Government Technology - August 2007 - (Page S13)

An equestrian statue of George Washington stands outside the state Capitol in Richmond, Va. Richmond, Va., is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. Founded in 1737, the City is rich in historical significance—from serving as the site of Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech to being chosen as the capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War. As the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond bore witness to the evolution of the U.S. Over the last decade, Richmond has undergone an economic development boom as a once-struggling Downtown core is revitalizing itself. With a highly diversified economy and a low unemployment rate, Richmond once again is positioning itself as a vital and vigorous American City. “We can’t be IT people; we’ve got to be business people with an IT expertise.” Gene Doody, CIO, Richmond, Va. priorities. To help accomplish this, Wilder brought in Gene Doody to direct the City’s IT Department. Doody built a reputation as a change agent working for Virginia-based Capital One Financial Corp. Doody said his experience in the private sector played a critical role in turning around the technology situation in Richmond. “My previous employer had me going from firefight to firefight, trying to get things structured and organized,” Doody said. “When I took over the IT Department, City agencies would only come to us as a last resort. They would do whatever they needed to do in order to implement technology without coming to IT. It was only when they felt like they had no other way to get it done that they would come here.” In some ways, it was understandable why City agencies avoided the IT Department. When Doody arrived, there was no enterprise focus on deploying technology. Furthermore, there was no sound plan on how to tap the potential of City technology investments. This resulted in a common dilemma: disparate legacy technology that did not integrate. The old systems, such as financials and human resources, had to be bolted together, and a significant investment of time and energy was required to get them to work in conjunction with each other. Transforming such architecture would be no easy task. In fact, the first challenge that had to be overcome had nothing to do with technology and everything to do with perspective. Doody needed to change the way Richmond perceived IT. 13 Building an enterprise In 2005, Richmond citizens elected former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder by popular vote to become their Mayor. The election signaled a shift in City politics as voters moved away from a powerful City council and toward a strong mayor. Wilder, who was elected on a reform platform, made revamping the City’s IT architecture one of his top Customer snapshot Agency: City of Richmond, Va. Mission: To provide a secure and stable infrastructure as the foundation of City automation, cost-effective client services and direction for strategy change. Business case Requirement: Transform an aging, siloed IT architecture into a service-driven system that is built on an enterprise and SOA philosophy. Solution: Richmond brought in an experienced leader to lead the charge for change. By focusing on changing attitudes about IT, he has caused an intelligent and strategic restructuring of the City’s IT architecture. Photos by Kelly LaDuke Results: A streamlined and efficient architecture that engages both City agencies and citizens while positioning the City to be highly adaptable in the future.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - August 2007

Contents Point of View The Big Picture The Last Mile Letter to the Editor GT Spectrum Up Close Vanishing Act Way Back Machine Fast Track to Nowhere Best of Both Worlds Texting 911? GIS to Go Neighborhood Watch Two Cents Products Signal: Noise Government Solutions

Government Technology - August 2007

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