BACKGROUND

 

There is a definite need and business case for the standardization of technologies, requirements, and methodologies used to design, build, and implement solutions to accomplish the Governor’s e-government initiatives and programs. Without standardization and the recommendation of consistent standards-driven technologies, agencies risk deploying solutions that:

Ø      utilize proprietary technologies,

Ø      are not aligned with Enterprise Architecture (EA) strategies, and

Ø      are isolated from other initiatives and cross-agency business functions.

 

To mitigate these risks, the Information Technology Authorization Committee (ITAC) and Arizona’s CIO Council have reviewed and approved a technical Enterprise Architecture (EA) that defines a set of standards and best practices to utilize to achieve the Governor’s strategic plans for e-government initiatives and subsequent business solutions.

 

To assist with the coordination and adoption of EA, a multi-disciplinary technical working group is necessary and beneficial.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Under the direction of the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) and the CIO Council, TGOV has been established to support the Governor’s strategic plan for e-government and to assist agencies to achieve success in areas of Enterprise Architecture implementation, technology selection, and the adoption of recommended standards and best practices that can be leveraged on a statewide scale. TGOV is supported by the State CIO, agency CIO’s and IT architecture personnel statewide.

 

TGOV leverages the knowledge and expertise of existing agency IT personnel to provide agencies with architectural guidance, technology recommendations and approaches that support the adoption and implementation of Arizona’s EA. Agencies having representation on the CIO Council are encouraged to participate and provide applicable technical staff representation.

 

Specifically, the TGOV:

 

Ø      Provides technology and process expertise to assist in defining e-government blueprints aligned with EA domains (Network, Security, Platform, Software, and Data/Information) to support the e-government implementations.

Ø      Utilizes relationships and lines of communication between relevant statewide entities (i.e., ITAC, CIO Council, GITA, ADOA/ISD/ITSD, ADOA/SPO, and affected agencies) to ensure that standards, best practices and lessons learned in the implementation of e-government solutions are leveraged Statewide.

Ø      Recommends and assists with the deployment of e-government technologies, aligned with EA, that are proven, stable, interoperable, portable, secure, and scalable.

Ø      Recommends strategies for transition from legacy and “agency-driven” solutions to e-government technologies.

Ø      Identifies and makes recommendations to capitalize quickly on opportunities to leverage, share, and reuse technologies to support common business requirements, activities, and operations across State government.

 

KEY OBJECTIVES

 

The TGOV has defined several key objectives to assist state agencies in leveraging the skills and capabilities of the working group. They are:

 

1.      Governor’s e-Government Initiatives. Analyze and review the Governor’s e-government initiatives to develop implementation strategies and goals for direction, expectations, and impact on Arizona’s IT systems and infrastructures.

 

2.      Architecture Assessments. Provide recommendations on existing agency architecture and technology plans and implementations to plan for target EA solutions and strategies focused on interoperability, extensibility, and security.

 

3.      Communication and Outreach: Prepare reports, review findings, technical direction, and proposed recommendations with ITAC, GITA, CIO Council, and other statewide entities as necessary.