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State E-Mail Switch Faces Review

Posted on: Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By Phil Brinkman, The Wisconsin State Journal

Feb. 15--A planned switchover in e-mail service for much of state government could be in trouble pending a review by computer experts at the first agency to try the new system, the official overseeing the project said Tuesday.

Problems implementing the Oracle Collaboration Suite software on new servers have "leveled out" since the Department of Administration went online with the service in November, said Matt Miszewski, administrator of the DOA's Division of Enterprise Technology, which provides computer services for most executive branch functions.

But technicians will need to weigh whether it's worth the time and effort to expand the system to other agencies or recommend junking the $2.6 million contract with the Virginia information technology firm installing the software, DLT Solutions.

"Whenever you do a large-scale conversion like this there are always opportunities for improvement," Miszewski said. "What we want to do is sit back and say, are those show stoppers or not?"

The review, sought by DOA Secretary Steve Bablitch, should be finished by the end of February, Miszewski said.

A team of experts recommended the switch in 2004 as part of a larger initiative by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle to consolidate state services. The move was met by skepticism by computer technicians across state government. Those initially included Miszewski, who noted state agencies at the time ran virtually all of their e- mail through Microsoft systems.

But DLT's bid was so much lower than the nearest competitors -- $2.6 million compared to Berbee Information Networks' $9.4 million and Microsoft's $12.3 million -- that "there was really no discussion of anyone else," said Sean Dilweg, Bablitch's executive assistant.

The contract is separate from a $29 million no-bid contract the state signed last year directly with Oracle Corp. to provide support and maintenance for its database software, also used by the state.

Miszewski couldn't say how much staff time has been put into the conversion, although he said it was "certainly . . . more than we thought." Administration officials also couldn't say Tuesday how much has been spent so far on consulting and licensing fees.

The contract calls for the system to be in place at most agencies and constitutional officers' offices by July 1, a deadline Miszewski said he thought the state could still meet.

He said the contract includes language allowing the state to back out of the deal under certain conditions. A spokesman for DLT was traveling and unavailable for comment, according to the company.

The Oracle system is intended to give the state more flexibility in how it organizes and stores data and provide a more seamless connection between e-mail and the Oracle databases agencies use, Miszewski said. The consolidation into a single service would also enable the executive branch to go from 220 computer servers to 19, he said.

But problems have persisted with several "convenience features" in the e-mail service, such as how recipients are organized in address lists and how meeting notices are sent out. The system, which also uses shorter e-mail addresses for executive branch employees, does not apply to the Legislature, the courts or the University of Wisconsin System.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Wisconsin State Journal

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Source: The Wisconsin State Journal

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