CIO modernizes public sector IT infrastructure to enhance citizen services

Gwinnett County navigates IT challenges on the road to transformation

Thirty miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, lies Gwinnett County. Home to 16 municipalities, the County provides a range of services to support a rapidly growing population of close to one million residents. Overseeing the strategic vision and technical direction of the IT services department is CIO Dorothy Parks.

A veteran IT executive, with additional experience as a CFO, CTO, and CEO, Parks joined Gwinnett County in 2017 after many years in the private sector. She leads a dynamic team that provides IT services for the entire county, with the goals of supporting business initiatives, maintaining excellence in service delivery, and driving innovation to improve the lives of residents in the County.

Parks is careful to keep those residents and their tax dollars at the top of the IT agenda: “We have to watch every dime that we spend to make sure that everything we do is of benefit to Gwinnett County residents.”

“My overall objective was to find a partner to work alongside us in the same direction that we were heading. I found that Info-Tech was the right partner. Not only are they strategists and analysts, but they’re also a true partner.”
– Dorothy Parks, CIO, Gwinnett County

A strategic approach with a strategic partner

Parks faced two challenges when she joined the County: modernizing systems and services and building a robust security department. To support her efforts, Parks turned to IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group. “My overall objective was to find a partner to work alongside us in the same direction that we were heading. I found that Info-Tech was the right partner. Not only are they strategists and analysts, but they’re also a true partner.”

To overcome the immediate challenges and align with the County’s priorities, Parks knew she needed to restructure the IT department. With Info-Tech’s guidance, she reorganized the team into nine different functions to better support IT and County goals. “Aligning IT correctly with the help of Info-Tech was exactly what we needed. Now, we have a strong IT department that is leading the County in the right direction,” said Parks.

“The true role of an IT leader now is to be a business partner. You have to think strategically, engage with the business, and recognize how technology can be used to enable the effectiveness of any department.”

– Dorothy Parks, CIO, Gwinnett County

A modern take with a Digital Strategy Workshop

To support its modernization efforts, the IT team participated in a Digital Strategy Workshop facilitated by Info-Tech’s digital transformation experts. Parks explained, “When I came to the County, everything was outdated. I needed some assistance to start moving into this digital transformation era.”

As part of this transformation, the team embarked on digitization initiatives to improve interactions between the County and its residents. “A lot of things had to change within the County. Everything is manual, everything is paper, everything requires the citizen to get in their car, drive to the County, find the department, and so forth,” explained Parks.

IT has now implemented numerous applications to enable online services, such as tax filing and utility bill payments. Parks reported: “Residents can now sit at their kitchen table and push a button and interact with the County. They never have to leave their homes.”

Building strong cyber defenses at the County

Rapidly changing technology and a dwindling talent pool have led to a rise in security challenges for public sector CIOs. Cybersecurity has been the second of Parks’ major initiatives at the County, and she warned, “It's not going to get better because while we put things in place to prevent it, our attackers are building even more sophisticated attacks. So, we always have to be a step ahead.”

Parks needed to build security operations and a security team from scratch, once again enlisting Info-Tech's help. “We took advantage of a Security Operations Workshop from Info-Tech to understand what the structure should be. Now, we’ve got a 20-member security team that is doing an outstanding job.”

Parks added, “Government is one of the first organizations that attackers will try to hit. Building a security team will really help us ward off the evil that may come in that way.”

Empowering IT excellence with Info-Tech services

Parks and her team have now engaged in a number of Info-Tech workshops, and she has found great value in validating her ideas with the latest best practices: “Info-Tech laid out a platform that was right up our alley, they concurred with me that where I was headed was the right direction, and they had proof of how it works.”

She commented on the benefits of the in-person workshop activities: “Being present to do the tabletop exercises and run through live scenarios in the workshops has been very helpful, and Info-Tech has done a wonderful job presenting them.”

As an IT leader, Parks values the support of Info-Tech’s analysts and her Executive Counselor: “I couldn’t ask for a better Counselor. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.” She added, “I'm very impressed with the insights and interaction from Info-Tech, and I can't say enough about their responsiveness. I've dealt with others and had to wait endlessly, but Info-Tech’s on it. They deliver, and I truly appreciate it.”

Visionary leadership for an exponential future

As Parks looks to the future at Gwinnett County, she understands that the exponential pace of technological innovation requires strategic foresight and leadership: “The true role of an IT leader now is to be a business partner. You have to think strategically, engage with the business, and recognize how technology can be used to enable the effectiveness of any department.” Parks added: “Working continuously with our partner, Info-Tech, will allow us to meet the expectations of our Board of Commissioners to excel in everything we do and uphold the Gwinnett standard to further our county’s mission to be the premier county where everyone thrives.”