Information Technology
The Information Technology Department provides an efficient and well-coordinated computing environment through integrated business systems, wired and wireless local and wide area networks, managed servers and storage systems and personal computer systems. The IT department is organized into four divisions. The Administration division is responsible for strategic planning, budgeting and financial oversight and processing all accounts payable, and the following divisions manage other areas of IT:
Applications and Helpdesk
The Applications and Helpdesk division is responsible for all major business systems used by the county and directly supporting over 1,000 users and their laptops, desktop computers, tablets and peripherals. This team responds to thousands of incidents and requests for assistance each year. Additionally, this division supports the mission critical business systems including Accela Land Management, Lucity Asset Management, Kronos Workforce Timekeeper/HR, ePCR (patient care information), the Jail Management Suite and associated jail-related systems, and over 100 other similar applications. This division also is responsible for website and application development and new system implementation.
Infrastructure and Data Center
The Infrastructure and Data Center division is responsible for all server and storage systems, backup and recovery and overseeing the county's two full-service data centers including power and environmental systems and continuity of operations. This division manages about 50 physical servers, more than 200 virtual servers and over 40 terabytes of data. In addition to supporting the departments of the Board of County Commissioners, they also manage many servers that host critical systems for other constitutional officers including the Tax Collector, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Supervisor of Elections. This division also manages the county's enterprise email, calendar system and email gateways supporting several thousand users in the BCC, Tax Collector's, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser's, State Attorney's and Public Defender's offices.
Network and Telecommunications
The Network and Telecommunications division supports all the voice, data and video communication systems used by the county. These include several hundred network switches and routers, a county-wide, secure 802.1n wireless network, internet access, core network services such as name resolution and network address management. In addition to supporting the Escambia County network, this division supports over 100 field employees via a virtual private network, including all the Emergency Medical Services ambulances. Using this remote connectivity, EMS vehicle locations are constantly monitored in the 911 dispatch center. This division also supports the legacy telephone systems in use within the BCC, constitutional offices and article V criminal justice agencies. This division has completed the first phase of an enterprise-wide voice-over-IP telephone system. This phase includes the BCC's downtown and central office buildings along with the Tax Collector and Supervisor of Elections. Recently, this division also converted the jail and library operations onto the VOIP system. This division is also responsible for Internet services which include maintaining multiple firewalls, traffic management and load balancing systems and numerous other security-related systems.