January Minutes
ITAC MEETING MINUTES
January 20, 2011
Attendees: Robert Michaud, Daren Baughman, Hank Cox, Gloria McNeill, Michael Reilly, Vass Johnson, Darryl McGraw, Dr. Marc Hoit, John Killebrew
Wake County: Lib Wanner, Jackie Brady, Debbie Moore
Due to work schedules Niamh Darcy and Steve Kim could not attend the meeting
The meeting began at 9:05 a.m.
Lib Wanner welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced that on December 6, 2010, the Board of Commissioners re-appointed Hank Cox to the Committee and appointed two new members, Daren Baughman and Michael Reilly. Lib asked Daren and Michael to give the group a brief review of their background. Lib ensured that all members had received the proper documentation for the meeting and then introduced Debbie Moore as the IS Department’s new Administrative Assistant who would be supporting the group going forward. Jackie Brady, the IT Manager for Customer Services, would be presenting the topic on the meeting agenda.
Lib began the meeting by noting that since the December meeting had been canceled due to inclement weather, the group needed to elect a vice chair for calendar year 2011. Lib indicated that she had sent materials out explaining the role of the chair and vice chair with the other meeting materials to assist in this process. She then thanked Robert Michaud for his service in 2010 as the chair and indicated that Vass Johnson would move to the chair role from the vice chair role in 2011. Lib then outlined to the group the members who would be eligible to serve as vice chair in 2011 and chair in 2012 based on past service in these roles and on the lengths of their current terms on the Committee. After conversation about the duties of the vice chair, Hank Cox agreed to serve in this role.
Lib then turned the meeting over to Jackie Brady to lead the discussion on the topic of Mobile Device Platform: Expanding the Playing Field. Jackie reviewed the agenda for the discussion with the group and outlined the current status of the County’s mobile device support. She then discussed the business drivers for changes, overviewed research the IS staff had done in this area and the conclusions drawn from the research. Finally, Jackie indicated that the IS Department planned to continue supporting the Blackberry as the primary mobile device using BES for central management of the devices and test other mobile devices, including iPhones and Androids, using the Lotus Notes-based mobile services platform Notes Traveler. Jackie indicated that because the Notes Traveler tool had no cost to the County it is being tested first. The group had no questions or concerns about this approach.
Jackie then turned the discussion to the use of personal devices in addition to County-provided devices in the environment. She asked ITAC members the following questions:
- Do you allow personal mobile devices in your organizations?
- How do you manage security and access to information?
- How do you handle the costs? Stipend, reimburse, employee covers.
Vass Johnson indicated that the Wake County Public School System allows access, but they do not provide support. He said the main interest was to access e-mail.
Daren Baughman indicated that it seemed to him that security questions would need to be answered before allowing them. Lib replied that the IS Department is researching the security aspect of the use of personal devices with a focus on being clear on what data is actually kept on the device versus data that is kept on servers elsewhere. Lib indicated that the security picture is different for data held on the device and is where the County uses encryption now.
Darryl McGraw asked about the tax implications of providing stipends. Lib indicated that she believed the value of the stipend was treated as income and needed to be reported as such.
Marc Hoit indicated that NCSU allows personal devices to connect to its services, that they support the functions being accessed and not the devices, and that they use a stipend approach that is managed by their payroll office.
Robert Michaud indicated that the Credit Union does not allow personal devices on its network and they have been testing iPhones using the Good Mobile Messaging platform and are a little disappointed in it, but it is better than what they had before. He said they are considering moving to a flat-fee stipend system, but have not done it yet.
Michael Reilly indicated that at UNC-CH personal devices are allowed on their network. He indicated most are Droid devices. He also said a stipend approach is used, which is managed by the Vice Chancellor for IS, who also manages Facilities.
John Killebrew indicated that at MCNC personal devices are allowed and a stipend system is used, which is managed by their accounting department.
The group then discussed other issues related to reducing costs and personal versus business use of organizationally provided devices. Michael asked why two cellular providers were used by the County – AT&T and Sprint. Jackie responded that some employees needed the radio service, which only Sprint offers, and that in some areas in the county where employees work, coverage is better with one provider or the other. Daren asked if homeland security or stimulus funding was available to help pay for mobile device costs. Lib replied that the County has received funding from both sources and that the majority of that funding has been used to support and expand the 800-MHz radio system. Marc asked if the County was pursuing larger-dollar impact items like moving to a less expensive e-mail system, such as Google mail, which NCSU was doing. Lib indicated that it is something the IS Department is considering, but is waiting a bit longer to learn from the experiences of others who have made this move. Vass asked about how the personal use of County-provided devices was handled, and Lib indicated that the County had a Network and Internet Acceptable Use policy that allows for reasonable personal use, which is a judgment call made by the department, Human Resources and County Attorney’s Office.
Lib then asked the group if they were using or testing iPads. Darryl, Marc and Michael all indicated they they were using them in some way.
Lib then briefly reviewed the County’s budget process for FY 12 and indicated that all departments were asked to submit a 3% reduction below their actual expenditures in FY 10. Lib indicated that for the IS Department this amount was about $350,000. She indicated that at this point the department was able to change how it used Oracle and renegotiate some major license and maintenance fees and would be able to make the reduction amount with the loss of one staff member. She indicated more work needed to be done on this and on the capital budget and that she would cover this topic with the group at a future meeting.
Other Business
Lib asked the group if there was any other business to discuss. No items were mentioned. Lib then thanked the group for their input and participation.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45 a.m.