The Information Technology (IT) Department provides county-wide technology expertise, solutions and employee support for computers, data management, voice and video communications, and other systems including ERP and GIS across all Boulder County. The department also develops standards, guidance, and training for remote work, cyber security awareness, and county financial systems; develops records and content management and retention policies; and provides project/portfolio management via the Project Management Office.

Mission Statement

Collaborate, Support, and Innovate

Our team of dedicated professionals delivers technology solutions through customer service, communications, accountability, and teamwork. Our technology services and support are aligned with Boulder County’s Strategic Priorities. In support of county departments and offices, Information Technology works to provide the best in public service.

Applications Development

The Applications Development team plans and coordinates the design, development, and maintenance of internal software applications and interfaces for Boulder County.

• These solutions often fill unmet needs in the local government space, providing high value solutions where gaps exist.
• This team has developed solutions for Elections, Community Services, Assessor, and Parks & Open Space.

Data & Analytics

Current areas of expertise include Database Administration (DBA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

• The DBA team is responsible for management and administration all things related to databases used throughout the county, including setup, performance tuning, access control, security, backups, and recovery.
• The GIS team is responsible for the management, support, and coordination of the usage of geospatial technology and data throughout Boulder County. This includes enterprise GIS platforms whether it's hardware or software such as ArcGIS desktop clients and ArcGIS Online and imagery platforms such as Pictometry.
• The team is heavily involved in deploying web mapping applications, dashboards, story maps, and other spatial products. Additionally, the team is responsible for data creation, acquisition, processing, automation, dissemination, analysis, visualization, open data, and data services.
• The teams are tasked with understanding and managing the underlying data that helps Boulder County make both operational and strategic decisions.

Enterprise Systems

The Enterprise Systems team consists of Business Analysts and Application Administrators for all commercially acquired software systems. This team manages a large portfolio of county-wide systems that are cloud-hosted or hosted on premise, including:

• Oracle ERP for budget, accounting, procurement, and cash management.
• UKG HRIS and NEOGOV for human resources, timekeeping, payroll, and on/off-boarding.
• Accela for community-facing licensing and permitting.
• FileNet for enterprise records management, DocuSign for digital workflow/approval routing.
• Public safety and law enforcement systems used by the Sheriff/Jail, Coroner, and District Attorney.

This team is also responsible for an additional 120 software platforms used by individual county departments and divisions. Activities include ensuring application stability, security, testing, vendor management, as well as general user support.

Learning and Development

The Learning and Development group (IT University) is responsible for assessing, planning, organizing, and implementing training that supports the information systems in Boulder County. This team:

• Supports professional development within the IT department, as well as basic technology skills for county employees through weekly tech talks and office hours.
• Builds training, knowledge, and change management across Boulder County.

Operations and Infrastructure

IT Operations determine the way an organization manages software and hardware and includes other IT support, such as network administration, system administration, service desk support, and device management.

This team provides services, support, and deployment to ensure consistency, reliability, and quality of IT infrastructure across the enterprise. Technology management, quality assurance, and infrastructure management across all things IT is a critical role for this team, while providing 24x7 operational support where needed.

The team provides core technical support for IT operations, including:

• Network Infrastructure
• System Administration
• Service Desk

Project Management Office

The Project Management Office oversees the technology project portfolio for the county. In addition to portfolio governance, the team manages county technology projects and provides project management coaching and guidance to county employees managing non-technology projects. The team consists of Project Managers and Business Analysts.

Security & Compliance

The Security and Compliance Program safeguards the county's people and infrastructure from cyber-attacks, disasters, lesser incidents, and all other emerging threats.

• The program coordinates assessment and hardening of the county’s technology infrastructure, contributes policy language, provides insight into emerging cyber security risks, produces timely educational material, and helps everyone recover gracefully from security incidents.
• The program also provides for the county’s ongoing compliance with regulations pertaining to payment card acceptance, criminal justice data, heath care data, and other privacy statutes.

Data Architecture

Data Architecture and Visualization manages large data sets and historical data.

• The program is designed to deal with the growing need for data management and to support Business Intelligence activities and analytics.
• The program also manages visualization tools for reporting out key data to the public as well as internal customers.

Program Highlights

2022 Achievements

The following are recent achievements by IT in 2022 or first quarter of 2023:

• Elections Support - Applications and Voting Centers during 2022 General Election and Primary
• Atlas project (Tiburon replacement) - Sheriff Office Records management system and Jail Management System go-live
• GIS Pictometry/Updated Imagery for Boulder County
• Microsoft Teams Voice migration off legacy Cisco phone system for hybrid workforce
• SharePoint Migration to cloud for intranet
• Disaster Assistance Center stand-up after Marshall Fire
• UKG/Kronos ransomware incident mitigation and return to service for timekeeping and payroll
• Firewall replacement for core and edge network - move to Palo Alto
• Jail/Communications Center security camera system upgrade
• Motor Vehicle improved queuing system
• Lumen/CenturyLink move off old Metro Ethernet Circuits to Direct Internet Access Circuits 5 sites: Allenspark, Lyons, Louisville, Superior, and Nederland
• Backups Comvault upgrades. No more Tape backups; Disk only. Cloud offsite monthly backups for Disaster recovery or Business continuity capabilities. Retired tons of gear and all tapes.
• Upgraded all county computers from Windows 10 1909 to Windows 10 21H2
• Implementation of customer feedback survey

2022/2023 Projects

The following are projects that were started in 2022/2023 and are still in progress:

• Alternative Sentencing Facility - Operations and System Discovery
• Application upgrades - LEARNS, LWIS and STEW, BAS, Online Scheduling
• Budget application upgrade (Oracle)
• HRIS replacement (UKG Dimensions)
• East County HUB Build-out in Lafayette - network, AV, cameras, and hybrid rooms
• Phone systems replacement - Cisco to Microsoft Teams Voice
• VDI/ESRI Discovery
• Project portfolio management and asset management discovery projects
• Hybrid conference room build-outs
• ITSM Discovery - Replacement for Cherwell ticketing system
• Elections network segmentation for security/compliance
• Network core upgrade to Cisco 9500's and removal of end-of-life Nexus core
• GIS Server upgrades to virtual systems in our Unified Services Cluster (virtual)
• Replacement of Property Search application
• Addition of Race Equity questions/considerations as part of our project intake process
• Departmental work on purpose, values, and strategic framework
• Revision of performance evaluation process

As of April 2023, the IT Department is revamping strategic priorities as part of a new overall Strategic Framework. After a series of staff engagement sessions and surveys conducted in the Summer and Fall of 2022, the department identified our purpose and values as follows.

• IT Pillars of Purpose
  • Collaborate
  • Support
  • Innovate
• IT Guiding Values
  • Collaboration - we make our work about people as much as it is about technology
  • Integrity - we say what we mean and we do what we say
  • Communication - we know our audience, respect our audience, and listen to our audience
  • Innovation - we drive and lead change
  • Teaching - we help build skills and expertise in others
  • Fun - we laugh whenever we can

The IT management team is currently working on a framework of strategic priorities and areas of focus. This framework features two overarching goals - to further our Organizational Maturity and improve our Organizational Health. These are just some of the strategic goals within each of these areas:

• Organizational Maturity
  • Core service excellence
  • Improved collaboration with stakeholders/customers
  • Data-informed decision-making via meaningful KPIs
  • Improved investment assessment and leveraging of budget
  • Time/space to innovate
  • Effective lifecycle management
  • Continuous process improvement
  • Effective change leadership
  • Feedback solicited/heard
  • Single points of failure eliminated
• Organizational Health
  • Roles/expectations clearly defined
  • Work is interesting/exciting
  • Work/life balance prioritized
  • Time off is respected
  • Growth/development opportunities provided
  • DEI/Antiracism commitment
  • Clear and shared vision, purpose, values
  • Psychological safety/acceptance of discomfort
  • Staff retention prioritized
  • Promotional opportunities provided
  • Transparent and accountable leadership
  • Meaningful performance review/feedback
  • Employee voices/ideas are heard and welcome

With this goal framework in mind, IT leadership and staff will now turn into specific strategic areas of focus that can help us to "move the needle" in each of our goal areas.