September 21, 2009 By Matt Williams
The consolidated government of the city of Indianapolis and Marion County has extended its contract with IT services provider Northrop Grumman through 2013, under a new four-year deal worth nearly $34 million.
Northrop Grumman will continue managing IT services for most of the consolidated government's agencies, more than 50 in all -- excluding some public safety functions, such as 911. The vendor provides help desk, server and storage management, desktop support, and it manages the municipality's data center.
The new agreement, announced this week, lengthens the public-private partnership, which began in 2004 with a five-year, $46 million pact. The extension comes as the vendor is working to remedy service issues from its multibillion IT services contract with Virginia. The problems have spurred some observers to wonder if such partnerships are on the wane.
But don't tell Indianapolis that.
"[Northrop Grumman] has been performing here at a high level, and that is part of the reason why that partnership was able to blossom," said Indianapolis CIO Glen Baker. "We have some significant service levels, and they consistently meet or exceed them. That sets the stage for them being able to help us on strategic initiatives."
The city/county has several strategic projects under way, including a new property system and a new land management system. The consolidated government also is starting enterprise resource planning, which Baker said is long overdue for Indianapolis. With those initiatives in the pipeline, he said switching to another IT services provider would've been disruptive and costly, which would be unacceptable during these tight economic times.
Digital Communities members get access to our collaboration task forces
427 Members
77 Discussions
84 Files
Latest members Become a member
Digital Communities members get access to our collaboration task forces
669 Members
145 Discussions
150 Files
Latest members Become a member
Based off of discussions of the Digital Communities Large Jurisdiction Chief Information Officer (CIO) Working Group, this white paper aims to answer the question, "In today's economic, political and business environment, what constitutes a successful relationship between government and industry?" Cause for Optimism identifies and clarifies the issues that separate government and industry, and begins to find an answer to the question necessary for both to enjoy a successful and prosperous future.
Don't miss this opportunity to see the latest in digital government solutions, keep abreast of current policy issues and network with key government executives, technologists and industry specialists.
Digital Communities News In Your Inbox
Subscribe to Digital Communities
Digital Communities (DC) is e.Republic‘s local government program. The particular strength of DC is its focus on encouraging collaboration and creating productive relationships between and among cities, counties, regions and select private sector companies uniquely positioned to help improve the delivery of public services.
Subscribe | View Digital Issue