Top 5 District Tech Priorities - Update

It's hard to believe, we're almost a year down the road since the following Top 5 Tech Priorities shared online. Believe it or not, these were wicked problems--that is, problems that endure in spite of our best efforts and require persistent, long-term addressing to resolve--that held the ECISD back.

Let's review yesteryear's top tech priorities, effectively, "District showstoppers:"

TOP ECISD Tech Priorities

1. URGENT - The District's Network Operations Center #1 @ Heritage MS needs significant renovations or to be moved to its own building. The main challenge is that space, cooling, and fire suppression need to be addressed. Must be addressed prior to future growth.
   Status: The final move into the new Network Operations Center Building will be completed in January, 2016.
2. URGENT - The District's Network Operations Center #1 requires regular, reliable data backup for disaster recovery purposes.
   Status: This priority has been addressed and is no longer a concern. All primary systems are backed up. A second Network Operations Center is being planned.
3. URGENT - MultiYear Equipment/Infrastructure Replacement and Support Services - All campuses and district locations have been evaluated and have been upgraded to address a variety of obsolescence-related issues (e.g. Windows XP expiration on April 8, 2014, obsolete wireless access points). Several initiatives--including Computer Lab Replacements at all campuses, CIP Learning with Technology and Maintenance Campus Technology Funding Allotment--have addressed these issues.
   Status: Approximately $3 Million dollars has been spent to upgrade district computer labs, as well as address obsolete equipment that directly affect teaching, learning and lead. The Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) Learning with Technology initiative has breathed new technology into classrooms, as well as provided a future plan for growth. All network equipment needing replacement--approximately $1.5million--has been identified and is being prepared for eRate federal funding application.
4. URGENT - Identity Automation - Systems integration, account management and identity automation are critical to district function, given the wide variety of programs that have to be integrated with each other. This means how we create, delete, and update staff and student logins. Failure to manage this means that no one would have access to programs like GoogleApps for Education, Eduphoria, instructional programs like IStation, Think Through Math, and many others.
   Status: This is complete and more services are being added daily. And, a full-time staff member is now managing the explosion of services--originally 2, but now 48 different services!
5. CRITICAL - Contracted Service Renewals - The District is pursuing solutions for antivirus/anti-malware solutions for the District, as well as content filtering.
   Status: The District has entered into an agreement to have antivirus/antimalware solutions in place for the ECISD, as well as replaced it's content filtering solution through cost-effective long-term planning.

As we look forward to the future, new priorities arise. These are time-based and must be kept moving forward. More will be shared in the future.