YOLO COUNTY MOVES TO INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
By Dave Rosenberg
Yolo County Supervisor, District Four
Over the past few years, it has become clear to those of us in Yolo County leadership positions that County Information Technology (IT) needed serious attention. Systems were outdated and the County was losing the benefits and efficiencies that could be derived from current technology. Virtually every information system in Yolo County was in need of repair or replacement. In addition, the County was facing urgent decisions about old systems that were not Y2K compliant. In response, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors decided to completely overhaul County IT and to begin to replace ineffective systems with more current designs.
When the decision to change was made, County IT was still back in the first generation of information technology. (For purposes of this discussion, we will call "Host Based Computing" the first generation.) In the first generation, central host computers do all the work and communicate with "dumb" terminals. The second generation is known as Client-Server in which a central server shares computing work with intelligent workstations. The third (and current) generation is called Internet Architecture, and it is completely different. This generation involves the most dramatic change in IT we have ever seen. In this technology, the communication network has the central role and the network goes all over the world. This technology includes completely new concepts such as the ability of systems to be used by anyone, on any machine, at any time, from any place.
So, Yolo County made the decision to leap over an entire generation of IT and begin implementing systems with the emerging IT. This is a transition from the older mainframe systems, directly to the Internet Architecture, bypassing the Client-Server generation.
What Does Internet Architecture Mean?
To begin, Internet Architecture means that hardware, software and networks are designed to use the standards, tools and techniques of the internet (the world wide web). These techniques are very rich in the ability to move systems out of the computer room and into every home, office, school, library and so on. These techniques also make systems free to run on anybody's computer regardless of who made it or what operating system it uses. Clearly, this is a requirement, in order for the world wide web (another term for internet) to work because people around the world will be using all kinds of different computers.
In the Internet Architecture, Yolo County will conduct business through "web pages" which are programs and locations on the world wide web where systems reside that provide County services. From these pages, members of the public, other governmental agencies, constituents, customers, and so on, can do business with the County. They can drop off information, receive information, submit forms and complete applications. They can apply for permits and they can pay fees, fines and taxes. In summary, they can conduct business with the County on-line, any time, from any place. The common symbol today is 24/7/365, which means on-line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a years.
There are many sophisticated elements of IT required to make all of this work. Examples of this includes Internet/Intranet/Extranet. (Internet is the World Wide Web, Intranet is the same thing only confined to the private network of Yolo County and Extranet is the special set of connections the County makes with partners and cooperators.) Other elements include authentication, validation, verification, virus detection, security protection, and on and on. However, all of this will be invisible to the people who use County services through the internet. These are issues for the IT department. By analogy, when you pick up a telephone and make a call, you don't have to worry about how many components are between you and the person on the other end. The technology staff takes care of that.
What Does this Concept Mean to the People of Yolo County?
It means that people will be able to conduct business with Yolo County without leaving their office or their home from anywhere in the world. Time and space do not matter. County functions and services will be reengineered to conduct business on-line as much as possible. If you want to apply for a permit with Yolo County from your headquarters office in San Francisco in the middle of the night, that's no problem. If you forgot to pay your taxes and you are on vacation in Hawaii, that's no problem. Can you begin to see the magnitude of this change in the way County government will function?
Business and Government Must Provide this Level of Service.
Soon the County will be expected to have this capability; we don't really have a choice. Let's explore this thought a little. When you meet a businessperson today who doesn't have an Email address, that seems a bit risky. This person could lose opportunities because we increasingly make contacts through Email. On the odd occasion when you call someone who doesn't have an answering machine, this person could also lose opportunities. What would happen if your bank were not on the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network? This bank would probably be absorbed by another bank which is on the network because most people would refuse to forego ATM convenience.
I believe that government will be required to use IT in the future for the same reasons of convenience and efficiently just as government is required today to have fax machines and telephones.
Yolo County will have a major internet presence. I expect these changes to greatly reduce the time and cost of providing County services and the time and cost of using County services. Finally, I expect to greatly improve satisfaction to the people of Yolo County and all who use County services. Yolo County is well on its way to achieving a model, cutting-edge IT system, which will greatly enhance our ability to serve you.