Virginia Information Technologies Agency

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) is an executive department that provides information technology services to other Virginia state agencies. It is headed by Virginia's Chief Information Officer (CIO) who currently is Nelson P. Moe. The current Chief Operating Officer (COO) is Jonathan X. Ozovek.[1] The current Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is Dan Wolf.[2] The current Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is Michael Watson.[3]

Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Agency overview
Formed2003
JurisdictionVirginia
Headquarters11751 Meadowville Lane Chester, Virginia 23836
Agency executive
  • Nelson Moe, Chief Information Officer
Parent agencyVirginia Secretary of Technology
Websitewww.vita.virginia.gov

VITA is the designated provider of information technology (IT) services for government agencies and public bodies including local government entities and higher education.

VITA provides computing and telecommunication services, which it groups as ‘custom infrastructure services’ and ‘bundled infrastructure services’. The ‘custom’ services are inclusive of the individual computing services required to process customer applications. The ‘bundled’ services are inclusive of hardware, software, maintenance and support. The rates that VITA charges to its clients are posted on its website and are approved by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). In most cases, VITA charges the same rate to executive branch agencies and to other government entities.[4]

In the 2010 session of the General Assembly, Governor Bob McDonnell proposed legislation (SB 236), which was enacted on March 11, 2010, to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report to the Executive Branch instead of an independent board. The law abolished the Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB) and replaced it with a new Information Technology Advisory Council. Under the new arrangement, the Governor appoints the CIO, who reports to the Virginia Secretary of Technology.[5] Currently, VITA resides under the Secretary of Administration as the Secretary of Technology role has been eliminated.[6]

In September 2018, Governor Ralph Northam issued an executive order requiring Virginia state government agencies shift their technology services to cloud based platforms in order to modernize the Commonwealth's IT infrastructure.[7] Additionally, VITA has begun a transition to a multi-vendor IT model (MSI). Towards the end of 2018, VITA terminated a single vendor relationship with Northrop Grumman and settled with the company to the amount of $35.8 million.[8] VITA has implemented a new organizational model which aligned the major service areas of cyber security, operations, and administration. CIO Nelson Moe cited the new model where CAO Dan Wolf and COO Jon Ozovek handle administrative and operations work respectively has freed him up to spend more time in visionary thinking and marketing offerings to the rest of the executive branch. [9]

VITA has successfully implemented and stabilized their MSI model after delays in 2018 and 2019 according to the 2020 JLARC report on VITA.[10] This successful implementation allowed VITA to effectively respond to the technology needs of the state government after a state of emergency was declared on March 12, 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby 75 percent of state agencies were satisfied with VITA's efforts.[11] CIO Nelson Moe praised COO Jon Ozovek regarding these recent developments, indicating "His experience in deploying multisupplier environments and efforts over the past year have been key to our success”. [12] For these efforts, VITA has been awarded a top honor by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) under the Enterprise IT Management Initiatives category - Virginia Pioneering a New Method of State IT Services Delivery.[13]

References
  1. "VITA names chief operating officer". vita.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  2. "VITA promotes one of its own as chief administrative officer". richmond.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  3. https://www.vita.virginia.gov/about/
  4. "VITA Services Overview". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  5. "Bill Tracking SB 236". Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  6. "Secretary of Administration - Agencies". Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  7. https://statescoop.com/virginia-gov-ralph-northam-orders-state-agencies-to-the-cloud/
  8. https://statescoop.com/virginia-to-pay-northrop-grumman-35-8-million-to-end-it-contract/
  9. "Virginia technology officials say new organization is 'extremely good'". statescoop.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  10. "Update on VITA's Implementation of a Multi-Supplier Service Model" (PDF). jlarc.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  11. "VITA moving data center servers as part of transition to cloud, new business model". richmond.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  12. "VITA moving data center servers as part of transition to cloud, new business model". richmond.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  13. "Virginia Wins Two Top National Awards for Excellence in Information Technology". vita.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
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