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County IT pivots to managed services and device leasing to cut risk after server failures
Summary
IT staff proposed moving to a managed‑services model (Acxiom) to replace a single‑director model and recommended lifecycle leasing for user devices to stabilize replacement costs. Staff said a major server architecture replacement in 2024 raised one‑time costs; FY2026 operating numbers reflect a leaner baseline but capital lifecycle planning is
IT staff told commissioners FY2024 required an unplanned, expensive server replacement and migration and that the county’s FY2026 operating budget is reduced compared with adopted 2025 because those one‑time architecture costs are not repeated.
To reduce future volatility and to provide a deeper technical bench, staff proposed replacing the single IT‑director + small in‑house team model with a managed‑services contract that provides a broader help desk, network and security expertise and compensates for small‑team absences. Staff also advocated for lifecycle leasing for endpoint devices so departmental device replacement is predictable and charged to divisional budgets as stable annual costs rather than occasional big capital spikes.
“Last year we replaced essentially the entire architecture because it failed…we were on a more stable footing, and you will see those requests at lifecycle on the CIP lists,” IT staff said, summarizing the recommendation to separate architecture spending from divisional device costs.
Ending: Commissioners asked for a plan showing distributed divisional costs for desktops/devices under leasing, and IT staff said they will return with a recommended lifecycle leasing schedule and the operational impacts of moving to managed services.
