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July/August IOT Connections

IN.gov wins 5th place nationally in 2016 Best of Web awards

The Center for Digital Government has selected IN.gov as the nation’s fifth-best state-government website in its 2016 Best of the Web awards.

In submitting the IN.gov entry, IOT highlighted the recent and ongoing redesign of an already impressive website.

“IN.gov emphasizes citizen feedback at a level not seen prior to implementation of the new portal design,” noted CIO Dewand Neely. “We always aspire to be the very best, but nonetheless we appreciate the recognition that IN.gov is among the nation’s top five state-government websites.”

In nine of the past 16 years, the CDG has judged IN.gov to be among the top 10 state-government websites. That span includes one second-place and four third-place awards.

Total visits and page views continue to increase, up by 15.18 percent and 10.64 percent, respectively, compared to 2015. Mobile users made up 42.47 percent of visits, and mobile visits increased by 25.44 percent compared to last year.

Part of the reason for the increase is that IN.gov partnered with Ivy Tech Community College to bring the college’s website into the portal. IN.gov created a custom template for Ivy Tech, utilizing the same CMS platform as IN.gov and leveraging resources available through existing IN.gov contracts, such as analytics and quality assurance, to provide cost-savings for the college.

Designers created a more mobile-friendly menu and header and rolled it out to nearly all 300+ websites in the IN.gov portal.

“This effort enhances Indiana’s common look-and-feel and the ease of navigation that citizens experience no matter which IN.gov websites they visit,” Neely said.

The IN.gov team added location-based services to the homepage, bringing some of the features out from behind the login required for http://my.in.gov/. Custom background videos now display, depending on connection speed, which are determined by the detected region of the visitor. The INHistory section, in conjunction with Indiana’s Bicentennial (December 2016), has monthly animated videos and photos about important historical events in Indiana history.

The total number of services available to citizens or businesses via IN.gov stands at 519 – with 37 brought online approximately over the last 12 months.

IN-ISAC’s cybersecurity work earns national distinction

The Indiana Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IN-ISAC) is a winner in the 2016 Digital Government Achievement Awards (DGAA), sponsored by the Center for Digital Government (CDG).

The IN-ISAC is a multi-agency initiative to reduce the overall cost of cybersecurity through the centralization of resources, leveraging of large-scale purchasing, improved prevention efforts and faster containment of threats. It focuses upon the sharing of threat information and collaboration on strategies. IN-ISAC, through its Security Operations Center (SOC) in West Lafayette, provides real-time network monitoring, vulnerability identification and threat warnings.

“This is a tremendous honor for the IN-ISAC to earn this recognition less than a year after its launch,” said Nick Sturgeon, IN-ISAC manager. “We are working hard, staying focused on our mission and determined to serve the cause of cybersecurity using cutting-edge technology and constant vigilance by our staff.”

A key feature of the IN-ISAC is a partnership between the Indiana Office of Technology and Purdue University. Through an innovative and unique arrangement, the IN-ISAC helps train students at the SOC through hands-on job experience with real threats and cutting-edge technical products. Staffed by a combination of state employees and Purdue students, the network is monitored for security incidents.

The DGAA awards “recognize outstanding agency and department Web sites and projects at the application and infrastructure level,” according to the CDG website. Agencies at all levels of government nationally and internationally are eligible.

The IN-ISAC was one of five programs recognized in the government-to-government category. The others were programs of two local government entities in California (Alameda and Los Angeles counties); a New York state program; and an app created by the federal National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The IN-ISAC provides notifications to local government and schools, when identified, either through its own work or through developed relations with the private sector. Local governments have received web scans and cyber evaluations through the IN-ISAC.  The IN-ISAC also produces documentation about cyber threats, such as ransomware, identity theft and spam. News stories about cybersecurity are posted daily. Indiana University, through the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research posts videos on topics, such as how are passwords stolen.

Besides IOT, other public partners in the IN-ISAC include the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana State Police, Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center and Indiana National Guard.

Indiana launches INBiz, a one-stop business portal

On Aug. 25, state leaders held events in several Indiana cities to announce the most recent updates to the INBiz project.

Leaders participating in the announcement included CIO Dewand Neely, Secretary of State Connie Lawson, Department of Revenue Commissioner Andrew Kossack and Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Steven J. Braun.

In April, the state of Indiana launched INBiz, the first phase of its business one-stop web portal. Included in the first phase were services from the Secretary of State’s office that allowed Hoosiers to register their businesses, file key reports and request key corporate documents, such as a Certificate of Existence.

Now, business owners can also access services from the Department of Revenue and Department of Workforce Development through INBiz.

INBiz’s ultimate objective is to be a single point of contact for businesses to meet their requirements with the state. The portal will continue to add functionality to make it easier to do business with the state of Indiana. 

“Indiana is a state that works for business, and INBiz’s launch and expansion is yet another example of our ongoing efforts to cut through red tape and streamline the process for Hoosier companies to conduct business with the state,” said Governor Mike Pence. “Businesses large and small are growing and expanding under Indiana’s pro-growth, low-regulation policies. Partnerships and innovations like INBiz are paving the way to make Indiana one of the best states in America to start a business, grow a business or get a job.”

Secretary of State Connie Lawson also celebrated the achievement.

“The Secretary of State’s office has teamed up with the Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Revenue to streamline the process for Hoosier businesses, providing a single site for communicating with multiple state agencies at once,” Lawson said. “New businesses are one of the driving forces behind Indiana’s economy, and it’s our mission to do everything we can to support them by making it easier to do business with the state, as well as for existing businesses by allowing them to use one username and password.”

With the addition of services from the Department of Revenue and the Department of Workforce Development, businesses can handle many state and local reporting requirements with INBiz, such as employer reporting, wage reporting, unemployment claims and premiums, and tax registration.

“Partnerships with multiple agencies through programs like INBiz benefit all Hoosier businesses,” said Kossack. “INBiz simplifies the business registration process by allowing a business to register with multiple state agencies through a single website.” 

“INBiz offers streamlined registration and filing services that enable employers to focus efforts on growing their business rather than cutting through red tape,” Braun said. “This is yet another way that Indiana is creating the nation’s most welcoming environment for businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive.”

INBiz furthers Indiana’s position as one of the nation’s most pro-business states by modernizing its current online systems. “Citizens are increasingly expecting government services to be as easy to use as the private sector,” Neely said. “INBiz is just another example in continuing our mission of delivering best-in-class service to Hoosiers and making working with government simple.” 

This one-stop resource is actively working to support businesses of all sizes across the entire state. Since its launch in April, 57,000 users have registered their business with INBiz.

“Seeing this collaboration between multiple state agencies demonstrates the level of importance Indiana has devoted to starting and growing businesses throughout the entire state,” said CEO of Tilson, Brent Tilson.

This initiative was announced at events at the Statehouse in Indianapolis as well as Terre Haute, Evansville, Fort Wayne and South Bend. 

Visit www.inbiz.in.gov to learn more.

IOT continues rollout of new SoI VaaS phone system

More than 2,000 State of Indiana phone numbers now have been migrated to the new State of Indiana Voice as a Service (SoI VaaS) phone system, an IP-based voice service.

The new system replaces the State’s legacy Centrex phone system at the downtown campus.

For those who have been migrated to the new phone system, it is no longer necessary to dial an 8, 9, or 1 when calling outside of State government. Rather, 10 digits including area code is all that is required.

Centrex Phone System users, who continue to dial an 8 for an outside line, must remember that five-digit dialing will no longer work for calling employees that have been migrated to the new system.

To ensure always reaching the intended recipient during the migration, IOT recommends that Centrex phone system users begin using the full 10-digit phone number instead of the 5-digit number. The dialing format to use for Centrex users is 8-XXX-XXX-XXXX for local calls and 8-1-XXX-XXX-XXXX for long distance calls.

For additional information there is an FAQ section posted at http://in.gov/iot/2694.htm, where most of the commonly asked questions are answered. Any other questions may be emailed to: IOTTelecomServices@iot.in.gov.

Nominate digital applications for Best of Indiana awards

You have until Sept. 16 to nominate an applications for the 2016 Best of Indiana awards.

The awards program was established “to recognize Indiana state and local government and education organizations for their dedication, hard work and contributions in information technology,” according to the program’s website.

All government and education officials, executives and staff in Indiana are invited to submit nominations. All projects nominated must be in production and fully operational by the submission deadline or have been implemented since January 1, 2015.

The awards categories are: best application serving an agency’s business needs (state); best application serving an organization’s business needs (local); best application serving the public (state); and best application serving the public (local).

Learn more here: http://awards.erepublic.com/nominate/best_of_indiana/28/#/dashboard

Coming Soon: MobileIron needed to access email on mobile devices

Soon, most state employees will be required to have MobileIron downloaded on their cellphones if they are to be able to access state email on those devices.

In the coming weeks and months, IOT is offering registration clinics to enable you to take the necessary steps.

These clinics are at the following times and locations:

*    Wednesday, Sept. 7, 9-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m., IGCS Conference Room A
*    Monday, Oct. 3, 9-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m., IGCS Conference Room C
*    Tuesday, Nov. 1, 9-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m., IGCS Conference Room B

MobileIron enables the user to:
*    Quickly access your corporate email, calendar, and contacts
*    Automatically access corporate WiFi and VPN networks
*    Easily find and install work-related applications
*    Check compliance with corporate security policies
*    Locate lost or stolen devices

Using MobileIron, IOT CANNOT do any of the following:

* See or copy your photos
* See or copy your iMessages/text/sms
* See or copy your personal email accounts
* Limit your access to specific access points, websites or locations
* See, copy or track internet usage
* Record phone calls

Access may vary depending on whether the device is personal or state-owned -- as well as whether the device is Apple or Android.

To learn more, go to here.

IOT Roadmap & Software Licensing Portal

IOT Roadmap:

Announced in the last newsletter, IOT has launched its IT Roadmap. An overview of the roadmap can be found at: http://www.in.gov/iot/files/IOT%20Key%20Priorities.pdf.

The full roadmap is accessible at https://roadmap.iot.in.gov/#Indiana-Office-Of-Technology/. It contains plans for each IOT department for 2016-2018 and it is easily filtered.


Software Center:

IOT has recently developed a software licensing portal to assist agencies in more effectively tracking and managing the licenses they own. The portal provides a central location at which to view all software licenses that are owned and deployed across all endpoints

Agencies need to designate licensing coordinators, via a ticket, in order to access the portal.

http://softwareinventory.iot.in.gov/Software/Licenses

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