Winona County approves OnBase cloud migration, citing cyber-incident lessons

County technology staff and vendors briefed commissioners on a planned migration of the OnBase records-management system to a cloud-hosted environment after the county experienced two recent cyber incidents that disrupted document availability.

Staff said the cloud-hosting and associated security enhancements will increase system availability for both county staff and residents who rely on public terminals for land and vital records, and will reduce recovery time after future incidents. The migration includes a statement of work, a maintenance renewal and a cloud hosting agreement with Databank as the regional reseller.

Commissioners questioned vendor escalation clauses, long-term exit risks and whether the agreement creates vendor lock-in. Staff responded that Databank has been the county's partner since 2015, cited service-level responsiveness, and described National Guard and other cybersecurity input that favors cloud availability for fast recovery.

The board approved the statements of work and the cloud-hosting agreement and asked staff to continue negotiating terms where feasible (for example, to limit automatic escalators). The board emphasized due diligence to avoid future procurement traps while acknowledging the need to improve system resilience promptly.

Administrator Holty and IT staff were directed to report back on contract terms and the migration timeline and to document how OnBase migration fits the county’s broader cyber-response plan.