The Business/Administrative Operations Division is responsible for the back-office functions, and the overall operations of the Information Technology Department.

The Business/Administrative Operations Division is also responsible for fulfilling the information and service needs of the City by providing leadership in acquiring, deploying, and maintaining high quality, cost-effective and timely solutions. Software applications are one of the most critical technology assets in the City. The effective selection, implementation, and management of the City’s software applications are critical in attaining a high level of employee productivity, cost-effective service delivery, efficient business process, and a return on the City’s technology investment.

Service Delivery Areas

The Business/Administrative Operations Division supports the following areas that are described below:

• Application Review and Assessment Services: includes the review and assessment of all new application acquisition to ensure that the system complies with the City’s standards.
  
• Project Management Services: for consistent implementation of new applications and systems.
  
• Database Administration Services: includes the configuration, management, and upgrade of the City’s standard databases.
  
• Commercial off The Shelf (COTS) Services: includes coordinating with vendors, customer interfaces, application configuration and management, and report creation for City’s third party commercial software applications. The team works closely with the user departments to define and communicate requirements to the COTS vendor.

The team supports over 200 applications used throughout the City. There are two main categories of software applications:

• Enterprise Applications: Applications that all City departments depend upon, and, therefore, form the “core” of the City’s software infrastructure and
  
• Departmental Applications: Applications that one or a few City departments rely upon for specific business processes.
  

The relationship between enterprise applications, as well as between enterprise and departmental business applications, has been inconsistent due to incompatible technologies and decentralized software selection in the past years. The Information Technology Department is implementing a standard approach for future software applications to maximize interoperability and minimize support costs.