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Los Angeles County to Consolidate Data, IT Systems

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to centralize its technology infrastructure into a single data center.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday, Sept. 30, to replace its aging central data center and consolidate most of its 64 other data repositories into a single facility.

Under the approved motion, the county’s CIO and its Internal Services Department (ISD) director have 120 days to report back to the board of supervisors on how best to replace ISD’s Downey data center. They’re also required to submit a proposal that ensures the new facility can handle the increased load from consolidating approximately 67,000 square feet of existing data center space.

“Public acknowledgments have been made about data centers being overbuilt. That which is before us seeks to prevent that from happening,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “I think it’s smart, strategic for us to look back at what we’re about to embark upon and make sure we’re doing it in the most effective, efficient, technologically consistent manner. And I think this motion will move us in that direction.”

The work must be done through the county’s Master Agreement of pre-qualified vendors. If none fit the expertise requirements for the project, the written report must contain a list of recommended vendors. The motion also mandates the county’s chief executive officer to contract with a third party to analyze the financial, logistical and operational impacts of leasing space for constructing a new data center.

In addition, county leaders must construct a comprehensive five-year consolidation road map that outlines how a virtualized, centralized data center model will work.

“With a proper assessment, Los Angeles County will be on a path to significantly lower operating, hardware and maintenance cost, reduce its existing footprint and establish a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, automated data center,” added Lisa Richardson, senior deputy for communications for the Office of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, in an email. “Creating this data center will allow county government’s application systems to be more agile.”

Brian Heaton was a writer for Government Technology and Emergency Management magazines from 2011 to mid-2015.