When the City of Fort Wayne and Allen County (CFW-AC) needed to implement more robust IT capabilities across their entire organization, they thought big. They knew they wanted strategically integrated solutions rather than pieced-together fixes for isolated problems.
A Master View
Beefing up IT for every department in a local government serving over 500,000 constituents demands big-picture thinking. CFW-AC embarked on a detailed, thorough process of defining their needs and seeking partners to facilitate the right solutions. The goal was to implement foundational technology that would meet needs now while being scalable and adaptable for future unknowns. They chose Resultant to be their multisource service integrator.
A Multisource Service Integration (MSI) Approach
Let’s face it: Technology today is so complex that no one partner can best meet all the needs of an organization, especially one as large as CFW-AC. Different partners have different specialties. But attempting to manage individual partners in-house is extraordinarily time-consuming, and the burden of making sure they all integrate flawlessly falls squarely on the shoulders of the client. So what’s the best of all possible worlds?
For CFW-AC, it was an MSI solution. Resultant became the main point of contact for CFW-AC, sourcing and managing all partners and ensuring everyone worked together to successfully and seamlessly implement each aspect of the new IT strategy. Specific support functions included help desk, desktop administration, application development and maintenance, asset management, website management, GIS services, database administration, server and storage network services, and cybersecurity.
“Resultant’s new MSI model is specifically designed to enable state and local governments, higher education, and mid-market enterprises to be more nimble and secure specialized technology services as soon as the need arises.”
Mike Vance, Resultant Vice President of Technology Services
This isn’t about just finding companies that can perform services. It’s about finding the very best in each specialty and forming true partnerships. For this project, we were fortunate enough to engage:
- Corsica Technologies, Cybersecurity: The brightest minds in security developing innovative solutions to improve government outcomes.
- Netfor, Help Desk: User-experience-centered solutions with a strong knowledge management program.
- Daniels Associates, Incorporated, Applications: WBE-certified with over 30 years’ experience as a trusted partner in government technology solutions.
Teamwork
Our extensive experience helping government agencies solve problems with data analytics uniquely positioned us to help CFW-AC make smarter decisions in planning and operations to provide better outcomes for their citizens. Our partners’ experience contributed greatly to forging the bonds of true teamwork toward these outcomes.
Previously, CFW-AC officials had some problematic results with past vendors when team personnel changed after proposal acceptance. Our standard practice is for actual project leaders to present initial proposals to clients, familiarizing them with team member qualifications and how they’ll fit with their organization.
The real beauty of an MSI approach is that each team member gets to focus on their strengths. Each partner is responsible for the business solution they excel at, the client interfaces with just one point of contact, and that contact team handles all the management and integration so the client doesn’t have to.
Bump Up the Timeline? We Can Do That.
Our in-depth discovery phase revealed some concerns were more critical than initially thought. In response, CFW-AC requested the project timeline be moved up significantly—by about 90 days.
This is where Design Thinking paid off. Design Thinking ensures solutions are implemented people-first. We start with empathy, really digging in to find out what it’s like to stand in end-users’ shoes, solve the problems they have to solve, and experience the challenges and obstacles they face every day.
The Resultant team broke the implementation down into each mission-critical element and formulated a plan. They knew exactly what was needed each step of the way to keep the system functional from the very first changes. With such diverse responsibilities as animal control, permit issuing, and water delivery all using the same system, nothing could be left to chance.
Helping Our Clients, Coworkers, and Communities Thrive
CFW-AC got a solution that not only addressed their challenges but also represented the most efficient and effective use of public resources.
Resultant is committed to fostering local economic development wherever our clients are. Corsica Technologies is located in Allen County, and we transferred help desk operations back to Fort Wayne, allowing employees to be supported by expert, local team members for more personalized service. We worked closely with CFW-AC to retain as many full-time IT employees as possible while minimizing risk, providing service continuity, and diminishing any disruptions to operations.
Read more about Resultant’s MSI approach for the City of Fort Wayne and Allen County.
