State of Connecticut Policy Goals and Strategies for Management of Information Technology
A Report to the General Assembly by the Department of Information Technology January 1998
Introduction
This document provides the policy goals and strategies for managing information technology (IT) in the State of Connecticut. The Department of Information Technology (DOIT) developed this report as the first deliverable to the General Assembly required by Public Act 97-9 of the June 18th Special Session. The State Strategic Plan for Information Technology will be published in May 1998 followed by the State Information Technology Plan in September 1998. Each will provide detail on how DOIT will implement the policy goals and strategies outlined in this document. This report focuses on what policy goals and strategies DOIT will use for the management of information technology over the next two years. Background DOIT was created on July 1, 1997 to consolidate the State’s central planning, operations and procurement functions for IT. This centralization was required by Public Act 97-9 of the June 18th Special Session, and resulted from Governor John G. Rowland's initiative following several years of study by the legislature, the Hull-Harper Commission and the Thomas Commission. The legislation places the responsibility for planning and implementation of statewide IT under a Chief Information Officer (CIO) reporting to the Governor. The DOIT Mission The following mission for DOIT is the foundation for establishing the policy goals and management strategies outlined in this report: Make the State of Connecticut a leader in the effective use of information technology. Technology can transform the way we work together to achieve our social and economic goals, providing an essential link between State agencies, citizens and business. Technologyassisted governance will create fundamental improvements in State services and significantly reduce the cost of doing business. DOIT’s mandate to establish statewide standards and develop fully integrated statewide information and telecommunications systems and services will be the foundation for establishing Connecticut's leadership role for IT.
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Build the statewide information infrastructure for State agencies and citizens. An information infrastructure, or "infostructure", is critical to the State's ability to maintain a competitive position. DOIT's mission is to provide this statewide infostructure for use by citizens of Connecticut, as well as by public agencies. The use of electronic commerce, supported by the infostructure, will foster efficient transactions between public agencies and corporations, organizations, and individuals. Consolidate technologies and IT services. Building a common infostructure will require the consolidation of the wide variety of technologies and IT services we have today. In addition to managing this consolidation effort, DOIT will direct statewide technology initiatives to enhance the statewide infostructure, to implement common multi-agency technology solutions, and to accelerate the appropriate use of advanced technologies. Direct the development of IT systems to meet the common business and technology needs of multiple agencies. Agencies in all branches of government, schools, municipalities, and libraries have common needs on a statewide basis, on a business service or program basis, or on the basis of similar needs for technology. A central IT function such as DOIT is necessary to identify commonalities, obtain funding beyond program-based budgets, and coordinate the implementation of solutions from a statewide perspective. Enterprise projects should collectively build the statewide infostructure that will connect government, schools, and libraries to its citizens and industries.
A New Organizational Approach to Delivering Information Technology Solutions Execution of policy goals and strategies defined in this report requires a redefinition of the roles played by the central IT organization and the agencies. The reorganization of responsibility for statewide planning, procurement, and the State data center operations into DOIT supports a comprehensive approach to delivering IT solutions on a statewide basis. Using the knowledge base generated by its planning and oversight processes, DOIT has the ability to analyze IT and business directions from a statewide perspective. DOIT will also rely on the Technology Advisory Committee (PA 97-9 [6/18 Special Session] Sec.8), comprised of experts from private industry as well as government, to recommend creative uses of IT to meet citizens’ service needs and to provide a catalyst for economic development in the State. Based on its global view of the State's business requirements, DOIT can build the appropriate common statewide infostructure, using a combination of agency and DOIT resources. Individual agencies can then focus on meeting their business needs and not expend unnecessary and duplicate resources providing basic IT infrastructure functions. This shift in focus will allow DOIT to emphasize its expanded mission of delivering and managing a more capable statewide infostructure, while agencies will concentrate on delivery of those unique IT solutions necessary to meet their specific business needs.
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Organization of this document The remainder of this report is divided into three major sections: Strategic Goals, the new Biennial IT Planning Cycle, and Policies to Implement IT. Strategic goals are organized into five general areas: building a statewide infostructure; directing the State's response to the Year 2000 crisis; utilizing enterprise groups to implement IT solutions; consolidating technologies and services; and measuring the value of IT in terms of business benefits. The biennial IT planning cycle links DOIT's planning and implementation effort to the State's two-year budget. The policies described in this report are essential to the successful implementation of these strategic goals. This report concludes by outlining some of the ongoing projects that DOIT has already undertaken, and describing next steps DOIT will take.
I. Strategic Goals
The strategic use of IT is critical to improving the delivery of government services, and to using the power of emerging technologies to transform government to better meet the needs of agencies and the public. DOIT has defined five major strategic goals for the management of information and technology as a strategic resource for the delivery of State services. Each goal has several objectives that will be the focus of DOIT’s work effort. Statewide Infostructure DOIT will be responsible for the planning and implementation of an information infrastructure that supports the information exchange needs (voice, data, text, image and video) of all State agencies and higher education institutions. The Constitutional Officers, General Assembly, and Judicial Department share many of the same needs, and therefore must be able to use this same information exchange utility. The statewide infostructure utility should be extended to all State funded entities, including municipalities, libraries and K-12 schools. Once in place, this infostructure can become a common utility to provide equal access to information, services and education for all citizens. This universal access for citizens to information technology can be an important vehicle to improve the education of the general workforce and to make the State of Connecticut a more desirable location for new business. Build a common network infrastructure Every publicly funded organization that has a current or future need to share information should be readily connected via a statewide network infrastructure. DOIT will provide the gateways and other connectivity mechanisms to ensure that the State's different physical networks appear as a single logical network to all network users. DOIT will also pursue network consolidation in order to deliver network services at the lowest possible cost. Provide integrated messaging All publicly funded organizations should have the ability to find, access, and send information quickly and easily. A statewide infostructure that provides integrated messaging can provide the "public" utility to do this. It also enables applications such as electronic commerce, electronic mail, automated purchasing, and management of publications requested
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by the public. It can link state and local computer systems to provide information sharing for the achievement of mutual program or administrative goals. Define an information sharing framework Information that needs to be shared by multiple users must be identified, and organized into a common framework so that it can be easily accessed and utilized. DOIT will develop this common framework for information sharing. DOIT must also provide appropriate users the ability to access this information in a timely and secure manner. Develop a common information repository DOIT will identify what information is needed as a statewide resource and manage it as an integral part of the infostructure. This will ensure access to text, data, or images when needed. Responsibility for the validity of information will remain with the appropriate agencies and other sources. Information will be managed to protect its integrity, and make it available to everyone except when it contains data subject to privacy restrictions. Security will be provided to ensure appropriate access to information.
Direct the State's response to the Year 2000 Crisis DOIT has established a Year 2000 Program Office to facilitate and certify the agencies' efforts to become Year 2000 compliant. Most government and business applications have been programmed to assume all dates are in the 20th century, and are not prepared to handle dates in the year 2000 and beyond. Many computer applications that have been developed during the past several decades must be fixed or replaced by December 31, 1999. If not, they will either stop working altogether, or even worse, give erroneous results. Additionally, most personal computers and other microprocessor-controlled equipment (e.g., elevators, laboratory equipment, security systems) presume "19" as the first digits of the year field, and may shut down or fail to operate on or after January 1, 2000. All of the Year 2000 problems must be inventoried and an assessment made as to the cost and impact of their potential failure. Necessary corrections must be made, tested and certified for compliance before actual failures occur. The Year 2000 Program Office is currently directing agencies' resolution of their Year 2000 problems, including obtaining funding and resources, so that all mission-critical, IT-based systems and services will be ready by March 31, 1999. DOIT is procuring service providers for agencies or groups of agencies lacking resources. DOIT is visiting agencies regularly to review progress towards compliance. Agencies are: Assessing their Year 2000 liability and with DOIT's assistance adopting sound strategies to become Year 2000 compliant Preparing detailed project plans and budgets Prioritizing projects and obtaining funding Managing the effort to convert, test and certify systems Implementing compliant systems and processes, placing them into production.
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Enterprise Groups Many business and technology issues are common to multiple agencies. The stakeholders involved in these issues define a number of “enterprise groups” that must work together across organization boundaries. Resolution of these issues requires coordination by a central agency that has a statewide view. The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has traditionally been the agency providing this statewide view and coordination function. The transfer of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) with its statewide IT policy and planning function from OPM to DOIT has shifted the responsibility for information management and technology issues involving multiple agencies to DOIT. To perform this function, DOIT must provide proactive leadership to determine the common business and technology needs of these enterprise groups and identify innovative multi-agency IT solutions. Promote IT solutions to meet common business needs DOIT will promote the utilization of a single IT solution to meet common business application requirements across multiple agencies whenever possible. This will reduce the time, effort, and cost to implement and support IT applications. Adopt standard approaches to new technologies DOIT will identify opportunities for agencies to work cooperatively in implementing strategic new technologies, especially technology that affects the infostructure. DOIT will coordinate formal evaluations of these new technologies and define standards and guidelines for statewide implementation. Coordinate state and local information system requirements Coordinated state and local information systems can provide integrated services to citizens and streamlined operations within government. DOIT will provide inter-government coordination of requirements for IT across state and local agencies.
Consolidation of Technologies and Services Governor John G. Rowland has directed DOIT to actively pursue opportunities to minimize costs for IT by consolidating common operations and services. DOIT has identified consolidation opportunities in the following areas: Mainframe/midrange computer operations DOIT will work with the agencies to evaluate opportunities for consolidating data center operations into a single facility when cost effective. Initial candidates for consolidation will include data centers with mainframe computers that require major upgrades in hardware and support facilities. The remaining agency data centers will be evaluated to identify opportunities for further cost reduction by consolidation.
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Networks and network management To support the goal of delivering effective network services at the lowest possible cost, DOIT will work with the agencies to evaluate opportunities for network consolidation. The overall goal is to reduce the number of networks and protocols utilized by agencies in order to implement one unified network for the State. A statewide network management system will be implemented that is flexible enough to support both the need for central management of many network functions and the need of the agencies to monitor and manage their own network resources. End user support DOIT will seek adequate end user support and training for personal computer (PC) based office and application tools, so that the State's investment in this technology is effectively utilized. For many agencies, end user support is best provided by a specialized support function from outside the agency to take advantage of economies of scale.
Desktop environment Agency requirements for desktop computers will be combined into standardized desktop solutions, procured and supported using master contracts. This asset management approach will promote more efficient solutions, and take advantage of large-scale purchase or lease options to allow for automatic replacement of hardware and software as technology becomes outdated. IT Procurements The responsibility for IT procurement was transferred from the Department of Administrative Services to DOIT so that IT can be procured on a statewide basis instead of as a commodity by each agency. DOIT will utilize agency IT project plans to consolidate the needs of individual agencies for IT systems and services into larger master contracts for standardized IT solutions. This IT procurement strategy will not only take advantage of the State’s economy of scale for purchasing, but will reduce the number of different information technologies to a set of integrated, standardized solutions. This will ultimately reduce the cost of training and support. The option to use these master contracts will be extended to other governments, schools, municipalities, and eligible non-profit entities funded in part by the State.
Value of IT Investment Measured in Business Benefit There are a number of ways to measure the success of an information technology project. A project manager measures success in terms of meeting project milestones on time and within budget. An equally important view of success is specific, measurable impact on the business products and services of an agency. To realize this kind of success requires the direct involvement of business managers and staff in managing technology-enabled change. Their involvement must occur at all phases of an IT project from initial idea to implementation.
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DOIT's goal is to make this approach to implementing technology a standard business practice in the State by achieving the following objectives. Business improvement will be the focus for implementing information technology solutions. Project success is measured by the effect on business processes, service improvement, and cost to deliver services. The accountability for the success of an IT project lies with the business owners and stakeholders as well as with the project manager. Project plan approval will require that agencies identify stakeholders early and that the stakeholders be made accountable for project deliverables throughout the project. DOIT will standardize the use of project planning and management methodologies to ensure that project success can be measured in business deliverables and benefits and all stakeholders know their roles in contributing to the success of the project. DOIT and the agencies must prioritize funding requests for proposed projects based on cost/benefit to the business process or customer service intended to benefit from the project. Quality assurance reviews will be conducted for all major projects by third party teams. The teams will include peers who understand the IT being deployed and peers who understand the business of the agency.
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II.
The Biennial IT Planning Cycle
To deliver the strategic goals defined for DOIT, a planning methodology for agencies and statewide IT must provide the framework for making appropriate funding and implementation decisions. The biennial IT planning cycle that DOIT will implement is the basis for the planning methodology that will support the business objectives and funding decisions of the biennial budget process. The State Strategic Plan for Information and Technology (Strategic Plan) will begin the two-year cycle in the spring of 1998. In April, a draft of the Strategic Plan will be distributed to agencies, the IT Advisory Committee, and IT experts in other states and in the private sector for review and comment. Final publication is scheduled for May 1998. Agencies will then build their strategic IT plans around the direction defined by DOIT. The Strategic Plan will be published biennially and will focus on the State's business direction and IT goals, and the statewide infostructure to meet these needs. Standards and policies will be published and maintained in the State IT database and document library. The State Information Technology Plan will be published in September of 1998 and in evennumbered years thereafter. This plan will define the “State of the State for IT” (including financial information) and the proposed infostructure and enterprise projects that need to be funded to meet the State's information needs through the next biennium. A budget request based on this plan will be submitted to OPM. A State Information Technology Plan Update will be published in December 1999 and in odd-numbered years thereafter (in which budgets are adjusted). The update will reflect any changes since the previous State Information Technology Plan, including legislative proposals and off-year budget adjustments. The State IT Implementation Plan will describe how the proposed statewide and enterprise projects in the State Information Technology Plan will be implemented. A Preliminary State IT Implementation Plan for FY 1999-2001 will be made available online after the proposed budget is published in February 1999. This plan will detail the project benefits and deliverables for the statewide and enterprise projects being proposed in the Governor's Budget and will define the interrelationships between these projects and proposed agency projects to better facilitate budget decision-making by the General Assembly. The State IT Implementation Plan for FY 1999-2001 will be published after the biennial budget is approved by the General Assembly. This plan will document the deliverables and timetables for the statewide and enterprise projects being funded in the approved budget. Agencies will know what components of the infostructure will be in place statewide before they develop their own agency IT implementation plans. The electronic version of the plan will be kept updated and made available in the State IT database and document library.
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The State IT database and document library will be made available electronically. The Library will contain the above documents as well as an inventory of agency assets, technology standards, policies, guidelines and the status of all major agency and enterprise projects. The following flowchart is provided to show the relationship and timing of the above planning deliverables.
State of Connecticut Department of Information Technology INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLANNING CYCLE
M AY 1998
STATE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR IT Business direction, IT goals , statewide infos tructure
SEPTEM BER 1998
AGENCY IT PLANS Agency business direction & goals, IT requirements, proposed projects, and infostructure needs
State IT Database and Document Library
SEPTEM BER 1998
STATE IT PLAN "State of the State" for IT. Enterprise and infostructure needs defined & prioritized
JUNE
1999 STATE BUDGET PROCESS; APPROVED STATE BUDGET Fiscal years 2000 & 2001
JULY
1999
STATE IT IM PLEM ENTATION PLAN
Statewide & Enterprise IT projects implemented. Infostructure built & managed.
JULY 1999 THRU
JUNE 2001
JULY
1999
AGENCY IT IM PLEM ENTATION PLANS; PROJECT PLANS FOR BUDGETED PROJECTS
Agency IT projects implemented
JULY 1999 THRU JUNE 2001
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III. Policies to Implement IT
DOIT will issue policies to support the strategic goals and objectives outlined in this plan for statewide IT. This section contains a brief description of each of the policy topics that have been identified to date. Statewide Infostructure Policies will be issued to support information sharing among agencies. Agencies can then plan, fund and implement solutions to meet their unique requirements. Provide an infostructure as a statewide utility DOIT will direct the planning and implementation of an information infrastructure. Utilization of this infostructure will be required statewide, except in unique circumstances. Policy will also direct the appropriate resources towards building the infostructure as a statewide general utility, which will be extended to other government and non-profit entities that utilize State information. This includes municipalities, libraries and K-12 schools. Obtain funding to build and operate the infostructure The State infostructure will be funded as a statewide shared resource. Certain basic functionality should be provided centrally and made available to all users. Additional functionality will be supplied based on need and available resources. This approach will not only benefit the small "have not" agencies with limited IT funding, but would also allow the State to fully utilize its already substantial investment in IT infrastructure. Information technology must be identified as a program in each agency's budget Each agency will establish an IT program that consolidates IT related budget items. This will enable each agency to identify its IT expenditures and promote managing IT as an agencywide resource. Also, establishing IT as a program will support the statewide roll-up and management of IT as a State resource. Currently, funding for IT is buried in the various program budgets within each agency and is treated as a service function. The lack of an IT program in the budget makes it difficult to manage IT as an agency-wide resource. This inhibits the ability of the agency to build the agencywide systems required to support agency business.
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Direct the State's response to the Year 2000 Crisis Policy will be issued to assure that the necessary State resources are allocated to the Year 2000 problem to protect citizens from system failures, and the State from liability and loss of revenue. Ensure agencies focus on Year 2000 compliance as their top IT priority. Agencies must defer commencement of new IT projects, including major enhancements of existing systems, until their mission critical systems are Year 2000 compliant. The goal is to achieve compliance for all applications by March 31, 1999. An important near-term milestone for agencies is the completion of Year 2000 Project Definition Reports by March 31, 1998. The nature of the Year 2000 problem in the State of Connecticut necessitates that activity related to system development or enhancement must be placed on hold until Year 2000 compliance is achieved. This focuses agencies' resources on resolving the Year 2000 problem, instead of trying to balance this requirement with other demands for IT resources. A formal memorandum will be sent to agency heads defining the State's prioritization policies and actions they must take immediately to make more resources available to convert and certify their mission critical applications.
Enterprise Groups Policy will be issued to promote multi-agency efforts to plan, fund, and implement special IT projects and programs. Group similar business functions across agency boundaries. Agencies with shared business processes will plan and implement reengineered business processes, and plan and implement the automation of these processes as a single "virtual" organization, or enterprise group. Agency business requirements must be considered in the broader context of the requirements of the enterprise group agencies when an enterprise approach has been defined.
Consolidation of Technologies and Services Policy will be issued to support DOIT's effort to consolidate IT networks, platforms and services, and reduce unnecessary redundancies in the State's use of IT. Optimize the State's investment in information technology The escalating dependence on IT demands that the State change the way IT solutions are developed and supported. DOIT will continue to analyze the State's major IT functions and evaluate the benefits of various sourcing alternatives. Such alternatives include utilizing existing agency staff to accomplish new work (especially interagency projects), and reassigning the mix of tasks performed by the State versus those tasks performed by the private sector. The State must utilize creative sourcing models to not only consolidate IT solutions and services, but to take advantage of public-private partnerships. Policy will require feasibility studies for new projects. These studies will contain cost-benefit analyses that include assessments of sourcing options.
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Procurement: use contracts to facilitate standard IT solutions DOIT will pursue a procurement strategy that offers a wide range of standardized solutions to meet agencies' IT needs. Standardization reduces management complexity and takes advantage of a statewide economy of scale. The agencies will utilize these standard solutions unless unique business requirements justify additional procurement action.
Value of IT Investment Measured in Business Benefits Policy will be issued to focus agencies on business improvement and benefits as the driver for making investment decisions in IT and for the measurement of successful completion of a project. Use business improvement as the driver for IT. Experts have long recognized that the simple automation of current business processes is shortsighted. The processes themselves must be redesigned or reengineered to achieve significant business improvements and possibly cost savings before automation is considered. Automation of the reengineered process is then evaluated for its potential to deliver further business improvement and cost savings. Therefore, agencies will be required to utilize business reengineering to improve the processes before system requirements for new applications are defined. Identify and involve stakeholders throughout the IT life cycle. The State has a mixed record for implementing large IT projects that span multiple years or multiple agencies. These projects typically define a business problem as a "snapshot" in time before handing responsibility for solving the problem to a project manager. In many cases, the original stakeholders in these projects, including those outside the agency, are not clearly held accountable throughout the course of the project, nor are they involved in defining the changes required in the deliverables over- time. Policies will require all stakeholders in a project to be identified and their roles defined in a project plan before the project begins. These stakeholders will be kept informed throughout the project and must sign off on the major deliverables or milestones of the project. Adopt a planning and project methodology which focuses on business deliverables. Policies will require agencies to utilize a formal project planning and management methodology to identify specific measurable business benefits, and to ensure that what is delivered at the end of the project is what was intended. Currently, the focus of many IT projects is to implement some level of new technology, without any clear definition of what business benefit is achieved. Prioritize IT investments based on measured business benefits Policies will require that project funding requests include a cost benefit statement, to allow for the prioritization of funding based on business benefit to be derived from the project.
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Conduct quality assurance peer reviews for all major projects. A team of outside third-party peers, including individuals who understand the business of the agency and individuals who understand the IT solution being deployed, will conduct quality assurance review of projects.
Ongoing Projects
The following projects demonstrate the magnitude and variety of work already underway to achieve the State's IT goals. Additional work required to meet the goals will be identified as the Planning Cycle progresses. The RFP for IT Services - The State intends to contract with a provider of IT services to support the needs of all State agencies. The evaluation process to select a provider is expected to conclude within a few months, with services delivered beginning in 1999. The following projects are critical to DOIT's mission, and while the CIO may determine that they can benefit from the outcome of the IT Services contract, these projects are moving forward. Infostructure projects The State of Connecticut website - The ConneCT website is being expanded to support citizen access to State services as well as provide improved Internet access to agencies, schools and municipalities. In addition, an Intranet capability is being developed that uses web based technology to support information sharing between agencies. Data network – The existing statewide router-based data network is being expanded to include smaller State agencies, local government, and school districts, to support data exchange among these organizations. Network services contract – State contracts for voice, data, and video transport services are being enhanced to use the best current technologies. Statewide messaging infrastructure pilot - The prototype for the messaging infrastructure is being developed by Judicial Information Systems to support person-to-person and applicationto-application communication needs utilizing common directory services. Year 2000 resolution projects DOIT's Year 2000 Program Office continues to direct and coordinate state strategy and agency compliance projects. Develop budget request for funding to support the major statewide work effort needed to resolve Year 2000 problems and maintain critical state services.
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Formal project planning methodology will be utilized by DOIT and all agencies to ensure that the complexities of changing all the State's critical systems are managed, and the work completed on time without disruption in state services. Enterprise projects Electronic forms pilot - DOIT is working with the Office of the State Comptroller and the Office of Policy & Management (OPM) to automate the processing of several administrative forms used by all agencies. Criminal Justice Information Systems Offender-based tracking system - DOIT is working with OPM and criminal justice agencies to develop an offender-based tracking system. DOIT is using this project to determine the architecture for information exchange among these agencies. Wireless mobile data terminals are being installed in many law enforcement and highway safety organizations, including those in municipalities. DOIT is working with this group to develop software and telecommunication transmission standards for this technology. Electronic commerce: Digital signature - DOIT is working with a legislative committee to draft the Electronic Record and Signature Act to establish a legally acceptable digital signature so that electronic based commerce can be expanded to include most business transactions. Electronic Procurement - An Internet-based procurement system is being implemented to automate the business transactions between the State and vendors who provide goods and services to State agencies and political subdivisions. Electronic Tax Filing - The advantages of electronic filing of taxes with the Department of Revenue Services, that corporations currently benefit from, are being extended to individual taxpayers. ConneCT Management Advisory Committee - This group and its associated subcommittees are cooperating to develop policies and a framework for ConneCT, the State's award-winning Internet website. Statewide financial and administrative systems - The IT staff responsible for statewide human resource systems are being transferred to DOIT to continue consolidating technical support for financial and administrative systems in DOIT that have statewide impact. Telecommunications systems - In buildings and campuses shared by multiple agencies, single systems to support voice and data transmission are being implemented by DOIT. High Efficiency Licensing Program - The goal of this program is to provide electronic means for citizens to easily obtain most licenses and permits needed from the State of Connecticut..
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Consolidation Agency data centers - DOIT is working with several agencies who now manage their own data centers to begin migrating to central facilities. The Department of Motor Vehicles' systems will be transitioned to DOIT this year. Planning with the Department of Mental Retardation is also underway. Master contracts - DOIT has begun the process of developing a master contract to meet agency needs statewide for PC workstations and support services that could be extended to schools and municipalities. Small Agency IT Program - DOIT has obtained funding to provide desktop computers and IT support services to small agencies and commissions that do not have adequate funding and personnel resources for this essential productivity tool. These workstations will also allow them to connect to the statewide network and access business support applications.
Next steps
DOIT will now implement the biennial IT planning cycle. This process begins with the State Strategic Plan for IT, which will establish the direction for IT in the State over the next three years. The Strategic Plan will define how IT will support the business goals of the State. It will also guide agencies in developing agency IT plans to define their future specialized needs within the agency, as well as their requirements for multi-agency applications and the statewide infostructure. The resulting agency IT plans will be consolidated into a proposal for statewide infostructure that will be documented in the State IT Plan for 1999 - 2001. A State IT database and library is being developed to provide agencies and others with online access to plans, policies, standards and guidelines. DOIT will continue to look for opportunities to build and improve the State's IT infrastructure, and facilitate multi-agency enterprise solutions to business needs. DOIT has adopted a proactive approach to planning and implementing these statewide and multi-agency initiatives, while continuing to work with individual agencies to meet specialized needs. The information technology environment that is needed in the State of Connecticut to transform the delivery of government services and connect citizens to their state and local government must be built with a clear vision. The planning cycle will allow this vision to be defined and achieved.
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