Technology Services Department Keeps The Village Of Wellington Working At The Speed Of Business By Callie Sharkey
Technology stretches across every facet of modern life. There are always new and innovative ways to use digital tools, which is a perfect way to describe the Village of Wellington’s Technology Services Department — commonly referred to as the “IT” department, short for the industry term “information technology.” “It’s the 21st century, and we are the least visible but one of the most important departments because every single department is using some facet of mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop system to monitor things, record things, make alerts or create reports,” Chief Information Officer William Silliman explained. “More and more of the work is going less and less analog, so everything is pretty much digital nowadays.” As times change, the IT department continues to integrate and upgrade every section of the village’s operations to improve the flow of work. As businesses and the community continue to develop more tech-savvy habits, Silliman’s sevenperson team is on high alert at all times. “The most critical issue I tell my staff
is if e-mail, internet or telecommunications goes down, drop everything and figure it out,” Silliman said. “Security is also a big concern. We are constantly monitoring and watching everything from phishing scams to ransomware. We try and watch every little piece — making sure everything is backed up in a way that is recoverable.” Technology Services continues on a strong path forward as they roll out improvements during a special three-year plan. The five-phase project includes upgrading the entire system to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that streamlines everything for staff and residents from paying utility bills to building codes. “Every iteration of the web site gets
better as we try to keep it simple, friendly and easy to use,” Silliman said. “We’ve got a really great department and very smart people, and there is always something to improve. I don’t want IT to be a hole into which you pour money. We shop around, and with each innovation are working to save Wellington time and money. The key is we don’t perpetuate the way things have always been done.” Perhaps one of the most striking changes to IT over the years is the integration of a quality Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team to support the village as a whole. GIS Manager Nicole McPherson, who first worked for Wellington in 2004, returned home in 2010 to run an innovative team that is making big strides in
(Left) Ian Ainbinder, Karyn Ahwai and Adam Watson. (Right) Nicole McPherson and Christian Nakotey.
56
september 2019 | wellington the magazine