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Management of County Information Resources Technology Services is responsible for the operation of information systems and services. This office monitors computer hardware and software standardization; computer systems' performance, maintenance, operations and capacity planning; and equipment procurement and installation. This office also mediates contractual and administrative matters between the County and its information technology services vendor, CMC Americas, which has approximately 40 on-site employees. The CMC Americas' Program Director coordinates with the Technology Services Department for all operational and contractual activities. |
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Governance/Administration/Project Management - IT strategy, planning, project management, prioritization, process and policy development; service level management for IT contract vendor (CMC Americas) who provides operational, infrastructure/network, application development, desktop and help desk support. | |
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Business Management of Maintenance Contracts, perform all tasks for IT budgeting and procurement | |
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IT Services and Development, which includes web development, IT training coordination, research and development, application development, testing, and quality assurance, IT support for County departments and audio-visual support | |
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GIS | |
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Management and Administration | |
| - | Manage and operate the County's data processing equipment | |
| - | Ensure quality delivery of all services required under the facilities management agreement | |
| - | Provide administrative and management support to CMC Americas employees | |
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Applications Programming | |
| - | Maintain all existing and newly developed computer applications in the Technology Services Center and certain remote locations | |
| - | Design, develop and implement new software applications | |
| - | Consult and assist users of third-party vendor software | |
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Operations | |
| - | Oversee operation, maintenance and security of the Charleston County Technology Services Center 24 hours a day | |
| - | Execute production and test jobs on systems housed within and maintained by Technology Serviecs | |
| - | Maintain inventory control of all County computer assets | |
| - | Operate the Help Desk | |
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Technical Services | |
| - | Provide guidance and support to County employees and Technology Services Operations and Applications Programming Divisions on the effective use of hardware and system software components | |
| - | Ensure the optimum performance of the County's information processing by tuning system software | |
| - | Install, configure, maintain and monitor operating system software, data communications software and personal computer hardware and software | |
| - | Investigate and resolve computer system hardware and software problems | |
| - | Clean non user-accessible computer hardware when an incident response call requires the removal of the computer's cover to check the internal parts as part of the problem determination and resolution process | |
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Application-- A set of programs (software) available to users, enabling them to carry out some general or specific aspect of their work. General applications include spreadsheet, word processing, communications and graphics programs while specific applications include accounting, tax billing, payroll and court case management. These programs are tailored to suit requirements of the particular organizations using them. Application software is distinct from systems operating software. Hardware-- The physical computer system including the screen, keyboard, monitor and processor. Operating System-- A set of programs which tells the computer how to perform actions, enabling it to run applications and interface with peripherals and users. A few of the many available operating systems are DOS, Windows, Novell Netware and UNIX. Peripherals-- Any piece of computer equipment which must be attached to a main unit, such as a mainframe, server or personal computer, in order to operate properly. Examples of peripherals are printers, monitors, tape drives, scanners, plotters, etc. Software-- Any computer program or set of programs. System-- Any organized set of things designed to work together as a whole. In computing, a system often refers to a complete set of software and perhaps hardware. It can also be applied to individual packages or facilities, such as a "word processing" or "stock control systems." The computer era for Charleston County Government began in January 1961 when County Council approved creation of the Office Services Supervisor position within the County Manager's Office. The new Office Services Department used IBM punch-card machines to tabulate taxes and payroll. Within a year, the County was processing data for other agencies. In July 1965, Council renamed the department Data Processing. In 1982, County Council decided to contract with a private business for these functions. In 1989, the County Administrator created the Management Information Systems (MIS) Office to oversee this contract and act as liaison between the information technology contractor and the County. In 2002, the function was expanded and renamed the Technology Services Department. In 1982, Charleston County entered into a facilities management contract with Systems and Computer Technology Corp., which was subsequently purchased by Affiliated Computer Systems, Inc., in 2001. In March 2002, the county hired vendor CMC Americas to provide information technology support. CMS was awarded a five-year contract in July 2002. |
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The number of personal computers installed has increased from less than 100 units in 1991 to approximately 1,300 in 2002. | |
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County infrastructure consists of a wide area network connecting 40+ county office locations, each having one or more local area networks. Data center operations are supported by mainframe as well as open system servers. | |
Back to top Technology Services Director Technology Services - CMC Monday-Friday |
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