Washington Technology Solutions

The meeting included discussions on the financial impact of federal funding cuts to the MS-ISAC program and potential consequences for statewide participation. Updates were provided on the progress of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, including grant applications and funding expenditure status. A panel discussion addressed the evolving threats of phishing in government operations, including challenges and mitigation strategies. Additionally, an executive session was held to discuss sensitive security topics.

This document serves as a template for an Investment Plan, guiding agencies to articulate a project's summary, problem statement, and anticipated benefits. It requires detailing alignment with the agency's mission, vision, values, goals, and strategic plan, as well as the Washington IT Strategic Plan. The plan also mandates an assessment of the project's impact on the agency and the state, outlining skill development needs, defining scope exclusions, and explaining its relationship with existing technology infrastructure, including modernization and decommissioning plans. Furthermore, it addresses One Washington program dependencies, vendor management strategies, and project governance structures for decision-making.

The Enterprise Public Cloud Launch (EPCL) project aims to replace agency-specific cloud foundations with a shared enterprise infrastructure and enabling processes for all state agencies. Its core objectives include enhancing Cloud Government Network capabilities, defining migration roadmaps, implementing core public cloud capabilities, conducting early-adopter agency migrations, establishing a service cost model, and launching the public cloud service by July 2026. The project is designed to increase efficiency, strengthen security, and provide faster, simpler, and more reliable digital experiences for residents by leveraging centralized cloud services and optimized taxpayer dollars.

The second Communications & Productivity Services Project Town Hall covered project updates and addressed concerns regarding service migrations. Key discussion points included celebrating the 17 agencies that have completed progress and emphasizing the importance of continued engagement, including technical-level discussions for migrations and leadership meetings. A significant focus was placed on the sunsetting of Centrix service lines at the end of the month, with urgent direction given for agencies without open tickets to contact the support team immediately to prevent service interruption, particularly for critical lines like alarms or elevators. The agenda also reviewed the project timeline, confirming the July 1st kickoff date for the Communication Productivity Service Bundle, which includes Teams Telefan, EAX, long-distance, workforce identity, and the M365 shared tenant at a rate of $13.50 per license, projecting an annual state-wide savings of $2.5 million under this bundle. Concerns regarding the shift from FTE count to license count for billing were addressed by noting efforts to rightsize licenses. Furthermore, the cost implications of delaying migration past the July 1st deadline were discussed, emphasizing that non-migrated services will shift to a non-subsidized pass-through cost model, requiring full annual commitments for annual contracts.

The Enterprise Public Cloud Launch (EPCL) project aims to establish a shared enterprise cloud infrastructure and processes for all Washington state agencies. Key objectives include enhancing Cloud Government Network capabilities, defining migration roadmaps, implementing core public cloud features, conducting early-adopter migrations, establishing a cost model, and launching the public cloud service. This initiative seeks to deliver faster, more responsive services with stronger security, better utilization of taxpayer funds, and reliable, standardized digital experiences for residents.