EMC Enables State of Michigan's Transformation to IT-as-a-Service

HOPKINTON, Mass., July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that the State of Michigan's IT organization is using EMC storage, software and professional services to further transform how IT services are delivered to agencies and residents. The State of Michigan has always been responsive to individual agency requests - but a new IT-as-a-Service (ITaaS) model will enable even better partnership with agencies to identify their needs and provide service catalogs with defined rate structures that make it easier for agencies to "shop" for services. As a result, EMC is helping the State of Michigan provide even greater responsiveness to the fast-changing needs of its agencies and citizens, improving the quality of online services for Michigan residents and dramatically reducing IT capital and operational expenditures.

Customer Benefits:

• Improved Performance—The State has increased the performance of its critical Human Services application by 20%, improving service to users while extending the value of its storage investments.
• Better Service Quality—As a result of its IT transformation, the State's IT organization is able to offer a growing array of services online, such as motor vehicle registration and child support services, providing citizens with a convenient one-stop shopping experience.
• Increased Flexibility—The State is now able to partner with agencies to identify their needs and provide service catalogs with defined rate structures that make it easier for agencies to shop for services with its new IT-as-a-Service model.

Customer Challenges and Solution:

Looking to endure the challenging economic conditions in the best way possible, the State of Michigan's departments experienced deep budget cuts and made the difficult decision to reduce its staff through attrition and retirements despite seeing its IT storage environment grow 25% annually over the past five years. At the same time, demand for government services was increasing dramatically. The State's data center resources were overextended, and its IT staff was spending nearly all of their time on installations and support instead of developing new services. 

To transform the way IT services are delivered and how those IT services support the state's agencies, the State created a Virtual Center of Excellence (VCOE) built on EMC technologies. The VCOE serves more than a dozen agencies with IT-as-a-Service offerings ranging from motor vehicle registration and driver licensing to unemployment insurance and child support services. By leveraging EMC technologies and services, the State is achieving greater agility in meeting the growing needs of agencies and citizens while improving quality of new online services for agencies and Michigan residents.

The State standardized on EMC technologies including EMC VMAX® storage that is configured with Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools (FAST VP) and data-at-rest encryption (DARE). The State uses EMC RecoverPoint™ remote data protection solution for disaster recovery, as well as EMC Data Domain® for backup and recovery. The virtualization environment includes VMware virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions including vSphere server virtualization with vCenter Site Recovery Manager and vCloud Director, as well as Citrix XenApp. EMC Global Services was engaged to help implement the virtualized infrastructure and educate internal customers on the value of VCOE services.

Customer Quotes:

On its IT Transformation:

Vern Klassen, Director of Technical Services, State of Michigan

"We are creating a much more satisfying, one-stop shopping experience for our citizens.  Residents can now renew their driver's license, register to vote or even start a new business through the convenience of a web portal. We've eliminated the inconvenience of waiting in long lines and making multiple trips to different offices."

"Since adopting virtualization and automation, we don't need as many server administrators, so we're shifting those individuals into more service-oriented, customer-focused roles. We're becoming better marketers of our services and operating more like a business, which is essential to competing with external service providers."

"We've developed operating-level agreements to assure agencies of improved service uptime and faster response to trouble tickets. A key part of our transformation is driving better metrics around our services. The agencies more accurately know what to expect and we are far more accountable."

On its Storage Infrastructure:

Rick Hoffman, Storage Manager, State of Michigan

"Because we've become more efficient by virtualizing, consolidating and deploying deduplication, the number of people to support our systems has remained unchanged even though our storage has grown by 25% annually over the past five years.  With EMC technologies, we are able to deliver tiered levels of availability and performance that match the performance and cost requirements from each agency."

"Not only are we meeting the service demands of our clients, but able to get more horsepower from our storage investments and ultimately save on long-term expenditures.  For example, EMC's FAST VP and FAST Cache has increased the performance of our critical Human Services application by 20%."

Additional Resources:

• Customer Profile: State of Michigan
• Learn more about EMC VMAX and EMC Global Services
• Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and ECN  

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.  Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC, VMAX, FAST, EMC RecoverPoint and Data Domain are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE EMC Corporation