Summarized below are the major accomplishments of the data center consolidation project during FY 1999-2000.

• Construction of the new 75,441 square-foot State Data Center Facility was completed in November 1999.
• Upgraded two (2) mainframe processors at the State Data Center to provide more computing capabilities for customer agencies growing demands.
• Transferred the data processing operations of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN), the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Budget and Control Board – Financial Data Systems (FDS) to the State Data Center. The old DDSN and FDS mainframes were retired.
• Completed remediation of all hardware and software at the State Data Center in order to be Y2K compliant.
• Procured and installed a new Xerox Docuprint laser printer to provide improved printing for the Comptroller General and State Treasurer.
• Procured and installed an IBM AS400 computer to support the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN).
• Negotiated software contracts with major software vendors that resulted in significant cost avoidance.
• Transferred three (3) staff positions (FTEs) from the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN) and seven (7) staff positions (FTEs) from the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to the State Data Center at the Budget and Control Board.

This report provides an update on the status of data center consolidation in South Carolina state government as required by Proviso 17A.5 of the 1997-98 General Appropriation Act and Proviso 63A.5 of the 1999-2000 General Appropriation Act.

This report is submitted to the Governor, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

The concept of consolidating data centers in state government was formalized by the General Assembly through Proviso 17A.5 of the 1996-97 General Appropriation Act which required the Budget and Control Board to develop a plan to consolidate data centers. In January 1997, the Budget and Control Board completed its study of data center consolidation and reported its findings. Twelve data centers were studied; eleven were found to be viable candidates for consolidation. They are as follows:

• Budget and Control Board - Information Processing Center;
• Budget and Control Board - Financial Data Systems;
• Budget and Control Board - Office of Insurance Services;
• Department of Natural Resources;
• Department of Vocational Rehabilitation;
• Department of Health and Environmental Control;
• Department of Mental Health;
• Department of Disabilities and Special Needs;
• Department of Social Services;
• State Law Enforcement Division; and
• Department of Transportation.

Benefits of consolidation identified in the study include modernization, improved access to information, efficient sharing of resources, compatibility, security, and possible savings of as much as $30 million over a ten-year period.

Based on the findings of the Data Center Consolidation study, the General Assembly reconfirmed its commitment to this process in Proviso 17A.5 of the 1997-98 General Appropriation Act and Proviso 63A.5 of the 1999-2000 General Appropriation Act by requiring agencies to comply with the initiatives of the Budget and Control Board throughout implementation of the consolidation plan.

The master plan for data center consolidation projected the capacity for the two mainframe processors installed at the State Data Center would be 468 million instructions per second (MIPS) by the end of FY 2000. This projected demand for processing capacity turned out to be 13% less than customer agencies actually required by July 2000. To meet these growing customer demands, the two (2) mainframe processors at the State Data Center had to be upgraded to a total of 530 MIPS to provide for more computing capability.

In November 1999, the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN) data processing operations were transferred to the State Data Center. In February 2000 , the Budget and Control Board – Financial Data Systems (FDS) data processing operations were transferred to the State Data Center. In June 2000, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) data processing operations were transferred to the State Data Center. The old DDSN and FDS mainframes were retired.

Other hardware related activities.

Communications infrastructure was installed to accomodate the FDS, and DMH migrations.

Data center consolidation has provided the opportunity to leverage the purchasing power of the state in negotiating enterprise contracts with major software vendors. These enterprise contracts reduced the number of redundant software licenses needed to conduct the state’s business which resulted in significant cost savings. The enterprise contracts also provided agencies with an expanded suite of system software products. Increased staff productivity is also being realized as system software products are being standardized.

Construction of the new 75,441 square-foot State Data Center Facility was completed in November 1999. Office of Information Resources (OIR) employees completed the move to the new facility in December 1999.

The Master Plan developed by IBM Global Services identified 192 staff positions devoted to data center support in the eleven (11) state agencies affected by data center consolidation. The Consolidation Team met with the agencies individually to document the specific positions involved.

Transfer of Staff Positions (FTE’s)

The Master Plan outlined a strategy to transfer key data center support staff positions (FTE’s) from their respective agencies to the State Data Center. One hundred and ten (110) staff positions have been transferred to date:

• Fifty-two (52) positions from the Office of Information Resources in FY 1997-1998.
• Nineteen (19) positions from the Financial Data Systems in FY 1997-1998.
• Twenty-one (21) positions from the Department of Social Services in FY 1997-1998.
• Eight (8) positions from the Department of Transportation in FY 1998-1999.
• Three (3) positions from the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs in FY 1999-2000.
• Seven (7) positions from the Department of Mental Health in FY 1999-2000.

The Master Plan also outlined a strategy to reduce the 192 staff positions (FTE’s) devoted to data center support as state agencies are migrated to the consolidated data center. Reductions to date have resulted in the elimination of one (1) position and the redeployment of twenty-five (25) data center support positions (FTE’s) within the following agencies:

• Four (4) positions redeployed at the Department of Social Services.
• Two (2) positions redeployed at the Department of Transportation.
• Six (6) positions redeployed at the Department of Disablities and Special Needs.
• Thirteen (13) positions redeployed at the Budget and Control Board.
• One (1) position eliminated.

The Data Center Consolidation Study indicated that up to $30 million in savings could be achieved over a ten (10) year period if the eleven (11) targeted data centers were consolidated. The study projected that during this year, the second year of the consolidation project, the actual operating costs would be $142,406 higher than would have been the case in a non-consolidated environment. This anticipated ‘bump’ in costs resulted from startup costs associated with the construction of the new State Data Center facility and procurement of upgrades for software and hardware. Through careful management of expenditures for personnel, hardware, and software, it has been possible for the Consolidation Team to avoid the $142,406 ‘bump’. Indeed, the actual operating cost was $1,200,435 less than the baseline cost.

Pursuant to Proviso 63A.5, this report includes cost information for this fiscal year on both the actual data center environment as well as what might have been the environment if no consolidation had taken place.

Baseline Operating Environment. The non-consolidated environment is also referred to in this report as the baseline operating environment. The Consolidation Study estimated for FY 1999-2000 that the cost of operating the data centers in a totally non-consolidated environment would have been $25,256,188.

Original Projected Second Year Cost. The Data Center Consolidation Study projected a second year (FY 1999-2000) consolidation cost of $25,398,594.

Actual Operating Environment. For FY 1999-2000, the actual cost of operating the data centers in a partially consolidated environment (6 agencies consolidated and 5 agencies not yet consolidated) has been determined to have been $24,055,753.

Network Planning

Network services at the Broad River Road Complex.

Installation of ethernet and fiber optic cabling for the Local Area Network at the new State Data Center facility was completed in October 1999.

Channel extender equipment was installed and fiber optic cable was leased to provide connectivity between the State Data Center and the following agencies:

• The Department of Mental Health (DMH)
• The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)
• The Budget and Control Board – Financial Data Systems

The Data Center Consolidation Study addressed the need to improve the disaster recovery plan to ensure continuity of service to client agencies and to safeguard information technology assets against accidental or unauthorized modification, destruction, or disclosure. This evolutionary process means moving from the existing Coldsite recovery concept to the Hotsite method. To maintain up-to-date business recovery plans within this dynamic and rapidly changing environment, the Office of Information Resources (OIR) has:

• Conducted extensive research on best practices of (6) other state consolidated data centers.
• Presented findings, recommendations and strategies to OIR's executive staff.
• Developed and issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to award a disaster recovery contract to a qualified Hotsite vendor.
• Established timelines for developing a disaster recovery plan.

In 1999 the Office of Information Resources (OIR) began the process of developing a comprehensive Year 2000 Rollover/Contingency Plan. Representatives from customer agencies and OIR departmental managers were appointed to serve as members of the OIR Y2K Contingency Planning Team. All processes and systems were carefully reviewed. After the review was completed, each process and system was prioritized according to the mission critical functions of OIR and its customer agencies. The planning team utilized the priority review process to formulate work tasks that needed to take place before and after the millennium rollover event in order to address any potential Y2K failure. Scenarios for potential failures were also developed for each mission critical function to facilitate an immediate, accurate and measured response to emergency situations.

Execution of the Year 2000 Rollover/Contingency Plan began in late December 1999 and was completed in the first week of January 2000. All tasks in the plan were completed without incident.

1. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
2. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
3. Department of Natural Resources.
4. Budget and Control Board – Office of Insurance Services.
5. State Law Enforcement Division.

The progress to date of the Data Center Consolidation Project is commensurate with the goals established in the Master Plan. The project is in line with the timelines established for consolidating eleven agencies data processing operations and is ahead of schedule on realizing the savings projected in the plan.