According to a request for proposal (RFP) issued earlier this month, the City of Memphis, Tennessee is looking to extend an outsourcing contract for its IT infrastructure and Application Maintenance and Support (AM&S) services. The deal could be worth more than $35 million over five years, with two one-year options.

The five-year base contract could be worth as much as $7 million per year for vendors who are able to satisfy a base set of services including data center operations, help desk support, application development, telecommunications, information security and monitoring tools. Memphis’ budget appropriations for FY 2011 have dictated the ceiling award for base services, but a ten-year history of IT outsourcing in the city and contractual room for “additional services” suggest the price tag could be higher.

In 2000, Memphis awarded a $42.1 million, seven-year contract to Systems and Computer Technology Corporation (SCT), over competing vendors Electronic Data Systems and Affiliated Computer Services (ACS). SCT was then acquired by ACS about six months later, leading industry observers to hail ACS’ entrance into the state/local outsourcing big leagues in 2001. By 2006, the city was paying more than double the current asking price on its outsourcing contract, sending $69.4 million for the job, an inter-office memo revealed.

The City of Memphis Information Services department (IS) provides service to over 4,500 city employees across fourteen divisions, the RFP explained. And with the exception of Radio Maintenance, GIS and six Information Technology Officers, all IS departments are currently outsourced.

In addition to the base services outlined by the RFP, additional city projects that would need support include VOIP and Wireless network expansion, Gigabit LAN upgrades, a Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery plan for its data center and a library infrastructure upgrade. The City of Memphis is also seeking to improve Help Desk services and provide a single “Service Desk” for incident, problem and change management processes.

The contract winner would have to manage a host of legacy technologies ranging from IBM, Dell, HP, Sun, VMware, and Microsoft at its data centers and remote locations, while EMC and Hitachi encompass the city’s storage solutions. Application support is also required for an Oracle e-Business Suite, including an enterprise-wide human resource, finance, payroll, benefits and customer relationship management system, according to the RFP.

All proposals must be submitted no later than August 13. And a final award is expected between mid-September and December of this year.

For a full copy of the city’s RFP, click here.

NIC has redesigned the Tennessee state website TN.gov. The new design aims to make it easier and faster to find government information and services. The website also includes several interactive features which will tailor content depending on interest, click behavior, and geographic location.

NIC utilized past website data to determine the most popular site features and topics and place them more prominently. The site search function has also been overhauled to include search suggestions and possible matches. When a user clicks on a topic, they’ll be given suggestions about additional and potentially relevant information.

The website will utilize GeoIP technology to identify user locations and provide them with location specific government information, local news and points of interest. Prominently displayed links to social media, RSS, and other rich media and a new mobile-optimized site aim to make it easier for visitors to connect with state government using the latest technologies.

Citizen engagement features have also been included. A section of the homepage is devoted to public participation and government transparency. Visitors will be given information on upcoming government meetings which they can also download to their calendars.

TN.gov supports an average of 1.6 million unique users per month and offers hundreds of government services online. Earlier this year, TN.gov processed the state’s one millionth online driver license renewal. The redesign was completed with no taxpayer or appropriated funds through a unique self-funded, public-private partnership with Nashville-based NIC Tennessee Inc.

According to an announcement today, Tyler Technologies has signed a deal with Madison, Wisconsin to provide enterprise resource planning and other software to the city. The estimated $5.5 million deal extends Madison’s partnership with Tyler Tech to include both Incode municipal court and Munis ERP solutions, the company said.

Accounting Services Manager Patricia McDermott said the deal would eliminate manual processing and allows employees to spend more time on their department’s mission. “The City of Madison chose Tyler’s integrated solutions because they proactively position the city for the future,” she said in a statement. “By implementing Tyler, the city will be able to offer Web-based services for citizens, vendors and our employees.”

Madison has a range of Incode municipal court and Munis financial, human capital management, content management, and citizen services applications already in place through Tyler. The company’s agreement includes maintenance, support and related professional services, with dedicated on-site implementation services, the company said.

“The fact that Tyler meets the city’s requirements as a single-source provider, from implementation through maintenance, is further evidence of our reputation for providing the systems that local government entities need to better serve the public,” Tyler’s president and CEO John Marr Jr. added.

In 2008, Tyler signed similar deals with Brookfield and Delafield, Wisconsin.

Microsoft is starting construction of a modular data center in West Des Moines. The $100 million facility will be open by the spring of 2011. The center will be constructed using new sustainability measures designed to significantly reduce water, power and carbon waste typically associated with datacenters.

Microsoft will also be using new technology consolidation and efficiency measures designed to maintain high levels of computing capacity and productivity while keeping energy drain low.

Iowa bid against other areas for the data center and according to Microsoft presented the most competitive package. The state hopes that the center will bring higher paying skilled jobs to West Des Moines. The Iowa Economic Development Board approved an award to Microsoft that will prove tax benefits from the High Quality Jobs program for the creation of 25 jobs. Those jobs are expected to have an average wage of $30 an hour.

“This project means more good-paying jobs of the future for Iowans. We’re continuing efforts to recruit the top companies in the world to Iowa, and Microsoft fits the bill,” Governor Culver said. “Good jobs like these are magnets for other companies and for families who are looking for a great environment.”

Maryland’s General Assembly and Board of Public Works are moving forward with several measures designed to increase transparency. The new measures include broadcasting all Board of Public Works meetings live online along with initiatives from the General Assembly to provide greater accountability and transparency about state government.

Maryland’s General Assembly will now stream standing committee hearings as will the Senate which will broadcast live audio of their hearings. The Assembly will also be waiving the current fee for bill status updates during the legislative session, and final roll call votes will also be posted online.

Government transparency initiatives have been a major part of the Governor’s agenda for the state and Governor O’Malley has received national recognition for his efforts. CivSource has reported on some of these initiatives like StateStat. The Governor champions the use of technology like that used with StateStat for the  cost savings and high levels of accountability.

“We’ve been proud these last four years to usher in a new era of accountability and transparency to the Governor’s office that has become a hallmark to our Administration,” said Governor O’Malley. “Our goal from the beginning was to make government work again for the people it serves. As we continue to find new ways to make government more responsive and responsible, we’re delivering on the promise of openness and transparency for the people of Maryland.”

Massachusetts broke ground on construction of a new state-of-the-art data center in Springfield. The data center will house the state’s electronic records, data systems, and provide a back up for the commonwealth’s current primary data center. The construction itself is expected to cost the state $110 million, but the state hopes that the result will be a “national model” for green technology. The data center is part of the Governor’s agenda to manage statewide technology more effectively and consolidate the 183 dispersed data centers into two more efficiently managed facilities.

Construction of the 148,000 square foot building will incorporate measures designed to drastically minimize energy consumption. Builders will use the latest technology in energy efficiency, data center infrastructure, consolidated computer technology and sustainable building design. The building will use fresh air cooling, EnergyStar servers and a high tech energy management system to maintain low usage. Other innovative initiatives include capture and re-use of rainwater and the use of natural sunlight in work areas.

The Division of Capital Asset Management and Information Technology Division have also been working with Western Mass Electric Co. to maximize potential rebates available through the utility to lower front end costs, while enhancing energy efficiency.

The center will also be hiring for state positions once it’s complete and the state hopes that the influx of jobs will lead to greater economic activity in Springfield. Over 200 construction related positions will also be filled during the building’s two year build-out. It’s expected that approximately 70 technology positions will be created at the center in the beginning.

“The Springfield Data Center is a project with a multitude of benefits,” said Governor Patrick. “In addition to securing critical data used by thousands of state workers, this facility will be a national model for environmentally-friendly data storage and an economic boost for the City of Springfield. I thank Congressman Neal, Mayor Sarno, the legislative delegation and the community for their support and dedication to making this project a reality.”

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has announced that he’ll be putting the state’s monthly spending reports online as part of the administration’s continuing efforts to provide greater transparency.   The reports will be published on a new website that will also include other state financial information such as budgetary items and revenue reports.

Over the last year, New Hampshire has started a large scale technology upgrade with the aim of improving the state’s ability to track and report spending. The Governor’s plan will take this updated information and post it online continuously.  The Governor also has plans to measure the website’s activity and feedback in order to make improvements over the next several months.

According to the announcement on the new site, the state also has plans to launch a “full state transparency Web site with more access to spending data, state employee salaries, and budget summaries.”  Most of the data available is presented in PDF’s with a few Excel spreadsheets.  The data itself is either posted directly on the site or a link is posted that point’s you to another agency/office site with the information.

“I am committed to improving the transparency and accountability of state government, and bringing greater efficiency to the way the state does business. Creating these spending reports, and posting them online is an important step in that ongoing effort,” Governor Lynch said.

When Oregon’s building and construction boom went bust between 2005-07, the state’s top administrator of building codes saw a way to help local officials streamline how industry and government coordinated their efforts. Pat Allen, of the state’s Building Codes Division, envisioned a statewide, interoperable, web-based e-permitting system that provides a shared services model for local governments and an always-on portal for developers and contractors.

Oregon’s Building Codes Division is part of the state’s Department of Consumer & Business Services (DCBS). DCBS helps to promote economic development while ensuring regulatory compliance within the state’s industry. And specifically, the Building Codes Division (BCD) provides code development, inspection, plan review, licensing, and permit services to the construction industry.

Traditional permitting is an arduous process for both builders and local government overseers. Jurisdictional and geographic fragmentation costs money in lost time and wasted resources. For instance, just knowing the location of a site doesn’t always make it simple to know which forms and standards are needed, especially if city or county lines are closely intertwined.

“In Oregon there are 134 cities and counties who issue building licenses and permits,” Mr. Allen said during a recent presentation. “It’s the kind of partnership that can get complex.” Each of the 134 jurisdictions has their own portfolio of permits and series of documents, Allen added.

Even if this scenario is not a standard problem, having multiple delays between inspections and construction can lead to lost revenue for all parties involved. But because most jurisdictions were getting a steady inflow of funds through building permits until the last few years, little interest was paid to these kinds of inefficiencies.

So in 2005, the build-out of an e-permitting system in the Portland metro area went largely unnoticed. The project was a relatively simple electronic submission system, but in 2008, with the help of Accela, Oregon began tinkering with a cross-jurisdictional idea that would grant builders access to forms and applications anytime and anywhere. And it would eliminate the need for expensive and redundant IT systems to be maintained in each city and county.

According to Accela CEO Maury Blackman, the cumbersome process of getting permits in most places today means going directly to the agency, or their website, and finding where to apply for the permit.

“Oregon’s system is different because it allows contractors to go to the state’s website and initiate multiple permit processes at one time,” he said. “Just like shopping for books at Amazon.com, the builder gets the permits and then checks out.”

The current incarnation of Oregon’s building permits portal, BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov, went live using Accela Citizen Access and Accela Automation about a year ago. For participating cities and counties, the project has meant access to Accela’s submission, tracking, payment and printout system – through the hosted service – and Oregon’s program now serves building contractors from 33 municipal departments statewide and has processed more than 70,000 permits totaling over $7.2 million since 2005.

Two particular noteworthy sidebars about the project, Blackman said, was the ability of the local jurisdiction to collect all fees directly from the permit seeker without the state receiving the money first. “The state doesn’t handle the money,” Blackman explained, “when the user hits ‘buy’ all funds and fees go straight to the municipality. The state is just the broker – it’s providing the store front.”

Blackman said that was an important element of the project so local governments didn’t have to wait for state coffers to reallocate funds back to them. “That structure is critical for local governments in this economic environment.” For the state’s part, it collects a 4% surcharge on building permits to pay for system maintenance and enhancements as more jurisdictions come online.

The other important aspect about the project is that despite a decline in overall building in Oregon, online permits processed through the system have remained consistent. Mr. Blackman thinks this speaks not only to the system’s effectiveness, but also to its easy user interface. “If you make it easier for contractors to buy permits, they’re more likely to comply, therefore increasing budgets,” he said.

Looking towards the future, Accela has another five years on its 10-year deal with Oregon and Mr. Blackman believes the project can be a model of effectiveness in the face of austere budgets, and increasing citizen expectations.

“I see a situation in the very near future where contractors are scheduling inspections and pulling permits over iPhones and Android apps, and state workers are getting the alerts on their device – it will be a smooth, quick electronic transaction,” he said.

“It’s all there – we’re doing it.”

On Friday, Maryland announced the launch of a first of its kind interactive map that helps users plan trips by highlighting tourism throughout the state. Users that to go the Visit Maryland Map will be able to search through the states natural, cultural, historical and recreation spots to plan their trips.

The map was developed through a collaboration between the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and the Department of Planning (MDP). The map is inspired by the broad array of tools offered by the state that use mapping technology from Arc GIS like Greenprint and Agprint, to pull in state data and create a rich consumer experience. The platform provides one place to see the various systems of assets layer and inter-relate, and provides a virtual touring map of Maryland.

The map’s creators also have plans for future phases that will include features like printable maps, point-to-point directions and street view capabilities. Right now users will be able to see areas like scenic byways, historic districts, museums and parks.

“Maryland has wisely invested in its arts, cultural, heritage, natural and recreational infrastructure through state-funded programs like Maryland Heritage Areas, Maryland Byways, Main Streets and Arts and Entertainment Districts, which significantly enhance our quality of life and attract visitors who support our booming tourism economy,” said Governor O’Malley. “Promoting these assets to the consumer, both Maryland residents and visitors, is a priority.”

Digital security is always at the top of the priority list for public sector officials. Rocstor a California-based company is hoping to help governments manage their digital security, encryption and data storage with several product lines launched earlier this year. CivSource spoke with Rocstor Director, Ghadoushi Asher and VP of sales Anthony Rink about Rocstor’s solutions and the security industry.

Asher is the first to tell you that his industry is a tricky one for both providers and customers. “People claim full security on their products but inevitably, there are back doors either known or unknown.” Often, security can seem like an unwinnable arms race – the minute a system is installed or upgraded new threats are already in the wild.

According to Asher, Rocstor has been able to combat this through their rigorous testing process and best-in-class security requirements resulting in “the Gucci of hard drives.” He pointed to the company’s Rocsafe MX, the world’s first Encrypted AES-256 Secure Data Storage hard drive a drive that offers FIPS-L2 and L3 Smartcard Protection.

The MX is designed to offer its users a mobile hard drive with military grade encryption. The MX uses both real-time hardware encryption and smartcard authentication, is OS agnostic and requires no software installation. As part of its design the hard drive has an embedded keypad which allows you to key your PIN directly into the unit, which allows users safety from keyloggers.

Data on the MX is stored in a SATA hard disk drive and is designed to plug in without mounting. Pre-boot authentication also puts the device in compliance with Sarbames Oaxley, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) and Gramm-Leach-Billey (GLB). Asher noted that using the MX allows users to have the hard drive they need without being vulnerable by using unsecured desktop or laptop when out from behind the firewall.

Asher and Rink both noted that the company designed its products to meet the needs of its customers regardless of what kind of system they have. For governments that may be working with several different manufacturers or systems, which can be beneficial because they can start using Rocstor without having to overhaul their current set up. “Our government clients find value in getting the security they need immediately,” Asher said.