Vermont Agency of Digital Services outlines modernization timeline; business portal testing set for March

The Agency of Digital Services (ADS) told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Feb. 6 that multiple large IT modernization projects are progressing and that phase 1 of a Secretary of State business portal will begin testing March 1, with a planned go-live of June 30. Andrea Delabria, deputy secretary at the Agency of Digital Services, described timelines for work on an enterprise resource planning effort, Vermont’s DMV modernization (VT TRIPS), and a Department of Labor unemployment insurance modernization.

ADS functions as an internal service agency for state government, created by an executive order under Gov. Phil Scott in 2017 to centralize IT, cybersecurity, telecommunications and data-policy work. "We are 389 people strong," Andrea Delabria said, summarizing ADS’s structure and divisions, which include security, enterprise architecture, data management and artificial intelligence, finance, project management, and enterprise services.

Why it matters: the projects affect how Vermonters and businesses interact with state services, and several are funded from the IT Modernization Fund created by the Legislature in 2022 as part of Act 185. Committee members pressed ADS on funding, program scope and delivery speed as the…