Breakthrough: Improving the State of IT with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

A consolidated approach to shared hosting services delivers significant cost advantages and improved agility.

Business Challenge: Building a Framework for the Future 

In 1999, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's IT landscape amounted to a disparate collection of systems and software that were "independently owned and operated" by the state's agencies, boards, and commissions. With more than 20 mainframe-based agency data centers using duplicate equipment and staff to deliver similar services, the Commonwealth decided to centralize and consolidate its resources so it could achieve a 24/7 mission-critical operating environment and economies of scale, improve efficiencies, and redirect cost savings toward strategic initiatives.  Understanding that an outsourcing agreement with a single, proven technology and services provider would streamline the project and speed time-to-value, the state chose Unisys in August 1999 to help it create a hyper-efficient IT environment through data center consolidation and outsourcing. Then in 2008, the Commonwealth chose to extend its partnership with Unisys through December of 2014 in support of implementing a next generation outsourcing model as part of its shared services hosting strategy. 

The immediate goals for the project included cost reduction, more pricing flexibility, the introduction of new technology, support for agency server consolidation, and an improved ability to respond to the state's evolving business and technical requirements. On top of that, the new IT environment would be built on a flexible framework that can evolve with - and easily support - future initiatives.  Typically, when an organization invests in new technology, it does so in the hopes that any resultant cost savings will funnel directly to the bottom line. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is no exception. "Every penny we save is a benefit to the citizens of Pennsylvania," says Brenda Orth, chief information officer (CIO), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Administration/Office of Information Technology (OA/OIT). "We need to be creative and share resources across agencies to get the most value for our IT spend."     

Solution: Consolidating to Capture Immediate Value

As a part of the shared hosting services strategy, Unisys and the Commonwealth partnered on two crucial projects that have captured immediate value for the state and set the stage for continued returns down the road. In the first project, known as the Data PowerHouse (DPH), Unisys designed and now hosts and manages a state-of-the-art data center that consolidated the state's formerly distributed mainframe and mainframe environments into a single location. In addition to currently hosting mission critical applications for 17 agencies, the DPH provides a range of services - such as hardware, software, and network support - that helps ensure security, high availability, and operational integrity. 

The second project involved the Commonwealth establishing an Enterprise Server Farm (ESF) that provides secure web hosting and messaging services for all agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction. Started with just one application and two servers in 2000, the ESF - supported largely with Unisys resources - now hosts 650+ applications and 1,800 physical and virtual servers in a high-performance, highly redundant, standardized environment. The ESF also delivers email and BlackBerry services to agency personnel, which amounts to 90,000 mailboxes overall - a project that started in 1999 with the consolidation of 47 disparate email systems. The efficiency of the Commonwealth's shared services strategy was illustrated in 2008 when the ESF upgraded to Microsoft® Exchange 2007, transitioning all 90,000 mailboxes in just three months - the largest such upgrade in North America 

Results: Cost Savings Power Strategic Initiatives

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's shared services strategy has resulted in a number of impressive benefits, including: • $317 million saved through resource consolidation and increased efficiencies • Expected cost avoidance and savings of more than $240 million over the next five years • Enhanced efficiency, security, availability, and disaster recovery • Improved ability for agencies to focus on core business initiatives  Individually, the DPH and ESF projects - and the shared services approach they represent - have yielded impressive results for the Commonwealth. When combined with the state's other technology initiatives, they have helped consolidate standalone IT operations, establish efficient computing facilities, and contribute to cost avoidance and savings of $317 million. And with opportunities to further embrace virtualization, implement a modern telecommunications platform, and enhance web-based citizen services - such as tax administration and emergency alerts - the state is poised to reap additional savings of $240 million over the next five years. 

There are intangible benefits, as well. "The agencies have found that using the shared services of the DPH lets them focus more energy on their core business activities, rather than IT," says Orth. "That's been a phenomenal success for us." In addition, implementation of virtualized and dynamic server allocation capabilities created an agile environment that enables the DPH and ESF infrastructures to adapt to fluctuating workloads and maintain uptime in the event of an emergency - further improving overall efficiency and security.  The value of the shared services approach has been borne out in today's tough economy. Says Orth: "The number of unemployment claims increased dramatically and we were concerned about processing the added volume. Unisys showed us how, within the DPH, we could share mainframe resources across agencies and handle the greater workload on the unemployment compensation system."  Another valuable by-product of the realized savings and efficiencies is the opportunity for Commonwealth resources to be increasingly focused on such critical initiatives as "Classrooms of the Future," which provides laptop computers to students, "Growing Greener," which addresses the state's most pressing environmental problems, and "CLEAN," which is modernizing the Commonwealth's Law Enforcement Network.

The Relationship: A Partnership Extending into the Future

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Unisys have been collaborating successfully since the initial DPH agreement was signed in 1999. In that time, the Commonwealth has become one of the most technologically advanced state governments in the country, and a focus on continual program evolution through virtualization and service-oriented architecture will help Pennsylvania and Unisys stay ahead of the curve into the future.  To learn more visit: www.unisys.com    Customer Quote:  "We value our partnership with Unisys - they are responsive and accountable.  Unisys is important to our success."  Brenda Orth CIO Office of Administration/Office of information Technology Commonwealth of Pennsylvania