The 2022–2025 DTS Strategic Plan is available here. The plan provides strategic goals about how DTS will continue to be a valuable, secure, responsive, and innovative information technology (IT) partner organization, and direction to the state’s technology community. The plan presents technology trends that DTS leadership has identified as relevant and describes how these trends will affect the direction for IT management throughout the state. 

The FY2023 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. 

The Information Technology Plan is an overview of the agency IT project detail for the current year. DTS utilizes the IT Plan data to identify potential multi-agency use, necessary IT services needed for successful completion of the projects, and a cost breakdown for each project.

In accordance with UCA 63A-16-203, each executive branch agency must submit an agency information technology plan to the chief information officer on an annual basis. The IT Plan is the list of IT projects for the upcoming year, which helps DTS plan resources based on agency needs. DTS analyzes the projects in the 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 see the full plan here. 

Now that we have been a part of the new Department of Government Operations for a full year, we will be working together as a department to create new websites. This means DTS will be getting a new website. We will be working with a consultant in the coming months to help organize and design the new site. We are excited to find new and better ways to provide information to DTS employees, our customers, and all of our stakeholders. More information will be coming soon. 

All state agencies have a requirement to protect the constitutional right of privacy in relation to personal data gathered by government entities. To support state agency privacy maturity efforts and better prepare agencies for future privacy practice assessments, the Department of Government Operations Privacy Officer will be providing all state agencies the opportunity to have at least one individual trained and certified as a Certified Information Privacy Manager through the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Each participant will receive two full days of instructor-led training, textbooks, participants guides, sample test questions and exam vouchers. This training and certification will ensure your agency
has someone with the knowledge, skills and abilities that knows:
● How to create an agency privacy vision
● How to structure the agency privacy team
● How to develop and implement an agency privacy program framework
● How to communicate to agency stakeholders
● How to measure privacy performance
● The privacy program operational life cycle

Every State Agency is being asked to:
● Designate one or more people as privacy officers,
● Have at least one individual attend the training, and
● Have at least one individual obtain CIPM certification.

Agencies that complete the above three actions will be better prepared to implement and their agency privacy programs and will be included in the required annual Judiciary Interim
Committee privacy report as having met minimum expectations for privacy practices related to designating individuals with privacy roles and responsibilities within your agency.

The first training session is scheduled for June 21-22, 2022 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Send any questions or comments to: Christopher Bramwell, DGO, Government Operations Privacy Officer

On July 1, 2022 Google will alter the view in Gmail to integrate in one place:  Email, Chat, Spaces, and Meet.

Mail, Chat, Spaces, and Meet will be anchored to the left side beginning July 1. Until then you can keep your current view or try the new view.

Opt in to the new view

Important: To use the new view, you must turn on Chat in Gmail and set Chat to the left-hand panel. Learn how to turn on Chat in Gmail.

1. At the top right in Gmail, click the Settings gear symbol.
2. Under “Quick settings,” click “Try out the new Gmail view”.
3. In the new window, click “Reload”.

Remember:  to try the new view you must turn on Chat in Gmail and set Chat to the left hand panel.

Learn about the new integrated Gmail layout (video and pictures of new layout): https://support.google.com/mail/answer/11555490?hl=en

Lucid is offering training on Org Charts for state employees. You can see more about Lucid here, and access the training directly here.

About this course

Use your org charts to visually communicate important information to specific audiences. Add details to help a new employee understand company structure, rearrange current structures to imagine future-state possibilities, or build from scratch to see the set up of your own team!   Throughout this course, you can expect to learn:

• How to use colors and lines to visually communicate hierarchy and reporting structures.
• How to add important employee information to your org chart, including pictures!
• How to build your own org chart using the shape library, or by importing employee data from an existing spreadsheet.

We are excited to announce the DTS Agency Billing Dashboard & Reports have been added to Domo!

Our new reports will have graphical views and reports which you can drill down to see the details on the same page. Our new reports offer greatly enhanced speed, filtering capabilities, and improved customizability.  

Please activate your account first by going to http://utah-gov.domo.com/, then you will be able to use the link on https://dts.utah.gov/ “My Bill” section.

What: Google Workspace Summit, a digital event for business and IT leaders who are looking to directly connect with Google executives, product experts, and customers to learn about the latest innovations that help secure and unlock team collaboration. 

Join us to:

• Discover new tools and approaches to help keep hybrid teams collaborating and productive, while boosting employee wellbeing.

• Get insights from security leaders. Google and the world’s leading security experts share how you can protect your organization by identifying and remediating risks before they turn into damaging incidents.

• Learn how your organization can use Google Workspace to transform communication and collaboration channels between frontline workers and corporate teams.

When: May 4th

Reserve your spot today and check out our event site for regular updates. If you have any questions, please send us an email at cloudsummitsupport@google.com.

DTS Chief Information Security Officer Phil Bates has names one of the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers by Government Technology. See the full article here. Congratulations Phil! 

The 2022 Legislative Session was an exciting time for DTS. Many great bills were passed and funded that impact DTS and employees. You can see the full tracking sheet here. 

• DTS and state agencies received a lot of funding for IT projects. This is an exciting time! We will be working on implementing a new HCM/Payroll system, a Citizen Portal, a CCJJ data integration system, and many new systems for DHHS. 
• The state will be observing a new holiday, Juneteenth. State employees will get this day off as a paid holiday beginning this year. The observance will always be on a Monday, so it will be on June 20th this year.
• Employees will receive a 3.5% salary increase. We are working on the details of any other targeted increases for certain positions. Stay tuned for more information soon.
• The state will be transitioning to a pay for performance plan. Watch for more information from DHRM with the changes over the next year.
• The CIO and CISO will sit on many task forces and committees to help with IT needs such as CCJJ data integration, blockchain, and cybersecurity. 

Effective immediately, DTS procurement services will no longer offer perpetual versions of Microsoft Office on the DTS catalog. Executive branch agencies are expected to purchase Microsoft Office365 user-based subscriptions to fulfill their Office software needs. All Microsoft perpetual items in the ServiceNow software catalog will be removed and only the Office365 version will remain.

DTS will be coordinating with agencies to remove all unsupported versions of Microsoft Office from state owned devices.

In the event a device-based version of Microsoft Office is required for a business process, rather than a user-based subscription, an email must be sent to dtssam@utah.gov with a justification as to why this is needed. . If an individual needs to maintain the current unsupported license (i.e. MS 2010), an exception request must be submitted to DTS enterprise security using the DTS Form 525 Security Risk Acceptance Request (select ‘Vulnerability Risk Acceptance’). Please note that device-based licensing will require documented justification to meet the standard for approval.

Switching to a subscription-based licensing model reduces:

• Time spent by agency personnel in finding and tracking Office licenses
• Security vulnerabilities associated with software going end of life (EOL)
• Compliance/audit findings

Please contact your agency’s IT Director if you have any questions.

The Utah Broadband Center, powered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, is launching the Utah Internet Speed Test Campaign. It’s a statewide effort for Utahns to report their internet speed at home, work, or wherever they connect to broadband. We encourage state employees to test their internet speed when they are at home.

People with or without internet access are encouraged to participate.

The Speed Test Campaign will help:

• Reveal areas of Utah that lack high-speed internet connection to homes and businesses
• Direct funding to provide reliable broadband access throughout the state
• Discover which households do not have an internet connection and the reasons why

Please help us identify Utah’s areas with the greatest need for internet speed at this URL: speedtest.utah.gov. It only takes 60 seconds.

Employees should use the spam reporting option in Gmail for messages that do not appear authentic.

Google Workspace administrators receive alerts on a daily basis for spam and phishing activity reported by users as well as when a user account is suspended due to spamming or other suspicious activity.

Since Google has added features to Gmail that allow users and administrators to manage suspicious message activity, it is not necessary to forward this type of email to spam@utah.gov any longer.  This account will be deprecated on February 11, 2022.

For additional information please click on Mark or unmark Spam in Gmail

DTS Networking has published a new form for agencies to use when opening a new office location, moving an existing office, or closing a site. This form will help DTS collect the information and notify the proper teams needed to enable the service change for telephones, IoT devices, and other network services. The new “Network Site Request” form can be found here. Additional network information and request forms can be found here. 

We have recently updated the Enterprise User Authentication Standards policy. The change was to remove the exception process, as DTS can no longer support the process to allow exceptions for MFA. Please work with your IT Director if you have any questions.

Enterprise User Authentication Standards Policy

On January 1st, the Department of Motor Vehicles enabled its new Automatic Renewal Process. This will allow a vehicle owner to enroll one or more of their vehicles in this process to automatically renew when the vehicle(s) expire. This removes the need for the vehicle owner to remember to process their renewal online or at an office. Vehicle owners can enroll in this process online, in person or via mail in form.

In January the Labor Commission development team deployed a new interface, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Gateway, to automatically manage synchronization between the federal EEOC system and Utah’s Anti-discrimination division.  The new interface connects Utah’s anti-discrimination tracking system (UALD) with the Federal EEOC system (ARC) using a secure real time web API to keep the synchronization up to date.  The prior system was an antiquated multi step EDI process that used flat files and was run monthly by the Labor Commission Anti-discrimination staff.

The new system provides a more robust, automated mechanism to link the two systems in a more cohesive way by allowing two way communication instead of the one way communication used in the prior gateway.  In addition to providing much more up to date and accurate information between the two systems, the interface eliminates the need for dual entry by the division’s staff, saving a lot of time for the investigators.  They no longer need to manually keep two systems in sync and instead are able to concentrate on using their primary case tracking system, UALD; While allowing the new interface to coordinate the real time synchronization as well as logging activity to the case history of each UALD case to keep investigators informed.

Save the date! The Utah Digital Government Summit will be on June 8.  Join us for a day of professional development and networking that will provide an exclusive opportunity to learn and share best practices, spur innovation, and hear current trends that are shaping state and local government today and in the months and years ahead. The event is free to government employees. 

More information will be coming soon. 

The FY2021 Cost Savings Report is now available on the DTS website. Each year, we conduct a review of the DTS financials to understand total cost savings through purchasing economies of scale, rate reductions, contract savings, and many others. The total savings in FY2021 is $4.2 million, which demonstrates a significant costs savings for state agencies. 

We are pleased to announce that George McEwan has accepted a new role with DTS as the Chief Strategy Officer for the Portal.  George will be leading the way on strategy for Identity Management, the Enterprise Master Person Index, the API Integration Hub, the Citizen Portal, and the Business Portal. We are excited to have George’s expertise and knowledge to help guide the direction for these important initiatives. George has been with DTS for many years, most recently as the IT Director for the Department of Health.

We are also pleased to announce that Tricia Cox has accepted the position of IT Director for the new Department of Health and Human Services. Tricia has been the IT Director for Human Services for the last seven years, and with the state for many years.  We are excited to have Tricia’s experience and expertise as she leads the consolidation efforts on the DTS side for Health and Human Services.  

Congratulations George and Tricia!

The 2021 Annual Report has been published here. You can see accomplishments, initiatives, performance and statistics, and emerging issues in the report. 

We are pleased to welcome Kate Layton to the DTS team. Kate is the Executive Assistant for the division effective today. If you need anything from the DTS executive team, please contact Kate at krlayton@utah.gov. 

We are pleased to announce that Jared Jensen has accepted a new position in DTS as the Director of Enterprise Platforms and Innovation, effective December 13. This new position will be part of John Angus’ Enterprise Products organization. Jared has accomplished great things as the IT Director for the Department of Public Safety, and we thank him for his service. Jared brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience to help him manage statewide systems, guide the creation of platforms for agencies to modernize, and help DTS find and provide modern solutions.  We are working to fill the vacant IT Director position.

We are pleased to announce that Dan Harmuth will be joining us in DTS  in the position of Chief Operating Officer.  Dan brings a wealth of experience in IT related roles, including in his most recent position as the IT Director (senior technology leader) at UTA, where he oversaw the network, operations, helpdesk, application development and support, cyber security, and more.  Earlier in his career he spent many years in IT leadership roles in Kern County (Bakersfield, CA).  In 2016, he retired from the US Army Reserves with the rank of Colonel.  While in that role, he provided executive level leadership for the Logistics Sustainment Command for all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which included over 100 bases.  He had tours of duty commanding battalions and played key roles in collaboration between large organizations and higher headquarters to accomplish missions, take care of soldiers, and ensure fiscal responsibility.

We are excited to have Dan join our team.  

Over the past year, we have offered many trainings on Lucidchart and Lucidspark. You can now see the full list of recordings here. Additional training opportunities will be coming soon. 

Governor Cox recently released the FY2023 proposed budget. You may find the governor’s entire budget proposal here as well as a video message from Gov. Cox here. The legislature will consider the FY2023 budget during the general session which begins in January.

DTS is very excited with the possibilities for technology improvements included in the governor’s budget. A few highlights include:

• $29 million for a Citizen Portal oneutah.gov
• $22 million for a Performance Management and Payroll system
• $37 million for DHHS systems
• $367,000 for UGRC

Cyber Secure at Work
Businesses face significant financial loss when a cyber-attack occurs. In 2020, a sharp increase was reported in cyber-attacks that target businesses using stolen logins and passwords. Cybercriminals often rely on human error—employees failing to install software patches or clicking on malicious links—to gain access to systems. From the top leadership to the newest employee, cybersecurity requires the vigilance of everyone to keep data, customers, and capital safe and secure. #BeCyberSmart to connect with confidence and support a culture of cybersecurity at your organization. See more here.Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 
Have you noticed how often security breaches, stolen data, and identity theft are consistently front-page news these days? Perhaps you, or someone you know, are a victim of cyber criminals who stole personal information, banking credentials, or more. As these incidents become more prevalent, you should consider using multi-factor authentication, also called strong authentication, or two-factor authentication. This technology may already be familiar to you, as many banking and financial institutions require both a password and one of the following to log in: a call, email, or text containing a code. By applying these principles of verification to more of your personal accounts, such as email, social media, and more, you can better secure your information and identity online! See more here.

The 2021 DTS Accomplishments Report has been published. We have completed several great initiatives and projects over the past year. Check it out here.

The state of Utah has once again been recognized as a leader in delivering online government services and information. The Center for Digital Government has recognized Utah in the 2021 State Government Experience Awards. Utah finished second overall among states in the Government Experience awards, which recognize the progress and innovation in the delivery of online services among state and local governments. Utah has placed in the top three of the overall awards in every year it has been eligible since 2006, including first-place finishes in 2007, 2009, 2017 and 2018.

“Utah has long been a leader in digital government and we are honored by this recognition,” said Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox. “I believe we have just scratched the surface of what is possible, and we are committed to making it as simple and straightforward as possible for Utahns to interact with their state government.”

Utah’s official state website, Utah.gov, offers an easy, convenient way for Utahns to access government services. More than 1,500 online services are housed on Utah.gov. These services are designed to work together to simplify citizen interactions with state agencies.

Digital government transactions have continued to grow since Governor Cox took office. Utah has among the highest rates of online vehicle registration renewals in the country and the number of vehicles renewed is expected to exceed the all-time total by the end of 2021. The number of vehicles expected to be renewed online this year is double the number renewed online in 2010. Online transactions represent a significant cost savings for Utah taxpayers when compared to transactions conducted in person at government offices.

“It’s an honor to be acknowledged by the Center for Digital Government,” said Alan Fuller, Utah Chief Information Officer. “We are working hard to continually improve the digital experience for Utahns and support Governor Cox and his drive to make it even easier to conduct state business.”

The Government Experience Awards recognize the achievements and best practices of states, cities and counties that excel at creating useful online government services and applications. The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and sets the standard for measuring best practices in state and local government.

We are excited to announce that we have two new IT Directors joining the DTS team.

Wes Miles has accepted the position of IT Director for the Governor’s Office and will transition to his new role immediately. Wes has worked with the State of Utah for nine years now in many different capacities, most recently as DTS IT Manager for the Department of Workforce Services. During his time with Workforce Services, he managed IT support and internal application development for the Unemployment Insurance Division, Workforce Development Division, Housing and Community Development Division, Refugee Services Organization, Federal Contracts Group and the DWS Database and Data Warehouse groups.

Collin Peterson has accepted the position of IT Director for the Dept. of Workforce Services and will start in his new role on September 20, 2021. In his 13 years with the Department of Workforce Services, Collin has served in a variety of leadership and technical positions, most recently as the Director of the Workforce Research and Analysis Division. Previous to this role, some of the other positions he has held include DWS Management Information Systems Manager, Program Systems Manager, and Senior Business Analyst.

Apple recently announced that Utah is among the first states to adopt driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet. DTS has been working closely with the Department of Public Safety to roll this out effectively. See the Apple press release here. 

In support of Governor Cox’s remote work initiative, A New Workplace, state agencies have been given the opportunity to work from anywhere within the state. During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly accelerated efforts for government agencies to work remotely. The state went from just a few agencies participating in a pilot remote work effort, to the majority of state agencies working remotely in a matter of days. The Division of Technology Services (DTS) has worked to provide guidance and meet the technology needs of state agencies to enable them to work remotely. DTS, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, spent $6 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 on information technology to meet the needs of state agencies’ remote work efforts. See the full DTS Remote Work Success Report here. 

The 2021 DTS DR/COOP report is now available here. 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. 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).

Gov. Spencer J. Cox recently appointed Christopher Bramwell as the new Department of Government Operations Privacy Officer. The position was created by the Utah Legislature during the most recent legislative session (see HB 243) and requires Senate approval.

“Protecting the personal privacy of all Utahns has become even more important as technology has advanced,” Gov. Cox said. “I’m pleased to see this new emphasis on privacy and look forward to developing policies that will hold the state accountable for the use of Utahns’ personal data and information.”

The Privacy Officer will survey and compile information about privacy practices of state agencies. The Officer will also identify, prioritize, and review agency privacy practices that pose the greatest risk to individual privacy and provide recommendations for reform if needed. The Government Operations Privacy Officer will work with the new Personal Privacy Oversight Commission and the new State Privacy Officer, providing specific government privacy practices reports and recommendations.

Since 2014, Bramwell has been Director of Information Privacy and Security for the Utah Department of Human Services where he led the creation and management of information privacy, security and compliance programs. He set the foundation for the DHS-wide system modernization strategy to migrate to cloud services which has enabled implementation of enhanced privacy and security tools while also building user-focused platforms and technology services for the public that will enable all Utahn’s to access and use Human Services technology whenever and wherever they need. In addition to working for DHS, Bramwell has worked for the Utah Department of Technology Services and the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

“I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to be part of the team Gov. Cox has created to lead Utah into a new era of user-focused platforms for the public and high-level technology services for our valued state employees. I look forward to serving the citizens of Utah and helping create the programs that will hold the state accountable for the use of Utahns’ personal data and information with which we have been entrusted,” said Bramwell. 

The Department of Government Operations recently held a rate information meeting for state agencies. You can see the DTS presentation here. DTS discussed the following:

• Rate Sheet Revamp
• Enterprise System Rate
• Data Center Exit
• Mobile Phone Support
• Simpler Rates
• Low Code/No Code Applications

The Government Operations Rate Committee will be meeting on September 16. DTS will present the proposed FY2023 rates during this meeting. If you have any feedback on DTS rates, please contact your IT Director or Dan Frei. 

Starting Monday, July 19 through Thursday, July 29, DTS will be transitioning Bitlocker management (computer encryption) from Workspace One/Airwatch to SCCM on Windows computers. Mac computers will not be included in this change. 

If you have a Windows computer, you may see the notification below. There will be no downtime and you can simply close the pop-up notification. If you have any questions, please contact the DTS help desk at dts.utah.gov.

Gov. Spencer J. Cox, State Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, and State Auditor John Dougall recently announced their respective appointments to the newly created Personal Privacy Oversight Commission (Commission). The Commission was created by the Legislature during the most recent legislative session.  

The purpose of the 12-member Commission is to develop guiding standards and best practices with respect to government privacy. The Commission will also recommend minimum privacy standards for governmental entities for the Legislature to consider codifying into statute. Commission members will work with the new Government Operations Privacy Officer and the new State Privacy Officer, reviewing specific government privacy practices recommended by these privacy officers. 

DTS will be hiring the new Government Operations Privacy Officer in the coming weeks. 

Governor’s Appointments:

• Quinn Fowers: Director of information technologies & digital services, Weber County — member who, at the time of appointment provides internet technology services for a county or a municipality;

• Aliahu “Alli” Bey: President, Haight Bey & Associates, CEO, Totem Tech —  member with experience in cybersecurity;

• Nayana Penmetsa: Engineering manager, Plaid — member representing private industry in technology;

• Keith Squires: Interim chief safety officer, University of Utah — member representing law enforcement; and

• Chris Koopman: Executive director, The Center for Growth and Opportunity, Utah State University — member with experience in data privacy law.

State Auditor’s Appointments:

• Matthew Weller:  President, All West Communications; Board Member, Executive Education Advisory Board, University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business; Board Member, National Cable Television Cooperative — member with experience in internet technology services;

• Amy Knapp: Former VP-Information Security and Compliance, O.C. Tanner — member with experience in cybersecurity;

• Brandon Greenwood: CISO, VP Security & IT, Overstock; Board Member, SL|CISO — member representing private industry in technology;

• Phillip J. Windley, Ph.D.: Principal Engineer, Office of IT, Brigham Young University; Founder and Organizer of Internet Identity Workshop and author of Digital Identity — member with experience in data privacy law

• Marina Lowe:  Legislative Counsel, ACLU of Utah  — member with experience in civil liberties law or policy and with specific experience in identifying the disparate impacts of the use of a technology or a policy on different populations.

Attorney General’s Appointments:

• Jeff Gray, Utah Office of the Attorney General — member with experience as a prosecutor or appellate attorney and with experience in civil liberties law; and

• Mike Smith, Utah County Sheriff — member representing law enforcement

At the Utah Digital Government Summit in June, the CIO named the 2021 Best of Utah Award winners. Watch the presentation here. Congratulations!

Overall Award / Visionary Award

Best Use of Social Media

Best Emerging Technology

Best Partnership

Best Use of GIS

Best Use of Data

The Division of Technology Services (DTS) has recently appointed Mark Schultz as the new Director of Agency Services. Mark will oversee the IT Directors to enhance the services DTS provides to our partner agencies by focusing on:

• Creating strong agency partnerships by strategically aligning technical objectives with agency business goals
• Becoming a trusted technology partner
• Adding value to state agencies by applying a disciplined approach to services delivery

Mark is a self-motivated and progress-driven technology professional with an extensive background in the industry. He has been with the State of Utah for 18 years and has been an IT Director for over 9 years. He has a long-standing record of initiative and innovation, and he has developed and executed strategies that have brought value to the State of Utah. 

The IT Directors, along with Mark, will take the opportunity to improve partnerships and seek out better methods to achieve more reliable and faster results for your organizations. Our goal is to improve communication and IT services for state agencies. 

Thank you for your continued support.

The Information Technology Plan is an overview of the agency IT project detail for the current year. DTS utilizes the IT Plan data to identify potential multi-agency use, necessary IT services needed for successful completion of the projects, and a cost breakdown for each project. See it here.

Following the successful migration of the DMV system at the Tax Commission to the AWS cloud in October of 2020 we began the process of moving GenTax, the agency’s primary tax application to the AWS GovCloud in January of 2021.  This process was tied to a quarterly release of the GenTax application and involved creating each environment just in time for its use in the development and testing phases. This was done to minimize the need for dual environments and to make sure development and testing occurred in the new environment.  The new production environment was created in May to allow for testing of all connections and interfaces.  Over the weekend of June 11th 2021 production data was moved to AWS and verified along with a testing of system functionality.  On the morning of June 14 all users were live in the new production environment with only minor glitches.  

Benefits

One of the primary benefits of being in the cloud is redundancy.  Production GenTax runs with database and application servers spread across multiple AWS data centers with automated failover built in.  Data is replicated in real time so the loss of a server or even a data center would be a minimal disruption. The freedom to quickly and easily scale is another major benefit.  Resources can be added or removed as needed with costing adjusting to match.  This allows us to respond easily to the seasonal nature of tax administration and right-size the environments for any conditions.  Enhanced security is also a benefit.  Isolating the application in its own virtual private cloud means that access can be even more limited and secure than what was done on premise and locating it in GovCloud means that it was built to meet stringent requirements from the ground up.

Cost

The goal was to move to the cloud without increasing cost for the agency.  Server by server costs are between flat and a 20% savings for the agency.  After we have stabilized and run for a few months we can implement additional savings opportunities available from AWS and by shutting down servers overnight when they are not being used.  

Many State of Utah employees have been asked to work remotely if possible. Check out the DTS Telework Guide for a few simple tips to help you succeed at working from home. 

Each of the  tips focuses on security. Your state-issued devices should already have these security measures installed. Be sure to follow these tips to protect your personal devices and home network as you work remotely.

We have recently published the on-call support information for agencies that utilize the shared pool for hosting support. You can see it here. The Enterprise Hosting product page has a link to the document as well.