Hercules City Council
July 22, 2025

SDI Presence – Sacramento | 500 Capitol Mall, Suite 2350, Sacramento, CA 95814 | www.sdipresence.com | Toll: 888.YOUR.SDI (888.968.7734)

Proposal Prepared For:

City of Hercules
Information Technology Strategic Plan
RFP No. 25-001
May 1, 2025

Respectfully Submitted By:

Patrick Griffin
Managing Director
[email protected]
714-975-4150

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1 Cover Letter ................................................................................................................... 1 Section 2 Proposal Summary ......................................................................................................... 2 Section 3 Scope of Services ............................................................................................................ 3 Section 4 Price of Proposal ............................................................................................................ 9 Section 5 References ................................................................................................................... 10 Section 6 Key Project Staff Background ........................................................................................ 12 Section 7 History of Firm.............................................................................................................. 14 Section 8 Project Schedule ........................................................................................................... 20 Appendix A Team Resumes ............................................................................................................. 21 Appendix B Sample Reports ............................................................................................................ 30

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 1
Section 1 Cover Letter
May 1, 2025
Edwin Gato, Finance Director
City of Hercules
111 Civic Drive
Hercules, CA 94547
Re: RFP# 25-001 for IT Strategic Plan
Dear Mr. Gato,
SDI Presence LLC (SDI) respectfully submits this proposal to the City of Hercules (City) in response to its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of an Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP). SDI provides management consulting and advisory servic es focused exclusively on assisting public sector agencies enhance their use of technology. Since 1999, SDI’s Advisory & Consulting Practice has supported IT assessments, IT strategic plans, enterprise software procurements, and implementation projects for over 200 west coast clients. Our successful trac k record includes complet ing more than 100 IT Assessments and Strategic Plans for cities, counties, special districts, and State of California agencies.

Our understanding is that the City is seeking the assistance of a qualified firm to assess the current technology environment and create a strategic roadma p that supports the City’s growth, efficiency, and innovation. SDI will utilize a structured and proven project approach consisting of three major phases which include several tasks and activities; the outc ome of which is the development of comprehensive and actionable deliverables and a roadmap for impl ementation. SDI will bring the City proven methodologies and tools based on public sector IT bes t practices that are closel y aligned with industry standards, such as Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and IT Service Management (ITSM) standards. SDI’s approach puts priority on aligning our clients’ enterprise-level business objectives and ongoing operational needs with their IT investments and available resources.

SDI’s Advisory & Consulting Practice prides itself on being 100% vendor independent. This means that we have no partnerships or affiliations with software or hardware vendors, and it enables us to provide feedback and recommendations that are not influenced by potential conflicts of interest.

The City’s project will be delivered by SDI’s California-based team, which is overseen by Managing Director Patrick Griffin. Mr. Griffin is based in California and readily available to support both the project team and the City throughout the engagement. For additional information regarding our proposal, please contact Mr. Griffin at [email protected] or (714) 975- 4150.

The City of Hercules account woul d be managed out of SDI’s Sacramen to office located at 500 Capitol Mall, Suite 2350, Sacramento, California 95814.

SDI appreciates the opportunity to submit our propos al to the City of Hercules and look forward to working with the City on this important project.

Sincerely,
Shoma Meyer, Chief Financial Officer
SDI Presence LLC
Sh
oma Meyer
Chief Financial Offi

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 2
Section 2 Proposal Summary
The City seeks to partner with a consulting company that has vision and leadership in technology planning. SDI brings the City the experience, expertise, and proven methods to help ensure project success. SDI has developed a comprehensive methodology designed specifically to meet the unique needs of organizations seeking to develop technology strategic plans. This methodology is based on our hands -on experience in working with public sector clients and continues to evolve as new best practices are identified.

SDI believes that a critical component of this project is to ensure that the stakeholders and staff impacted understand the trade-offs, resources, risks, and timelines associated with the project, and have appropriate expectations prior to, and throughout, the project life cycle. To accomplish this, SDI’s approach includes the following guiding principles:
♦ Focus on an open and collaborative process that encourages a consensus among the participants and a shared commitment to the successful completion of a comprehensive Technology Strategic Plan. ♦ Use a structured, proven approach to ensure comprehensive understanding of requirements and business needs at all levels of the City.
♦ Strive to minimize disruption to daily City operations throughout the various processes by ensuring a well planned and executed project.
♦ Fully identify and disclose the potential opportunities as well as the risks involved and provide realistic risk management and mitigation strategies.
♦ Ensure that stakeholders and users have and maintain realistic expectations throughout the process.

SDI is familiar with the challenges and issues that can arise in developing such plans and skilled in managing multiple, and sometimes conflicting, stakeholder visions, missions, goals, objectives, needs, and priorities. In addition, we are sensitive to the desires of elected and appointed officials and the public for transparency and open government. Our approach carefully considers project prioritization and includes processes to help manage competing priorities to ensure that our plans consider City-wide perspectives. We pride ourselves on helping organizations develop plans that are realistic and attainable in terms of the available budget, resources, and time.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 3
Section 3 Scope of Services
SDI’s approach to IT strategic planning is designed specifically to meet the needs of organizations seeking to develop an integrated IT Strategic Plan that can be used to guide technology initiatives for the next three to five years. It is important to note that the cornerstone of our approach is the focus and emphasis on the involvement and interaction with the department consumers of technology and those setting the business direction for the City – providing a voice of the IT customer to the resulting Information Technology Strategic Plan. The team will seek and incorporate input from all departmental technology consumers and stakeholders in the City’s operating departments and divisions. Our approach includes three distinct phases:

INITIATE

ASSESS

DELIVER

Scope of Work
The Information Technology Strategic Plan needs to cover all aspects of the business to achieve an integrated and comprehensive technology strategy. It is important to note that the cornerstone of SDI’s methodology is the focus and emphasis on the involvement and interaction with the departmental consumers of technology and those setting the business direction for the City – ensuring the resulting IT Strategic Plan is influenced by the consumer’s needs. We will seek and incorporate input from all project stakeholders and employees, up to and including Executive Management and the City’s operating departments and divisions. Figure 1 illustrates the project phases, tasks, and corresponding deliverables.

Figure 1: Project Phases, Tasks, and Deliverables

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 4

Phase 1 – Initiate
As a part of Phase 1, SDI will validate our understanding, as well as that of the City stakeholders, regarding the scope of work and the process for accomplishing the project’s overall objectives. This phase includes confirming our understanding, as well as the understanding of the stakeholders, regarding the scope of work and the process for accomplishing the overall objectives of the project. Project scope and approach is finalized, the project schedule and meetings are established, and the Citywide project kickoff meeting is held duri ng Phase

1. Additional details are provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1 – Phase 1 Initiate

Task 1.1 – Facilitate Planning Meeting
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will meet with the City’s Project Sponsor and other key staff to complete a detailed review of the scope of work, project timeline, deliverables, project status methods, project participants (i.e. sponsor, subject matter experts, technical resources, etc.), and other items to ensure a well-planned project. During this meeting, SDI will discuss the tools and templates that will be leveraged.

Task 1.2 – Work Plan Development and Review
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will publish a Work Plan and facilitate a meeting with the City Project Sponsor to review and obtain feedback on the proposed Work Plan. The goal of this meeting is to obtain consensus on the Work Plan and a commitment to support the Work Plan. The Work Plan will be continuously updated throughout the project timeline as part of regular status reporting.

DELIVERABLE: Project Work Plan
Task 1.3 – Request Existing Documentation
TASK DESCRIPTION: In order to ensure alignment with the City’s business priorities, SDI will request and review documentation including, but not limited to, the following items:
♦ City Goals, Business Plans, Budgets, and CIP
♦ Previous Related Assessments and Plans
♦ City Organizational Chart and Contact Information
♦ Technology Governance Agendas and Minutes
♦ In Process or Planned Technology Project Documentation ♦ IT Disaster Recovery Plan
♦ Network Architecture Documentation
♦ IT Service Level Agreements and IT Performance Statistics or Activity Reports ♦ Technology Vendor Listing and Agreements
DELIVERABLE: Documents Request List

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 5

Task 1.4 – Conduct Kickoff Meeting
TASK DESCRIPTION: Since the project will have an enterprise-wide impact, it is important to proactively communicate with all impacted staff to ensure a clear understanding of project goals and objectives, roles and responsibilities, approach, tasks, and timeline. The Kickoff Meeting also provides the opportunity to introduce the SDI team to City staff and should involve senior level management and project sponsors to provide an introduction of this Citywide endeavor. It is important that all City staff that will be involved in the project, regardless of their role, participate in the project kickoff.

DELIVERABLE: Kickoff Meeting Presentation

Phase 2 - Assess
The objective of this phase is to gather input from both City stakeholders and the IT team relative to their use of core business applications. During this phase, SDI’s goal is to understand the City’s use of IT today – the current state – and establish a baseline for the development of the IT Strategic Plan. It is necessary to have a comprehensive and realistic understanding of how effectively the current applications meet the City’s requirements, the City’s business objectives and priorities, and how the City desires to use technology as a key enabler in supporting its business. This “look ahead at innovation” must consider that not only is technology evolving rapidly, but so are public expectations regarding timely and easy access to City services and information transparency. Through a series of workshops and interviews, SDI will document the City’s deployment of applications, the support of those applications, and plans for new or expanded software. Additional tasks will provide an analysis of core application deployments, observations and findings concerning the use and support of the applications, and an action plan for the implementation of applicable recommendations.

Table 2 – Phase 2 Assess

Task 2.1 – Conduct “Voice of the Customer” Survey
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will conduct a web-based survey to determine overall satisfaction in terms of IT service delivery and support. The survey will be available to all City technology customers and provides an opportunity to obtain their input. Survey questions will cover the use and support of core business applications, level of satisfaction with t he City’s technical environment, technology training opportunities, mobility and remote access to the communications network, and observations of what works well, necessary improvements, and future plans. Once the survey is concluded, SDI will prepare a “Voice of the Customer” Survey Report. The report will summarize the survey results.

DELIVERABLES: Survey Tool; Draft and Final Survey Reports

Phase 2
Assess

2.1 – Conduct “Voice of the Customer” Survey

2.2 – Conduct Business Technology Assessment

2.3 – Perform IT Assessment

2.4 – Conduct Management Briefing

2.5 – Develop and Deliver IT Assessment Report
DeliverablesProject Approach: Phases and Tasks
 “Voice of the Customer” Survey Tool
 Draft and Final Survey Reports
 Verbal Briefing of IT Assessment Findings
 Draft and Final IT Assessment Report

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 6
Task 2.2 – Conduct Business Technology Assessment
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will facilitate a series of interviews with City executives and department employees to provide a forum for input and feedback about the technology service delivery, current business applications, technology roadblocks, and future needs or plans. Prior to the interviews, SDI will provide an Interview Preparation Guide to assist participants in preparing for the sessions.

The interviews are an invaluable means of acquiring relevant and important information about the City’s priorities, business process analysis, workflow, and provide the basis for recommendations of future technology services and support.

SDI recommends on-site, face-to-face interviews to ensure a thorough understanding of concerns and priorities. If necessary, phone interviews may be scheduled to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate or as follow-up to ensure clarity.

Task 2.3 – Perform IT Assessment
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI’s IT Assessment evaluates whether the City’s IT infrastructure and support organization are prepared to support the future needs of the City by reviewing six key operational “assessment dimensions.” This review takes a comprehensive best practices view of essential IT delivery components, as a weakness in any one particular dimension can adversely influence the overall effectiveness of the organization. Findings and recommendations are developed based on:
♦ Information gathered during the business technology interviews with department stakeholders ♦ The results of the Voice of the Customer Survey
♦ Interviews with IT managers and staff
♦ The IT best practices assessment
SDI’s team will consolidate this information and develop findings and recommendations based on the City’s compliance with best practices in the following dimensions:

Technology Governance – Evaluation of the current IT organization and assessment of its skills, staffing levels, and capability to support operation and maintenance of current and future systems. This will include a review of IT project management practices, planning activities, IT refreshment, and the use of oversight committees.

Service Delivery – Evaluation of the daily operation of the IT environment including budget, service metrics, maintenance, help desk, configuration management, change management and capacity management.

Business Technology Applications – Evaluation of the processes and methods to support business and operational technology applications.

Security – Evaluation of the use of software monitoring tools, virus protection procedures, physical hardware security, network vulnerability, passwords, data backup/recovery processes, physical and data security, integrity planning, PCs, network, firewall, incident response, patch management, anti -virus protection and emergency operations.

Infrastructure – Review of the network, servers, desktops, telephony, storage configurations, remote access, data storage, server management, and operational procedures.

Administration – Review of technology procurement processes, contract management, vendor management, software license management, budget/charge back management and physical inventory processes.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 7
Task 2.4 – Conduct Management Briefing
TASK DESCRIPTION: Upon compilation of the initial findings and recommendations from the IT Assessment activities, SDI will meet with the City’s Project Sponsor to review and discuss these items prior to the development of the draft IT Assessment Report.

DELIVERABLE: Verbal Briefing of IT Assessment Findings
Task 2.5 – Develop and Deliver IT Assessment Report
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will compile the results of the prior activities to create a Business Opportunities Report. This report will provide a department (business and operations) focused perspective on how the core business applications are currently being used, along with the challenges, issues, and opportunities.

DELIVERABLE: Draft and Final IT Assessment Report

Phase 3 - Deliver
Ensuring that the City’s business and IT staff priorities are in alignment can greatly enhance customer and employee satisfaction, empower teams, achieve business objectives and ensure efficient use of resources in pursuit of City goals and priorities. In Phase 3 – Deliver , SDI works with the City to review and analyze the findings of previous phases in order to identify, analyze, and prioritize projects that need to be included in the ITM P. SDI brings to the City proven methods and tools to ensure identified projects are well defined, understood by the stakeholders, and prioritized using agreed upon criteria. During this task, SDI will facilitate a Project Prioritization Workshop that uses a multi-step process to arrive at a City -wide prioritization of identified projects that will provide the basis for a roadmap in the ITMP. Table 3 provides detail regarding the Deliver phase of the process.

Table 3 – Phase 3 Deliver

Task 3.1 – Prepare for Prioritization Workshop
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will develop a Project Portfolio containing projects identified through our information gathering process with City staff. For each project, SDI will document the name, description, benefits, cost, level of effort to implement, risk, and implementation period. The draft Project Portfolio will be distributed prior to the Prioritization Workshop so that attendees can review and be prepared for the Workshop.

DELIVERABLE: IT Project Portfolio

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 8
Task 3.2 – Conduct Citywide Prioritization Workshop
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI believes we have many unique and proven methods to develop a successful IT Strategic Plan; however, this activity alone sets us apart from all our competitors. Our Blue Wall approach uses a multi-step prioritization methodology and tools that encourages staff participation and collaboration. The workshop is designed to help drive consensus to obtain City -wide prioritization of projects. The result of the workshop will be a prioritized list of projects assigned to a timeframe. In addition, the workshop is designed to identify IT Strategic Plan enabling factors which are defined as key elements that must be in place or occur to allow the Plan to be a success. Examples of enabling factors could include training, staffing, budget, governance, project management, and change management.

DELIVERABLE: Prioritization Workshop Materials
Task 3.3 – Prepare IT Strategic Plan
TASK DESCRIPTION: SDI will incorporate work products from previous tasks as the foundation for the development of the City’s IT Strategic Plan. SDI will use this information, as well as other information provided by staff and independent research, to create a draft of the IT Strategic Plan and review it with the City. SDI will revise and update the IT Strategic Plan based on feedback from the City and will conduct a final technical and quality review of the final IT Strategic Plan before submission to the City’s executive team.

DELIVERABLE: Draft and Final IT Strategic Plan

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 9
Section 4 Price of Proposal
SDI has developed its project costs based on our extensive experience completing similar projects, along with our research on the City’s organization, size, and structure. We propose to complete the City’s IT Strategic Plan utilizing a total of 374 hours of effort. Detailed information about the number of hours, along with cost, by Phase and Task are presented in Table 5 below.

Table 5 - Project Level of Effort and Cost By Phase and Task

SDI’s hourly rates for our consultant team are as follows:
♦ Delivery Executive: $220
♦ Project Manager: $210
♦ Project Consultant: $200
Travel expenses will be billed based on actual costs substantiated by receipts, and SDI agrees to a not - to-exceed travel budget of $7,500. SDI does not charge its clients for consultant travel time.

SDI typically invoices its clients monthly for work performed in the prior month. Invoices are substantiated by detailed descriptions of tasks performed by SDI resources, and number of hours to complete the task. Billed expenses will be substantiated by receipts.

Task Descriptions Hours Price
Phase 1 - Initiate

1.1 Facilitate Project Sponsor Planning Meeting 4 860$

1.2 Finalize Work Plan 3 640$

1.3 Request and Review Documentation 12 2,460$

1.4 Conduct Kickoff Meeting 5 1,040$
Subtotal: Phase 1 - Initiate 24 5,000$
Phase 2 - Assess

2.1 Conduct "Voice of the Customer" Survey 40 8,200$

2.2 Conduct Business Technology Assessment 120 24,400$

2.3 Perform IT Assessment 60 12,300$

2.4 Conduct Management Briefing 8 1,680$

2.5 Develop and Deliver IT Assessment Report 30 6,150$ Subtotal: Phase 2 - Assess 258 52,730$
Phase 3 - Deliver

3.1 Prepare for Prioritization Workshop 12 2,460$

3.2 Conduct Citywide Prioritization Workshop 20 4,160$

3.3 Prepare IT Strategic Plan 60 12,300$
Subtotal: Phase 3 - Deliver 92 18,920$
Sub-Total Level of Effort 374 76,650$
Not-To-Exceed Travel Expenses 7,500$
Total Not-To-Exceed Project Cost 84,150$

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 10
Section 5 References
SDI has been providing comprehensive IT strategic planning services to local government agencies for over 30 years. We possess significant experience developing IT Strategic Plans, and our proposed project team has been successfully working together for several years on similar engagements. Provided below are five references for similar projects. We welcome the City to reach out to these, or any of our other clients.

Reference 1
Name of Organization City of Vista

Address 200 Civic Center Drive
Vista, CA 92084
Name of Contact Chris Mitchell, Director of IT
Telephone and Email (760) 643-5438
[email protected]
Project Title IT Assessment & Technology Strategic
Plan
Project Description
SDI completed a comprehensive assessment of the City’s technology operations and provided recommendations designed to improve overall service delivery. SDI also developed a n IT Strategic Plan to guide the City’s future technology investments.

SDI is currently providing consulting assistance on several strategic plan projects including the development of IT policies and procedures and completion of a disaster recovery / business continuity plan.

Reference 2
Name of Organization

Address
Name of Contact
Telephone and Email

Project Title
City of West Hollywood

8300 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Eugene Tsipis, IT Manager
(323) 848-6399
[email protected]
IT Assessment & Strategic Plan
Project Description
SDI recently completed an IT assessment and development of an IT Strategic Plan. The Plan helped guide the City to better allocate its information technology resources and to obtain greater benefits for its investments in information technology. The plan also provided a baseline to enable the City to more effectively respond to new and/or changing requirements by proactively adapting processes, organization, and infrastructure.

SDI recently completed project management services for the implementation of a new Land Management System for the City.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 11
Reference 3
Name of Organization City of Placentia

Address 401 E. Chapman Avenue
Placentia, CA 92870
Name of Contact Daniel Chang, IT Manager
Telephone and Email (714) 993-8204
[email protected]
Project Title IT Assessment & IT Master Plan
Project Description
SDI recently completed a comprehensive assessment of the City’s technology operations and provided recommendations designed to improve overall service delivery. SDI also developed a Technology Master Plan to guide the City’s future technology investments.

Reference 4
Name of Organization
Address
Name of Contact
Telephone and Email
Project Title
City of Beverly Hills

455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
David Schirmer, CIO
(310) 285-2581
[email protected]
IT Assessment & Strategic Plan
Project Description
SDI completed an IT assessment and development of an IT Strategic Plan. This most recent project was an update to the Strategic Plan SDI completed in 2016, and the City contracted directly with SDI (without an RFP process) to complete the updated Plan.

Reference 5
Name of Organization
Address
Name of Contact
Telephone and Email
Project Title
City of Sacramento Dept. of Utilities

1395 35th Ave.

Sacramento, CA 95822
Rong Liu, IT Manager
(916) 808-1979
[email protected]
Utilities IT Digital Strategy
Project Description
SDI recently completed an IT assessment and development of an IT Digital Strategy for the City’s Department of Utilities. The project included the development of the Strategic Plan, along with an assessment of IT staffing and development of a training plan.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 12
Section 6 Key Project Staff Background
For this project, SDI is proposing a team of highly qualified and experienced professionals with the proven ability to complete projects on time and within budget. SDI’s proposed team includes former local agency IT specialists with significant depth and expertise to address all aspects of this important project.

For this project, SDI is proposing a team of highly qualified and experienced professionals with the proven ability to complete projects on time and within budget. SDI’s proposed team includes former local agency IT specialists with significant depth and expertise to address all aspects of this important project.

Figure 2 – Project Team

Patrick Griffin – Engagement Manager
Role: Mr. Griffin will serve as the Engagement Manager on the City’s project, bringing his years of experience working with public agencies to support the City and the project team on this important project. Mr. Griffin will provide management oversight and supp ort to the SDI project team and will interact with the City team on contractual and business-related items.

Biography: Mr. Griffin has over 40 years of experience in California local government. His municipal experience includes serving in a variety of positions including Controller, Finance Director, Community Development Director, and Assistant City Manager, with the last position including responsibility for City- wide budget, information technology, and public communications and outreach. After retiring from the public sector in 2012, Mr. Griffin began a consulting career with NexLevel Information Technology, which merged with SDI in 2017. During his consulting career, Mr. Griffin has been responsible for the completion of several IT Strategic Plans, in addition to ERP and land management system procurements and implementations for local agencies.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 13
Lee Curtis – Strategic Planning Practice Lead and Project Manager Role: Mr. Curtis will serve as the project manager for the engagement, providing oversight of day-to-day project activities and being responsible for project deliverables.

Biography: Mr. Curtis is a senior level, hands -on executive with more than 40 years of experience in technology service and management consulting. He has been a top -tier manager with outstanding technology delivery skills and long -range project planning expertise. Mr. Curtis has provided executive- level consulting to both the private and public sectors supporting a wide range of technology implementations. With over 25 years at NexLevel/SDI, he is an experienced project manager, accomplished writer and a w ell-versed consultant providing in -depth technology assessments and innovative strategic plans to public sector clients. Mr. Curtis has served as CIO or IT Director for numerous organizations across the country and has presented IT Strategic Planning sessions at the Municipal Information Systems Association of California ( MISAC) annual conferences. In 2020, he presented a webinar on Strategic Planning to the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA). Mr. Curtis has participated in assessments and planning projects for numerous cities, counties, and special districts.

Mike Stein – Strategic Planning Consultant
Role: Mr. Stein will provide subject matter expertise throughout the project and will take a lead role in developing draft project deliverables.

Biography: Mr. Stein is a highly experienced management and technology consultant with more than four decades of experience in the public sector, the telecommunications industry and commercial banking. His career has been focused on helping organizations implement complex technology solutions and effectively utilize technology to solve business problems through business process re-engineering, IT strategic planning, procurement assistance, definition of requirements, and project management.

Mike Allen - Strategic Planning Consultant
Role: Mr. Allen will provide subject matter expertise for all aspects of the project, including data gathering activities throughout City Departments.

Biography: Mr. Allen has over 35 years of information technology experience within the public sector.

With this extensive background, Mr. Allen is well qualified to address customer needs by providing deep municipal finance, utility, permitting public safety, geographic information systems, network design, cybersecurity subject matter expertise coupled with hands-on project management and implementation experience.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 14
Section 7 History of Firm
SDI Presence LLC (SDI)
SDI is an IT consultancy and managed services provider (MSP) that leverages its strong team presence to advance our clients to a secure digital enterprise. With a 25+ -year corporate resume, SDI delivers strategic managed services, IT
consulting, and hybrid infrastructure solutions to optimize our clients’ technology environments. SDI is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), with a portfolio of clients that includes some of the nat ion’s largest airports, utilities, commercial real estate portfolios, and government agencies.

SDI delivers a deep technical presence through a local
delivery model to achieve customer confidence and success.

SDI is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with regional offices in Anaheim, and Sacramento, California; Atlanta, G eorgia; and Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas.

SDI’s core services include:

• Hybrid Data Center
Management
• Cloud Infrastructure
Management
• Cybersecurity
Management
• Network Management
• Workplace/End-User
Support
• Physical Security

• Application Managed Services
• Application Modernization
Services
• Custom Application Development
and Enhancement
• Data Analytics
• Quality Assurance and Testing
• Organizational Change
Management
• AI / MLCore Application
Implementation

• Customer Information Systems
(CIS)
• Enterprise Asset
Management (EAM)
• Geographic Information
Systems (GIS)
• Computer Aided Dispatch
(CAD)
• ServiceNow

• IT Governance
• IT Strategic Planning
• Enterprise Technology
Roadmap
• Technology Selection and
Procurement
• AI Readiness Assessments
• Data Strategy & Governance
• IT Assessments
• Project Management Office

SDI Snapshot:
• Headquartered in Chicago
• 25+ Years IT Consulting/Managed
Services Experience
• 389+ Business Professionals
• 87% Customer Satisfaction Rating/89
Promoter Score
• Continuously awarded the “Best Places
to Work” Recognition since 2018
• Financial Stability:
- 2024 Revenue - $90.6M
- Backed by Private Equity Firm - Abry
Partners with $5B under management
• Corporate Plus® Member of the National
Minority Supplier Development Council
(NMSDC)

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 15
SDI Principals
David A. Gupta
Executive Chairman

David A. Gupta founded SDI in 1996 and today continues to serve the firm as its Executive Chairman. David has a proven executive management track record of driving profitable sales growth and outstanding customer satisfaction in the technology services ind ustry. David is a longtime champion of SDI’s value system, commitment to customer advocacy, its passionate workforce, and the company’s vibrant culture, which has been repeatedly recognized as a Best Place to Work by Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune, and Built In Chicago.

At SDI, David is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s strategy and is particularly involved in strategic account development and relationship management throughout the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. David also founded PGV Solutions, a full -service information technology systems integration firm based in southern California, which merged into SDI Presence in June 2016.

Prior to founding SDI, David was a senior vice president in the electrical engineering group at Environmental Systems Design, where he was responsible for the design of power and data systems for more than 10 million square feet of commercial real estate.

David volunteers his time and expertise through pro-bono consulting and hands-on opportunities as well.

His volunteering focus is centered on children, education, economic empowerment, and science and technology; to date, over 150 students have completed SDI’s internship and apprentice programs. He supports a host of charities including the United Way, Lake Forest Academy, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Chicago History Museum, the University of Chicago Graham School, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive Education, and the CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Hardik Bhatt
Chief Executive Officer

Hardik Bhatt serves as the Chief Executive Officer of SDI Presence LLC. In this role, Hardik leverages two decades of key partnerships with global corporate leaders, public sector leaders, startup leaders, investors, and academia to provide strategic direction that helps modernize SDI clients.

Prior to joining SDI, Hardik led AWS’s public sector startup business, launching startup accelerators and incubators globally. He built and ran AWS’s Digital Government and Transportation verticals for State and Local Government businesses while leading st rategic sales, partnerships, and customer solutions, using AWS’s cloud-based business models and supported by proven delivery and innovation methodologies.

Prior to AWS, Hardik was the Chief Information Officer for the State of Illinois. There, he centralized the state’s $1.2 billion IT organization, the Department of Innovation & Technology. As Secretary of the new department, Hardik and his team built the s tate’s first data analytics practice, created the state’s first comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, drove customer-centric innovation, and championed its first

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 16
successful ERP implementation. Under his leadership, Illinois leapfrogged from 4th from the bottom to 3rd in nationwide state technology rankings.

Prior to the State of Illinois, Hardik was a Senior Director at Cisco, leading global business development for its Smart Cities and Internet of Everything (IoE) business. He worked with municipal, state, and national governments across 19 different countries in his five years at Cisco. Before Cisco, Hardik served as the City of Chicago’s CIO and Commissioner of Department of Innovation & Technology, where he leveraged technology to improve citizen services. There, Hardik pioneered the Smart Chicago initiative, deployed cutting-edge mobile apps, and initiated the City’s Open Data Platform.

Hardik is an active industry speaker and is intricately engaged in Chicago’s civic fabric. He is a board director and chairperson of the Cybersecurity Committee for the Fermi National lab, the country’s leading Deep Physics research lab, driving the multi -billion dollar International Long -Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Hardik also serves as a board member for the World Business Chicago and Chicago Innovation. He has been judging Chicago Innovation Awards for the past 15 years and is a member of the angel investment partnership Hyde Park Angels, the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Commercial Club of Chicago.

SDI’s principals are not affiliated with any other companies.

IT Strategic Planning and Related Technology Experience SDI’s Advisory & Consulting Practice has worked with more than 200 state and local government agencies across eight states to complete IT Assessments, IT Strategic Plans, GIS Strategic Plans, Network Assessments, IT Service -Level Assessments, Policy/Procedure Documentation, Project Management Organization implementations, Feasibility Studies, and Request for Proposal (RFP) Development and Procurement Management efforts. Since 1999, SDI has completed over 100 IT Strategic Plans. In addition to our California local government experience, SDI also has significant planning, project management , and procurement experience working with the State of California for agencies such as California Highway Patrol, Department of Justice, Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Child Support Services, and more.

SDI is recognized throughout the State of California for our services supporting public sector agencies with IT strategic planning activities. This is evident not only by the number of successful projects and client references, but also because we are commonly asked by organizations such as California Society of Municipal Financial Officers (CSMFO) and Munic ipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC) to present at their annual conferences and regional chapter groups. SDI has co -presented day long pre-conference sessions dedicated to IT Strategic Planning and ERP procurement and implementation a nd has also presented on the topics of IT sustainability, IT governance, and Cloud Computing. SDI has presented more than a dozen times to CSMFO and MISAC. The fact that we are regularly invited to present at these important organization’s events speaks to our expertise and experience.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 17
Table 4 – SDI West Coast Client List

IT Strategic Plans
IT Assessments
IT Policies &
Procedures
Project
Management
IT Governance
Disaster Recovery
Planning
System Selection
& Procurements
Other Management
Consulting
Municipalities
Alameda, CA   
Anaheim, CA   
Belmont, CA 
Beverly Hills, CA   
Branson, MO   
Burbank, CA  
Burlingame, CA  
Carson, CA 
Carson City, NV    
Chino, CA  
Chino Hills, CA   
Concord, CA  
Coronado, CA    
Costa Mesa, CA 
Cupertino, CA  
Davis, CA  
El Segundo, CA  
Fairfield, CA       
Fremont, CA   
Fresno, CA    
Galt, CA        
Gilroy, CA     
Glendale, CA     
Half Moon Bay, CA  
Huntington Beach, CA    
Indio, CA 
Industry, CA 
Irvine, CA     
La Quinta, CA   
Laguna Beach, CA  
Long Beach, CA   
Los Angeles, CA  
Los Banos, CA  
Malibu, CA  
Manhattan Beach, CA     
Merced, CA   
Millbrae, CA 
Napa, CA    
Newport Beach, CA   
Novato, CA    
Ontario, CA   

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 18

IT Strategic Plans
IT Assessments
IT Policies &
Procedures
Project
Management
IT Governance
Disaster Recovery
Planning
System Selection
& Procurements
Other Management
Consulting
Orange, CA     
Oxnard, CA  
Pasadena, CA  
Paso Robles, CA   
Petaluma, CA 
Pismo Beach, CA   
Pleasant Hill, CA 
Rancho Cordova, CA   
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA    
Redlands, CA 
Redwood City, CA    
Rohnert Park, CA    
San Luis Obispo, CA    
San Rafael, CA      
San Ramon, CA  
Santa Barbara, CA 
Santa Clara, CA       
Santa Cruz, CA     
Stockton, CA     
Suisun City, CA  
Sunnyvale, CA 
Vacaville, CA 
Ventura, CA    
Visalia, CA   
Walnut Creek, CA    
Watsonville, CA    
West Hollywood, CA   
Special Districts
Central Contra Costa Sanitation District        Chino Valley Independent Fire District   
Coachella Valley Water District  
Cosumnes Community Services District  
Cucamonga Valley Water District 
Delta Diablo Sanitation District 

 
East Valley Water District  
Eastern Municipal Water District 
Lake Arrowhead Community Services District 
Las Virgenes Municipal Water District    
Monterey Regional Water P.C.A.  
Moulton Niguel Water District       
North Tahoe Public Utilities District  
Port of Los Angeles  
Rancho California Water District    
Riverside Co. Trans. Commission 

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 19

IT Strategic Plans
IT Assessments
IT Policies &
Procedures
Project
Management
IT Governance
Disaster Recovery
Planning
System Selection
& Procurements
Other Management
Consulting
Sacramento Area Sewer District 
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District  
Sacramento Municipal Utility District 
San Joaquin Council of Governments 
San Bernardino County Fire 
Santa Clara County Fire Department  
Santa Clara County Housing Authority  
Santa Clara Valley Water District 
Silicon Valley Clean Water 
Silicon Valley Power    
Southern CA Association of Governments 
South Tahoe Public Utility District     
West Basin Municipal Water District   
Zone 7 Water Agency  
Counties
Douglas County, Nevada  
El Paso County, Texas  
Lane County, Oregon  
Placer County, CA  
Riverside County, CA 
San Benito County, CA  
San Diego County, CA  
Santa Clara County, CA  
Sonoma County, CA  
State of California
Assoc. of Regional Center Agencies  
CA Correctional Health Care Services  
California Highway Patrol        

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 20
Section 8 Project Schedule
Based on SDI’s experience completing IT Strategic Plans for California organizations, we anticipate the following timeline for the City’s project:

Figure 3 – Project Timeline
The ability to meet this timeline will be dependent on availability of City staff throughout the project and the timely review of draft reports by the City project team.

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 21
Appendix A Team Resumes

Following this cover page are resumes for the SDI project team:
♦ Patrick Griffin – Engagement Manager
♦ Lee Curtis – Project Manager
♦ Mike Stein – Project Consultant
♦ Mike Allen – Project Consultant

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Mr. Griffin is a senior level executive with over 31 years’ experience in public sector local agency management. During his career in local government, Mr. Griffin was responsible for every aspect of municipal management, including responsibility for annual budgets, public information dissemination, elected offici al support, and information technology.

Mr. Griffin held a variety of positions including Finance Director, City Treasurer, and Assistant City Manager during his municipal career. Mr. Griffin’s knowledge and understanding of local government operations brings SDI clients a resource that is aware of, and sensitive to, the unique requirements of public agencies.

PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Assessments and Strategic Planning Projects
Mr. Griffin has led or participated in technology service delivery assessments and strategic planning projects for numerous public agencies. All of the projects involved a detailed review of technology operations, identification of customer needs, prioritization of projects, and/or development of a strategic implementation plan.

• City of Los Angeles
• City of Beverly Hills
• City of Glendale
• City of Fresno
• City of El Segundo
• City of La Quinta
• City of Manhattan Beach
• City of Ontario
• City of Pismo Beach
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes
• City of San Bernardino
• City of Oxnard
• City of Huntington Beach
• City of Ventura
• Port Angeles, WA
• Irvine Ranch Water District
• Inland Empire Utilities Agency
• Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
• East Valley Water District

PATRICK GRIFFIN
Managing Director

AREAS OF EXPERTISE
• Project Management
• Requirements Definition
• Business Process Analysis
• Project Plan Development
• Local Government Operations
• Strategic Plans
• Initiative Development
• Operational Assessments
• Workshop Facilitation
• IT Outsourcing Evaluations
• Feasibility Studies
• RFP Development
• Proposal Writing
• Contract Negotiations

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CONTINUED

ERP and Land Management System Procurements
Mr. Griffin has led efforts toward major software system procurements for both Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Land Management System (LMS) projects for the following agencies:

• City of Manhattan Beach
• City of Indio
• Cucamonga Valley Water District
• Coachella Valley Water District
• Carson City, NV
• City of Poway
• City of Newport Beach
• City of Fresno
• City of La Quinta
• City of Paso Robles
• City of Redlands
• Las Virgenes Municipal Water District
• Camrosa Water District
• Lake Arrowhead Community Services District

Mr. Griffin has also served in the role of project manager for the following implementation projects:

• City of Manhattan Beach ERP implementation
• City of Manhattan Beach Land Management System implementation • City of La Quinta ERP implementation
• City of La Quinta Land Management System implementation • City of Chino ERP implementation

Additional Qualifications
Mr. Griffin’s public sector experience included responsibility for the day to day operations of Finance, Information Technology, and Community Development Departments for a full service city. These responsibilities encompassed the management of staff, development of strategic planning activities, annual budget development for operations and capital budgets, and oversight of these functions for the organization.

Mr. Griffin served on the Fullerton Planning Commission for four years. He remains active in a variety of professional organizations including CSMFO, MISAC, and the League of California Cities.

EDUCATION

California State Long Beach
• Master of Arts, Public Administration

California State Fullerton
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology

PATRICK GRIFFIN

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Mr. Curtis is a senior level, hands-on executive with more than 40 years of experience in technology service delivery and management consulting. He has been a top-tier manager with outstanding technology delivery skills and long-range project planning expertise. Mr.

Curtis has provided executive -level consulting to both the private and public sectors supporting a wide range of technology implementations. He is an experienced project manager, accomplished writer and a well- versed consultant providing in- depth technology assessments and innovative strategic plans to public sector clients.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
IT Assessment
Mr. Curtis has developed IT Assessments for clients that provide a comprehensive review of management and operation performance of the IT organization. These assessments evaluate the current use of IT best practices in six operational dimensions (IT Governance, Business Application Portfolio, Service Delivery, Security/Data Protection, Infrastructure, and Administration). The assessments also provide actionable recommendations for the improvement and effective operation of the IT organization to more effectively deliver services to consumers given available resources and priorities.

• City of Clovis, CA • Douglas County, NV
• City of Concord, CA • John Wayne Airport, CA
• City of Daly City, CA • Lane County, OR
• City of Fairfield, CA • North Tahoe Public Utility District, CA • City of Galt, CA • Sacramento Area Sewer District, CA • City of Rocklin, CA • Sacramento Metropolitan Fire, CA • City of San Clemente, CA

IT Assessment and Strategic Plan

Mr. Curtis has led or participated in technology service delivery assessments and strategic planning projects for the following public agencies. All of the projects involved performing a detailed assessment of the use and management of technology operations, identification of departmental technology needs, prioritization of identified projects, and the creation of a strategic implementation plan including timeframes and estimated costs.

LEE CURTIS
Strategic Planning Practice Leader

AREAS OF EXPERTISE
• Project Management
• Requirements Definition
• Business Process Analysis
• Resource Planning
• IT Governance
• Technology Planning and
Assessments
• Strategic Plans
• Operational Assessments
• Project Prioritization
Workshop(s)
• IT Best Practices
• IT Portfolio Management
• IT Outsourcing Evaluation
• Feasibility Studies
• Disaster/Recovery Plans
• IT Policy/Procedure
Development
• Service Level Measurements
• Data Center Management
• RFP Development
• Proposal Writing
• Contract Negotiation
• Personnel Management
• P&L Administration

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CONTINUED

• City of Alameda, CA
• City of Branson, MO
• City of Brentwood, CA
• City of Carson City, NV
• Central Contra Costa Water District, CA
• City of Cupertino, CA
• Cosumnes Community Services District, CA
• City of Gilroy, CA
• City of Los Banos, CA
• City of Manhattan Beach, CA
• City of Napa, CA
• City of Novato, CA
• City of Petaluma, CA
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
• City of Redwood City, CA
• City of San Luis Obispo, CA
• City of Santa Clara, CA
• City of Santa Cruz, CA
• City of Stockton, CA
• City of Visalia, CA
• City of Walnut Creek, CA
• Delta Diablo Sanitation District, CA
• El Paso County, TX
• Fresno Irrigation District
• Monterey One Water, CA
• Moulton Niguel Water District, CA
• Port of Los Angeles, CA
• Santa Clara County Housing Authority
• South Orange County Wastewater, CA
• South Tahoe Public Utility District, CA
• Union Sanitary District, CA
• Zone 7 Water Control Agency, CA

IT Roadmap
Mr. Curtis developed application software strategies that mapped the acquisition/upgrade of core business software.

These roadmaps were developed in concert with client user departments and included a comprehensive infrastructure analysis of hardware and support equipment requirements. The roadmaps were used to allocate client technology budgets to mission critical projects and provided a platform by which the IT organizations could effectively manage and utilize its resources to meet client business needs.

• California Highway Patrol, CA
• City of Belmont, CA
• City of Los Altos, CA
• City of Rancho Cordova, CA
• City of Temecula, CA
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission, CA
• Sacramento Area Sewer Districts, CA

Interim CIO
Mr. Curtis provided temporary senior IT management services to clients that were in an organizational transition due to retirements or position vacancies. Duties included personnel management, departmental application coordination with product vendors, tactical work plan development, day-to-day infrastructure oversight, and project planning/implementation. In addition, he worked closely with client Human Resource departments in the recruitment, selection, and transition to permanent management personnel.

• City of Rancho Cordova, CA
• City of Stockton, CA
• Douglas County, NV

IT Organization Analysis

For several clients, Mr. Curtis performed an assessment of their IT organization and made recommendations for new or modified IT structures that provided increased efficiency for the delivery of service. These organizational evaluations

LEE CURTIS

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CONTINUED

• City of Hayward, CA
• City of Huntington Beach, CA
• City of Orange, CA
• Tulare County, CA

Consulting and IT Management
Mr. Curtis has a vast background within IT management and technical consulting. He has worked with public entities his entire career and has held the following technical positions: Managing Consultant, Vice President for Software Implementation, CIO, IT Director, Systems Analyst, and Programmer/Analyst. He has deep experience in evaluating IT operations, making recommendations for operational improvements, and has managed the implementation of IT best practices for organizations large and small. Selected clients and employers include:

• Affiliated Computer Services, TX
• Butte County, CA
• City of Anaheim, CA
• City/County of Indianapolis/Marion County, IN
• Dallas County, TX
• Siskiyou County, CA
• Solano County, CA
• Southwest Marine, CA
• Systems & Computer Technology, PA
• Tooele County, UT
• University of Richmond, VA
• University of South Dakota, SD
• Wayne County Community College District, MI

EDUCATION

University of South Dakota
• Economics/Business Administration

Recent Presentations:
• MISAC Case Study Webinar, February 2021, “The Importance of IT Strategic Planning for Your Organization” • Association of California Water Agencies, July 2020, “IT Strategic Planning Overview”

SKILLS

LEE CURTIS

Michael Stein
Project Consultant

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Mr. Stein is a highly experienced management and technology consultant with more than four decades of experience in the public sector, the telecommunications industry and commercial banking. His career has been focused on helping organizations implement complex technology solutions and effectively utilize technology to solve business problems through business process re- engineering, IT strategic planning, procurement assistance, definition of requirements, and project management. In recent years, he has been primarily engaged in facilitating the development of IT strategies, assisting agencies in the implementation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf systems, in finding effective ways to exchange information, and in improving internal processes.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Business Information Technology Assessment, Lane County, Oregon Mike served as a lead consultant in the development of an assessment of the County’s use of information technology including the processes for the governance of information technology and the management and delivery of information technology services. The engagement also included a review of the County’s methodology for charging back the direct and indirect costs for IT services to user departments as well as the administration of the chargeback program. The engagement included working closely with the County Administrator and the Chief Information Officer as well as conducting interviews with key stakeholders in the user community, assessment of the City’s conformance to IT Best Practices, and the development of a gap analysis. The engagement included the development of an action plan for the County that was reviewed with its management team.

Information Technology Strategic Plan, City of Watsonville Mike served as the project manager and lead consultant in the development of an IT Strategic Plan as well as an IT classification and compensation study for the City of Watsonville. The development of the IT Strategic Plan included a detailed assessment of the City’s Information Technology Division as well as interviews with key user stakeholders regarding the obstacles and challenges they were facing; IT projects in progress; and opportunities. Mike facilitated a group planning and prioritization workshop for the City’s key stakeholders and conducted an IT governance workshop.

EDUCATION
• Master of Public Administration Program
o John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, 1974
• Bachelor of Arts
o Marietta College, Ohio, 1972

SKILLS
Mr. Stein holds various certifications including Information Technology Strategic Planning and Project Management from Touche-Ross & Co., and Total Quality Management from the County of Los Angeles.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE
• Project Management
• IT Governance
• Needs & Gap Analysis
• Business Process Re-
Engineering
• Requirements Definition
• Project Plan Development

Technology Planning &
Assessments
• Strategic Plans
• Policy/Procedure Development
• Operational Assessments
• Digital Government
• IT Best Practices
• Project Management Office

Other Technical Areas
• Business Intelligence
• Information Exchange
• RFP Development
• Quality Assurance
• Systems Integration
• Systems Architecture

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MICHAEL ALLEN
Managing Consultant

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Mr. Allen has over 35 years of information technology experience within the public sector. With this extensive background, Mr. Allen is well qualified to address customer needs by providing deep municipal finance, utility, permitting public safety, geographic information systems, network design, cyber- security subject matter expertise coupled with hands -on project management and implementation experience. Mr. Allen offers SDI clients strong decision support, analytical, technical, facilitation, project management, communications, and program management skills, and with these skills has established a successful track record in supporting public agencies.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
SDI Presence, LLC
(2017 - Present)
Managing Consultant
This role is focused on helping organizations implement complex technology solutions and effectively utilize technology to solve business problems through business process evaluation, IT strategic planning, information sharing, procurement assistance, requirements definition, technology contract management, IT portfolio management, and project management.

City of Visalia, CA
(July 1994 - December 2016)
Information Services Manager
Focused on city-wide technology initiatives, driving business value and technological innovation. Responsible for planning, implementing, and administering the technology budget within an internal service fund model. Provided appropriate technology and tools to ensure the highest business value and return on investment. Responsible for preparing and presenting staff reports, memos and presentations to various staff, IT Steering Committee, and City Council. Participated on labor negotiations team for two years. Evaluated, selected for hire, trained and disciplined staff, as well as managing all facets of a high-performance IT organization.

MISAC State Board Representative
(2010 – 2015)
Elected State Board Representative for the Central Chapter of Municipal Information Systems Association of California. Participated in strategies to more than double membership, organize conferences, and provide MISAC member value. Responsible for the first development of an inventory toolset used for providing Information

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Project Management
IT Strategic Planning
Procurement
Network & Security Technology

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MICHAEL ALLEN

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE CONTINUED
Technology metrics for members. Responsible for legislative activity and participation on the League of California Cities Administrative and Housing and Economic Development committees. Speaking engagements and presentations given at MISAC conferences, League of California Cities conference.

Visalia Rescue Mission, CA
(2009 – 2022)
Board Member and Chairperson
Involved in the organization and board member activities of this multi-million-dollar non-profit agency. This agency provides services, programs, and homeless shelter for men and women facing drug and alcohol addictions in the Visalia area. As a member of the Executive Management Team, I am intimately familiar with non-profit financial and organizational challenges, including staffing decisions, publicity, strategy development, and damage-control.

City of Roseville, CA
(1988 – 1994)
Senior Programmer Analyst
Responsibilities included network design, maintenance, and troubleshooting, staff supervision and workload delegation, and defining system and operational procedures. Lead technologist for the successful implementation of a new ERP system (full financials, payroll, human resources).

City of Roseville, CA
(1985 – 1988)
Programmer Analyst
Responsibilities included Utility system support and design, financial system support, and both micro and mini- computer support. Early development and innovation with mobile computing for Public Safety services. Implemented a new recreation scheduling and registration system.

EDUCATION
California State University, Sacramento, CA
• Bachelor of Science, Business

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC), Honorary Lifetime Member State Board Representative, December 2011 - 2016

Proposal to City of Hercules for
Information Technology Strategic Plan - RFP #25-001
May 1, 2025 Page 30
Appendix B Sample Reports
The following pages provide two sample reports prepared by SDI.

Information Technology Strategic Plan

Prepared by:

November 18, 2024

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | i

This page has been intentionally left blank

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | ii

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 SCOPE & OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................ 1 DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION ........................................................................................................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 3 OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE IT STRATEGIC PLAN ...................................................................................................... 3 SYNOPSIS OF THE IT STRATEGIC PLAN ............................................................................................................ 4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS ................................................................................................ 9 OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 9 PROJECT SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................................ 15 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 15 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 15 IT STRATEGIC PLAN PROJECT PORTFOLIO ...................................................................................................... 16 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND COST PER FISCAL YEAR ........................................................................................... 18 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 27 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 27 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ..................................................................................................................... 27 NEXT STEPS .......................................................................................................................................... 30 CLOSING THOUGHT ................................................................................................................................ 31 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 32 APPENDIX A - CITY-WIDE AND DEPARTMENTAL PROJECTS (ALPHABETICAL BY PROJECT NAME) ..................................... 32 APPENDIX B - ITD PROJECTS NOT PRIORITIZED (ALPHABETICAL BY PROJECT NAME) .................................................. 39

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | iii

Revision Log

Date Description
November 18, 2024 IT Strategic Plan

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | 1

Introduction
Scope & Objectives
This document, entitled Information Technology Strategic Plan (IT Strategic Plan) was developed for the City of Alameda (City) by SDI Presence LLC (SDI). The IT Strategic Plan will enable the City to align the allocation of its information technology resources with the City’s business objectives and to obtain greater benefits for its investments in information technology. Although the IT Strategic Plan provides a holistic view of the City’s information technology needs and priorities at the present time it does not attempt to predict the future; but rather, it provides a baseline that will enable the City to re-allocate resources as needed to effectively respond to new and/or changing requirements.

A key input to the development of the 2024 IT Strategic Plan was the review of the 2017 Strategic Plan which included forty-four (44) technology projects that were designed to help ensure the City’s technology environment could support current and anticipated business needs. The projects spanned all departments and when implemented , would improve operations, and increase the security and reliability of the City’s technology infrastructure. SDI found that:
 Twenty (20) projects had been completed.
 One (1) project was on-hold.
 Three (3) projects that are specific to AMP had been removed.  Eighteen (19) projects remain ed open at varying levels of completeness and were re - evaluated and included in the 2024 IT Strategic Plan where appropriate.

Document Organization
Figure 1 – Document Organization (Source: SDI)
As depicted in Figure 1, Document Organization, this document is structured as follows:
 Introduction: Provides information regarding the scope and objectives of the IT Strategic Plan and the organization and contents of the document.  Executive Summary: Provides a high-level summary of the development of the IT Strategic Plan and the results of the planning process.
 Information Technology Trends : Provides information regarding IT s trategic planning considerations as related to current information technology trends.

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | 2

 Project Schedule: Provides information regarding the methodology used in the development of the IT Strategic Plan, the Project Portfolio, Project S chedule, Costs Per Fiscal Year, and Gantt charts.
 Conclusion: Provides final project thoughts and the next steps the City should consider in implementing IT Strategic Plan projects.
 Appendices: Provides the IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio.

Terminology and Numbering
In order to make this document readable by persons who are not information technology professionals SDI has minimized the usage of technical jargon and where this is unavoidable, SDI has avoided the use of acronyms. The City’s Information Technology Department is generally referred to as either ITD or City IT to avoid confusion with information technology (IT) in general.

Figures and tables have been numbered consecutively from the beginning of the document.

The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | 3

Executive Summary
Overview
SDI facilitated the development of the IT Strategic Plan for the City during 2024. The active participation of the City ’s City Manager, Assistant City Manager, Department Heads, IT Director, IT staff, and user stakeholders ensured that the resulting plan is highly relevant to the City’s objectives and priorities. At the same time, SDI brought a perspective of information technology trends and best practices which are applicable to municipal government in the State of California, as well as familiarity with the speci fic concerns of the City of Alameda through our participation in the development of the 2017 IT Strategic Plan.

This executive summary provides a brief overview of:
 How the IT Strategic Plan was developed.
 Review of the Project Portfolio and Prioritization Process.  The completed project roadmap.

Development of the IT Strategic Plan
Figure 2 – Development of the IT Strategic Plan (Source: SDI)

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Figure 2, Development of the IT Strategic Plan, provides a high- level view of the activities that were performed and the deliverables that were created leading up to the IT Strategic Plan itself. As shown, the planning process is oriented around two phases:
 In Phase 1 SDI conducted a series of activities which defined where the City is with its use of information technology today. Activities included:
 On online survey.
 Interviews with key user stakeholders to identify the business and operational applications being used, issues and obstacles that the users were encountering, opportunities to improve business processes, future needs, and planned projects.  A review of the City’s conformance to best practices for information systems.  A gap analysis between the City’s current conformance to best practices to desirable targets.
 An analysis of the City’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT Analysis).
 Findings related to the most significant information technology challenges facing the City.
 Recommendations to remediate the findings.
 In Phase 2 SDI performed the following activities:
 Developed a portfolio of strategic projects based on the findings and recommendations, user needs, and projects that were already in-progress or planned. The portfolio was reviewed with the City, revised as needed, and then used as the basis for project prioritization workshops.
 Facilitated two workshops with City department heads to reach consensus as to the projects to be included in the IT Strategic Plan and the priorities of projects aligned over the next 3 years.
 Developed granular project schedules.
 Developed the IT Strategic Plan (this document).

Synopsis of the IT Strategic Plan
Project Portfolio
SDI developed a portfolio of proposed projects (See Appendices). The portfolio includes projects that are:
 Presently in progress.
 Planned, but not yet in progress.
 Identified as future needs through the interviews and workshops conducted with the City’s departments.

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 Identified by SDI as recommendations outlined in the IT Operations Review Report.  Carried over from the 2017 IT Strategic Plan that have not been implemented.

The Project Portfolio was reviewed with the City’s department heads who modified the Portfolio as projects were added, removed, or consolidated. Upon completion of the review, SDI pre-staged the projects over a timeline which included:
 Projects that were in progress during Fiscal Year 2024/25.  Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2024/25 - FY2025/26.  Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2026/27 – FY2027/28.  Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2028/29.

Project Prioritization
SDI mapped the projects over the next five fiscal years to accommodate resource and funding constraints. The final project plan is shown in Figure 3, “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap.

Figure 3 – “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap (Source: SDI)
Gantt Chart and Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year
Based on the project roadmap provided in Figure 3, “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap, SDI developed a Gantt Chart to provide a more granular view of the project roadmap including work in progress, work planned, and the number of concurrent projects in each time period. Please see Figure 11, Gantt Chart and Estimated Cost per FY , Page 1; Figure 12, Gantt Chart and Estimated Cost per FY , Page 2; and Figure 13, Gantt Chart and Estimated Cost per FY , Page 3 in the Project Schedule Section of this document.

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Based on the Gantt Chart, SDI was able to allocate project costs per Fiscal Year and this is shown in Figure 4, Estimated Cost by Fiscal Year. The cost model is based on the following assumptions:
 Estimated c osts were developed for each project based on SDI’s experience with similar projects and adjusted for the size of the City . These estimated costs should be used for planning and budget purposes and the actual costs incurred by the City may vary from the estimates. The p roject cost per fiscal year is based on an average of the low and high estimated costs (in $000’s) for each project a s documented in the IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio (an abridged version of the project portfolio is provided as Appendix A) and is labelled as “Estimated Mid-Range” Cost in Figure 4.
 It is assumed that the full cost for a multi-year project is incurred in the FY in which it is begun.  Except for projects that have annual recurring costs (such as for the annual refreshment of the City’s IT infrastructure or for services contracts), the cost for a project is assumed to be fully incurred in the Fiscal Year in which the project commences even if the project’s duration spans fiscal years.
 On-going costs for new positions are not presented as those costs will be included in future City budgets under personnel or contract categories.
 Costs are not provided for projects that are in- progress or that have been planned for FY 2024/25 since these have already been budgeted.

For each project Figure 4 provides:
 The ID number of project from the ITSP Project Portfolio.  The name of the project.
 The project sponsor(s) (the City departments most directly responsible for the project, the sponsor for projects which impact all departments is shown as “City-wide”).  Project Category:
 “1 – In Progress” includes 13 projects that are currently in progress.  “2 – Planned” includes 8 projects that are planned for the third and fourth quarters of FY 2024/25.
 “3 – Planned” includes 21 projects that were prioritized by the City’s participants in the prioritization workshop on October 29, plus an additional project that is closely related to them.
 “4 – Planned” includes 14 projects that are of importance to the City but that were not prioritized by the City.
 The estimated mid -range cost (in $000’s) for the projects in category 3 – Planned. The estimated mid-range cost for the projects in category 1 – In Progress and category 2 – Planned is shown as “N/A” since these costs have already been budgeted and the estimated mid - range cost for the projects in category 4 – Planned is shown as “TBD” (to be determined) since there is no schedule for them at this time.

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 The FY in which the cost is incurred, FY 2025/26, FY 2026/27, and FY 2027/28.

Figure 4 – Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year (Source: SDI)

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As shown in Figure 4, the estimated costs per FY and the total program cost are as follows:

Fiscal Year Estimated Cost
($000’s)
FY 2025/26: $613
FY 2026/27: $300
FY 2027/28: $210
Total Program Cost: $1,123

Please note that the total program cost for this IT Strategic Plan is somewhat more modest than the total program cost for the projects in the 2017 IT Strategic Plan since:
 The 2024 IT Strategic plan does not envision the acquisition and implementation of enterprise software products and is more focused on enabling the City to derive additional value for its existing investments in information technology than making new investments.  Costs are not included for the 14 projects that have yet to be scheduled.

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Information Technology Trends
Overview
Not only does information technology continually evolve but the pace of this evolution is continually accelerating. As a result, the ways in which organizations use information technology are changing as are the expectations of internal and external stakeholders for access to information and services.

A key consideration in evaluating the potential impact of information technology trends is that they do not impact the operations and priorities of organizations to the same degree. Although predicting the future of information technology can be problematic, as depicted in Figure 5, Strategic Trends in Information Technology, SDI has identified six key information technology trends that:
 Are relevant to the City’s IT Strategic Plan, will likely impact the City’s business objectives and priorities in the future, and shape how ITD implements this IT Strategic Plan.  Have become mature (i.e., are stable, scalable, and that are effectively supported), including artificial intelligence and machine learning , the “ Dataverse, ” the transformation of IT organizations, mobility and the consumerization of information technology, and “SMART” Communities.

Figure 5 – Strategic Trends in Information Technology (Source: SDI) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
There has been considerable progress in the development of tools that enable organizations to effectively navigate through and consume a growing body of information in real time as well as to

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personalize the delivery of information and services. Some municipalities, including the City of Alameda, have begun making limited use of AI. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can:
 Engage in interactions with humans using Natural Language Processing (NLP) or with other machines (“chat boxes”).
 Interpret information provided by a user and take the appropriate action(s), based on either a predetermined set of responses or utilize machine learning algorithms to respond to the user.
 Internalize new information and/or trends and adapt responses as needed (Machine Learning).
 Reduce the need for human input to respond to questions or to requests for services, thus increasing responsiveness and minimizing lost productivity compared to traditional service desk processes.

Potential uses for AI in municipal government include:
 Facilitating interaction with members of the community who are seeking online access to City services and information (including making it easier for members of the community to navigate the City’s website and enabling the City to more rapidly identify and respond to community requirements , particularly where the response involves multiple City departments.
 Enabling City staff members to effectively complete tasks that are not performed routinely, enabling them to take on new assignments as needed with a minimum amount of training, to access knowledge bases , and t o securely perform tasks such as resetting and managing passwords and resolving common device and/or network issues without needing to complete a ticket and wait for a response from the service desk.

AI tools are typically available as cloud -based services and can be activated, configured, and implemented with relatively less time and expense than traditional business applications.

The Emergence of the “Dataverse”
Although there is a commercial product from Microsoft (“Microsoft Dataverse”), this trend refers to the creation of generic, centralized repositories of information to support information sharing and research. O ver time these repositories have also been referred to as “data warehouses” and “big data” but despite all of the attention that has been given to the potential benefits of creating these repositories, municipalities have been slow to adopt them. Barriers to adoption have included:
 The level of investment and resources required to:
 Establish and maintain an enterprise approach to the governance and management of data to support the creation and the maintenance of the repositories.  Gather information from disparate applications with each application having unique data models.

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 Provide tools that enable trained, but otherwise non-technical, users to access the data in the repository.
 Provide support.
 The implementation of enterprise software suites (such as ERP products) that provide reporting and query tools and that provide a more limited, but readily available, approach to data retrieval and analysis.
 The proliferation of individual dashboards based on products such as PowerBI that can be more rapidly and less expensively deployed.

Nonetheless, the continued development and maturity of tools that support the establishment of repositories, the development of models for enterprise data governance and management, the development of national standards for information sharing, the need for regional collaboration on key issues facing municipalities (such as homelessness and crime) as well as the potential benefits of, at least, selectively integrating data related to decision making and policy formulation, suggest that municipalities will be considering the creation of repositories or participating in regional efforts.

The Transformation of IT Organizations
Figure 6 – Conceptual IT Service Delivery Model (Source: SDI) Figure 6, Conceptual IT Service Delivery Model, depicts SDI’s model of how municipalities will need to govern, manage, and deliver IT services to internal and external user communities in the future.

Over the last decade there have been substantial changes in both information technology (including the maturation of the Internet, Cloud -based services, and mobility) as well as how public sector organizations use information technology (with digital services being integral to how they collaborate with their regional partners, communicate with the public, and provide services).

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Despite these changes in information technology , and municipalities increased dependence on information technology, the ways in which cities govern the use of IT and manage the delivery of IT services have remained relatively static and informal. The adoption of governance models for IT and IT organizations that were based on traditional, centralized IT service delivery models have limited the ability of organizations to keep pace with changes in public expectations, developments in information technology , as well as to obtain greater value for their investments in information technology.

With the continued movement of commercial -off-the-shelf (COTS) business and operational applications from on-premises installations to cloud-based services (Software-as-a-Service) and as cloud-based IT infrastructure becomes increasingly cost competitive with on -premises facilities, it is thus reasonable to expect that IT support organizations that are primarily service providers today will find that they will need to modify organization and staffing to become:
 Service managers that can manage and support the delivery of on-premises and cloud-based services.
 Service brokers that are able to assist user organizations in finding the optimum mix of services for their specific requirements.

Mobility and the Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of information technology refers to the use of personal devices, most often mobile, to obtain access to organizational services and information (also sometimes referred to as BYOD – bring your own device). Mobility fundamentally changes the paradigm of the standard desktop computing model where the computer, the operating system, the applications, plus the user’s data and preferences are integrated into a single platform that remains in the same location.

Whereas desktop computing is device and location centric, mobility is user centric.

This is particularly relevant to municipalities as members of the community use a variety of devices to access city information and services. This has several implications including:
 The proliferation of devices is a challenge for support organizations as users attempt to obtain connectivity to secured wireless networks and utilize applications. It is estimated that the introduction of mobility in an organization can increase service desk workload by as much as 10%.
 User access to services from mobile / wireless devices potentially exposes both the organization’s assets and the mobile device to cyber-attacks.  Public-facing solutions need to be both open and adaptive to optimize user experience from a universe of devices, (each with different screens, browsers, and operating systems) that are continually evolving.

Organizational Change Management
There is always a degree of resistance to change, however beneficial, since executives, managers, and staff sometimes find comfort in established processes even when they find them frustrating.

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Overcoming this resistance to change in a thoughtful, open, and consistent manner is not only critical to successful implementation of new business and operational applications but also in enabling an organization to better manage its total cost of ownership for information technology and to obtain the greatest possible return for its investments in information technology.

In particular, the introduction of new enterprise -wide applications and/or modifications to existing applications often involves changes to existing business processes to obtain the greatest possible benefit from the applications. This presents two distinct challenges:
 Resistance to change by the prospective users of a new business application or the implementation of significant changes to an existing application can jeopardize successful implementation, extend the project timeline, and limit the ability of an organization to fully realize the expected value for its investment.
 The implementation of new automation and changes to existing business processes have the potential to disrupt operations and impact the ability of an organization to provide services.

Organizational change management (OCM) provides a methodological framework for managing the organizational impact of the implementation of new automation including changes in business processes, changes in organizational structure, and changes in culture (including changes in focus and changes in how performance is measured) by focusing on improving communication, setting expectations, and working to minimize the impact of misinformation.

In 1995, John Kotter introduced an eight-step process for fostering the successful implementation of changes in organizational structure, business processes, and culture. 1 Kotter’s framework for change
management includes:
 Creating a shared sense of urgency regarding the need to change.  Forming a guiding coalition across the organization to support change.  Creating a vision for change.
 Communicating the vision to the organization.
 Preparing to overcome obstacles.
 Planning for, and delivering, short-term wins to sustain momentum.  Remaining committed to the long-term process required to transform organizations.  “Anchoring” the changes in the culture of the organization (the “new normal”). “Smart” Communities
The implementation of “Smart” technologies is unusual in that this trend is not a single technology, per-se, but rather represents an integrated approach to the utilization of emerging information technologies and technology trends. The objectives of “Smart” implementations include enabling organizations to more effectively identify trends (such as incidents, traffic, power demand, parking

1 https://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/8-steps/
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space availability, etc.); to re -allocate or reprogram resources in response to these trends; and to support programs such as “Smart” energy-efficient buildings, autonomous vehicles, and electronic payment processing.

“Smart” capabilities can also benefit members of the community and visitors by enabling them to obtain information through smartphone apps regarding employment services, public safety, healthcare, social services, transit and driving route information, parking, and transit service options, etc., as well as to report incidents and concerns.

The Internet of Things (Io T) provides the foundation for many “Smart” initiatives. For some time, devices have stored data so that it can be manually downloaded and accessed on demand.

Combining this capability with the ability to access the internet (and thus the ability to both autonomously receive and transmit information) has brought us to the IoT. McKinsey, a leading management consulting firm, has suggested six distinct types of applications to consume this information; tracking behavior, enhanced situational analysis, sensor -driven decisions analytics, process optimization, optimized resource consumption, and complex autonomous systems (such as collision avoidance).

The effective implementation and continued use of Smart technologies includes:
 The development and implementation of open and collaborative processes to develop the visions for the implementation of Smart technologies as well as for the continuing governance of the initiatives.
 The implementation of secure, resilient, and ubiquitous wireless services that enable access to smart services from any device, anywhere, and anytime and that can scale to meet expected surges in demand (such as events) as well as unexpected surges in demand.  The development of a comprehensive plan for the implementation and continuing support of the Smart services that leverages public / private partnerships as well as regional partnerships.
 The development and implementation of a plan to leverage the information produced by smart devices, including the use of business intelligence, business analytics, and artificial intelligence.

One of the inhibitors to the full use of Smart technologies is that they are typically implemented as siloed, departmental applications rather than as an enterprise program, since organizations often wish to gain experience in a limited area first, external funding is often targeted to specific initiatives, and the time to implementation, immediate cost, and risk are less with siloed applications.

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Project Schedule
Overview
Change has been, and continues to be, a constant concern for public sector executives who must often respond to increased public expectations and new mandates with limited resources and with information technology environments that are not agile. Without a plan to manage and respond to change, organizations tend to become reactive rather than proactive and, as a result, obtain reduced benefits for their investments in information technology. This multi-year IT Strategic Plan sets forth a roadmap for the City that identifies current technology projects and, to the extent possible, future technology needs. The plan lays out the strategy and steps to meet those needs and to enable the City to sustainably deliver high quality services to its internal user community and the public.

Methodology
Figure 7 – Development of the IT Strategic Plan for the City of Alameda (Source: SDI) As depicted in Figure 7, Development of the IT Strategic Plan for the City of Alameda, SDI worked collaboratively with the City to develop a detailed perspective of the issues facing the City in its use of information technology, identify potential opportunities to make better use of information technology, and understand user needs. This information was developed through a highly interactive process that included:
 Development of an IT Operations Review that documented where the City is today and where it needs to be in the future through a comprehensive and participative process that included:

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 A survey that was available to all City employees with an e-mail address.  Interviews with user stakeholders from the City’s departments, and interviews with the ITD’s management and staff.
 A review of the progress made in completing the projects identified in the 2017 IT Strategic Plan.
 A review of the City’s conformance to information technology best practices.  A series of findings and recommendations that, along with the information provided by the interviewees, provided the basis for the development of the IT Project Portfolio, and, in turn, the development of the IT Strategic Plan.
 A briefing with the City’s management team regarding the key findings and recommendations identified in the IT Operations Review.
 A detailed r eview of the project portfolio by key user stakeholders and ITD. Through this process, additional projects were identified, and some projects that had been completed in the interim were deleted.
 The facilitation of two workshops for the City’s management team to review and prioritize the proposed projects. As a result of this review, SDI developed the project Gantt chart and the estimated cost per fiscal year in consultation with City IT.  Development of the IT Strategic Plan.

IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio
The Project Portfoli o provided the foundation for the development of the IT Strategic Plan . The portfolio includes projects that are:
 Presently in progress.
 Planned, but not yet in progress.
 Identified as future needs through the interviews and workshops conducted with the City’s departments.
 Identified by SDI as recommendations outlined in the IT Operations Review Report.  Identified in the 2017 IT Strategic Plan but that have not been implemented.

An abridged version of the updated P roject Portfolio is provided in the A ppendix and provides key attributes for each project including:
 Project Name: The common name of the project.
 Project Description: A short explanation of the project’s scope and objectives.  Project Sponsor: The Department within the City that requested the project.  Status: The status of the project, including:

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 2017 Plan = The project was originally identified in the 2017 IT Strategic Point and has been carried forward.
 Interview = The project was identified by departments during SDI interviews.  In Progress = The project is being actively worked on.  On Hold = The project is on-hold at this time.
 SDI Recommendation = The project was identified based on a recommendation in the IT Operations Review Report.
 City Addition = The project was added during the City’s management team workshops or by ITD for planned infrastructure activity.

Enabling Factors
SDI assisted the City’s management team in evaluating
and prioritizing the projects by assessing how each project aligned with key factors . As shown in the Appendices, each project was evaluated on how it would improve City’s ability to allocate and utilize IT resources , improve th e effectiveness of the delivery of IT services, better utilize information technology to improve the delivery of services to the community , and enable the City’s to increase the return/value it receives for its spending on information technology.

Utilization of IT Resources
Municipalities seldom have sufficient IT and user staff resources to support all their requirements .

Similarly, the City must optimize its use of existing user and IT staff resources to respond to new and/or changed requirements and expectations. Optimizing the use of user and IT staff resources depends on a number of factors including being able to establish priorities, understanding what staff members are currently working on, when their work will be complete, and reallocating staff resources as needed to better support the city’s objectives and priorities. This process has been complicated by:
 The gradual migration of IT services to the “Cloud” with the impact that the City is now reliant on both internal and external IT resources.
 City departments have engaged external IT resources in support of specialized, high-priority projects without full consultation with ITD.

IT Delivery Effectiveness
Improvements in the effectiveness of the delivery of services to the City’s internal user community is also critical to enabling the City to meet existing requirements and to respond to new requirements.

The adoption of IT best practices particularly as they relate to communication and collaboration, the development and maintenance of documentation, contingency planning, policies, and procedures, training to maintain and increase IT competencies as well as to keep pace with trends in information technology, and planning for staff attrition, are all critical to the ability of ITD and the City’s external IT service providers to effectively provide IT services today and in a sustainable manner over time.  Utilization of IT Resources
 IT Service Delivery Effectiveness
 Operational Effectiveness
 Cost Improvement
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Operational Effectiveness
Increasingly, municipalities are dependent on information technology for the delivery of services and information to their internal user communities and to the public who expect to be able to access them from “any device and at any time. ” Improvements in the effectiveness of service delivery is critical to the ability of cities to better meet public expectations and to cope with budgetary and staffing constraints. These improvements often result from being able to better leverage existing business and operational applications by providing continual training to the user community, improving the support provided to them through the training of subject matter experts (SMEs) within city departments, making fuller use of the features and functionality provided by the City’s applications, and by replacing ineffective applications with applications that are a better fit for the City’s requirements.

Cost Improvement
Projects that will enable the City to better manage its total cost of ownership for IT and the value it receives for its IT investments were identified and directly related to:
 Not all IT spending is readily evident. It is not unusual for organizations to find that they have ‘hidden’ spending on IT resulting from departments independently contracting for, or providing, IT services some of which may duplicate IT services already provided by ITD. This duplication increases the total cost of ownership for IT while reducing the value that the organization obtains for this spending. The ubiquity of Cloud -based, software services (Software-as-a-Service) accounts for much of this spending.  Reductions in IT spending that are not well planned can result in the City incurring additional costs through factors such as lost productivity. In the absence of information regarding how an organization is using information technology, organizations can realize unanticipated expenses due to reductions in IT investments (such as deferring the purchase of new computers), including both direct costs and indirect costs.  The City may find on review, th at it is not always making the fullest use of the functionality provided by its business applications. The City may also find that it is incurring expenses for multiple business applications that provide similar functionality. In general, IT industry sources consider organizations sometimes make use of only 50% of business application functionality.
 Another factor that contributes to reductions in the return on investment is the use of a wide array of ad -hoc databases and spreadsheets by individual business units. These “shadow systems” are often developed and updated inconsistently, may use software that is dated or that has limitations, and may not even be known to ITD. These applications can impede business continuity since they are not always backed up consistently or adequately protected from cyber threats.

Project Schedule and Cost Per Fiscal Year
Overview
This section of the IT Strategic Plan provides:

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 A discussion of the methodology used to develop the Project Schedule, the Gantt Chart, and the Estimated Cost per Fiscal Year for the projects in the plan. The project schedule and cost per fiscal year provide the City with the information to make informed decisions regarding the implementation of the directions and recommendations identified through the activities and deliverables produced for the City.
 A review of the Gantt Chart and the Estimated Cost per Fiscal Year over the timeline of the plan.

Methodology
Figure 8 – IT Strategic Plan Development (Source: SDI)
Figure 8, IT Strategic Plan Development , depicts the methodology used to develop the plan. This process included:
 The Initial Project Portfolio was developed by SDI in the course of the IT Operations Review. It included projects related to the recommendations developed by SDI and projects that the interviewees reported were in-progress or planned.
 The Project Portfolio was distributed to the City’s department heads for review prior to an initial Prioritization Workshop held on July 17th.
 During the July 17th Prioritization Workshop, participants added projects, deleted completed projects, and agreed to hold a second Prioritization Workshop after further review of the Project Portfolio.
 The City’s IT Manager coordinated an update to the Project Portfolio who provided the “final” list of projects to SDI.

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 SDI facilitated a second Prioritization Workshop on October 29 th which allowed the participants to stage the projects in priority over a 4-year time period.  As a result of the second Prioritization Workshop, SDI prepared three work products, each of which is discussed below:
 The “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap.
 A Gantt Chart.
 A chart showing the estimated cost for each fiscal year of the IT Strategic Plan and for the plan in total.

Pre-Staged “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap
Figure 9, Pre-Staged “Blue Wall” depicts the project roadmap as it appeared at the start of the project prioritization workshop that was held at City Hall West on October 29, 2024. As depicted in Figure 9, SDI arranged the projects from the updated Project Portfolio into two broad categories:
 Projects that were currently in progress in the second quarter of FY 2024/25 or that had been tentatively planned for completion in the third and fourth quarter of FY 2024/25.  Projects to be prioritized for completion.

Each project was color -coded based on its sponsor and the placards identify projects that are in progress or that are “holdovers” from the 2017 IT Strategic Plan. During the setup of the “Blue Wall” the Fire Department requested the addition of a project from the replacement of the department’s current record management system (RMS) and a placard was created on -site for it ( just below the first column of projects to be prioritized).

Figure 9 – Pre-Staged “Blue Wall" Project Roadmap (Source: SDI)

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Completed “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap
During the project prioritization workshop SDI and department heads discussed each project. During the review, several additional projects were identified, or the sponsor of a project was modified. Each of the participants was then given five adhesive dots to vote for projects that they considered to be of the greatest importance to the City . SDI reviewed the results of the voting process with the participants and regrouped the projects to separate projects that had received votes from those that did not and to group related projects . Figure 10, “Blue W all” Project Roadmap, depicts the final project roadmap at the end of the workshop and illustrates the input received from the participants.

As shown in Figure 10, a project to prepare and implement a plan for business resilience (a carry - over from the 2017 plan) received 16 votes indicating the importance the participants attached to it.

Figure 10 – “Blue Wall" Project Roadmap (Source: SDI)
Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year
Based on the completed “Blue Wall,” SDI developed the Gantt Chart provided in Figure s 11, Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year, Page 1, Figure 12, Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year, Page 2, and Figure 13, Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year, Page 3. Respectively:
 Figure 11 lists the 21 projects that are either in progress at this time (13) or planned for completion (8) within this fiscal year.
 Figure 12 lists 22 projects (including 21 projects that were prioritized by the participants in the workshop plus an additional project that is closely related to the other projects and has thus been included in this category).
 Figure 13 lists the 14 projects that were not prioritized . Please note that the relative importance of projects to the City is subject to change and could be modified in the future .

Figure 13 also provides a summary of the number of concurrent projects per each year of the plan.

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The Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year diagrams provide a more granular view of the project roadmap including work completed, work planned, and the number of concurrent projects in each time period. The following information is provided for each project:
 Project ID: This is carried forward from the ITSP Project Portfolio . Projects that were added during the prioritization workshop just show “add” in this field.  Project Name.
 Project Sponsor(s): The City departments most closely associated with the project. Please note that projects that benefit the City as a whole are classified as “City-w i d e.”  Project Type: Projects are classified as being either strategic (S) or tactical (T) . Generally, projects that directly impact the delivery of services to the public are classed as strategic and projects that indirectly support the delivery of services to the public are classed as tactical.  Project Category:
 1 – In Progress.
 2 – Planned (for projects planned in the last two quarters of FY 2024/25.  3 – Planned (for projects that were prioritized during the workshop).  4 – Planned (for projects that are of importance to the City but not prioritized during the workshop).
 Workshop Priority: Identifies the number of votes that the Category 3 projects received from the participants in the workshop.
 Estimated Level of Effort: Provides SDI’s estimate of the level of effort required to complete the project in general terms, High, Medium, and Low.
 Estimated Cost in $000’s : The estimated low and high costs for the completion of the project. Please note that:
 Costs are not provided for projects that are identified as being in-progress since these costs have already been budgeted. Similarly, costs are not provided for projects scheduled for completion this FY. These are shown as “N/A. ”  Project costs that cannot be estimated at this time are shown as “TBD. ”  It is assumed that the full cost for the completion of multi-year projects is incurred in the first year of the project.
 Project Schedule: Identifies the FY in which the project has been scheduled including FY 2024/25, FY 2025/26, FY 2026/27, and FY 2027/28. Projects that cannot be scheduled at this time are shown in “Schedule TBD. ”
 Cost per Fiscal Year: Provides the estimated cost per fiscal year for projects scheduled for FY 2025/26, FY 2026/27, and FY 2027/28 based on the estimated mid -range cost for the project. The estimated costs per fiscal year are as follows:

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Fiscal Year Estimated Cost
($000’s)
FY 2025/26: $613
FY 2026/27: $300
FY 2027/28: $210
Total Program Cost: $1,123
Notes
SDI would like to note that:
 ITD will be better able to calculate and plot the user and IT resource requirements within each time period as charters are developed and approved for each of the projects. ITD is presently not at full strength, and although it is actively recruiting for fill open positions, it takes time to select and onboard new hires and for them to become fully productive.  There are a large number of projects presently in progress and SDI is concerned that these might take longer to complete should resources be diverted due to contingencies, and this could impact the project schedule . Given financial uncertainties, the City is generally not inclined to add additional FTEs to ITD, thus any shortfall in the availability of resources will have to be resolved using external resources or by rescheduling projects.  Although the City made significant progress from the 2017 IT Strateg ic Plan, the City was unable to implement the recommendation for the establishment of a process for IT governance likely due to pressing and disruptive events (including the 2019/20 Pandemic) ; however, the City should make the establishment of a formal process for the governance of IT a priority.
 A number of projects that are of high importance to the City were not prioritized during the workshop (such as a post -implementation review for Accela, the development of a digital government plan, and updates to the City Website for ADA compliance) and the City should endeavor to get them scheduled as soon as resources permit.

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Figure 11 – Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year, Page 1 (Source: SDI)

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Figure 12 – Gantt Chart and Cost Per Fiscal Year, Page 2 (Source: SDI)

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Figure 13 – Gantt Chart and Cost per Fiscal Year, Page 3 (Source: SDI)

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Conclusion
Overview
This section provides some thoughts and guidance for the City regarding the steps that it should consider regarding the proposed projects discussed in the IT Strategic Plan based on our experience in working with a wide range of organizations dealing with similar issues. A number of factors have prompted public sector organizations to become more reliant on information technology including:
 Increased public expectations for the availability of information and services through the Internet and, in particular, from mobile devices. Members of the community expect to be able to do this at any time, from anywhere, using any device.  The need to optimize the use of human resources, capital, and other assets in the delivery of services to both the City’s internal user community and the public.  The need to manage total cost of ownership for information technology more effectively in the face of limited budgets. At one time this was mostly about infrastructure and personnel costs but has increasingly become related to managing the cost for business and operational applications.
 The increased availability, perhaps even ubiquity, of Smart devices that provide streams of information.

Critical Success Factors
Figure 14 – The Interdependence of IT Governance and Tactical IT Planning (Source: SDI) Figure 14, The Interdependenc e of IT Governance and Tactical IT Planning , depicts an interesting conundrum that has developed as organizations, particularly local governments, have become

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dependent on information technology to meet community expectations for the delivery of services and for access to information. The difficulty is that effective delivery of IT services is equally dependent on both IT governance and IT tactical planning and that the effective governance of information technology is dependent on an effective approach to IT tactical planning and vice-versa.

As depicted in Figure 14, IT Governance is a strategic process in which, using the IT Strategic Plan as the foundation, the City’s executive team can continuously align IT directions and priorities with it s overall strategic plan and priorities. IT Governance needs to consider:
 The City’s long-term directions and priorities as set forth in its Strategic Business Plan and the IT Strategic Plan, as well as immediate priorities identified by the City Council.  Departmental priorities, and changes in departmental priorities, which can result in project requests. New projects and/or changes to existing projects are generally communicated to IT Governance and through a Project Charter which defines the scope and ob jectives of the project, its alignment with the City’s direction and priorities, the resource requirements, the funding sources, and the potential impact on other projects and/or existing business and operational applications.
 The status of current projects and the availability of user and IT resources.  Funding and changes in funding.
 That the City’s priorities will likely change over the course of the IT Strategic Plan and some of the projects may become of greater interest and importance to the City and this could result in their being moved up in the plan.

The decisions of the City’s IT Governance organization are generally embodied in:
 Updates to the IT Strategic Plan.
 Approving project charters which are provided to the requesting departments as well as to ITD.
 Decisions regarding project priorities and the allocation / reallocation of user and IT resources. Since the City’s internal resources are finite, IT Governance will likely need to have ITD make recommendations as to which projects or portions of projects are best handled by internal staff and which can be best handled by external resources such as staff supplementation firms and/or firms providing managed services.

Tactical IT Planning is a process in which the ITD management team allocates resources based on:
 The project priorities set by the IT Governance organization.  IT resource availability (including internal staff and external resources).  The status of projects that are currently being worked on by ITD and/or external service providers.
 Planned work such as the maintenance / refreshment of the City’s information technology infrastructure.

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 Other planned work (such as maintenance activities in support of the City’s IT infrastructure and business / operational applications).
 Unplanned events such as user service requests and contingencies that may require the temporary diversion of resources from planned activities, and which can impact both planned activities and the schedule for their completion.

All this information should be considered in the development and maintenance of a “Tactical IT D Work Plan” which governs the allocation of ITD and external resources. This plan should be developed independently of the IT Strategic Plan and updated on a quarterly basis to reflect current ITD staff assignments and project status.

In municipalities that do not have effective approaches to IT governance , SDI often hears from members of the leadership team that they do not know what the IT support organization is working on and that projects seem to take too long to complete while managers and staff in the IT support organization will remark that shifting priorities and the reallocation of resources make it difficult to complete projects, that the queue of user requests exceeds the resources available to complete them, and that the respective responsibilities of user departments and the IT support organization are not well defined.

SDI has noted that:
 Organizations often struggle to establish processes for IT governance , and even if they succeed in establishing processes for IT governance th ose efforts often fail over time. The barriers to the establishment of sustainable processes for IT governance include that IT governance, and the need for it, are relatively new and not ingrained in organizational culture as is, for example, budgeting. Although City leadership teams often struggle with budgeting, they accept it as an activity that must be performed. IT governance, on the other hand, is seen by many already overburdened public executives as yet another collateral responsibility.  The maturity of some IT support organizations in the public sector is far less than their counterparts in the private sector. For example, it is far less common for IT support organizations in the public sector to have a resource allocation plan that identifies each staff member’s responsibilities, and the amount of time allocated to complete them. Staff members seldom charge their time to specific tasks and projects , so that even if there is a resource plan there is no way to identify variances from the plan, or why the variances occurred.

The IT Strategic Plan provides recommendations and directions that will enable the City to more effectively respond to new and/or changed requirements and to maximize the return / value for its investments in information technology; however, the realizatio n of these benefits is dependent on the implementation of changes in how the City governs information technology and plans for the use of IT resources. The recommendations for the City include that:
 The City should establish an enterprise process for IT governance.

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 ITD should adopt practices and procedures to enable it to better manage and allocate IT resources and to manage projects.

Next Steps
The City should take the following steps as soon as possible. These steps can be implemented with existing resources and with minimal, if any, impact to City operations while providing significant benefits. These steps include:
 Activating IT Governance: Although the value of the effective use of information technology is well documented and accepted, the ability of an organization to realize greater value for its investments in information technology depends, to a large degree, on its ability to ensure the alignment of information technology plans and priorities with the organization’s long -term business goals. In the absence of a formal IT governance structure and a strategic vision for the use and funding of information technolo gy, this alignment is difficult to achieve and maintain. This can result in the diversion of resources from long-term infrastructure projects, additional costs, delays, false starts, the adoption of applications and systems that seem promising at first but that are dead-ends and create a disagreement among departments as to the allocation of resources.

IT Governance should be the responsibility of the City’s executive team (the City Manager , Assistant City Manager, and Department Heads) and be handled as a recurring agenda item for a regularly scheduled meeting of the City’s executive team. In order to facilitate this, the City should:
 Develop a project charter for IT Governance that defines the roles and responsibilities of the participants and a sample agenda.
 Conduct a preliminary IT Governance meeting with the objective of reviewing the status of the IT Strategic Plan and the next steps involved in implementation.  Develop formal plans for all projects that are currently in progress to obtain a more complete and current understanding of user and ITD resource commitments.  Allocate resources for the development of Project Charters; even at a very basic level, for any projects that are planned to begin during FY 2024/25, so that the City can plan for the resources needed for these projects or to reschedule them as needed.  Review the ITD sponsored projects and identify components of them that can be quickly implemented.
 Activating Tactical I T Planning: Even as ITD resources are being called on to work on projects, to maintain the City’s IT infrastructure, and to respond to user requests and problems, ITD must obtain a more detailed understanding of what projects ITD staff are working on, the expected tim eframe for the completion of the project, and the potential impact of any unplanned work on the project schedule. This should result in the development of a tactical work plan against which ITD can assess priorities. ITD should work with the City’s executive team to ensure that ITD resources are allocated appropriately and:

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 Take proactive measures to reduce the number of user problems that require the attention of ITD staff by deploying self-help tools and knowledge bases, providing training for users, and developing “super” users within each department who can handle routine matters.
 Take steps to ensure that all user requests and problem reports are entered into the service desk management system in a timely manner, updated with resolutions, and closed out.
 Identify local, external service providers and to contract with them to provide on- demand support to assist ITD in resolving incidents or supplement ITD resources as needed.

Closing Thought
IT strategic planning is a process, not an event, and the development of this IT Strategic Plan is just the beginning of another cycle in the process for the City of Alameda. Organizations can realize some benefits from strategic planning in the absence of a continued commitment to the enterprise governance of information technology, but often those benefits diminish over time. Continued support for the IT Strategic Plan will need to come in terms of priorities, dollars, policies, and a strong commitment to changing culture and practices.

Change has become a constant factor, and the successful implementation of the IT Strategic Plan may mean making compromises, and it will mean exercising patience, taking an enterprise- wide perspective, and maintaining a continued focus on revising the plan as events take place. Finally, it will take cooperation, communication, and flexibility to adapt to changing needs, expectations, information technologies, and resources.

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Appendices
Appendix A - City-wide and Departmental Projects (Alphabetical by Project Name) Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
Accela Mobile
LMS
Implementation
Implement mobile LMS which was acquired with the purchase of Accela. This module is needed to assist Fire inspections management.

City-wide Interview
X
Accela -
Implementation
Review
Conduct a post-implementation review of Accela to ensure that the product, as implemented, continues to meet the City’s business requirements. As a result of the review, the City may elect to re-engineer business processes to take better advantage of the features and functionality provided by Accela or to modify its implementation of the product or in the next 3- 4 years, consider replacing Accela with a different application.

Planning, Building,
and Transportation
(PBT)
SDI Post
Recommendation
X X
Access Control
System
Determine requirements and acquire a City-wide access
control system to replace current physical keys to buildings and offices.

City-wide Interview
(In Progress)

X
ActiveNet Post-
Implementation
Review
Conduct a post Implementation review of ActiveNet to ensure the City is fully utilizing the application, evaluate on-going support costs, and review user training requirements.

Parks and
Recreation (ARPD)
SDI
Recommendation X X
AI Analysis of
Surveys
Use AI tools to help City staff review, categorize, and learn from community survey instruments and other data received.

City-wide City Addition
(In Progress) X X
AI Analysis of
Email
Use AI tools to help City staff review, categorize, and learn from the emails addressed to the City Council.

City-wide City Addition
(In Progress) X X
Application
Integration Plan
Develop and implement an approach to improve information sharing between the City's core business applications. The City will likely need to consider both short-term and long-term approaches to information sharing with the short-term
approach including the development and implementation of standalone interfaces as needed, and the long-term approach being built on a more enterprise-wide approach such as
City-wide SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
middleware (specialized software that enables organizations to develop rule-based interfaces between business
applications).

Application
Training
Provide formal on-going staff training to ensure that users maintain sufficient competency levels in the use of business applications (i.e., MUNIS, Lucity, Accela, etc.) and productivity tools such as O365. The project would create a plan to ensure on-going application training is available to staff that can increase productivity, provide a significant return on the City’s investment in core business applications, and reduce the level of support from ITD.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
X
X X
Artificial
Intelligence (AI)
Continuing identification and implementation of opportunities to use AI to improve City operations and administration.

City-wide City Addition
(In Progress) X
Artificial
Intelligence (AI)
Policy Creation
Develop City-wide AI policy. City-wide City Addition
X X
Body-Worn
Camera Upload
Options
Implement a solution that allows for body-worn cameras to upload video during shifts rather than at the end.

Police City Addition
X
Business
Resilience
Create a Business Continuity Plan for the City (or for the update of any existing plans) including the development of a Business Impact Analysis that identifies mission-critical business / operational applications, the potential impact on City operations should an application not be available, and the timeframe in which access to the applications must be
restored. Prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan that identifies the steps to be taken to restore mission-critical IT services and applications in the event of a natural or other disaster.

City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation
X
Cashiering
System
Evaluation
Review Tyler Cashiering to determine if reimplementation will address current load of issues. If unsuccessful, procure a replacement cashiering system.

Finance Interview
(In Progress) X
Cell Service /
Connectivity
Review and improve Wi-Fi and cell reception across
Community centers and Parks. The project will also implement dedicated connections to 911. The EmmaHood and
Parks and
Recreation (ARPD)
Interview
X X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
Gymnasium buildings do not have phone lines or a dedicated connection to 911.

City-wide Wi-Fi Improve and expand Wi-Fi services to City facilities. City-wide City Addition X X X Chat on City
Website
Implement a tool such as "Citibot, " which provides a chatbot for the City website as well as a chat text and voice tool.

City Manager's
Office (PIO)
City Addition X X
Computer Spec
Review
Review computer specifications to ensure they meet the
demands of activities such as PBT users attempting to view PDF documents that are 400MB or larger.

City-wide City Addition
X X
Conference
Room Updates
Review, standardize, and upgrade Audio Visual equipment in conference rooms throughout the City.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation X X
CRM Upgrade Implement a more robust CRM solution than the Rent Registry (custom-built) one currently in use. The new CRM should have integration with phone and email systems to decrease manual entry by staff. Average number of monthly calls/emails is 700.

Rent Program City Addition
X X
Cybersecurity
Plan
Develop a plan generally conformant with the requirements of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), or the International Organization for Standardization (IOS), or the SANS Institute that identifies the steps to be taken to prepare for a cyber-security attack, the steps required to identify intrusions, to neutralize them, and to identify exposures that lead to intrusions.

City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation
(In-Progress)
X X
Digital
Government Plan
Develop a Digital Government strategy that considers
governance and support for all aspects of e-Government and community outreach including the web site, social media, etc.

The objective of the Plan is to identify high-level requirements including usability, performance, and availability to support public “anywhere, anytime, any device” access to information and services.

City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation
X X
Electronic
Bulletin Boards
Replace graphic paper bulletins and bulletin boards posted around the City and upgrades them with Electronic Bulletin boards.

City Clerk Interview
X
Electronic Plan
Review
Implementation
Determine business requirements and acquire Electronic Plan Review software (e.g., Accela's EDR module or 3rd-party like Bluebeam).

Planning, Building,
and Transportation
(PBT)
Interview
X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
Enterprise
Content
Management
(ECM) Strategy
Engage a consultant to perform a records management review for the City as well as to develop an ECM implementation plan for the City that provides for the continued adoption and implementation of Laserfiche including the migration any current document repositories from shared network drives and other locations to Laserfiche. The plan should also consider how the City can best use SharePoint or Microsoft Teams in conjunction with Laserfiche.

City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation
X X
Equity Data
Mapping in GIS
Improve our GIS accessibility/abilities/interface regarding equity related data sources so that we can better map our projects/programs/work relative to key demographic and
socioeconomic factors.

City-wide Workshop, Add
X X
GIS
Enhancements
This is an umbrellas project for the implementation of
enhancements to the City's GIS system including but not limited to:
a) Developing more detailed data maps to identify
where City funds are being spent in the community.
b) Updating parcel information to include lease and
other information required by BRED.
c) Including demographic information to support
diversity reporting.

City-wide Interview
(In Progress)
X X
Fire Records
Management
System
Identify a vendor to replace the Fire Department’s current RMS (Zoll) application and implement new platform.

Fire City Addition
X
GIS Governance This project would provide for the implementation of a process for the City-wide governance of GIS.

City-wide City Addition X X X X
Improved Digital
Catalog
Implement a new solution that searches for and displays the full catalog of the resources the Library offers to the public.

Library City Addition X X
Intranet
Development
Develop a City-wide intranet. (Closely tied to the "SharePoint Implementation" project.)
City Manager's
Office (PIO)
City Addition X X X
IT Governance Define and create a formal IT governance structure to assist in aligning the City's business objectives with ITD. Activities include the creation of a charter for an IT Governance
organization and any needed sub-committees, member
City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
selection, meeting agendas and schedule. Establish the
oversight structure for the acquisition and implementation of technology, improve communication about technology
projects, provide for organization-wide input into technology decisions, and establish the process for prioritization of technology needs.

IVR for Main
Planning Line
PBT's main line x6800 should be set up as a IVR with options to route to Planning, Permit Center, Building Inspections, Code Enforcement, Transportation Planning, and Sustainability divisions.

Planning, Building,
and Transportation
(PBT)
City Addition
(In Progress) X X
Karpel & Alameda
County
Configure Karpel to have direct access with Alameda County City Attorney's Office (CAO)
City Addition X X
Library Website
Redesign
Improved design and interface that incorporates best
practices used by public libraries across the Bay Area and California.

Library City Addition
X
Lucity
Implementation
Implement Lucity Work Order Management System with Parks & Recreation. Currently PW uses Lucity, and a shared system will increase efficiency of software support from ITD.

Parks and
Recreation (ARPD)
Interview
X X
Lucity Post-
Implementation
Review
Undertake a review of problems identified with the
functionality of Lucity because of software defects,
configuration issues, or user training. Determine if the use of additional features and functionality already licensed by the City can be leveraged to receive a higher return on investment (ROI). Identify opportunities to improve business processes, further automate transactions and create an action plan, cost estimates, and a timeline for the remediation of findings.

Public Works (PW) SDI
Recommendation
X X
MDT
Replacement
project
Replaces outdated and end of life MDTs in Police vehicles. (Please note that the MDT replacements are handled by Public Works' Fleet Department with ITD supporting only as needed).

Police Interview
X
NextRequest
Implementation
Explore and implement additional features of NextRequest including add-ons that will help to better handle PST files.

City Clerk Interview X
Office 365
Migration
Implement Office 365 across all city departments by
determining the application needs for each department,
City-wide Interview
(In Progress) X X X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
provide comprehensive training to all users, and plan ongoing support and maintenance requirements.

On Premises
Server Upgrade
Migrate two or four on-premises servers to a virtual equipment for DR purposes using HyperV and Rubrik.

Library Interview X X X
Ongoing GIS
Mapping
Edit GIS layers that are part of that zoning map or the cartographic skills to publish a user-friendly map. PBT maintains a Zoning Map of the City that needs to be
periodically updated; the Zoning Map is a legal document.

Planning, Building,
and Transportation
(PBT)
City Addition
X X X
Online
Dashboard
Implement a tool like Envisio, which provides a platform that creates an online dashboard that we could use for City reports like the Strategic Plan, Climate Plan, Transportation Plan, and more.

City Manager's
Office (PIO)
City Addition
X X
Online Payments Implement an online system that allows the community to make online payments for events such as wedding bookings.

Residents currently mail in paper checks.

City-wide Interview
(In-Progress) X X
Organizational
Change Mgt.

Establish a consistent and proactive approach to overcoming resistance to change by forming a “Coalition for Change” strategy, communicating a sense of urgency for change and the benefits that the change will provide, taking a systematic approach to the identification and removal of obstacles to change, creating a program to celebrate successes, and
identifying opportunities for short-term wins.

City-wide From 2017 Plan &
SDI
Recommendation
X X
Permit Center
Queueing
Find a suitable replacement for "Qminder, " a queue
management software that helps businesses improve the
customer experience by automating the process of managing lines and queues.

Planning, Building,
and Transportation
(PBT)
City Addition
X X
Property / Asset
Management
Application
BRED needs an application to track property/lease information that can share information with the City's GIS system. The project will include an evaluation of whether Lucity can meet BRED's requirements.

Base Reuse and
Economic
Development
City Addition
X
Realtime Crime
Center
Creates a centralized technology-driven hub designed to support law enforcement agencies in tracking and responding to crimes and issues around the city in real time. RTCCs uses advanced technologies like CCTV cameras, license plate
Police Interview
X
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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
readers, gunshot detection systems, and more to monitor the City in real time.

Replace Police
Dispatch
Telephone
System
Replace Police Dispatch telephone system with a cloud-based solution for maximum resilience with no dependencies on antiquated technology such as analog telephone lines.

Police Interview
X
Security camera
plan
Create an implementation plan for the expansion of security cameras within City facilities (Library upgrades and expansion, monitored centralized cameras system in all buildings and park, Police expansion into the property and evidence room).

City-wide Interview
X
SharePoint
Implementation
Determine the hierarchy of departments and permissions in each area, provide training to users on how to use SharePoint, including how to upload documents, how to collaborate on documents, how to use SharePoint's features, and keep City staff informed about the SharePoint rollout.

City-wide Interview
(In Progress)
X X
Staff Status and
Scheduling
Software
Determine operational needs, acquire application, implement, and train staff on a scheduling system to replace TeleStaff. The application should also use AVL feeds to provide real time status updates.

Fire Interview
X
Station Alerting
System
This project would provide for the procurement and
implementation of a new station altering system.

Fire City Addition X
Upgrade ACCELA Upgrade Fire's implementation of ACCELA to a current version. Fire City Addition (In Progress) X
Web-Site
Upgrades
Implement upgrades to the City’s Website including
modifications to make the site ADA compliant.

City-wide City Addition X
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Appendix B - ITD Projects Not Prioritized (Alphabetical by Project Name) Administrative
Network
Prepare specifications for the procurement and
implementation of wired and wireless administrative
networks. The specifications should include requirements for network security including monitoring and periodic
vulnerability assessments.

ITD From 2017 Plan & SDI
Recommendation

X

Cloud Strategy Create a formal cloud strategy that identifies services and applications that could be moved to the cloud along with the costs and benefits involved. The project would include the development of pilot projects to better assess the suitability of the cloud for meeting the City's business objectives.

ITD SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
Communication
& Collaboration
Implement an effective method to communicate and
collaborate with the City departments in order to provide a more robust level of support to them. Communication such as information regarding ITD’s plans, upcoming projects,
objectives, and performance (including acknowledging
problems, celebrating successes, and reporting on service levels, project and request status, and workload).

ITD From 2017 Plan & SDI
Recommendation
X X
GIS Resource
Consolidation
Determine the feasibility of consolidating the City's GIS resources into a single organizational unit. If feasible, develop a plan for the consolidated group including roles and
responsibilities, staffing, training, and technical resource allocations.

ITD SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
IT Asset
Management Plan
Develop a detailed inventory of its hardware environment by utilizing an inventory tool such as Lansweeper to gather, in a central location, key attributes of the City’s technology assets including software licenses. Once the initial list has been created, ITD should physically inventory all other devices not attached to the network and record those attributes manually.

In addition, this project would a policy and practice to continuously update the inventory as changes in the
environment occur.

ITD SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
The City of Alameda
Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | 40

Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
IT Asset
Refreshment Plan
Create an annual budget allocation for the replacement of servers, desktops, laptops, and network infrastructure
devices. This proactive strategy will keep the maintenance on equipment to a minimum, provide equipment that will operate effectively with new software, and ensure upgrades to the communications network, access points, Wi-Fi coverage, and other necessary telecommunication devices are performed on a routine basis.

ITD SDI
Recommendation
X X
IT Policies &
Procedures
Review, update, and/or create IT policies that will form the backbone for technology security, consistency,
communication, and support which will guide the use of
technology to ensure a secure, reliable, and supportable environment. The project would include policies and
procedures governing the use of technology, City issued cell phones, hardware/software refreshment, data retention
(including email), social media, security, standards, and access.

ITD SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
ITD Staffing Organize and staff ITD with additional FTE including an Administrative Assistant, Network Administrator and
eventually a Security Analyst.

ITD SDI
Recommendation (In
Progress)
X X X
Mobile Device
Security
Create a Mobile Device Security Policy (MDSP) which defines the types of the resources that can be accessed via mobile devices, which types of mobile devices are permitted within the City, the degree of access that various mobile devices have, and how the acquisition of mobile devices will be handled.

ITD SDI
Recommendation
X
Network
Resiliency
Introduce backup internet connections at each City location.

In the event the locations lose access to the Municipal Area Network (MAN) access to the internet will not be interrupted so access to internet-based systems will persist.

ITD Interview
X
Project
Management
Office (PMO)
Create a Project Management Office (PMO) within ITD to
provide expertise and oversight to help ensure that projects are completed successfully and on-schedule and to assist ITD ITD From 2017 Plan & SDI
Recommendation X X X X
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Information Technology Strategic Plan

November 18, 2024 Page | 41

Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
in working with the City's IT Governance structure. At a minimum, establish formal project management policies and procedures for all enterprise IT projects.

Replace Internal
Telephone
System
Replace City-wide internal telephone system with more
modern features and capabilities with no dependencies on antiquated technology such as analog telephone lines.

Integrate with Microsoft 365 products for best user
experience.

ITD Interview
X X
Resource
Management Plan
Create a plan that leverages both internal and external, as well as on-site and remote resources, to support critical
applications and services.

ITD From 2017 Plan & SDI
Recommendation X X
Root Cause
Analysis
Create a structured approach to identify the underlying cause of common problems and remedy them so that they do not
continue to needlessly consume ITD resources. Root-cause analysis is a method of problem solving used for identifying the actual or root causes of faults or problems.

ITD SDI
Recommendation
X X
Service Desk
Improvements
Continue the expansion of ITD Help Deks by publishing
statistics regarding ITD’s conformance to service levels, capturing time worked against tickets, establishing a self-help knowledge base that is readily available to users, providing the ability for users and ITD staff members to collaborate on the resolution of tickets or for users to monitor the status of their requests, developing a formal process for the review of Help Desk tickets, using the application to inventory IT assets or link ServiceDesk to a separate IT asset inventory
application in order to tie asset information back to any related service ticket.

ITD SDI
Recommendation

X X X X
Service Level
Agreements
Develop service level agreements with City departments and external service providers to provide guidelines regarding the scope of service, problem resolution processes, user/vendor responsibilities, and other delivery terms.

ITD SDI
Recommendation X X
Staff Succession
Plan
Create a comprehensive succession plan for ITD staff. Since much of the technical knowledge and expertise is held by staff with only informal documentation relative to the

ITD SDI
Recommendation X X
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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Project Name Description Sponsor Status
Utilization of
ITD Resources
ITD Delivery
Effectiveness
Operational
Effectiveness
Cost
Improvement
server/storage environment, application interfaces,
databases, and network configurations a detailed strategy for staff advancement and replacement is critical.

Technical
Documentation
Create comprehensive documentation for components of the City’s IT infrastructure including wired and wireless networks, servers, storage devices, and business applications and the procedures required to maintain them.

ITD SDI
Recommendation X X

Information Technology Strategic Plan

Prepared by:

October 17, 2024

The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 SCOPE & OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................ 1 DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION ........................................................................................................................ 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 3 OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE IT STRATEGIC PLAN ...................................................................................................... 3 SYNOPSIS OF THE IT STRATEGIC PLAN ............................................................................................................ 4 STRATEGIC PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................................ 8 OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 8 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE CITY ............................................................................................................... 8 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS ........................................................................................................... 10 PROJECT SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................................ 17 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 17 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 17 IT STRATEGIC PLAN PROJECT PORTFOLIO ...................................................................................................... 18 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND COST PER FISCAL YEAR ........................................................................................... 19 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 27 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 27 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS ..................................................................................................................... 27 NEXT STEPS .......................................................................................................................................... 30 CLOSING THOUGHT ................................................................................................................................ 31 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 32 APPENDIX A – PROJECTS SORTED BY PROJECT NUMBER .................................................................................... 32 APPENDIX B – PROJECTS SORTED BY CATEGORY AND RANKING ........................................................................... 39

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Revision Log

Date Description
September 18, 2024 Initial client working draft of the IT Strategic Plan October 17, 2024 Final document

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Introduction
Scope & Objectives
This document, entitled Information Technology Strategic Plan (IT Strategic Plan) was developed for the City of Beverly Hills (City) by SDI Presence LLC (SDI).

The IT Strategic Plan will enable the City to better allocate its information technology resources and to obtain greater benefits for its investments in information technology. Although the IT Strategic Plan provides a holistic view of the City’s information technology needs and priorities at the present time it does not attempt to predict the future; but rather, it provides a baseline that will enable the City to more effectively allocate resources based on business priorities and to re-allocate them as needed to effectively respond to new and/or changing requirements.

Coupled with an effective process for the governance of information technology, the IT Strategic Plan will enable the City to proactively change its information technology environment (including processes, organization, people, and infrastructure) to remediate service delivery issues and to meet changing requirements, to obtain greater value for the investments being made in information technology, and to improve the City’s ability to respond to future requirements.

Document Organization
Figure 1 – Document Organization (Source: SDI)
As depicted in Figure 1, Document Organization, this document is structured as follows:
 Introduction: Provides information regarding the scope and objectives of the IT Strategic Plan and the organization and contents of the document.  Executive Summary: Provides a high-level summary of the development of the IT Strategic Plan and the results of the planning process.
 Strategic Planning Assumptions : Provides information regarding IT strategic planning considerations such as guiding principles and information technology trends.  Project Schedule: Provides information regarding the methodology used in the development of the IT Strategic Plan, the Project Portfolio, Project S chedule, Costs Per Fiscal Year, and Gantt charts.
 Conclusion: Provides final project thoughts and the next steps the City should consider in implementing IT Strategic Plan projects.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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 Appendices: Provides the IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio.

Terminology and Numbering
SDI has worked to make this document readable by persons who are not information technology professionals and to that end, we have minimized the usage of technical jargon and where this is unavoidable, we have avoided the use of acronyms. The City’s Information Technology Department is generally referred to as either ITD or City IT to avoid confusion with information technology (IT) in general.

Figures and tables have been numbered consecutively from the beginning of the document.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Executive Summary
Overview
SDI facilitated the development of th e IT Strategic Plan for the City during 2023 -2024. The active participation of the City’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Assistant CIO, City Manager, department heads, and key user stakeholders ensure d that the resulting plan is highly relevant to the City’s objectives and priorities. At the same time, SDI brought a perspective of information technology trends and best practices which are applicable to municipal government in the State of California.

This executive summary provides a brief overview of:
 How the IT Strategic Plan was developed.
 Review of the Project Portfolio and Prioritization Process.  The completed project roadmap.

Development of the IT Strategic Plan

Figure 2 – Development of the IT Strategic Plan (Source: SDI) Figure 2, Development of the IT Strategic Plan, provides a high- level view of the activities that were performed and the deliverables that were created leading up to the IT Strategic Plan itself. As shown, the planning process is oriented around three phases:
 In the first phase, “Where are we today?” , SDI conducted an online survey and interviewed key user stakeholders to identify the business and operational applications being used, issues and obstacles that the users were encountering, opportunities to improve business processes, future needs, and planned projects.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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 In the second phase, “Where do we want to go?” , SDI used the information from the first phase to develop an IT Assessment Report that provided the basis for:
 A review of the City’s conformance to best practices for information systems.  A gap analysis between the City’s current conformance to best practices to desirable targets.
 An analysis of the City’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT Analysis).
 Findings related to the most significant information technology challenges facing the City.
 Recommendations to remediate the findings.
 In the third phase, “How do we get there?” , SDI:
 Developed a portfolio of strategic projects for the IT Strategic Plan based on the findings and recommendations, user needs, and projects that were already in-progress or planned. The portfolio was reviewed with the City, revised as needed, and then used as the basis for project prioritization by the ITD management team during which the projects were prioritized and “laid out” over a timeline.
 Developed granular project schedules.
 Developed the IT Strategic Plan (this document).

Syno psis of the IT Strategic Plan
Project Portfolio
SDI developed a portfolio of proposed projects (See Appendices). The portfolio includes projects that are:
 Presently in progress.
 Planned, but not yet in progress.
 Identified as future needs through the interviews and workshops conducted with the City’s departments.
 Identified by SDI to implement the recommendations identified in the plan.

The Project Portfolio was reviewed with the City’s CIO and Assistant CIO who, in turn, met with City departments to reach a consensus as to the projects to be included in the final Portfolio as projects were added, removed, or consolidated during that internal review. Upon completion of the review, the City’s CIO provided a prioritized list of projects which was used to pre -stage the projects over a timeline which included:
 Projects that were in progress during Fiscal Year 2024/25.  Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2024/25 - FY2025/26.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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 Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2026/27 – FY2027/28.  Projects planned during Fiscal Year 2028/29.

Project Prioritization
SDI mapped the projects over the next five fiscal years to accommodate resource and funding constraints. The final project plan is shown in Figure 3, “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap.

Figure 3 – “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap (Source: SDI)
Gantt Chart
Based on the project roadmap provided in Figure 3, “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap, SDI developed a Gantt Chart to provide a more granular view of the project roadmap including work in progress, work planned, and the number of concurrent projects in each time period. Please see Figure 10.1 & 10.2 in the Project Schedule Section of this document.

Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year
Based on the Gantt Chart, SDI was able to allocate project cost per Fiscal Year and this is shown in Figure 4, Estimated Cost by Fiscal Year. The cost model is based on the following assumptions:
 Project cost is based on an average of the low and high estimated costs (in $000’s) provided in the IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio and is labelled as “Mid-Range” Cost.  Except for projects that have annual recurring costs (such as for the annual refreshment of the City’s IT infrastructure or for services contracts), the cost for a project is assumed to be fully incurred in the Fiscal Year in which the project commences even if the project’s duration spans Fiscal Years.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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 On-going costs for new positions are not presented as those costs will be included in future City budgets under personnel or contract categories.
 Costs are not provided for projects that are in- progress since these have already been budgeted.
 The costs for the maintenance of existing business and operational applications and/or application services are also not included.

For each project Figure 4 provides:
 The ID number of project.
 The name of the project.
 The project sponsor.
 Project status.
 The Priority category (A, B, C) and the ranking within the category.  The estimated mid-range cost (in $000’s).
 The FY in which the cost is incurred.

The estimated costs per FY are as follows:

FY 2025/26: $ 3,068
FY 2026/27: $ 2,633
FY 2027/28: $ 2,718
FY 2028/29: $ 2,463
Total Estimated Program Cost: $ 10,880

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Figure 4 – Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year (Source: SDI)

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Strategic Planning Assumptions
Overview
This section of the IT Strategic Plan provides information regarding the assumptions that helped formulate the plan including the guiding principles for the City (A gility, Enterprise Information Technology Governance, and Balancing Total Cost of Ownership for IT with Value on Investment), and general trends in information technology that are applicable to the City (including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, The Emergence of the “Dataverse” , The Transformation of IT Organizations, Mobility and the Consumerization of IT, Organizational Change Management, and “Smart” Communities.

Guiding Principles for the City
Several key factors or guiding principles that enable
organizations to effectively govern and manage the
sustainable delivery of IT services to user communities and to obtain greater value for their investments in
information technology includ e agility , enterprise IT governance, and balancing the organization’s total cost of ownership for IT (TCO) with the value obtained for that investment.

Agility
Agility means different things to different people, disciplines, and organizations. Gartner, a leading information technology advisory practice, defines organizational agility as “the ability of an organization to sense environmental change and respond efficiently and effectively to that change”.

Organizational agility has become increasingly critical for public -sector organizations that must be able to effectively respond to:
 Increased public expectations for access to services and information.  Increased requirements for the reporting of information to regulatory agencies.  Changes in the demand for services and revenue as a result of shifts in the economy.  The emergence of new trends in information technology as well as changes in existing trends.

Organizational agility is also related to sustainability, i.e., the ability of an organization to continuously deliver services as well as to optimize, i.e., the ability of an organization to maximize value/return on investment.

Enterprise Information Technology Governance
Although the value of the effective use of information technology is well documented and accepted, the ability of an organization to realize greater value for its investments in information technology depends, to a large degree, on its ability to ensure the alignment of information technology plans and  Agility
 Enterprise Information
Technology Governance
 Balancing Total Cost of
Ownership for IT with Value on
Investment
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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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priorities with the organization’s long-term business goals. In the absence of a formal IT governance structure and a strategic vision for the use and funding of information technology, this alignment is difficult to achieve and maintain. This can result i n the diversion of resources from long -term infrastructure projects, additional costs, delays, false starts, the adoption of applications and systems that seem promising at first but that are dead -ends and create a disagreement among departments as to the allocation of resources.

Data governance is a critical subset of IT governance and has become even more so with the emergence of data-driven processes such as artificial intelligence, business analytics, and business intelligence. The objectives of data governance include improving data quality, reducing the number of redundant “data silos” within the organization, promoting the effective exchange of information between business applications, and ensuring that data is retained and secured in compliance with regulatory requirements. With the increased availability of information through the implementation of SMART devices, data governance has become a “must have” otherwise the old IT maxim of “garbage in, garbage out” applies.

Although processes for the enterprise governance of information technology are relatively easy to establish, many public sector organizations find it difficult to sustain them over time since:
 The normal changes in an organization’s management team that typically occur over time may diminish support for IT governance.
 Although IT governance is vital for IT -enabled organizations it is not embedded in the organization’s culture the same way budgeting is, for example, and can be perceived by overburdened decision-makers as yet another ancillary responsibility.  Key decision-makers may be more focused on the needs of their units rather than on the needs of the enterprise.

As a result, agile approaches to the enterprise governance of IT often work best particularly when IT governance is added as an agenda item to an existing meeting of an organization’s executives. As an agenda item, the IT governance meeting need be no long er than needed, and if there is no new business to discuss, it can be bypassed.

Balancing Total Cost of Ownership for IT with Value on Investment In budget-challenged environments, decision-makers’ first reaction is often to find ways to reduce expenses. Organizational spending on IT often comes under increased scrutiny, particularly where this spending has increased over time. Although organizations have sometimes focused their efforts on doing more at less expense, a more sustainable approach in information technology is to accomplish more with existing investments.

Organizations seeking to better manage their total cost of ownership for IT and the value that they receive for their investments in IT should consider that:
 Not all IT spending is readily evident. It is not unusual for organizations to find that they have ‘hidden’ spending on IT resulting from organizational units independently contracting for, or The City of Beverly Hills
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providing, IT services some of which may duplicate IT services already provided by the IT organization or other organizational units. This duplication increases the total cost of ownership for IT while reducing the value that the organization obtains for this spending. The ubiquity of Cloud -based, software services (Software -as-a-Service) accounts for much of this spending.
 Reductions in IT spending that are not well planned can result in organizations incurring additional costs through factors such as lost productivity, etc. In the absence of information regarding how an organization is using information technology, organiza tions can realize unanticipated expenses due to reductions in IT investments, including both direct costs and indirect costs.
 Organizations often find that, on review, they are not always making full use of the functionality provided by their business applications. They also find they are incurring expenses for multiple business applications that provide similar functionality (su ch as purchasing and warehouse management or for support processes such as document management). In general, IT industry sources consider organizations sometimes make use of only 50% of business application functionality.
 Another factor that contributes to reductions in an organization’s return on investment is the use of a wide array of ad-hoc databases and spreadsheets by individual business units. These “shadow systems” are often developed and updated inconsistently and may not even be known to the IT organization or other business units. These applications can impede business continuity since they are not always backed up consistently or adequately protected from cyber threats.

Information Technology Trends
Not only does information technology continually evolve but the pace of this evolution is continually accelerating. As a result, the ways in which organizations use information technology are changing as are the expectations of internal and external stakeholders for access to information and services.

A key consideration in evaluating the potential impact of information technology trends is that they do not impact the operations and priorities of organizations to the same degree. Although predicting the future of information technology can be problematic, as depicted in Figure 5, Strategic Trends in Information Technology, SDI has identified six key information technology trends that:
 Are relevant to the City’s IT Strategic Plan, will likely impact the City’s business objectives and priorities in the future, and shape how ITD implements this IT Strategic Plan.  Have become mature (i.e., are stable, scalable, and that are effectively supported), including artificial intelligence and machine learning , the “ Dataverse, ” the transformation of IT organizations, mobility and the consumerization of information technology, and “SMART” Communities.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Figure 5 – Strategic Trends in Information Technology (Source: SDI) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
There has been considerable progress in the development of tools that enable organizations to effectively navigate through and consume a growing body of information in real time as well as to personalize the delivery of information and services. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can:
 Engage in interactions with humans using Natural Language Processing (NLP) or with other machines (“chat boxes”).
 Interpret information provided by a user and take the appropriate action(s), based on either a predetermined set of responses or utilize machine learning algorithms to respond to the user.
 Internalize new information and/or trends and adapt responses as needed (Machine Learning).
 Reduce the need for human input to respond to questions or to requests for services, thus increasing responsiveness and minimizing lost productivity compared to traditional service desk processes.

Potential uses for AI in municipal government include:
 Facilitating interaction with members of the community who are seeking online access to City services and information (including making it easier for members of the community to navigate the City’s website and enabling the City to more rapidly identify and respond to community requirements , particularly where the response involves multiple City departments.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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 Enabling City staff members to effectively complete tasks that are not performed routinely, enabling them to take on new assignments as needed with a minimum amount of training, to access knowledge bases , and t o securely perform tasks such as resetting and managing passwords and resolving common device and/or network issues without needing to complete a ticket and wait for a response from the service desk.

AI tools are typically available as cloud -based services and can be activated, configured, and implemented with relatively less time and expense than traditional business applications.

The Emergence of the “Dataverse”
Although there is a commercial product from Microsoft (“Microsoft Dataverse”), this trend refers to the creation of generic, centralized repositories of information to support information sharing and research. O ver time these repositories have also been referred to as “data warehouses” and “big data” but despite all of the attention that has been given to the potential benefits of creating these repositories, municipalities have been slow to adopt them. Barriers to adoption have included:
 The level of investment and resources required to:
 Establish and maintain an enterprise approach to the governance and management of data to support the creation and the maintenance of the repositories.  Gather information from disparate applications with each application having unique data models.
 Provide tools that enable trained, but otherwise non-technical, users to access the data in the repository.
 Provide support.
 The implementation of enterprise software suites (such as ERP products) that provide reporting and query tools and that provide a more limited, but readily available, approach to data retrieval and analysis.
 The proliferation of individual dashboards based on products such as PowerBI that can be more rapidly and less expensively deployed.

Nonetheless, the continued development and maturity of tools that support the establishment of repositories, the development of models for enterprise data governance and management, the development of national standards for information sharing, the need for regional collaboration on key issues facing municipalities (such as homelessness and crime) as well as the potential benefits of, at least, selectively integrating data related to decision making and policy formulation, suggest that municipalities will be considering the creation of repositories or participating in regional efforts.

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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The Transformation of IT Organizations
Figure 6 – Conceptual IT Service Delivery Model (Source: SDI) Figure 6, Conceptual IT Service Delivery Model, depicts SDI’s model of how municipalities will need to govern, manage, and deliver IT services to internal and external user communities in the future.

Over the last decade there have been substantial changes in both information technology (including the maturation of the Internet, Cloud -based services, and mobility) as well as how public sector organizations use information technology (with digital services being integral to how they collaborate with their regional partners, communicate with the public, and provide services).

Despite these changes in information technology , and municipalities increased dependence on information technology, the ways in which cities govern the use of IT and manage the delivery of IT services have remained relatively static and informal. The adoption of governance models for IT and IT organizations that were based on traditional, centralized IT service delivery models have limited the ability of organizations to keep pace with changes in public expectations, developments in information technology , as well as to obtain greater value for their investments in information technology.

With the continued movement of commercial -off-the-shelf (COTS) business and operational applications from on-premises installations to cloud-based services (Software-as-a-Service) and as cloud-based IT infrastructure becomes increasingly cost competitive with on -premises facilities, it is thus reasonable to expect that IT support organizations that are primarily service providers today will find that they will need to modify organization and staffing to become:
 Service managers that can manage and support the delivery of on-premises and cloud-based services.

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 Service brokers that are able to assist user organizations in finding the optimum mix of services for their specific requirements.

Mobility and the Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of information technology refers to the use of personal devices, most often mobile, to obtain access to organizational services and information (also sometimes referred to as BYOD – bring your own device). Mobility fundamentally changes the paradigm of the standard desktop computing model where the computer, the operating system, the applications, plus the user’s data and preferences are integrated into a single platform that remains in the same location.

Whereas desktop computing is device and location centric, mobility is user centric.

This is particularly relevant to municipalities as members of the community use a variety of devices to access city information and services. This has several implications including:
 The proliferation of devices is a challenge for support organizations as users attempt to obtain connectivity to secured wireless networks and utilize applications. It is estimated that the introduction of mobility in an organization can increase service desk workload by as much as 10%.
 User access to services from mobile / wireless devices potentially exposes both the organization’s assets and the mobile device to cyber-attacks.  Public-facing solutions need to be both open and adaptive to optimize user experience from a universe of devices, (each with different screens, browsers, and operating systems) that are continually evolving.

Organizational Change Management
There is always a degree of resistance to change, however beneficial, since executives, managers, and staff sometimes find comfort in established processes even when they find them frustrating.

Overcoming this resistance to change in a thoughtful, open, and consistent manner is not only critical to successful implementation of new business and operational applications but also in enabling an organization to better manage its total cost of ownership for information technology and to obtain the greatest possible return for its investments in information technology.

In particular, the introduction of new enterprise -wide applications and/or modifications to existing applications often involves changes to existing business processes to obtain the greatest possible benefit from the applications. This presents two distinct challenges:
 Resistance to change by the prospective users of a new business application or the implementation of significant changes to an existing application can jeopardize successful implementation, extend the project timeline, and limit the ability of an organization to fully realize the expected value for its investment.
 The implementation of new automation and changes to existing business processes have the potential to disrupt operations and impact the ability of an organization to provide services.

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Organizational change management (OCM) provides a methodological framework for managing the organizational impact of the implementation of new automation including changes in business processes, changes in organizational structure, and changes in culture (including changes in focus and changes in how performance is measured) by focusing on improving communication, setting expectations, and working to minimize the impact of misinformation.

In 1995, John Kotter introduced an eight-step process for fostering the successful implementation of changes in organizational structure, business processes, and culture. 1 Kotter’s framework for change
management includes:
 Creating a shared sense of urgency regarding the need to change.  Forming a guiding coalition across the organization to support change.  Creating a vision for change.
 Communicating the vision to the organization.
 Preparing to overcome obstacles.
 Planning for, and delivering, short-term wins to sustain momentum.  Remaining committed to the long-term process required to transform organizations.  “Anchoring” the changes in the culture of the organization (the “new normal”). “Smart” Communities
The implementation of “Smart” technologies is unusual in that this trend is not a single technology, per-se, but rather represents an integrated approach to the utilization of emerging information technologies and technology trends. The objectives of “Smart” implementations include enabling organizations to more effectively identify trends (such as incidents, traffic, power demand, parking space availability, etc.); to re -allocate or reprogram resources in response to these trends; and to support programs such as “Smart” energy-efficient buildings, autonomous vehicles, and electronic payment processing.

“Smart” capabilities can also benefit members of the community and visitors by enabling them to obtain information through smartphone apps regarding employment services, public safety, healthcare, social services, transit and driving route information, parking, and transit service options, etc., as well as to report incidents and concerns.

The Internet of Things (Io T) provides the foundation for many “Smart” initiatives. For some time, devices have stored data so that it can be manually downloaded and accessed on demand.

Combining this capability with the ability to access the internet (and thus the ability to both autonomously receive and transmit information) has brought us to the IoT. McKinsey, a leading management consulting firm, has suggested six distinct types of applications to consume this information; tracking behavior, enhanced situational analysis, sensor -driven decisions analytics,

1 https://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/8-steps/
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process optimization, optimized resource consumption, and complex autonomous systems (such as collision avoidance).

The effective implementation and continued use of Smart technologies includes:
 The development and implementation of open and collaborative processes to develop the visions for the implementation of Smart technologies as well as for the continuing governance of the initiatives.
 The implementation of secure, resilient, and ubiquitous wireless services that enable access to smart services from any device, anywhere, and anytime and that can scale to meet expected surges in demand (such as events) as well as unexpected surges in demand.  The development of a comprehensive plan for the implementation and continuing support of the Smart services that leverages public / private partnerships as well as regional partnerships.
 The development and implementation of a plan to leverage the information produced by smart devices, including the use of business intelligence, business analytics, and artificial intelligence.

One of the inhibitors to the full use of Smart technologies is that they are typically implemented as siloed, departmental applications rather than as an enterprise program, since organizations often wish to gain experience in a limited area first, external funding is often targeted to specific initiatives, and the time to implementation, immediate cost, and risk are less with siloed applications.

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Project Schedule
Overview
Change has been, and continues to be, a constant concern for public sector executives who must often respond to increased public expectations and new mandates with limited resources and with information technology environments that are not agile. Without a plan to manage and respond to change, organizations tend to become reactive rather than proactive and, as a result, obtain reduced benefits for their investments in information technology. This multi-year IT Strategic Plan sets forth a roadmap for the City that identifies current technology projects and, to the extent possible, future technology needs. The plan lays out the strategy and steps to meet those needs and to enable the City to sustainably deliver high quality services to its internal user community and the public.

Methodology
Figure 7 – Development of the IT Strategic Plan for the City of Beverly Hills (Source: SDI) As depicted in Figure 7, Development of the IT Strategic Plan for the City of Beverly Hills, SDI worked collaboratively with the City to develop a detailed perspective of the issues facing the City in its use of information technology, identify the known and potential opportunities to make better use of information technology, and understand user needs. This information was developed through a highly interactive process that included:
 Development of an IT Assessment Report that documented where the City is today and where it needs to be in the future through a comprehensive and participative process that included:
 A survey that was available to all City employees with an e-mail address.  Interviews with user stakeholders from the City ’s departments, and interviews with the ITD’s management and staff.

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 A r eview of the progress made in completing the projects identified in the 201 5 IT Strategic Plan.
 A review of the City’s conformance to information technology best practices.  A series of findings and recommendations that, along with the information provided by the interviewees, provided the basis for the development of the IT Project Portfolio, and, in turn, the development of the IT Strategic Plan.
 A briefing with the City’s management team regarding the status of the project and the key findings and recommendations identified in the IT Assessment Report.  A detailed r eview of the project portfolio by ITD and key user stakeholders. Through this process, additional projects were identified, and the projects were then prioritized by the City.  A review of the revised project portfolio by ITD and SDI. As result of this review, SDI developed and reviewed the pre-staged project schedule (the “Blue Wall”) with ITD and then developed the project Gantt chart and the estimated cost per fiscal year.  Development of the IT Strategic Plan.

IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio
An important component of IT Strategic Plan is the portfolio of proposed projects. The portfolio includes projects that are:
 Presently in progress.
 Planned, but not yet in progress.
 Identified as future needs through the interviews and workshops conducted with the City’s departments.
 Identified by SDI to implement the recommendations identified in the plan.

An abridged version of the updated P roject Portfolio is provided in the A ppendix and provides key attributes for each project including:
 Project Number.
 Project Name: The common name of the project.
 Project Description: A short explanation of the project’s scope and objectives.  Project Sponsor: The Department within the City that requested the project.  Status: The status of the project, including:
 2015 ITSP = The project was originally identified in the 2015 IT Strategic Point and has been carried forward.
 Cancelled or Completed = the project will be removed.  Identified = The project was identified by departments during SDI interviews.  In Progress = The project is being actively worked on.

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 On Hold = The project is on-hold at this time.
 SDI Recommendation = The project was identified based on a recommendation in the IT Assessment Report.
 ITD Recommendation = The project was identified by ITD as projects planned or currently in progress.
 Project Category and Ranking: Provides the project category (A, B, C) assigned by the City and the ranking of the project within the category.

Appendix A provides a listing of the projects in sequence by the project number and Appendix B provides a listing of the projects in sequence by category and ranking within category.

Project Schedule and Cost Per Fiscal Year
Overview
This section of the IT Strategic Plan provides:
 A discussion of the methodology used to develop the Project Schedule, the Gantt Chart, and the Estimated Cost per Fiscal Year for the projects in the plan. The project schedule and cost per fiscal year provide the City with the information required to make informed decisions regarding the implementation of the directions and recommendations identified through the activities and deliverables produced for the City.
 A review of the proposed Project Schedule and Gantt Chart.  A review of the Estimated Cost per Fiscal Year over the timeline of the plan.

Methodology
Figure 8 – IT Strategic Plan Development (Source: SDI)

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Figure 8, IT Strategic Plan Development , depicts the methodology used to develop the plan. This process included:
 The Initial Project Portfolio was developed by SDI in the course of the IT Assessment. It included projects related to the recommendations developed by SDI and projects that the interviewees reported were in-progress or planned.
 ITD facilitated a review of the Initial Project Portfolio with the City’s department al stake holders. Through this review, project statuses and descriptions were updated, new projects were added, and the projected were prioritized into three categories, A, B, and C, and numbered consecutively within each category. The projects in Category A are of the highest priority for the City, category B includes the projects of medium priority, and category C includes the projects of the lowest priority . An abridged version of the u pdated Project Portfolio is provided in Appendix A and Appendix B.
 SDI took the Updated Project Portfolio and prepared three work products , each of which is discussed below:
 The “Blue Wall” Pre-Stage Project Roadmap.
 A Gantt Chart.
 A chart showing the estimated cost for each fiscal year of the IT Strategic Plan and for the plan in total.
“Blue Wa ll” Pre-Stage Project Roadmap
Based on input from ITD, SDI slotted the projects from the updated Project Portfolio into each of the five years of the IT Strategic Plan included the remaining three quarters of FY 2024/25, FY 2025/26, FY 2026/27, FY 2027/28, and FY 2028/29. The projects were slotted as follows:
 Projects in categories A and B that were identified as being in progress were slotted into FY 2024/25.
 Projects in category A that were not identified as being in progress were slotted into FY 2025/26.
 Projects in category B that were not identified as being in progress were slotted into FY 2026/27 and FY 2027/28.
 Projects in category C that were not identified as being in progress were slotted into FY 2028/29.

Figure 9, “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap, depicts the final project plan. SDI mapped the projects using MS Visio so that City will be able to modify the plan as needed. Each project was color-coded based on its sponsor and the number of the project is provided to facilitate cross referencing the “Blue Wall” and the Project Portfolio . The “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap was reviewed with the City’s Chief Information Officer.

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Figure 9 – “Blue Wall" Project Roadmap (Source: SDI)
Gantt Chart
Based on the “Blue Wall” Project Roadmap, SDI developed the Gantt Chart provided in Figure 10.1, Gantt Chart, Page 1 and Fi gure 10.2, Gantt Chart, Page 2 . Using the same timeframes as the “Blue Wall, ” this chart provides a more granular view of the project roadmap including work completed, work planned, and the number of concurrent projects in each time period. For each project, the Gantt Chart provides:
 The project ID number.
 The name of the project.
 The project sponsor.
 The project status (i.e., In-Progress, Identified by the City, or related to the implementation of a recommendation from the IT Assessment Report).
 The estimated low and high costs for the completion of the project (please note that costs are not provided for projects that are identified as being in- progress since these costs have already been budgeted.)
 The project category and the number within project category.  Project timeline. Projects for FY2024/25 are shown by quarter and the remaining projects are shown by FY . SDI anticipates that as addition information for the projects becomes available, that ITD will adjust the timelines accordingly.

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As project charters are developed and approved for each of the projects, ITD will be able to calculate and plot the user and IT resource requirements within each time period to review with the City’s executive team so that the project schedule can be adjusted as needed. The number of IT resources (whether internal or external) available will generally be limited by:
 The number of IT resources required to perform scheduled maintenance on the City’s IT infrastructure and needed to work on foundational projects (such as the adoption of IT best practices and business continuity).
 The number of IT resources required to respond to user requests and problem reports.  The number of IT resources that are diverted from project work in order to respond to contingencies.

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Figure 10.1 – Gantt Chart, Page 1 (Source: SDI)

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Figure 10.2 – Gantt Chart, Page 2 (Source: SDI)

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Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year
Based on the Gantt Charts provided in Figure 10.1 and Figure 10.2, SDI was able to allocate project cost per Fiscal Year and this is shown in Figure 11, Estimated Cost by Fiscal Year. The cost model is based on the following assumptions:
 Project cost is based on an average of the low and high estimated costs (in $000’s) provided in the IT Strategic Plan Project Portfolio and is labelled as “Mid-Range” Cost.  Except for projects that have annual recurring costs (such as for the annual refreshment of the City’s IT infrastructure or for services contracts), the cost for a project is assumed to be fully incurred in the Fiscal Year in which the project commences even if the project’s duration spans Fiscal Years.
 On-going costs for new positions are not presented as those costs will be included in future City budgets under personnel or contract categories.
 Costs are not provided for projects that are in- progress since these have already been budgeted.
 The costs for the maintenance of existing business and operational applications and/or application services are also not included.

For each project Figure 11 provides:
 The ID number of project.
 The name of the project.
 The project sponsor.
 Project status.
 The Priority category (A, B, C) and the ranking within the category.  The estimated mid-range cost (in $000’s).
 The FY in which the cost is incurred.

The estimated costs per FY are as follows:

FY 2025/26: $ 3,068
FY 2026/27: $ 2,633
FY 2027/28: $ 2,718
FY 2028/29: $ 2,463
Total Estimated Program Cost: $ 10,880

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Figure 11 – Estimated Cost Per Fiscal Year (Source: SDI)

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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Conclusion
Overview
This section provides some thoughts and guidance for the City regarding the steps that it should consider regarding the findings and recommendations provided in the IT Strategic Plan based on our experience in working with a wide range of organizations dealing with similar issues. A number of factors have prompted p ublic sector organizations to become more reliant on information technology including:
 Increased public expectations for the availability of information and services through the Internet and, in particular, from mobile devices. Members of the community expect to be able to do this at any time, from anywhere, using any device.  The need to optimize the use of human resources, capital, and other assets in the delivery of services to both the City’s internal user community and the public.  The need to manage total cost of ownership for information technology more effectively in the face of limited budgets. At one time this was mostly about infrastructure and personnel costs but has increasingly become related to managing the cost for business and operational applications.
 The increased availability, perhaps even ubiquity, of Smart devices that provide streams of information.

Critical Success Factors
Figure 12 – The Interdependence of IT Governance and Tactical IT Planning (Source: SDI) Figure 12, The Interdependenc e of IT Governance and Tactical IT Planning , depicts an interesting conundrum that has developed as organizations, particularly local governments, have become

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Information Technology Strategic Plan

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dependent on information technology to meet community expectations for the delivery of services and access to information. The difficulty is that effective delivery of IT services is equally dependent on both IT governance and IT tactical planning and that the effective governance of information technology is dependent on an effective approach to IT tactical planning and vice-versa.

As depicted in Figure 12, IT Governance is a strategic process in which, using the IT Strategic Plan as the foundation, the City’s executive team can continuously align IT directions and priorities with it s overall strategic plan and priorities. IT Governance needs to consider:
 A city’s long-term directions and priorities as set forth in its Strategic Business Plan and the IT Strategic Plan, as well as immediate priorities identified by the City Council.  Departmental priorities, and changes in departmental priorities, which can result in project requests. New projects and/or changes to existing projects are generally communicated to IT Governance and through a Project Charter which defines the scope and ob jectives of the project, its alignment with the City’s direction and priorities, the resource requirements, the funding sources, and the potential impact on other projects and/or existing business and operational applications.
 The status of current projects and the availability of user and IT resources.  Funding and changes in funding.
 That the City’s priorities will likely change over the course of the IT Strategic Plan and some of the projects may become of greater interest and importance to the City and this could result in their being moved up in the plan.

The decisions of the City’s IT Governance Committee are generally embodied in:
 Updates to the IT Strategic Plan.
 Approved project charters which are provided to the requesting departments as well as ITD.  Decisions regarding project priorities and the allocation / reallocation of user and IT resources. Since the City’s internal resources are finite, IT Governance will likely need to have ITD make recommendations as to which projects or portions of projects are best handled by internal staff and which can be best handled by external resources such as staff supplementation firms and/or firms providing managed services.

Tactical IT Planning is a process in which the ITD management team allocates resources based on:
 The project priorities set by the IT Governance Committee.  IT resource availability (including internal staff and external resources).  The status of projects that are currently being worked on by the IT support organization team and/or external service providers.
 Planned work such as the maintenance / refreshment of the City’s information technology infrastructure.

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 Other planned work (such as maintenance activities in support of the City’s IT infrastructure and business / operational applications).
 Unplanned events such as user service requests and contingencies that may require the temporary diversion of resources from planned activities, and which can impact both planned activities and the schedule for their completion.

All this information should be considered in the development and maintenance of a “Tactical IT Work Plan” which governs the allocation of IT D and external resources. This plan should be developed independently of the IT Strategic Plan and updated on a quarterly basis to reflect current IT D staff assignments and project status.

In municipalities that do not have effective approaches to IT governance , SDI often hears from members of the leadership team that they do not know what the IT support organization is working on and that projects seem to take too long to complete while managers and staff in the IT support organization will remark that shifting priorities and the reallocation of resources make it difficult to complete projects, that the queue of user requests exceeds the resources available to complete them, and that the respective responsibilities of user departments and the IT support organization are not well defined.

SDI has noted that:
 Organizations often struggle to establish processes for IT governance , and even if they succeed in establishing processes for IT governance those efforts often fail over time. The barriers to the establishment of sustainable processes for IT governance include that IT governance, and the need for it, are relatively new and not ingrained in organizational culture as is, for example, budgeting. Although City leadership teams often struggle with budgeting, they accept it as an activity that must be performed. IT governance, on the other hand, is seen by many already overburdened public executives as yet another collateral responsibility.  The maturity of some IT support organizations in the public sector is far less than their counterparts in the private sector. For example, it is far less common for IT support organizations in the public sector to have a resource allocation plan that identifies each staff member’s responsibilities, and the amount of time allocated to complete them. Staff members seldom charge their time to specific tasks and projects , so that even if there is a resource plan there is no way to identify variances from the plan, or why the variances occurred.

The IT Strategic Plan provides recommendations and directions that will enable the City to more effectively respond to new and/or changed requirements and to maximize the return / value for its investments in information technology; however, the realization of these benefits is dependent on the implementation of changes in how the City governs information technology and plans for the use of IT resources. The recommendations for the City include that:
 The City should establish an enterprise process for IT governance.

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 ITD should adopt practices and procedures to enable it to better manage and allocate IT resources and to manage projects.

Next Steps
The immediate steps the City should take include:
 Activating IT Governance: IT Governance should be the responsibility of the City’s executive team (the City Manager and Department Heads) and be handled as a recurring agenda item for a regularly scheduled meeting of the City’s executive team. In order to facilitate this, the City should:
 Develop a project charter for IT Governance that defines the roles and responsibilities of the participants and a sample agenda.
 Conduct a preliminary IT Governance meeting with the objective of reviewing the status of the IT Strategic Plan and the next steps involved in implementation.  Develop formal plans for all projects that are currently in progress to obtain a more complete and current understanding of user and ITD resource commitments.  Allocate resources for the development of Project Charters; even at a very basic level, for any projects that are planned to begin during FY 2024/25, so that the City can plan for the resources needed for these projects or to reschedule them as needed.  Review the ITD sponsored projects and identify components of them that can be quickly implemented.
 Activating Tactical IT Planning:
 Even as ITD resources are being called on to work on projects, to maintain the City’s IT infrastructure, and to respond to user requests and problems, ITD must obtain a more detailed understanding of what projects ITD staff are working on, the expected timeframe for the completion of the project, and the potential impact of any unplanned work on the project schedule. This should result in the development of a tactical work plan against which ITD can assess priorities and work with the City’s executive team to ensure that ITD resources are allocated appropriately.
 ITD should also work with the City’s executive team to take proactive measures to reduce the number of user problems that require the attention of ITD staff by deploying self-help tools and knowledge bases, providing training for users, and developing “super” users within each department who can handle routine matters.
 ITD should take steps to ensure that all user requests and problem reports are entered into the service desk management system in a timely manner, updated with resolutions, and closed out.
 ITD should work with the City’s executive team to identify local, external service providers and to contract with them to provide on -demand support to assist ITD in resolving incidents or supplement ITD resources as needed.

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Closing Thought
IT strategic planning is a process, not an event, and the development of this IT Strategic Plan is just the beginning of another cycle in the process for the City of Beverly Hills . Organizations can realize some benefits from strategic planning in the absence of a continued commitment to the enterprise governance of information technology, but often those benefits diminish over time. Continued support for the IT Strategic Plan will need to come in terms of priorities, dollars, policies, and a strong commitment to changing culture and practices.

Change has become a constant factor, and the successful implementation of the IT Strategic Plan may mean making compromises, and it will mean exercising patience, taking an enterprise- wide perspective, and maintaining a continued focus on revising the plan as events take place. Finally, it will take cooperation, communication, and flexibility to adapt to changing needs, expectations, information technologies, and resources.

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Appendi ces
Appe ndix A – Projects Sorted by Project Number
No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
1 Agenda
Management
Application
The City recently moved to
OneMeeting for Future Agenda Items.

This project would provide for an
evaluation of fully automating agenda
management.

City Clerk 2015 ITSP B 1A
2 Boards &
Commissions
Appointment Mgt.

Application
The City is currently using online forms
and a manual process to track
applications for appointments to City
Boards and Commissions. The project
would provide for the evaluation,
selection, and implementation of a
software package to fully automate
this process.

City Clerk 2015 ITSP B 2
3 Homeless Tracking
Application
Implementation
Implement Apricot 360 by
Bonterra/Social Solutions in Austin, TX.

City Manager In Progress A 1
4 Everbridge
application
Enhancement
Allows the City to receive alerts for
severe weather, criminal activities,
severe traffic, missing persons, or local
events. Everbridge Nixle will assist the
City to keep current with relevant
information from local and regional
public safety departments and schools.

City Manager Identified B 3
5 StarLink Evaluation Evaluate the feasibility and costs associated with utilizing Starlink, a
satellite-based internet system
developed by SpaceX, to deliver
internet connection during disruptions
from natural disasters.

City Manager
(EOC)
Identified A 2
6 CitySmart
Enhancements
Phase 2 and Phase 3 application
enhancements are on-going.

Community
Development
In Progress A 7
7 Parking Meter
Reservation
System
Implementation
Expand existing internal application for
public use and integrate the
application with City Smart.

Community
Development
Identified B 7
8 New Planning
Document
Submittal Method
means accepting submittal of pdf
application forms, plans, and other
documents from the public
Community
Development
In Progress A 8
9 ProjectDox
Upgrades
cloud migration and system updates Community
Development
In Progress A 9
10 New Online
Application for
Automated
Issuance of Solar
Permits with
CitySmart
Integration
implement an automated and
expedited online permit issuance
process for permits for certain roof-
mounted solar panel systems.

Community
Development
In Progress A 12
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No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
11 Play by Point
Application
Evaluation
Evaluate facility (tennis, pickleball,
etc.) reservation system. There are no
initial costs identified for this project.

Annual costs for two locations have
been identified.

Community
Services
Identified A 29
12 Rec1 Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Evaluate alternatives to Rec1 software
such as ActiveNet.

Community
Services
Identified C 1
13 Budget Application Evaluate a budget development and presentation application such as
Questica, Workday, Denovo, etc.

Finance Identified B 8
14 Call Center
Platform
Replacement
Evaluating solutions and identifying
user functional requirements.

Finance In Progress A 13
15 Munis Reporting Users of the City’s Munis applications expressed the need to have user-
friendly reporting capabilities available
to them (if not provided by the
business application). This project
would provide for the acquisition and
implementation of reporting tools that
users can use on their own to create
ad-hoc and special queries as needed.

Finance Identified B 9
16 Tyler Payments
Enterprise
Implementation
A comprehensive payment solution is
an integrated, cloud-based platform
that simplifies payment processing for
bills, fees, tickets, and fines. It allows
both online and over-the-counter
payments. This solution would
eliminate the need for journal entries
and simplify PCI compliance.

Finance In Progress A 14
17 Proximity
Dispatching
The City is continuing to work on
improving mapping within Tyler,
replacing MDTs, and installing
apparatus cameras. Will also launch
next-gen toning system.

Fire In Progress A 27
18 CrewForce
Evaluation /
Remediation
Evaluate and remediate the issues
with Tyler’s CrewForce application or
identify the need to replace CrewForce
if it not feasible to remediate the
issues with the application. A wireless
data modem upgrade is included in
the scope of the project.

Fire Identified B 10
19 Firefighter
Location Tracking
Application
Application to locate and track the
movement of firefighters responding
to an emergency.

Fire Identified B 11
20 EEOC Reporting Replace manual system with
application.

Human
Resources
Identified C 4
21 NEOGOV
Expansion
Expand the use of NEOGOV and
implement additional modules such as
applicant testing, eligibility lists, and
dashboards/reporting.

Human
Resources
Identified B 12
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No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
22 Pharos Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Evaluate alternatives to Pharos such as
EnvisionWare.

Library Identified C 5
23 Calendly
Implementation
New application for appointment
booking.

Library Identified C 2
24 Study Room
Booking
Application
Evaluation
Evaluate application for reserving
study rooms in Library.

Library Identified C 3
25 3SI
Implementation
Asset protection system designed to
recover stolen cash and high-value
assets, apprehend criminals, and deter
crime.

Police Identified B 15
26 Force Metrics
Evaluation (2)
Evaluate the ForceMetrics application
which is a tool for law enforcement
that delivers critical information to
first responders and co-responders,
empowering them to make better,
more informed decisions in real-time.

Paid for with grant money.

Police Identified A 19
27 FUSUS
Implementation
(3)
Real-time Crime Center software that
links key technologies (LPRs, cameras,
etc.) into a single application for
improved public safety. Covered under
AXOS agreement.

Police Identified A 20
28 Veritone
Implementation
Implement aiWARE tracking solution
that leverages confidence-based
similarity detection to track people
and objects through video recognition
software.

Police Identified A 28
29 Implement
technology for
Phase II of the Real
Time Watch
Center (RTWC)
Phase II of this project Includes: Fusus
expansion, Flock expansion, expanded
crime analytics, and A/I-based
analytics
Police - ITD In Progress A 21
30 Video Security
Expansion
Focus on wireless replacement with
FTTP-based cameras, installing next-
gen wireless cameras, and priority II
intersection cameras. Includes BHUSD
/ JPA expansion and extension of video
storage retention to 2 years.

Police - ITD In Progress A 22
31 ALPR
Implementation
for Parking
Enforcement
Data Ticket has been engaged;
equipment not yet installed. Includes
integration with Data Ticket.

Police - ITD Identified A 23
32 AMI Upgrades Using Esource to implement
application upgrades.

Public Works In Progress A 24
33 Comcate
Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Determine if the current Comcate
application is meeting the needs of the
City for citizen engagement. If not,
define business requirements,
potential replacements, and acquire
robust application to better meet City
requirements.

Public Works Identified A 25
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No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
34 Infor
Implementation
EAM (Enterprise Asset Management)
and Work Order application.

Public Works In Progress B 16
35 Irrigation System
Replacement
Implement wi-fi based RF. Requires
expansion of City’s wi-fi network.

Public Works In Progress A 28
37 Upgrade Water
Management
Presentation
Software (Water
Smart)
Include integration with Paymentus,
Munis, and IDP
Public Works In Progress A 26
38 Aclara Upgrade Prerequisit for AMI. Include reporting server
Public Works In Progress A 31
39 Faster Cloud
Migration
Per project SOW Public Works In Progress C 6
40 Membership ID
Cards Application
Acquire a solution for generating and
printing membership ID cards,
including the ability to generate and
print a QR or bar code for later
scanning and access
Rec & Parks Identified B 17
41 Access Control
System Upgrade
Upgrade for building access citywide. ITD Identified A 15 42 Applications
Portfolio
Create an application portfolio
(inventory) to effectively manage
application descriptions and sponsors,
version upgrades, vendor services,
license counts, maintenance costs,
product obsolescence, and
replacement cycles. May be able to
meet his need by implementing
Certero.

ITD SDI
Recommendation
2 B 14
43 Best Practices
Implementation
Devote IT resources to a continuing
program to improve its conformance
to the best practices for critical areas
which include IT Asset Management,
Technical Documentation, Service
Catalog, and Help Desk Management.

ITD SDI
Recommendation
9 A 16
44 ITD Organization
Improvement
Perform a classification and
compensation study to help resolve
the difficulties being experienced in
the recruiting of qualified applicants to
fill open positions, increase the degree
of cross-training among ITD staff
members, update job descriptions, use
external service providers, bring
experienced project managers to assist
the user community in making more
effective use of their business
applications, and plan for the
increased use of cloud-based services.

Work with P&M on improving
multimedia services delivery. Rework
internal and external meeting
cadence, develop scorecard metrics,
develop succession planning program,
develop IT outreach program, develop

ITD SDI
Recommendation
7 B 14
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No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
customer service improvement plan
for desktop and projects.
45 ITD Infrastructure
replacement
This is a continuing program for the
annual replacement and enhancement
of aging and end-of-life IT
infrastructure and includes: Phase II
Radio system infrastructure and
receiver sites, mobile and portable
radios, mobile wireless data modems,
RF-over IP system, enterprise disk
storage systems, virtual server
infrastructure, end user devices (PCs,
laptops, tablets, and High-Tech Crimes
storage.

ITD Current FY In
Progress (1)
A 17
46 ITD Software
enhancements
This is a continuing program that
includes the upgrade of enterprise and
business unit software and includes:

Munis upgrade to the cloud, access
control system, expand public website
apps including new chat bot, expand
o365 offerings, Council outreach
application, public-facing land
information system, lobbyist
application, public-facing water use
application and payments system,
document management system, AMI,
and fleet management.

ITD Current FY In
Progress (1)
A 18
47 Application
Integration Plan
Conduct an analysis of the information
separately stored and develop plans
and priorities to improve information
sharing and integration. Include the
definition of specific information
exchanges including the information to
be exchanged, the trigger(s) for the
exchange, the data relationship rules,
and the medium for the exchange.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
B 4
48 Business
Continuity -
Disaster Recovery
Plan
Review, revise, and update the City’s
current disaster recovery plan to
include a City-wide business impact
analysis of core applications and
routinely test the plan.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
4 A 3
49 Core Business
Application
Reviews
Review the functionality provided by
core business applications (such as
Munis and CitySmart) and apply
lessons learned from their
implementations to identify issues that
may be related to software defects,
configuration issues, or user training.

Evaluate the adequacy of the support
for the applications being provided to
the City and whether the contractual
provisions for support should be
expanded. Create an action plan, cost
City-wide SDI
Recommendation
10 B 5
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 37

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
estimates, and a timeline for the
remediation of findings.
50 Cybersecurity Plan Develop a plan generally conformant with the requirements of NIST
(National Institute of Standards and
Technology), or the International
Organization for Standardization (IOS)
that identifies the steps to be taken to
prepare for a cyber-security attack, the
steps required to identify intrusions, to
neutralize them, and to identify
exposures that lead to intrusions.

City-wide -
ITD
SDI
Recommendation
3 A 10
51 Implement
Cybersecurity
Enhancements
Expand SEIM functionality, implement
ITIM system, upgrade core network
infrastructure, expand end-user
training, deliver PCI compliance
components, upgrade VPN solution,
enhance endpoint protection
infrastructure, expand external scans,
enhance KPI infrastructure, expand
ransomware-proof back-up system.

City-wide -
ITD
Identified A 11
52 Enterprise
Document
Management
Strategy
Create a plan for a structured
approach to the storage and
management of documents,
identification of automated workflows
that would enable the routing of
documents through the organization,
along with the ability to track
document and manage the routing
and processing of documents.

Complete library special collections,
fire docs, CD documents, clerk
documents, Pw documents.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
5 B 1B
53 IT Governance Define and create a formal IT
governance structure which will assist
in aligning the business needs with the
IT Department.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
1 A 30
54 ITD
Communication –
Collaboration
Improvement
Implement a method for ITD to
communicate and collaborate with the
user departments in order to provide a
more robust level of support to them.

Information that can be disseminated
includes information regarding ITD’s
plans, objectives, and performance
including acknowledging problems,
celebrating successes, and reporting
on service levels, project and request
status, and workload.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation
6 A 4
55 On-going
Application
Training Plan
Create a plan to ensure on-going
application training is available to staff
that can increase productivity, provide
a significant return on the City’s
investment in core business
City-wide SDI
Recommendation
8 B 6
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 38

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
applications, and reduce the level of
support from IT.
56 Online Forms
Development
Evaluation of solutions for the use of
electronic forms (Munis, NEOGOV,
OpenText, city smart). City-wide need
to create a plan to utilize on-line forms
rather than printing pdf and re-
entering data.

City-wide In Progress A 5
57 Web Content
Manager
Replacement
New content management system for
city website (CivicPlus) to enable
trained users to update content on the
City’s website.

City-wide In Progress A 6

The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 39

Appendix B – Projects Sorted by Category and Ranking
No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
3 Homeless Tracking
Application
Implementation
Implement Apricot 360 by
Bonterra/Social Solutions in Austin, TX. City Manager In Progress A 1 5 StarLink Evaluation
Evaluate the feasibility and costs
associated with utilizing Starlink, a
satellite-based internet system
developed by SpaceX, to deliver internet
connection during disruptions from
natural disasters.

City Manager
(EOC) Identified A 2
48 Business Continuity
- Disaster Recovery
Plan
Review, revise, and update the City’s
current disaster recovery plan to include
a City-wide business impact analysis of
core applications and routinely test the
plan.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
4 A 3
54 ITD
Communication –
Collaboration
Improvement
Implement a method for ITD to
communicate and collaborate with the
user departments in order to provide a
more robust level of support to them.

Information that can be disseminated
includes information regarding ITD’s
plans, objectives, and performance
including acknowledging problems,
celebrating successes, and reporting on
service levels, project and request
status, and workload.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
6 A 4
56 Online Forms
Development
Evaluation of solutions for the use of
electronic forms (Munis, NEOGOV,
OpenText, city smart). City-wide need to
create a plan to utilize on-line forms
rather than printing pdf and re-entering
data.

City-wide In Progress A 5
57 Web Content
Manager
Replacement
New content management system for
city website (CivicPlus) to enable trained
users to update content on the City’s
website.

City-wide In Progress A 6
6 CitySmart
Enhancements
Phase 2 and Phase 3 application
enhancements are on-going.

Community
Development In Progress A 7
8 New Planning
Document
Submittal Method
means accepting submittal of pdf
application forms, plans, and other
documents from the public
Community
Development In Progress A 8
9 ProjectDox
Upgrades cloud migration and system updates Community
Development In Progress A 9
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 40

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
50 Cybersecurity Plan
Develop a plan generally conformant
with the requirements of NIST (National
Institute of Standards and Technology),
or the International Organization for
Standardization (IOS) that identifies the
steps to be taken to prepare for a cyber-
security attack, the steps required to
identify intrusions, to neutralize them,
and to identify exposures that lead to
intrusions.

City-wide -
ITD
SDI
Recommendation
3 A 10
51 Implement
Cybersecurity
Enhancements
Expand SEIM functionality, implement
ITIM system, upgrade core network
infrastructure, expand end-user training,
deliver PCI compliance components,
upgrade VPN solution, enhance endpoint
protection infrastructure, expand
external scans, enhance KPI
infrastructure, expand ransomware-
proof back-up system.

City-wide -
ITD Identified A 11
10 New Online
Application for
Automated
Issuance of Solar
Permits with
CitySmart
Integration
implement an automated and expedited
online permit issuance process for
permits for certain roof-mounted solar
panel systems.

Community
Development In Progress A 12
14 Call Center
Platform
Replacement
Evaluating solutions and identifying user
functional requirements. Finance In Progress A 13
16 Tyler Payments
Enterprise
Implementation
A comprehensive payment solution is an
integrated, cloud-based platform that
simplifies payment processing for bills,
fees, tickets, and fines. It allows both
online and over-the-counter payments.

This solution would eliminate the need
for journal entries and simplify PCI
compliance.

Finance In Progress A 14
41 Access Control
System Upgrade Upgrade for building access citywide. ITD Identified A 15 43 Best Practices
Implementation
Devote IT resources to a continuing
program to improve its conformance to
the best practices for critical areas which
include IT Asset Management, Technical
Documentation, Service Catalog, and
Help Desk Management.

ITD
SDI
Recommendation
9 A 16
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 41

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
45 ITD Infrastructure
replacement
This is a continuing program for the
annual replacement and enhancement
of aging and end-of-life IT infrastructure
and includes: Phase II Radio system
infrastructure and receiver sites, mobile
and portable radios, mobile wireless
data modems, RF-over IP system,
enterprise disk storage systems, virtual
server infrastructure, end user devices
(PCs, laptops, tablets, and High-Tech
Crimes storage.

ITD Current FY In
Progress (1) A 17
46 ITD Software
enhancements
This is a continuing program that
includes the upgrade of enterprise and
business unit software and includes:

Munis upgrade to the cloud, access
control system, expand public website
apps including new chat bot, expand
o365 offerings, Council outreach
application, public-facing land
information system, lobbyist application,
public-facing water use application and
payments system, document
management system, AMI, and fleet
management.

ITD Current FY In
Progress (1) A 18
26 Force Metrics
Evaluation (2)
Evaluate the ForceMetrics application
which is a tool for law enforcement that
delivers critical information to first
responders and co-responders,
empowering them to make better, more
informed decisions in real-time. Paid for
with grant money.

Police Identified A 19
27 FUSUS
Implementation (3)
Real-time Crime Center software that
links key technologies (LPRs, cameras,
etc.) into a single application for
improved public safety. Covered under
AXOS agreement.

Police Identified A 20
29 Implement
technology for
Phase II of the Real
Time Watch Center
(RTWC)
Phase II of this project Includes: Fusus
expansion, Flock expansion, expanded
crime analytics, and A/I-based analytics
Police - ITD In Progress A 21
30 Video Security
Expansion
Focus on wireless replacement with
FTTP-based cameras, installing next-gen
wireless cameras, and priority II
intersection cameras. Includes BHUSD /
JPA expansion and extension of video
storage retention to 2 years.

Police - ITD In Progress A 22
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 42

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
31 ALPR
Implementation for
Parking
Enforcement
Data Ticket has been engaged;
equipment not yet installed. Includes
integration with Data Ticket.

Police - ITD Identified A 23
32 AMI Upgrades Using Esource to implement application
upgrades. Public Works In Progress A 24
33 Comcate
Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Determine if the current Comcate
application is meeting the needs of the
City for citizen engagement. If not,
define business requirements, potential
replacements, and acquire robust
application to better meet City
requirements.

Public Works Identified A 25
37 Upgrade Water
Management
Presentation
Software (Water
Smart)
Include integration with Paymentus,
Munis, and IDP Public Works In Progress A 26
17 Proximity
Dispatching
The City is continuing to work on
improving mapping within Tyler,
replacing MDTs, and installing apparatus
cameras. Will also launch next-gen
toning system.

Fire In Progress A 27
28 Veritone
Implementation
Implement aiWARE tracking solution
that leverages confidence-based
similarity detection to track people and
objects through video recognition
software.

Police Identified A 28
35 Irrigation System
Replacement
Implement wi-fi based RF. Requires
expansion of City’s wi-fi network. Public Works In Progress A 28 11 Play by Point
Application
Evaluation
Evaluate facility (tennis, pickleball, etc.)
reservation system. There are no initial
costs identified for this project. Annual
costs for two locations have been
identified.

Community
Services Identified A 29
53 IT Governance
Define and create a formal IT
governance structure which will assist in
aligning the business needs with the IT
Department.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
1 A 30
38 Aclara Upgrade Prerequisit for AMI. Include reporting server Public Works In Progress A 31
1 Agenda
Management
Application
The City recently moved to OneMeeting
for Future Agenda Items. This project
would provide for an evaluation of fully
automating agenda management.

City Clerk 2015 ITSP B 1A
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 43

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
52 Enterprise
Document
Management
Strategy
Create a plan for a structured approach
to the storage and management of
documents, identification of automated
workflows that would enable the routing
of documents through the organization,
along with the ability to track document
and manage the routing and processing
of documents. Complete library special
collections, fire docs, CD documents,
clerk documents, Pw documents.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
5 B 1B
2 Boards &
Commissions
Appointment Mgt.

Application
The City is currently using online forms
and a manual process to track
applications for appointments to City
Boards and Commissions. The project
would provide for the evaluation,
selection, and implementation of a
software package to fully automate this
process.

City Clerk 2015 ITSP B 2
4 Everbridge
application
Enhancement
Allows the City to receive alerts for
severe weather, criminal activities,
severe traffic, missing persons, or local
events. Everbridge Nixle will assist the
City to keep current with relevant
information from local and regional
public safety departments and schools.

City Manager Identified B 3
47 Application
Integration Plan
Conduct an analysis of the information
separately stored and develop plans and
priorities to improve information sharing
and integration. Include the definition of
specific information exchanges including
the information to be exchanged, the
trigger(s) for the exchange, the data
relationship rules, and the medium for
the exchange.

City-wide SDI
Recommendation B 4
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 44

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
49 Core Business
Application
Reviews
Review the functionality provided by
core business applications (such as
Munis and CitySmart) and apply lessons
learned from their implementations to
identify issues that may be related to
software defects, configuration issues, or
user training. Evaluate the adequacy of
the support for the applications being
provided to the City and whether the
contractual provisions for support
should be expanded. Create an action
plan, cost estimates, and a timeline for
the remediation of findings.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
10 B 5
55 On-going
Application
Training Plan
Create a plan to ensure on-going
application training is available to staff
that can increase productivity, provide a
significant return on the City’s
investment in core business applications,
and reduce the level of support from IT.

City-wide
SDI
Recommendation
8 B 6
7 Parking Meter
Reservation
System
Implementation
Expand existing internal application for
public use and integrate the application
with City Smart.

Community
Development Identified B 7
13 Budget Application
Evaluate a budget development and
presentation application such as
Questica, Workday, Denovo, etc.

Finance Identified B 8
15 Munis Reporting
Users of the City’s Munis applications
expressed the need to have user-friendly
reporting capabilities available to them
(if not provided by the business
application). This project would provide
for the acquisition and implementation
of reporting tools that users can use on
their own to create ad-hoc and special
queries as needed.

Finance Identified B 9
18 CrewForce
Evaluation /
Remediation
Evaluate and remediate the issues with
Tyler’s CrewForce application or identify
the need to replace CrewForce if it not
feasible to remediate the issues with the
application. A wireless data modem
upgrade is included in the scope of the
project.

Fire Identified B 10
19 Firefighter Location
Tracking
Application
Application to locate and track the
movement of firefighters responding to
an emergency.

Fire Identified B 11
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 45

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
21 NEOGOV
Expansion
Expand the use of NEOGOV and
implement additional modules such as
applicant testing, eligibility lists, and
dashboards/reporting.

Human
Resources Identified B 12
42 Applications
Portfolio
Create an application portfolio
(inventory) to effectively manage
application descriptions and sponsors,
version upgrades, vendor services,
license counts, maintenance costs,
product obsolescence, and replacement
cycles. May be able to meet his need by
implementing Certero.

ITD
SDI
Recommendation
2 B 14
44 ITD Organization
Improvement
Perform a classification and
compensation study to help resolve the
difficulties being experienced in the
recruiting of qualified applicants to fill
open positions, increase the degree of
cross-training among ITD staff members,
update job descriptions, use external
service providers, bring experienced
project managers to assist the user
community in making more effective use
of their business applications, and plan
for the increased use of cloud-based
services. Work with P&M on improving
multimedia services delivery. Rework
internal and external meeting cadence,
develop scorecard metrics, develop
succession planning program, develop IT
outreach program, develop customer
service improvement plan for desktop
and projects.

ITD
SDI
Recommendation
7 B 14
25 3SI
Implementation
Asset protection system designed to
recover stolen cash and high-value
assets, apprehend criminals, and deter
crime.

Police Identified B 15
34 Infor
Implementation
EAM (Enterprise Asset Management)
and Work Order application. Public Works In Progress B 16 40 Membership ID
Cards Application
Acquire a solution for generating and
printing membership ID cards, including
the ability to generate and print a QR or
bar code for later scanning and access
Rec & Parks Identified B 17
12 Rec1 Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Evaluate alternatives to Rec1 software
such as ActiveNet.

Community
Services Identified C 1
The City of Beverly Hills
Information Technology Strategic Plan

October 17, 2024 Page | 46

No. Project Name Description Sponsor Status Project Priority Group Ranking
23 Calendly
Implementation
New application for appointment
booking. Library Identified C 2
24 Study Room
Booking
Application
Evaluation
Evaluate application for reserving study
rooms in Library. Library Identified C 3
20 EEOC Reporting Replace manual system with application. Human Resources Identified C 4
22 Pharos Application
Replacement
Evaluation
Evaluate alternatives to Pharos such as
EnvisionWare. Library Identified C 5
39 Faster Cloud
Migration Per project SOW Public Works In Progress C 6