RD402 - Annual Assessment of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency Reported Pursuant to Item 428E of the 2012 Appropriation Act - December 15, 2012


Executive Summary:
As described in this report, during FY 2012 (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012) VITA took several steps to improve the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of VITA and other agencies. These actions included new enterprise initiatives that will enable all agencies to enhance their productivity, the award of new eGovernment contracts that bring increased transparency and value, a focus within VITA on project management certification, and adoption of “green government” energy efficiency programs.

VITA has previously identified concerns resulting from the shortage of retained staff, and this report reiterates those concerns. Current shortages of retained staff impede VITA’s ability to fulfill its statutory duties, and therefore any additional reductions would further diminish the agency’s ability to provide and oversee IT services. Although recent additions have allowed VITA to address unmet needs, additional increases in the number of retained staff are required to address new statutory requirements and keep pace with increasing service demands.

VITA also has published advisory guidelines on how agencies can more effectively and efficiently use IT, particularly in the areas of cell phones, data storage, and hosted email archiving. For this report, VITA staff also analyzed the use of printers and laptops, and the analysis indicates that the enterprise use of IT is becoming more efficient.

In FY 2012, VITA took several steps that either directly lowered agency overhead costs or gave agencies additional options for lowering IT costs. Changes to VITA’s internal service fund rates for FY 2013 will lead to an overall average 2.36 percent reduction in the rates paid by agencies, and changes to the IT procurement process have allowed agencies to achieve additional savings. The Comprehensive IT Assessment process identified several cost reduction options.

Lastly, an analysis of IT expenditures by all state agencies indicates that $1.004 billion was reported in FY 2012, of which $519 million (52 percent) was reported by in-scope agencies. The second largest expenditure amount (42 percent) was reported by higher education institutions. Overall, VITA-provided services accounted for 31 percent of annual IT spending by all state agencies. IT payroll accounted for another 17 percent, and the remaining 52 percent was for IT services not provided by VITA.