Technology Awards

City of Alexandria Wins the PTI Award

The City of Alexandria wins the Public Technology Institute (pti), 2011-2012 Technology Solutions Award in the IT & Telecommunications category for jurisdictions with population between 100,000 and 349,000.

Alexandria, VA: Domino/Lotus Notes Migration to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) / Office 365  - In an effort to modernize service delivery, increase productivity, and reduce costs, the City of Alexandria became the first jurisdiction in the Virginia to transition its on-premise enterprise messaging and collaboration platform to the "cloud" with Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) and then in less than a year upgrade service to Office 365. Office 365 includes hosted versions of Exchange, SharePoint and Lync.

In approximately 6 months, the City migrated over 2,700 E-mail accounts from their legacy Domino/Lotus Notes on-premise architecture to the "cloud" with no data loss and minimal downtime. The project also included the conversion of over 30 legacy Domino applications, an enterprise desktop productivity suite upgrade, and the transition of over 400 mobile devices from BlackBerry to iPhone and Android smartphones. By leveraging the "cloud" and streamlining the telecommunications and information technology infrastructure, the City realized immediate operating efficiencies and cost savings.

For more information visit the Public Technology Institute (pti) website.

City of Alexandria Ranks Third in 2011 Digital Cities Survey

Alexandria's technology initiatives were ranked third in the nation for cities of its size, according to an annual study by the National League of Cities and the Center for Digital Government. The survey recognizes municipalities that successfully incorporate information technology into operations to better serve constituents and businesses.

Recognized cities have continued to realize operational objectives despite financial challenges by strategically investing to maximize dollars and effectively conduct the business of government.

While the City has finished in the top six every year since 2005, this is the City's highest placing since 2007. This year's submission highlighted the City's strategic investment in IT infrastructure, willingness to embrace new technologies and make organizational changes that have produced more effective support to the City's core business functions.

Significant projects and innovations that were highlighted in the award include:

• Completion of the city‐wide VOIP phone system
• The transition of the City's e‐mail services to the cloud;
• Implementation of server and storage consolidation and virtualization
• The ITS and Public Safety implementation of NetMotion Wireless software for public safety mobility
• GIS implementation of Geographic Analysis and Research Interface (GARI)
• Implementation of an online application to request plumbing, electrical, mechanical, sign and fire protection system permits
• The Department of Community and Human Services' (DCHS) Training and Personnel System (TPS)
• The Office of Communications and Public Information's expanded use of social media, digital subscriptions for email and text messaging, and multimedia productions
• Organizational changes included the consolidation of the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities' Information Technology division into the Information Technology Services' Department
• Creation of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) position; and the consolidation of Police and Fire emergency dispatch center into Department of Emergency Communications (DEC)

The order of finish for 2011 Award for cities of the same  population size as the City of  Alexandria (125,000 – 249,99 population) was as follows:

1st City of Olathe, Kansas	3rd City of Hollywood, Florida	7th City of Chesapeake, Virginia
2nd City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina	4th City of Irving, Texas	8th City of Chula Vista, California
2nd Salt Lake City, Utah	5th City of Augusta, Georgia	9th City of Madison, Wisconsin
3rd City of Alexandria, Virginia	6th City of Hampton, Virginia	10th City of Modesto, California

For more information and a list of all winners please visit the Digital Communities.

City Wins the 2010 Governor's Technology Award

The City won the 2010 Governor's Technology Award for Cross‐Boundary Collaboration with the CAD2CAD Exchange Project, in an acknowledgement of regional interoperability.

Governor McDonnell recognized the most innovative government information technology projects in the Commonwealth during a ceremony at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS).

Entries were judged by an independent panel of Virginia government executives, including representatives of state executive branch and independent entities, localities, the legislature, judiciary and higher education. The awards program received a record number of entries this year, and judges' scores were very close, often within a fraction of a point, resulting in multiple winners named in several categories. Thirteen projects were named as winners and 17 more received honorable mentions.

COVITS (the Commonwealth of Virginia's Innovative Technology Symposium) promotes innovations and solutions to Virginias technology issues. COVITS accomplishes this by bringing together senior-level executives and technology decision makers from state and local government, business, and education to identify, discuss and propose solutions to Virginia's critical technology issues. For more information please visit COVITS web site.