Executive Branch 3-Year IT Plan Summary Submitted by Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace Secretary of Administration/Executive Branch CITO October 1, 2019 Page 1 Introduction Contained in this submission is a summary of the strategic information technology plans submitted by each Executive Branch agency. These plans set forth the agencies’ current and future information technology needs and utilization plans for the next three ensuing fiscal years as required by KSA 75-7209 (c) and KSA 75-7210. As the primary steward of executive branch IT needs and projects, the executive branch CITO will use this information to forecast and ensure appropriate infrastructure support and access to IT services for all executive branch agencies. This plan will evolve as the health of state organizations improve and long-term visioning becomes possible. The reality today is that the needs are great, and the resources are finite. Citizen demands and expectations of state agencies related to IT and digital access to services have increased significantly; however, resource availability has not been able to maintain the same pace. Included in this document are: • Overarching Goals of Executive Branch IT Organizations • An assessment of the Executive Branch IT Landscape • Summaries of the challenges, goals, and upcoming projects for: o Cabinet Agencies o Non-Cabinet Agencies o Regent Institutions • Strategic Initiatives OITS will undertake to support agency plans • Individual agency 3-year plan submissions Page 2 Page 3 Overarching Goals of EBIT Organizations 1. Modernize agency hardware and software to sustainable solutions o Improved speed of business o Increased access to citizen services o Efficiency of business operations o Reduced talent gap o Improved ability to innovate and use new technologies 2. Strengthen Overall Security Posture o Reduced risk to business operations o Reduced risk to citizen data and service availability 3. Improve Data Governance and Sharing o Increased access to data for state agencies, citizens, research institutions o Increased efficiency in business operations o New insights to understand citizen needs 4. Increase availability and access to high-quality IT Services for all agencies regardless of size o Improved speed of business o Increased access to citizen services o Efficiency of business operations o Reduced talent gap o Improved ability to innovate and use new technologies o Reduced risk to business operations 5. Improve ability to recruit and retain experienced IT staff o Reduced risk to business operations o Improved speed of business o Efficiency of business operations o Reduced talent gap o Improved ability to innovate and use new technologies Page 4 Enterprise Assessment Summary The most significant concern expressed by Executive Branch agencies, when it comes to IT, is the outdated technology staff rely upon to accomplish their agency’s mission. Nearly twice as many instances of technology obsolescence concerns were expressed over the second category of budget constraints. Outdated technology can cause inefficiencies in speed of business, access to services, increased vulnerability to cyber threats, and an increased cost of operation. The second most common challenge reported was budget constraints. Agencies expressed the need for funds in order to address outdated technology, increased security requirements, new federal requirements, and increased demands of digital access to citizen services. Budget constraints are further complicated by the number of agencies that do not have designated IT budgets. Currently, less than one third of agencies indicated they have a designated IT budget. Other agencies pay for IT expenses from the operations budget or within specific agency business units. The top two concerns directly impact the following three: security, resource constraints, and recruitment and retention of staff. Outdated technology and a lack of funding to address that technology lead to increased security vulnerabilities; the need for additional and specialized staff to operate the technology; and the inability to pay, train or recruit staff with the skillsets needed to operate outdated systems. In many cases, technical schools do not even teach the skills needed to operate some state systems due to their age and lack of use in the market. Agencies, in an effort to remedy their current situations, have planned and developed projects for implementation over the next three years. More than 35% of projects submitted are to address outdated applications and systems currently in use. Another 18% are to address outdated hardware/infrastructure, while 12% are to address security vulnerabilities. In addition to addressing outdated technology, agencies indicated that they are aware of the potential value held in agency data. More than 20 projects were submitted to increase the quality, availability, shareability, and classification of agency data. This data holds the potential for all agencies to improve their interactions and efficiency of services to Kansans. Top 5 IT Project Types • Application Modernization - 44% • Hardware/Infrastructure - 22% • Security - 14% • Data Governance/Sharing - 12% • Service Consolidation - 8% Page 5 Page 6 Cabinet Agency Summary This segment of the report includes data submitted by the 12 cabinet agencies: Department of Administration, Department of Health and Environment, Department of Revenue, Department of Corrections, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, Kansas Highway Patrol, Department for Children and Families, Department for Ageing and Disability Services, and Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism. The top concerns of cabinet agencies include the same challenges as the entire branch; however, indicate a different level of importance. The top concern amongst cabinet agencies is technology obsolescence. This directly impacts the speed, efficiency and availability of critical citizen services and applications. Secondary to the technology, but quite closely related, is the ability to recruit, retain and train enough qualified IT staff. Talent gaps currently exist due to the aged systems some agencies operate with few tech schools offering training programs for the necessary technology due to the limited demand of the overall employer landscape. Agencies are also in need of application developers. These positions are in high demand across the country and many potential applicants accept positions in larger municipalities due to the current pay structure available through the state. The third concern is relative to specific funding available to address the aged technology or add additional staff to the business unit. These three concerns directly lead to the fifth concern noted of limited resources available to complete the work required. When all of these areas are short on resources; technology, funding, and people, they lead to a degradation of IT process that directly impacts the quality and availability of IT services to our agencies and citizen services. To address these concerns, agencies are prioritizing projects based on available resources and the potential for improvement in business efficiency. This is directly seen through the number of application and infrastructure modernization projects as well as the significant number of data-related projects. Page 7 Page 8 Non-Cabinet Agency Summary This segment of the report includes data submitted by 40 non-cabinet agencies, boards and commissions. The inherent nature of non-cabinet agencies leads to a number of issues directly related to the size and availability of resources: financial, people, expertise, and technical. Of the 40 agencies included in this report, only 1/3 of them have dedicated in-house IT support. Another 40% receive services from OITS or another agency. The remaining agencies don’t have any regular IT support at all, relying upon OITS only when something isn’t working. This challenge directly impacts the wide variety of services provided throughout non-cabinet state agencies. Agencies reported 30 concerns related to outdated technology with another 20 specific security related concerns. Both of these are compounded by the lack of professional IT support and available budget to access that support and replace outdated technology. Of the projects submitted, 24 are to specifically address outdated applications, like Access databases or licensing systems. 16 are to address outdated hardware and infrastructure. When updated appropriately, these applications and hardware should improve business efficiencies and availability of citizen services. The third concern is budget constraints with 18 instances reported. Multiple agencies have indicated that IT has become their second highest cost of operations, behind salaries and surpassing contractual lease obligations. Page 9 Page 10 Regent Institution Summary The concerns expressed by the Regent institutions indicates a more mature and stable IT environment. The top concern of state universities is security. With the largest userbase in the state, these organizations have to manage tens of thousands of users from around the world every day. The systems to be secured within the universities are also unique, housing valuable research programs and data, that may not be able to implement the same protections as the rest of the university. Similar to other agencies, outdated applications and infrastructure are concerns, as well as recruiting and retaining qualified IT employees. Universities rely heavily