Texas Technology Facts

All state agencies and state institutions of higher education depend on information and communications technology to achieve their business objectives. The following information, derived from planning data reported by these agencies and institutions in the summer of 2006, provides a snapshot of the current Texas technology environment.

Business/Technology Management Practices

State agencies are progressing in the adoption of standard business and technology management practices. These practices can help bring about statewide alignment of technology and business functions. The percent of agencies that have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, each management practice is as follows:

• Project Management – 55%
• Change Management – 54%
• Software Development Life Cycle – 49%
• Configuration Management – 45%
• Portfolio Management – 0%
• Requirements Management – 40%
• Performance Management – 29%

Project Delivery Framework

Approximately half (45%) of agencies utilize the Texas Project Delivery Framework.

Enterprise Architecture

Approximately half of agencies have implemented or begun implementing standards for an enterprise-wide information architecture (57%) or technical architecture (52%).

Security

• More than half (64%) of agencies have implemented some level of automated security tools, security and awareness training programs, and computer incident response mechanisms. Similarly, over half (57%) have implemented security vulnerability detection and remediation methods.
• Although these security implementation levels are substantial, they indicate that several areas of vulnerability must be addressed in order to enhance statewide technology security.

Data Management and Access

Agencies use several types of automated tools to manage their data and information.  The most frequently cited are imaging systems (62%), Web content management (44%), records management (37%), and document management (37%).

Data Centers

Of the sixty agencies that reported having a data center, a majority reported having service level agreements in the following areas: systems availability (75%), problem resolution and incident response time (72%), and customer satisfaction (58%).

Voice and Data Networks

• One-fourth of agencies (24%) plan to upgrade their voice network infrastructures in the next five years. Most agencies (80%) have considered or will consider a shared services arrangement through DIR to support future agency voice network efforts.
• One-third of agencies (31%) plan to upgrade their data network infrastructures in the next three years. Two-thirds of agencies (67%) have considered or will consider a shared services arrangement through DIR to support future agency data network efforts.

Shared Applications

• More than half of agencies (63%) either are participating or will consider participating in DIR’s Messaging and Collaboration contract.
• Nearly three-fourths (73%) of agencies offer or accept applications or forms over the Internet. Over half (58%) of agencies collect payments for services over the Internet.

Web Accessibility

• Most agencies (94%) test their Web sites and Web-based applications for compliance with state Web accessibility standards.
• Usually this testing is performed by internal agency staff, although a few agencies (9%) reported using external resources.

E-Mail Systems

Agencies use nine different email client packages. A large majority use Microsoft Outlook (72%), followed by Novell GroupWise (18%) and IBM Lotus Notes (3.4%).

Databases

Agencies operate approximately 1,800 databases, using at least 28 different database platforms. Of these platforms, the ones used by most agencies are Microsoft SQL (46%), Oracle (41%), Microsoft Access (21%), MySQL (9%), FoxPro (9%), IBM DB2 (8%), Sybase (8%), and Adabas (8%).

Date: January 26, 2007
Source and for more information see Shared Results: Strengthening the Enterprise.