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 agency balances large, multi-year replacements with smaller, incremental improvements.

Business portal: ADS said the Secretary of State business portal was restarted in fall 2024 with a narrowed scope to provide a business navigator or checklist for starting a business in Vermont. The agency described phase 1 as a non–data-collecting checklist that will generate a workflow summary a business owner can complete and take with them; phase 2 will add industry-specific requirements and data collection. ADS said test cases are being developed and testing will begin March 1; if testing goes as planned, phase 1 will go live June 30. "Phase 1 would be the ability for corporations to understand, it's not collecting any data," Delabria said. She also said ADS plans stakeholder engagement for later phases to include industry needs such as permitting pathways.

Unemployment and other large systems: ADS described the Department of Labor unemployment insurance modernization as replacing a roughly 55-year-old mainframe for both benefits and tax systems. Delabria said the modernization project kicked off in January, the vendor’s name on the project is Fast, and the agency expects the work to be complete by May 2026. The DMV core modernization (VT TRIPS) was described as a multi-phase replacement of a 40-plus-year-old mainframe; vehicle services was completed in 2024 and driver services is underway.

Child welfare case management: Committee members raised the Department for Children and Families’ child welfare information system, which ADS said has been on the agency’s list for some time. Delabria said ADS is awaiting federal approval of an RFP before issuing it; the agency revised the RFP after a technical issue and expects federal sign-off before vendor selection moves forward. She said obtaining federal approval is a prerequisite to capturing additional federal reimbursement dollars.

Funding and oversight: ADS told the committee that projects mentioned are funded from the IT Modernization Fund established by Act 185 (2022), and that "all of the funds are allocated to these projects" with no additional monies currently going into the fund, a point Delabria said Chief of Staff John Kelly verified. A committee member asked whether the fund’s current appropriation covers project costs; ADS replied funding and project phasing vary by project and some work will be done in phases. Delabria also said ADS is required to report savings annually and stated the agency has documented $47 million in savings to date.

Administration and enterprise services: Delabria described assigned ADS directors who partner with cabinet-level agencies (not "embedded" staff) and a shared-services director who manages common services such as email and device deployment. She said some agencies retain staff with business-level technical knowledge while deeply technical staff moved to ADS in 2017; ADS’s role is to provide centralized technical expertise and standards to reduce duplicated systems across state government.

Concerns and agency response: Committee members raised questions about pace, cost and whether a central ADS or agency-embedded IT model works better. Delabria said the central model reduces duplication and technical debt and that the agency has prioritized smaller, incremental improvements in many areas. She also noted advisory bodies — an AI council, a cybersecurity council and a long-standing Web Portal Board — are part of ADS governance.

Next steps: ADS plans stakeholder engagement on later business-portal phases, will begin testing on March 1 for phase 1 and expects a June 30 phase-1 go-live. The unemployment modernization has a target completion date of May 2026. ADS said it will follow up with the committee on the workforce-data "databank" and on the federal RFP approval timeline for child welfare.