AGRC has awarded Aero-Graphics, Inc. (AGI) to acquire 10,450 square miles of LiDAR Elevation data. The LiDAR will be a combination of USGS Quality Level 1 (QL1), 8 points per square meter and Quality Level 2 (QL2), 2 points per square meter depending on the area. The acquisitions have begun and will continue throughout the year. The acquisitions will be completed in 2018 and project deliverables are scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2019.

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As the State of Utah moves closer to NG911, GIS data providers will soon be required to adhere to national standards set forth by the NENA and the UCA 911 Division (section 6 of ref 1). It can be daunting navigating these standards and best practice documents, so the intent of this article is to demystify the relevant information and lay out a road map of where we are going.

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DTS has recently updated the FY19 and FY20 rates. You can see them here. 

The DTS Rate Committee met in September to approve updated rates for FY19, and proposed rates for FY20. The new rates will now be approved by the Governor’s Office and Management and Budget, and ultimately approved the Utah Legislature during the next Session in March. 

Utah Code 63F-2 established the Data Security Management Council in the 2015 general session. Utah Code 63F-2-103 explicitly requires the council chair to prepare an annual report that addresses:

• a summary of topics the council studied during the year
• best practice recommendations for state government
• recommendations for implementing the council’s best practice recommendations

DTS has recently published the FY2018 Financial Statements. You can see them here. 

We have posted a new page with a list of current Goals and Projects. Here you will find a prioritized list of the technology innovations, goals, and directions DTS is currently working on to help State of Utah agencies achieve their business objectives.

Goals and Projects

The FY2020 DTS Rate Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 11, at 1:00 p.m. in Capitol room 250. We will be discussing rate changes for the upcoming year. You can see more info here. 

In accordance with UCA 63F-4, the Department of Technology Services has been accepting proposals to implement a new information technology innovation designed to result in a greater efficiency in a government process or a cost saving in the delivery of a government service. Proposals must be for a new technology not previously in use or a substantial adaptation or modification of an existing technology.

DTS has $150,000 available in Fiscal Year 2019 for innovation projects. Two projects were recently approved for funding by the Technology Advisory Board:

• Empirix “Hammer” IVR Testing Application DTS Voice operations would use this application to script out all of the testing that agencies must do in preparation for our yearly Genesys upgrades. This application has the capacity to interact with an IVR as well as ensure it is receiving appropriate feedback from the IVR. We would use this to automate our annual testing that agencies perform to reduce the one month testing period performed by the agencies themselves to potentially a single week.
• Voice Enabled State Services  Use voice-enabled digital assistants to make voting information more accessible to Utah citizens and, ultimately, increase engagement in the voting and political process. Official voting information is currently available to Utah citizens through the vote.utah.gov website. We propose that this information be made available through Amazon Alexa devices and Google Assistant devices. The new voice-enabled digital assistants would provide a voice-based user interface design and natural language processing, along with machine learning and artificial intelligence cloud services. The voice assistants could answer simple questions, as well as provide resources to answer more complex questions, more effectively and efficiently than users looking up information on their own. This would also help other agencies save time since they’d, hopefully, be fielding fewer calls about voting questions.

DTS will begin working on these projects. We are excited to see efficiencies from these innovative ideas.

There is still approximately $20,000 available for additional projects in FY19. See more information here. 

In accordance with UCA 63F-1-204, each executive branch agency must submit an agency information technology plan to the chief information officer on an annual basis. The IT Plan helps DTS plan resources for the upcoming year, based on agency needs. DTS analyzes the IT Plan to determine the impact to costs, operations, and services provided. DTS also uses the IT Plan to ensure compliance with the State’s overall IT strategy and potential areas for coordination among agencies.

You can view the final FY19 IT Plan here. Thank you for providing an accurate and detailed IT Plan to DTS. Please contact your IT Director with any questions or feedback.

We have recently published the DTS 2018 Continuity of Operations Plan. Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to the report this year. It is a valuable document for DTS.

Generally the public has been very unwilling to overlook lapses in services, even in the wake of service interruptions. The obligation of DTS is to provide seamless services, especially those involving public safety and health, in spite of any event. The public expects the same good customer service from state government as it does from business. DTS agency management is committed to the development and maintenance of an effective disaster recovery/continuity of operations plan (DR/COOP).

Check out the latest “What’s New in G Suite” launch recap for a summary of all G Suite launches from June 2018.

Section 2.4 of the Enterprise Mobile Device Policy has been updated to the following:

We have recently seen an increase in the number of phishing messages being sent to State of Utah employees. The Department of Technology Services has partnered with MS-ISAC to help raise security awareness. Please take a few minutes and read the How to Spot Phishing Messages Like a Pro article from the Center for Internet Security June Newsletter. 

DTS has recently published the Cisco Singlewire Informacast Product Description. Cisco Singlewire Informacast “Paging-Through-the-Phone” (PTTP) is a feature that allows DTS agency customers with Cisco IP Phones to place a paging announcement over their IP Phone’s speaker (speakerphone capability is required).  DTS customers can request the creation of PTTP paging zone(s) to which IP Phones are assigned. Paging announcements can be heard by users while on-hook (not on a call) or while off-hook (on a call).  

Cisco Singlewire Informacast Paging

AGRC has awarded Aero-Graphics, Inc. (AGI) to acquire 10,450 square miles of LiDAR Elevation data. The LiDAR will be a combination of USGS Quality Level 1 (QL1), 8 points per square meter and Quality Level 2 (QL2), 2 points per square meter depending on the area. The acquisitions have begun and will continue throughout the year. The acquisitions will be completed in 2018 and project deliverables are scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2019.

Keep Reading

The Department of Technology Services has recently moved Security forms from a paper version to an electronic version, via ServiceNow.

The following forms are now available in electronic format:

• Investigation Request (Form 505): Various types of investigations performed by the EISO are Internal Forensic Investigations, Litigation Holds, and Grama Requests.
• Delegation Request (Form 506): Delegate Access, which is obtaining rights to emails, network files and/or Google drive documents that belonged to an ex-employee.
• Risk Acceptance Request (Form 525): The agency accepts the vulnerability risks until the time that the vulnerability can be mitigated.
• Penetration Test Request (Form 599): A Penetration Test is an attempt to evaluate the security of an IT infrastructure by safely trying to exploit vulnerabilities.

You can view more information here.

• Set clear, measurable, and ambitious goals
• Use data, analysis, and thinking tools
  Create the strategy
• Create the organization and culture
• Engage employees and customers
  Synchronize projects and policies
• Stay focused

DTS employee Chris Kawa was recently recognized on the Doug Wright Show for the Public Employee Salute segment. Great job, Chris!

Here is what Doug had to say:

Mike Hussey, CIO, recently spoke about Utah’s efforts in AI at the NASCIO Midyear Conference. DTS is making data available on digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, which citizens can use to do things like practice for the driver’s license test or the notary exam, get real-time transit information, or find out about fishing hot spots. 

We want to continue to be forward-thinking to better serve the agencies and residents of Utah.

View the full articles here:

https://statescoop.com/state-governments-are-way-behind-on-ai-except-utah

http://www.govtech.com/people/NASCIO-Midyear-CIOs-Talk-AI-Communication.html

New research shows that state government is one of the slowest adopters of what Gartner calls “the most disruptive class of technologies” going today.

The following language has been added to the Enterprise Mobile Device Policy.

Access to State resources which house federally regulated data such as FTI, HIPAA, CJIS, etc, is not allowed over wireless networks, except through a state-provided VPN.

The purpose of this addition is to notify users that direct access through wireless networks will no longer be allowed. This is in response to IRS Audit findings where FTI was made available through the wireless controller.

In accordance with UCA 63F-1-204, each executive branch agency must submit an agency information technology plan to the chief information officer on an annual basis. The IT Plan helps DTS plan resources for the upcoming year, based on agency needs. DTS analyzes the IT Plan to determine the impact to costs, operations, and services provided. DTS also uses the IT Plan to ensure compliance with the State’s overall IT strategy and potential areas for coordination among agencies.

It is imperative the agencies provide an accurate and detailed IT Plan to DTS in order to maintain services provided. Please work with your IT Director to submit your agency’s plan.

DTS is changing the way it manages the out of warranty device maintenance and repair contract through Strategic Communications. After many years of providing inventory and maintenance assistance for your agency’s various out of warranty printers, monitors, fax machines, and other devices, the Strategic Communications contract has been transitioned to the Division of State Purchasing. 

Agencies will now be billed directly by Strategic Communications for services provided by the company, instead of receiving a pass through bill from DTS. 

The technical assistance process will remain the same. You will continue to contact the DTS Help Desk for technical assistance, and DTS will escalate the issue to Strategic Communications when necessary.

We appreciate the efforts and service Strategic Communications has provided in the past and believe that this new contract with them will provide you with the best customer service experience possible.

Dave FletcherChief Technology Officer, State of UtahGoogle home skills

This particular project is part of Utah’s effort to use digital assistants to provide services and information for Utah citizens. In this case, we leverage the Google Drive platform to provide an interactive way to prepare for the Utah Driver License exam.

The targeted market for this innovation is typically 14- to-25-year-olds who are interested in getting their driver license for the first time, although there are others outside this targeted segment that are interested in the service as well. The Google Assistant is a voice interactive system that is available on most mobile devices as well as the new Google Home and Google Home Mini devices. Similar to the popular Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant interacts with the user through standard voice interactions. With this application, the user simply asks to take the Utah Driver License Practice Exam after which the Assistant will ask a series of questions resembling those that will be asked on the official Utah Driver examination.

It is a simple and fun way to prepare for the exam; 37,000 students are eligible to apply for new Driver Licenses each year in Utah.

The Google Assistant was unveiled during Google’s developer conference in May 2016, during the announcement of the Google Home smart speaker. Its forthcoming availability for Android and iOS users was announced in May 2017.

We believe that the Utah Driver License Exam is one of the first government applications available for this new, but increasingly popular platform.

Read about the 12 other leaders HERE

Devices like the Amazon Echo are the latest channel the state’s government is using to “maintain interest and outreach” for services.

When Utah Chief Technology Officer Dave Fletcher thinks about how to integrate technology into state government, two criteria come to mind.

“What we try to do is focus on the things that will improve quality of life and keep our citizens engaged,” Fletcher told StateScoop. 

Utah, which has emerged as a leader among its contemporaries in online services, has found that the emerging technology of voice-activated digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa fit the bill for satisfaction and engagement in all kinds of citizens.

Click here to read more on this article. 

Northern Utah GIS Users Group

NUGIS will be holding their next meeting Tuesday, February 6th from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in room D2-318 at the Weber State University Davis Campus in Layton. For more information, please contact Kasey Hansen khansen@jub.com.

Salt Lake Users Group

The Salt Lake Area GIS Users Group is holding its 35th quarterly meeting on Wednesday, February 14 from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM. View the location and presetation list on their website.

NSGIC Midyear Meeting

The 2018 midyear meeting is being held through February 25 – March 1 in Salt Lake City. Register now.

UGIC Call for Papers

UGIC is accepting abstract submissions for breakout presentations at the 2018 UGIC Conference May 7-11, 2018 in Vernal, Utah! Submit your abstract now.

After many years of suffering at AGRC, Bertrand J. Granberg, 104, Salt Lake City, passed from AGRC to other employment on January 17, 2018, 5pm. It is with great sadness that the AGRC family announces Bert’s transition to his new position at the Wasatch Front Regional Council after his dedicated service. Bert will be lovingly remembered by his colleagues for his many years of service and super curly hair. Bert is survived by Steve Gourley, Mike Heagin, Sean Fernandez, Michael Foulger, Greg Bunce, Scott Davis, Zach Beck, Matt Peters, Rick Kelson, and David Buell. Bert will also be fondly remembered by his colleagues of years gone by. Bert, who was involved in many state, local, and national efforts, was preceded by other directors.

There will be no service in memory of Bert. In fact, we have removed from our office all evidence that he ever existed. Those who care to disturb his peace, ahem, desire to contact him should do so at their own risk.

Thank you, Bert, dearly, for all your efforts.

Preparing for Next Generation 911 (NG911) is largely a group effort by individuals and agencies at the local, state and national levels. AGRC is one of those agencies. With so many involved parties and policy details it can be overwhelming just trying to understand how the system works. So, let’s talk about NG911.

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Google has launched Google Drive File Stream to replace Google Drive for Mac/PC. Google Drive for Mac/PC will no longer be available effective May 12, 2018.

As of May 12, 2018, if you have not transitioned away from Google Drive for Mac/PC, the synchronization of files between your computer and Drive will cease to function.

This shutdown does not impact any other Google Drive services.

In order to have Google Drive File Stream installed, please contact the DTS Help Desk and submit a request for its installation on your computer. The application will either be installed remotely by the DTS Help Desk or in person by DTS Desktop Support staff.

Please contact the DTS Help Desk if you have any questions or needed assistance.  DTS contact information can be found at https://dts.utah.gov and clicking the link Get Help.

How long should emails be kept in Google Vault?

• Utah Code 46-4-501(5) requires that all electronic records created or received by a government agency must be managed according to retention schedules established with the Division of Archives and Records Service and approved by the State Records Committee.
• Email communications play an essential role in government processes and need to be retained as long as the other records that document that process. Examples include attorney correspondence with clients (Litigated claims case files, record series #274), investigations of utility companies (Investigation and suspension docket, record series #698), getting environmental clearances for construction projects (Construction project files, record series #28626), etc. These types of emails may need to be kept for decades or even transferred to the State Archives for preservation.
• Emails not managed by a more specific schedule, as in the above examples, should be managed according to the state’s general retention schedules for correspondence which were approved by the State Records Committee, per Utah Code 63G-2-604(1) and Utah Code 63G-2-502(1)(b). Below are the general retention schedules for correspondence:
• Transitory Correspondence (SG 4-11)
  Incoming and outgoing correspondence, regardless of format or mode of transmission, related to matters of short term interest. Transmittal correspondence between individuals, departments or external parties containing no final contractual, financial or policy information. This correspondence does not impact agency functions. When resolved, there is no further use or purpose.
  
  Retention:
  Retain until administrative need ends and then destroy.
  (Approved 05/2014)

• Administrative Correspondence (SG 4-12)
  Incoming and outgoing business-related correspondence, regardless of format or mode of transmission, created in the course of administering agency functions and programs. Administrative correspondence documents work accomplished, transactions made, or actions taken. This correspondence documents the implementation of agency functions rather than the creation of functions or policies. Business-related correspondence that is related to a core function with an associated retention schedule should follow the associated schedule.
  
  Retention:
  Retain for 7 years and then destroy.
  (Approved 06/2014)

• Executive Correspondence (SG 4-10)
  Incoming and outgoing business-related correspondence, regardless of format or mode of transmission, that provides unique information relating to the functions, policies, procedures or programs of an agency. These records document executive decisions made regarding agency interests. Executive decision makers may include the Director, Chief Administrative Officer, Public Information Officer or other internal administrators as identified by the executive office.
  
  Retention:
  Permanent. May be transferred to the State Archives.
  (Approved 05/2014)

• The Division of Archives and Records Service recommends that Google Vault retention rules be adjusted to comply with legally mandated retention schedules.
• Emails of department and division directors should be transferred to the State Archives after 7 years for permanent preservation.
• Departments and Divisions should identify groups of records that need to be kept longer than 7 years, assign them labels, use retention schedules to record how long the group of records needs to be kept, and contact their DTS Vault Administrator to set up retention rules for the records contained in these record series.
• Transitory emails should be deleted from Gmail and may be purged from Google Vault. Agencies may also choose to leave transitory emails in Google Vault to be deleted after 7 years.
• Emails not identified as transitory that also do not need to be kept with a specific group of records should be deleted after 7 years. Once retention rules to accommodate the previously stated points are in place, 7 years should be the default setting in Google Vault.

Google Team Drive is now available for State of Utah employees. 

What is a Team Drive?

Google Team Drives are shared spaces where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device.

Unlike files in My Drive, files in Team Drive belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay exactly where they are so your team can continue to share information and get work done.

Creating a Team Drive

To create a Team Drive, just follow this process:

1. Submit an Incident Request in ServiceNow by contacting your Help Desk
2. Provide the name of the Team Drive
1. Your department acronym will be appended to the beginning of your Team Drive so if you work for the Department of Technology Services (DTS) and you want a Team Drive named Technical Notes, your Team Drive will appear as DTS_Technical Notes.
3. Provide the name(s) of the administrator(s) that will manage access to the Team Drive

When the Team Drive is created, it will show up beneath your Team Drives icon in Google Drive.

Managing Access and Permissions to Team Drive

Members can be added directly to a Team Drive or through a Google Group.  Members are assigned a role which gives them certain permissions. 

Access Team Drive

Members of a Team Drive can access folders and files through the Google Drive web interface or by using Google Drive File Stream.  Files will be opened in the default application designated for that file type.  For example, a Microsoft Word document will open in Word if Word is available on the device you are accessing Team Drive from.  You no longer have to download the file and then open it in Word.

The Department of Public Safety and the Department of Technology Services announced the introduction of the Utah driver license practice exam on Google Home.

The convenient, voice-activated practice exam allows new drivers to review Utah rules of the road with Google’s popular voice-controlled speaker and digital assistant, Google Home.

“This even further expands the ways Utahns can access Utah driver license services,” said Chris Caras, Driver License Division Director for the Department of Public Safety. “DPS is always looking for innovative ways to help educate drivers and keep the public safe.”

The digital assistant, included with Google Home, helps new drivers study for the driver license exam by reviewing questions. Drivers will be asked several questions from the driver license exam. For example, Google Home might ask, “When approached by an emergency vehicle, the driver must immediately…” and the correct response would be, “Pull to the right and stop.”

“Digital assistants present an incredible opportunity for simplifying interactions with state government,” said Mike Hussey, State of Utah, Chief Information Officer. “We are always looking for new ways to use technology to benefit the residents of Utah.”

Utahns can access the app from Google Home by asking, “Open Utah Driver License Practice Exam.”

The State of Utah’s Google domain processes nearly 13 million email messages monthly.  Additionally, the state adds nearly one million files to Google Drive each month. There are nearly 150,000 shares from Google Drive with external parties and almost twice as many internal shares.

By upgrading and standardizing on Google’s G Suite Enterprise edition, DTS acquires the capability to monitor and secure the ever increasing quantities of data being stored and shared.  The state also benefits from new features and enhancements.

Security Tools:

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Gmail and Google Drive provides the ability to scan email and files in Drive for sensitive data based on defined patterns.
• Information Rights Management (IRM) capabilities in Google Drive protects files from unauthorized distribution.
• Advanced audit reports and alerts
• Domain wide managed security keys to authenticate users.

New Features and Enhancements:

• Team Drives allow organizations to upload, create, or modify documents owned by the domain and not individual accounts.
• Unlimited storage for email and its contents, files uploaded to or created in Google Drive, and pictures and video uploaded to Google Photos.
• Open and edit files in their native applications without having to download files first and then upload them after.  (Google File Stream)
• Host video conferences with up to 50 participants. (Google Meet)
• Dial up options to video conferences for users that don’t have video capabilities.
• Ability to record video conferences for future playback.

On Tuesday, November 6th, Governor Herbert announced that Utah has now opted in to using FirstNet for its Public Safety First Responders, making it the 31st state and territory to opt into this network.

FirstNet and it’s partnering provider AT&T will operate and further maintain a public safety telecommunication network at no cost to Utah.  FirstNet will invoke innovation opportunities for the state and create a system devices, apps and tools that are modernized.  This will completely alter the way that Utah’s police, EMS, and other public safety personnel communicate with each other during large events, crises and other safety concerns.   These include:

• Handling day-to-day operations of Utah’s thriving convention and event businesses, specifically Park City’s annual Sundance Film Festival.
• Enhancing network communications during natural disasters, like the fires at Brian Head in June 2017
• Heightened network coverage throughout all of Utah, including it’s majority of rural and underserved areas that will benefit these communities
• Furthermore, drive infrastructure investments and more state-wide jobs

DTS has updated the Universal Telecom Rate for Voice Monthly service product description. You can view it here.