Contents | March 2007 | Volume 2, Issue 3
IBM Commences Texas Data Center Services
IBM’s Team for Texas, comprising partners IBM, Unisys, Xerox, and Pitney Bowes, commenced Texas Data Center Services as scheduled at 11:59:59 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2007. DIR, DIR Customers, and the Team for Texas have worked tirelessly over the past several months to achieve this goal and support a successful transformation. The level of effort involved was enormous and committed effort continues beyond commencement day as transition proceeds and transformation activities begin.
Team for Texas’ top priority is meeting all skill and staffing requirements, and addressing any skill gaps that remained at commencement. Because of the magnitude of the transition, Team for Texas faced challenges and delays in filling selected skilled positions. To facilitate a timely commencement and support completion of staffing and knowledge transfer in April, DIR Customers are providing commencement assistance in the way of contingency staff to temporarily supplement Team for Texas staff while knowledge transfer activities continue. DIR Customers will be reimbursed by way of credits for the staff time they provide. Team for Texas staff includes a mix of interim and steady state personnel. Additionally, Team for Texas is working with staffing firms; specifically, Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs), for other staffing needs and to further augment staffing requirements.
Frequent meetings and operational monitoring are occurring to assess data center operations. DIR and Team for Texas Management continue to meet daily to discuss issues and opportunities for success. Close interaction between the management teams is necessary to guide both DIR and the Team for Texas in the right direction. During start-up, DIR Service Representatives make daily contact with the agencies to conduct “health checks”—which are daily reports to assess the operational activities. DIR and the Data Center Services Advisory Council continue to meet frequently to discuss service experience and overall issues regarding data center services transition and transformation. Contract management and governance is performed daily by both DIR and the Team for Texas to monitor the progress of contract deliverables and all other contractual requirements.
Involvement from the Team for Texas and DIR leadership along with the Client Services Advocates, Transition Managers, and Customer Representatives is imperative to ensure that DIR and DIR Customers reach the goal of shared data center services.
Remedy® Tool is Key in Tracking Activities
What is Remedy®? The Remedy® tool is an important part of Data Center Services (DCS) because it is the automated tool for tracking incidents, requests for change, and requests for service. It also provides a basis for managing and tracking service levels. Remedy® is the single tracking tool for all of the incidents and requests generated from the DIR Customers within the data center services project.
The Remedy® tool includes:
- A web-based interface
- Ability to create, update, view, approve or cancel incident and request records
- Ability to attach supporting files to records
- Ability for Authorized Users to view records that they have submitted as well as all other records for their agency
- Automated workflow processes such as notifications, escalations and approvals
Authorized Users report incidents and requests to the DCS Support Center. Incidents and requests are reported by either telephone or email to the Support Center; or through direct entry into Remedy® on the DCS Web Portal (Portal). Each incident or request is assigned a record number (“ticket”). Records are assigned priorities based on criteria established in the DCS Policies and Procedures Manual.
Users can access Remedy® through the Portal. Authorized users can view the status of requests submitted by either the user or their agency. Management can access the Portal to view reports about incidents or change records.
Authorized users can view the status of requests submitted by either the user or their agency. Management can access the Portal to view reports about incidents or change records. Authorized users can view the status of requests submitted by either the user or their agency. Management can access the Portal to view reports about incidents or change records. Authorized users can view the status of requests submitted by either the user or their agency. Management can access the Portal to view reports about incidents or change records. . Authorized users can view the status of requests submitted by either the user or their agency. Management can access the Portal to view reports about incidents or change records.
The Remedy® tool used on the Portal is technically known as the “BMC Remedy Action Request System” or “BMC Remedy AR System.” For more technical information on Remedy®, visit the BMC Software website.
State of Texas Employees Transition to Team for Texas
Approximately 265 state employees transitioned over as members of the Team for Texas and became employees of one of the four partners. The skills and knowledge that the transitioned employees bring to Data Center operations are very important to successful service delivery.
Commencement of data center services by IBM’s Team for Texas marked a significant event for the State of Texas. According to Owen Snyder, the HR Transition Manager for Unisys, the transition of employees went well. Owen visited several agencies throughout the day on Monday, April 2, 2007, and reported that transitioning employees continued to work as if nothing significant had happened.
Jack Mullinax, the HR Transition Manager for IBM, noted that the transitioning employees expressed enthusiasm and excitement about the opportunity to join the Team for Texas. He shared a comment from one transitioning employee who wrote “I just want to thank you for all the hard work you put into this transition. IBM has really gone out of its way to make State of Texas employees feel welcome and has provided us with considerable information regarding our new company. You have been a big part of that; I just wanted to thank you for all of your help through this transition!” Jack described the transition of state employees to the Team for Texas as a positive experience. He enjoyed working with and welcoming the new Team for Texas employees.
Communication Efforts
During the five weeks prior to Data Center Services Commencement Date, weekly bulletins were distributed to continue the information flow about data center services. The weekly series of Countdown to Commencement bulletins came to a conclusion with the fifth and last issue released on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 – just in time for the Team for Texas’ commencement of data center services. Each issue of Countdown to Commencement can be accessed on the DIR website. The following serves as a quick reference to the topics presented in each of the bulletins:
- Announcement of Countdown Bulletins and Transition Highlights - Countdown # 5 – February 28, 2007
- Definition of Authorized Users - Countdown # 4 – March 7, 2007
- Listing of Agency Customer Representatives, IBM Client Services Advocates and DIR Service Representatives - Countdown # 3 – March 14, 2007
- Overview of the Policies and Procedures Manual (structure and purpose) - Countdown # 2 – March 21, 2007
- Introduction and Contact Information for the Support Center - Countdown # 1 – March 28, 2007
Communication efforts will continue with a monthly newsletter. If you have suggestions for articles or ideas on information topics, please submit them to the DCS communications team.
