Background

Center for Shared Solutions:2008 Project Update

David Fox, Neil Miros, Allan DeKoninck

Michigan Department of Information Technology

Background

• MDIT– Formed 7 years ago– Consolidation of Computer rooms– Consolidation of Network services– Consolidation of Technical services– Agency services remained fairly siloed

• Resulting in – Multiple services doing the same thing

– Same service – multiple licenses scattered around the State

– Multiple versions of services

– Some agencies having to do without on some critical and potentially beneficial applications.

Agency Services

• 2007 – Creation of Privacy and Business Intelligence Competency Center (PBICC) announced

• Focus on Shared Solutions as a means to realize some advantages for agencies– Address cleansing and standardization– Reporting and queries– Data movement, Extract, Transform, and

Load (ETL) tools

Shared Solutions

Address Cleansing

Why is Address Cleansing Necessary?

• Federal Requirement that all payments must go to a physical address.– Need to verify that the address really exists to

help guard against fraud.

• Every system collected and stored it’s own copy of an address.– Many systems out there.– Each one storing it’s own version of a

particular address.

Why is Address Cleansing Necessary?

• Multiple versions of the same address

• Even within the same application– 123 S. Main St.– 123 South Main St.– 123 South Main Street– 123 S. Main Street– 123 S. Main– 123 South Main

We needed a way to get to one verified, clean address in a standard format.

What’s the Toolset?

• Address Cleansing has had many names.– PostalSoft– Was bought out by FirstLogic and became

IQ8– Was bought out by Business Objects and

became Data Quality XI– Was bought out by SAP, but still called Data

Quality XI (or DQ XI)

How is it used?

• DQ XI gets updates for US Addresses every 45 days

• DQ XI gets updates for Canadian Addresses every 30 days– Addresses are “scrubbed” and verified.– Returned to the requesting application in one

common format. Example: 123 S. Main St.

How is it used?

• Geocoding– Along with the “scrubbed” address comes longitude

and latitude which can be used for coding those really cool maps.

How is it used?

How is it used?

• DQ XI - Batch and/or Real Time processing.– Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) – real

time– Michigan Child Support Enforcement System

(MiCSES) - batch– DHS – ASSIST – real time and batch– DHS – BRIDGES – also uses DQ XI

What’s happening now?

• We’re working with DHS & UIA to stand up the servers and get the DQ XI software loaded.– New processes to navigate

• EA Assessment• Admin rights to the servers for software setup

– “Discussions” with Office of Enterprise Security• Proper zoning

What’s happening now?

• Meeting with SAP/Business Objects to find out everything the software can do.

– SAP/Bus. Obj. provided demo just last week.

What’s happening now?

• Meeting with potential next partners to discuss their needs.– Department of Agriculture– House of Representatives– Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)– Department of Community Health (DCH) – Michigan State Police (MSP)– Michigan Business Services improvement

initiative (MBSii)

What’s Next?

• Our intention is to stand up the service and offer it as a “Rated Service”.– No up-front agency costs– Follow CGI model?– Scalable

• Add servers to create Development & Testing Environments.

• Set up team to assist clients with additional resources.

How will it work?

• It’s intended to work as a “Black Box.”– Call it as a Web Service.

• Send to DQ XI a list of parameters.• Application “scrubs & verifies” the address

information.• Returns address and other “known” information

such as longitude/latitude and geo-spatial information.

Lessons Learned

• Lots of them….– Working with “borrowed” employees– Initial setup costs (up front money)– Security rules– Working on a moving machine

Shared Solutions

Query &

Reporting

Query & Reporting

• Accomplishments for 2008– Currently supporting 2,800+ users

• Management Information database (MIDB)• MiPlan• Higher Education Institutional Data Inventory

(HEIDI)• MDOT – PLRS reporting

– Connections to different databases• Oracle, Teradata, SQL Server

– Complete Security Setup

Query & Reporting

• Benefits– Able to run reports and queries from different

data sources.– Consolidated and converted Business Objects

licenses from Professional to Premium.• Web Intelligence• Crystal Reports• Xcelsius

Query & Reporting

• Concerns and issues found– Locating Common Maintenance window.– Lack of Business Objects configuration

knowledge• Understanding different database drivers.• Understanding different Business Objects

versions.• Installing Hot Fixes and Critical Packs.

Query & Reporting

• Future connections– Currently working with the following agencies:

• Dept of Transportation (MDOT)• Attorney General (AG)• CGI - TAMC• Dept of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG –

MSHDA)• Dept of Environmental Quality (DEQ)• Dept of Natural Resources (DNR)• Michigan Dept of Agriculture (MDA)• Dept of Human Service (DHS)• More…

Query & Reporting

• Deliverables for 2009– Training of additional Designer developers.– Rollout Business Objects XI-R2 SP3 Desktop

Intelligence, but will become obsolete.– Rollout Business Objects Web Intelligence.– Rollout Crystal Reports.– Rollout Xcelsius.

Xcelsius

Xcelsius

Lessons Learned

• Contractor “knowledge transfer” valuable.

• Continually keep system support staff in loop.

• Acquire training for key staff early.

• Acquire necessary tools for support.

• Early users problems with installs.

• Security rules.

Shared Solutions

Data movement

aka ETL tools

Accomplishments

• Proof of Concept for Treasury completed– Setup server – Files from IRS

• 26 files• 53 million records

• ESKORT project– Utilized Information Analyzer tool to determine

quality of data being loaded to the data warehouse.

Benefits

• 80% savings in runtime

• Days vs. months in development effort

• Reduced cost of ownership by agencies

• One product to maintain vs. several

Deliverables for 2009

• Test server

• Production server

• Rated service pricing model

• Establish governance for the ETL team

• Expand service to additional agencies

• Evaluate additional tools for the ETL product including SAFE software for CGI applications.

Expectations for the future

• Tuning performance

• Development of processes to add new clients quickly

• Add connectivity / add-ins / functionality as appropriate to meet growing needs of client areas

• Explore ways to leverage the technology in other areas in MDIT

Lessons Learned

• Security– Need to limit access to sensitive information.

• Scalability– Service must be able to grow with the demand

• Size– How do you pick the right size out of the

gate?

• Initial Funding

Summary

Center for Shared Solutions

• Partnerships with – Enterprise Architecture– Office of Enterprise Security– Tech Services– Agency Services– Vendors

• Bull Services• IBM• Sun• SAP / Business Objects• CTTS

Sign me up? (check on audience)

• Think you might have an application that could use one or more of these services? Contact one of the following to get more information?

Address Cleansing David Fox [email protected]

Reporting Neil Miros [email protected]

ETL Allan DeKoninck [email protected]

General Eric Swanson [email protected]

Questions?

Center for Shared Solutions

a Model for the Future of MDIT