Office of
Technology and Information Services
John Willmott, CIO
(850) 245-8238
The Office of Technology and Information Services (OTIS) has 68 full-time
positions and a number of contract personnel. OTIS provides strategic support and policy coordination
for the use of Information Technology Resources (ITR) within
the department. Working closely with the regulatory district
offices, divisions and other organizations within the department, OTIS supports a common networking infrastructure,
mail system and corporate business applications suite.
Additional services provided are: Help Desk, Business Resumption
planning, Internet/Intranet programming, server management,
hardware/software procurement assistance, Oracle DataBase
Administration, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) support.
CIO Biannual
Report and
OTIS
Strategic Plan.
ADMINISTRATION
The Administration Section
is responsible for the organization and coordination of
OTIS's personnel actions, time sheets, purchasing,
contracts, service agreements, legislative budget requests,
operating budget, Working Capital Trust Fund FLAIR reconciliation, cost allocation,
travel, correspondence, telephone reception, and other
general business functions that are required to manage
the day to day operation of OTIS.
These functions are performed in two physical locations
by a small staff of administrative support personnel reporting
to the CIO.
Through the proper allocation and coordination of OTIS's
limited resources, the Administration Section maximizes
the utilization of resources for efficient operation of
the section.
DATABASE ADMINISTRATION SECTION
The Database Administration
section is responsible for the physical implementation
of the Oracle Relational Database Management System (RDBMS),
considering issues such as performance, data security,
and data integrity. Staff monitor Oracle RDBMS performance,
install software upgrades, and coordinate backup and recovery
operations with system support staff. Staff also performs
all application migrations to the test and production database
platforms, as well as work with development staff as a
technical resource.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS)
The GIS Section works as a guiding and directing partner with other agency personnel to support the geographic information needs in protecting
Florida's environment.
We research, develop, provide, maintain, and improve:
- Basemap and agency GIS data;
- GIS software and hardware solutions;
- Infrastructure and methods for retrieving, viewing, and analyzing GIS data;
- GIS education, cooperative data projects and information exchange;
While acting as a link between the internal and external GIS communities.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT SECTION
Based on best practices in project management and application development, the Application Development section works with customers throughout the DEP to design and develop up to date technology solutions. By assisting clients in exploring new technology and integrating it with existing software assets, they help them streamline and automate their processes.
The Applications Section is responsible for information systems development. The section assists in developing strategic plans for department-wide information systems. Section staff coordinates within the agency and with other state, federal and regional organizations to develop standards and procedures, which promote data sharing and database integration. They analyze and evaluate system requirements, design new and modified systems, write computer programs, participate in testing and training; and document, implement and maintain the information systems.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS SUPPORT CENTER
The Information Systems Support Center (ISSC) has responsibilities in four categories: Corporate computer training, client help desk services, web site standards and maintenance, and information management services. ISSC provides Department employees classroom and online training of corporate email, word processing, and spreadsheet software to ensure employees are able to productively use these products. ISSC’s Help Desk helps Department computer end-users resolve computer related problems, produces various guidebooks to help employees be more productive, and represents
OTIS in technical meetings, providing expert advice and support. ISSC is responsible for developing DEP web site standards and manages the agency's primary web site services. Finally, ISSC provides information resource management support including coordination of strategic information resource management planning, information security and contingency planning, public access, as well as staffing for the Information Resource Coordinating Committee and various subcommittees.
MIDDLE TIER SECTION
The Middle Tier section is responsible for the implementation of the Oracle Application Servers and various services that deploy DEP’s Oracle Forms and J2EE applications. Middle Tier staff monitor and tune server performance; perform troubleshooting and resolve problems; and perform research, recommend and install server software upgrades. They also perform research, recommend upgrades and provide installation procedures to Development staff for several tools in the Oracle Internet Developer Suite, including Forms, Designer and JDeveloper. An important support activity of Middle Tier staff is capturing and analyzing application server phenomena that may provide feedback and recommendations for application software performance and tuning. In this activity they often must coordinate closely with all of the
OTIS sections. They also manage the Repository for Oracle Designer, DEP’s Computer-Assisted Software Engineering (CASE) tool.
SYSTEMS AND NETWORKING SUPPORT SECTIONS
The Systems and Network section designs, builds, and manages multi-user computers, servers, data
communication systems, and data storage systems. The section is involved in the research and development of
new technologies for the agency. The Networking staff is responsible for ensuring that a reliable network is
in place and operational for use by Agency personnel needing access to corporate data, electronic mail and
all other computer related applications employed within the Department. The Systems group runs the
Agency's largest computers, manages computer accounts and access, and coordinates all data servers operating on the DEP network.
The section also runs the messaging system, computer and network security, and computer operations.
Office of Technology and Information Services
