worked in IT for over 29 years. After joining the State of Utah, Bryan has spent six years supporting the Department of Health’s Division of Medicaid and Health Financing where he was instrumental in increasing the confidence of DMHF in DTS and in its capabilities by providing leadership and stability to complete critical DMHF projects, while improving the communication between DTS and DMHF. After the department merger into the new Department of Health and Human Services, Bryan became a Lead Application Manager supporting DTS teams for the Division of Integrated Healthcare, Division of Aging and Adult Services and the Division of Services for People with Disabilities.

At 10:15 a.m. on April 20, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in The Great Utah ShakeOut, the state’s largest earthquake drill ever! Major earthquakes may happen anywhere you live, work, or travel. The ShakeOut is our chance to practice how to protect ourselves, and for everyone to become prepared. The goal is to prevent a major earthquake from becoming a catastrophe for you, your organization, and your community.

DTS will be participating in the drill this year. Be sure to have the contact information of your peers, supervisors, and fellow employees updated in the event an emergency takes place. 

Voting is now open for the 2023 Statescoop 50 Awards. Go here to vote. There are three nominations from Utah: Alan Fuller, Dave Fletcher, Chris Bramwell, and Protecting and Preserving the Great Salt Lake from the Division of Water Resources. According to the Statescoop website, “The StateScoop 50 Awards annually honor the best and the brightest who make state government more efficient and effective. These awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of our peers and acknowledge their tireless efforts to make a positive impact in the government IT community and in public service.” Please take a few minutes and vote for your favorites before April 7.

The FCC is putting together a new, more detailed map with locations to identify where broadband service is offered. This map will serve as the new foundation for broadband analysis, policy, and grant distribution. Individual states were offered the chance to submit corrections and updates based on their local knowledge. 

The Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC) worked with the Utah Broadband Center to help individual counties prepare submissions by handling all of the data formatting and validation steps as well as the actual submission to the FCC. This allowed the counties to spend their valuable and limited time focusing on the things that they are the authoritative source for—apartment numbers, incorrect addresses, new development, etc. The data coming from counties is aggregated by the UGRC and stored in the State Geographic Information Database (SGID). This coordinated effort means Utah will get its fair share of the funding and be able to distribute it to where it will make the biggest impact.

Thanks to the hard work of the participating counties, UGRC, and the Utah Broadband Center, Utah had by far the most corrections accepted by the FCC from any state. We added 24,598 residences that weren’t included (“Missing broadband serviceable location”) and corrected the addresses of 23,491 residences already included (“Incorrect primary address”).

The 2023 Security Awareness Training is now available. All executive branch state employees must complete the training annually. One of the most important elements of our defense and protection of the state’s information assets is user awareness and training. As an authorized user of the state’s information resources, you have an obligation to help protect the confidentiality, integrity, privacy, and availability of the state’s data. Part of that obligation is completing the required annual security awareness training. To complete the training, go to the Security Awareness – 2023 page.

We are pleased to announce that Rachael Cassady is the new IT Director for the Edge Group in DTS-Operations.

Rachael brings a range of experience to this position, having spent 27 years working for the State of Utah in various roles. Her career began as an Environmental Scientist with DEQ, where she then moved on to become a Compliance Program Manager with the Division of Drinking Water.  In 2020, Rachael became an IT Analyst Supervisor with DTS, serving DEQ. Throughout her career, she has had exposure to a wide variety of people and programs within the State of Utah along with many Citizen engagements.

Rachael graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, and from Western Governors University with a Master’s degree in Secondary Science. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, riding horses, University of Utah football, and playing classical violin. She is thrilled to take on this new challenge as IT Director for the DTS Edge Team.

Please join us in congratulating Rachael.

There’s a behind-the-scenes story to the new pop-up liquor store at the Salt Palace Convention Center for the NBA All-Star Game weekend. The Division of Technology Services network team built a system that allows the pop-up store to connect to state resources in a secure manner from a portable network case. This “Network in a Box” not only takes care of the immediate need for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) but addresses the potential future needs when a network needs to be immediately accessible, but a secure state-connected wired infrastructure may not be available.

The self-contained system is one a small mobile rack encased with wheels. It contains drawers, UPS (battery backup), wireless (WiFi) access point, and other features. The case provides two separate LTE connections (AT&T and T-Mobile), and can accommodate a third public internet network hardwire connection. This provides multiple ways for a pop-up store to achieve connectivity to DABS resources to stand up a store, basically, anywhere. 

In an effort to streamline the DTS Special Billing Agreement (SBA) process, agencies will no longer need to sign DTS SBAs effective immediately. We will continue to have agencies approve SBAs in ServiceNow, but no PDF will be sent for signatures. Additional information can be found here. Please reach out to your IT Director with any questions. 

We are pleased to announce that Rachael Stewart is the new IT Director for the Department of Health and Human Services. Rachael has worked for the State of Utah for 23 years. She started as an Eligibility Specialist with DWS and went on to fill various positions including Program Specialist, Trainer, Business Analyst and Program Manager. She began working for DTS in 2016 as a Sr. Project Manager and has spent the last 4 and a half years at DHHS (formerly DHS) as an IT Manager. She feels fortunate to have worked with a wide variety of state and federal programs that support Utahns. Rachael attended the University of Utah and majored in Political Science. She is excited for this new challenge and looks forward to continuing to work with DTS and DHHS. 

The Salesforce event specifically designed for Utah is back this year! Snowforce is the premier networking and learning event for the Utah Salesforce community. There is something for everyone: an executive track, an architect track, a marketing cloud track, and a bunch of hands-on learning sessions. This event typically attracts over 500 attendees.

See additional information and register at snowforce.io

Wednesday March 1st: Networking Dinner @ 6PM
Thursday March 2nd: Main Event & Sessions @ 8AM – 5PM, at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 W 3100 S, West Valley City, UT 84119.
Friday March 3rd: Ski Day at Snowbird @ 8:30AM – 4:30PM

DTS has made a new catalog available in ServiceNow for enterprise software, including Atlassian products (Jira, Confluence, Trello), Zoom, GitHub, and Lucid. You can easily purchase software using this catalog. 

The new site provides resources to learn about what Utah’s boards and commissions do and how their work benefits our communities, as well as how to become involved as a board member. You can see the new system at boards.utah.gov. 

Utah’s Maps on the Hill exhibit will be held on February 14 in the Utah State Capitol Building Rotunda from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

Maps on the Hill, a free event, is a great way to learn how current mapping technology is being applied to important issues across a wide range of disciplines including economic development, natural resources, infrastructure management, public lands and environment issues, efficient services delivery, and more.  Maps on the Hill is expected to draw many map exhibits from all levels of government, private sector firms, and higher education. Utah’s elected officials and the public are invited to come learn about the various mapping projects from professionals and students.

Maps on the Hill is organized by the Utah Geographic Information Council (UGIC), a statewide user group of Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals, in partnership with the Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC).

More information is available at http://ugic.org/maps-on-the-hill.

The 2023 Utah Digital Government Summit will be on June 27 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. Registration is not yet open, but more information will be coming soon. See additional detail here. 

We are excited to announce that Tricia Cox has accepted a new position as DTS Assistant Division Director. We look forward to working closely with Tricia in her new role. As Assistant Director, Tricia will be instrumental in improving all aspects of DTS and helping us continue to provide exceptional service to state agencies. She will help coordinate and execute a variety of division initiatives. 

Tricia has substantial experience with DTS, most recently as the IT Director for the Department of Health and Human Services. Over the past year, Tricia’s teams have successfully completed huge projects, including migrations to the Cloud and the merging of two of the largest agencies in the state. 

DTS is implementing the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) as our project and service delivery methodology across the organization. SAFe is a set of industry best practices and organizational tools that will help teams plan work, manage change, and coordinate efforts. 

SAFe will help us:

• Facilitate a culture of continuous planning and build quarterly plans that increase visibility and promote alignment
• Identify dependencies and risks early so that they can be addressed before they impact our work
• Manage resources so that we can plan the right work and the right amount of work
• Continuously improve and adapt our processes to meet the needs of our teams and the Agencies we serve

We have already started training some of our employees, and will continue to train all DTS employees through September 2023. DTS will be working closely with agencies throughout the next year to improve planning and prioritization of IT projects and initiatives to better meet needs. 

Scaled Agile Framework

Microsoft has indicated that they will no longer be supporting different versions of the Office suite throughout the next few years. Some agencies are currently using the products that are slated for end of life (EOL) in April 2023. The State currently has a number of machines with end of life (EOL) Microsoft Office products installed on them which require remediation. There are also Office products that are going to be expiring in the next couple of years that we want agencies to be aware of. We will be working with agencies in the coming months to determine a plan for migration.

The following are upcoming end of life dates for Microsoft Office products:

Additional information can be found here.

DTS is workin with agencies to adopt Windows 11 before Microsoft deprecates Windows 10 in 2025. We are working on a detailed plan and specific instructions for state employees in the coming months. You can see more information on the Windows 11 page on the DTS website. 

Windows 11 Adoption

Many agencies are currently using Zoom to host meetings and webinars where Google Meet does not fit the agency’s needs. Google Meet is the DTS recommended standard for meetings and webinars, but we have approved the use of Zoom Meetings/Webinars as an architectural supplemental standard if Google Meet will not work for the meeting.

Agencies have not had to pay for Zoom licenses in the past, as this has been paid for through the Telework Initiative funds provided by the Governor’s Office. Beginning December 4, 2022, Telework Initiative funds will no longer be available and agencies will need to begin paying for Zoom licenses if needed.

IT Directors will be working with agencies to determine how many Zoom licenses you will need in the future. When we have an estimate of how many licenses are required, we will be negotiating more accurate pricing with Zoom. You can see additional details here.