In This Edition
Strategy Updates
Stabilize IT Infrastructure
Mark McMinn joined IDL as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in April. His first priority has been to modernize and stabilize the IT infrastructure. This is the foundation to preventing outages. In the past two months Private Fire and Scale Data systems were offline 5 and 6 days respectively, and a GIS server was offline 2 days, proving the urgency and value of Mark’s vision. IT is taking measures to ensure these systems are delivered without interruption during business hours, starting with a risk analysis of every server and system in IDL.
One Scrum Team
Since the last issue of the IT Newsletter, IT has made a few strategic decisions. In order to maximize collaboration, the sharing of expertise, reduction of bottlenecks and project collisions, IT has consolidated to a single scrum team for projects. This means IT will only tackle one project at a time, but it will be able to complete these projects faster because everyone will be focused on the same end goal.
Product Updates
Success!
Fire & Forest Practices Regulatory
 In 9 weeks the team delivered a new solution for issuing and storing Notification/Compliances. Where the LIMS Regulatory Portal took 12-20 minutes, sometimes longer, to get the customer out the door, the new solution generates a Notification/Compliance in under 10 minutes. The solution is compatible with M-Files and collecting digital signatures via DocuSign. IT is working with Operations and the FPA and Fire programs to rollout the software, along with multiple forms of training. Adrienne Morrow is working with the Ponderosa and the CPTPA offices as pilot programs. The application will go live statewide in January. Please continue using the LIMS Regulatory Portal or Regulatory Lite until notified otherwise.
Scale Data Transfer
 A new, modernized Scale Data Transfer has successfully gone live! The Scale Data Transfer was the failure point of the 6 day outage mentioned above. With the support of the IT Steering Committee, in order to reduce future risk of system failures, IT escalated the replacement of the Scale Data Transfer. The project was completed in just over a month. The modernized Scale Data Transfer tool brings the system current.
The Near Future
My IDL (Microsoft 365 SharePoint)
The My IDL user group is growing. Last month I mentioned that the Minerals, Navigable Waters, Oil & Gas Division (MNOG) was participating in a pilot. They have almost completed a migration of their documents to the new SharePoint site, also known as My IDL. The MNOG site is organized and easy to navigate. Kourtney Romine has been a critical person in this effort. She did an outstanding job! The MNOG site will be used as a template for other divisions migrating to My IDL.
Gold’s Fire Business System (FBS)
The paperwork is in order. IDL will begin working with Gold within the next month. Gold will setup an out of the box solution. IDL will then identify the minimum changes necessary to begin using the Fire Business System.
Cybersecurity Updates
A new “column” is being added to the IT Newsletter: Cybersecurity Updates. You will find security tips.
Physical security is just as important as cybersecurity. It is also one of the simplest forms of security. Locking workstations, shredding documents, and ensuring doors are locked and no one slips in behind you are just a few examples of physical security. It is also important to ensure that when your hardware is not in your line of sight that it is in a secure environment to avoid opportunistic theft.
Working from home comes with great responsibility. No matter where you work, organizational policies still apply. It's your responsibility to ensure your home network is secure and that your work and personal accounts remain separate.
The importance of incident response and following policy cannot be overstated. The longer an incident of any manner goes unreported, the more damage it can cause. Remember, IDL and State policies exist to help protect the privacy of employees, clients, customers, and business associates. Report any Incidents to the Helpdesk@idl.idaho.gov
Questions?
If you have any questions about topics discussed in this edition of our Information Technology Newsletter, please contact Elton Kelly via email at ekelly@idl.idaho.gov.
Past Editions
View the archive of our Information Technology Newsletter, and other IDL newsletters, on our One Team, One Voice webpage.
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