Ellis County, Kansas
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
Michael Leiker, IT Director
GMIS member since 1997
Number of IT Staff: 3.5
Population: 28,000
IT Budget: $556,000
What has been a significant technology achievement for you or your organization?
They say, for many IT professionals, moving or building a new data center is a once-in-a-career opportunity. They also say migrating to a new ERP is a once-in-a-career opportunity. Last summer, we began doing both!
We purchased a bank building to be remodeled for our Administrative Center; leased and remodeled a call center to serve as a temporary Courthouse, Law Enforcement and Detention Center; began construction on a new Emergency Services Center to house EMS, Rural Fire and Emergency Management; and began a major renovation/expansion project on the Courthouse and Law/Detention Center. All of this while migrating to our new ERP solution!
We moved the courts/law enforcement staff to the temporary location right before Christmas, successfully finished the ERP migration right after Christmas, and we moved our Data Center and Administrative offices to the newly remodeled Administrative Center on January 2. The Emergency Services Center is scheduled to be completed by the middle of September and the Courthouse and Law Enforcement/Detention Center is slated for completion sometime in January of 2016. IT is responsible for all data, voice, audio/video, surveillance and access control for all of these projects.
Something else they say is that IT professionals wear many hats well. For the first time in my 20 years in IT, I have added a hard hat to the rack. I have to say there have been many challenges with all of these projects, and without the hard work and dedication of my staff this experience could have been a career-ender for me. We still have some miles to go before we can start a new chapter in this saga, but the end is in sight.
What future initiatives are you hoping to accomplish in the next year?
Vacation! Well, besides that we hope to explore the possibility of a Virtual Desktop solution, and our website is due for a remodel.
Best advice you could offer your fellow members is ...
Keep calm and IT on! There have been many times when I felt like a plate-spinner in a circus and people just kept adding more plates, but I couldn't just go running out of the building screaming could I? Stay calm, work the plan and it will work out.
We all know GMIS membership is worth its weight in gold, but what do you feel is the best benefit you get out of GMIS?
The knowledge and experience of the GMIS members is priceless! You can learn a lot from college and certification classes, etc., but to get practical hands-on knowledge from the people who have been through it is a far more valuable commodity. To hear their successes and failures is what makes the difference in helping me do what I need to do to succeed. This is especially true in how it applies to the government space.
