Office of Enterprise Technology Services

HONOLULU (October 4, 2012) – The State Office of Information Management and Technology today unveiled its plan as directed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to create an environment in Hawai’i for innovative industries to thrive and simultaneously apply technology to all sectors. The 12-year roadmap for this major initiative is described in the Business and Information Technology/Information Resource Management (IT/IRM) Transformation Plan (Transformation Plan).

“This Transformation Plan will leverage modern technologies and streamline business processes to improve the delivery of government programs and services to the people of Hawai’i which is one of the key initiatives of the New Day Plan,” stated Governor Abercrombie. “We now have a course towards transforming how government delivers programs and services to the public.”

The Transformation Plan maps the necessary steps for the next decade that will drive business and technology transformation. The Transformation Plan was developed in consultation with state agencies and after a thorough review of national best practices and lessons learned from other states.

“A solid foundation must be built that will enable the state to continuously adapt in order to provide services, now and in the future,” stated State Chief Information Officer Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia. “This 12-year, which includes two years of planning and 10 years of implementation in multiple phases, will revolutionize the way information is managed to improve how programs and services are delivered to the public.”

As the state has not significantly invested in technology for more than 30 years, transforming the state’s $11 billion business enterprise with 220 business functions and services across 35 distinct lines of business is an enormous endeavor. The Transformation Plan will morph today’s chaotic, paper-based and inefficient business environment to a future environment that is more cost-efficient, digital, and mobile-accessible. The Plan will also consolidate the state’s 743 fragmented legacy systems into fewer, but, integrated, enterprise-wide solutions that facilitate improved information sharing.

The Transformation Plan is the first-ever for the state and is comprehensive in addressing the full business and IT/IRM environment. The Transformation Plan is comprised of four components: Governance, Business/IT Strategic Plan, Enterprise Architecture and Projects.

Currently, the State of Hawai‘i spends approximately 1.4 percent of its budget on technology. Most other states that have undergone a similar transformation invested at least two to three percent of their budgets. Industry best practices recommend states spend between three to five percent of their budgets on technology to realize their greatest potential.

The Transformation Plan highlights three categories of activities that help achieve the transformation:

1. Streamlining and improving current business processes and applications to directly benefit the public.

2. Leveraging the state’s investment in shared support services and technology infrastructure.

3. Establishing a strong organization-wide management and oversight framework, including policies, processes, performance measures, program management and organizational change management.

The public will see direct benefits from the modernization initiative.

For example, the Department of Taxation (DoTAX) has already begun its transformation efforts in alignment with the Transformation Plan and in collaboration with the Office of Information Management and Technology. In the fall of 2011, the department reengineered its check cashing and tax return processing methods. As a result, during the 2012 tax season more than 280,000 checks were deposited in less than four days, up from 166,000 in 2011 and more than 1 million checks in less than two weeks, compared to 415,000 last year. Additionally, nearly 2.7 million tax returns were processed within 14 days, an increase of nearly 900,000 from 2011 and most dramatically, only 113,113 returns took more than three weeks to process, down by 1.2 million last year. DoTAX staff are providing improved service to taxpayers and government resources are being more efficiently used.

The Transformation Plan also calls for leveraging the state’s greatest asset throughout the process – its employees.

“Making government more efficient and effective brings opportunities to those who work in state offices, enabling employees to provide a higher level of service, while gaining new skills, and playing a key role in reshaping the way government conducts business,” noted Governor Abercrombie.