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Overview of BIS

The Comptroller’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) leads the Bureau of Information Systems (BIS).  BIS provides a full range of systems and technology support for key business functions and Charter mandated responsibilities of the Comptroller’s Office.  These services include:  systems planning; disaster recovery and business continuity; application development; communications and network support; end user computing; business process re-engineering; change management; and program management.  A primary focus of BIS is deploying technology solutions that enhance the services provided by the Office of the Comptroller to the people living, working, visiting, and doing business with New York City. 

BIS is comprised of 12 divisions, providing customer support and technology leadership for the Office of Comptroller. BIS is staffed by technology professionals with expertise in various disciplines including network administration, application architecture, systems development, help desk administration, program management, computer operations, telecommunications, security, business continuity, and disaster recovery.

BIS has implemented procedures and methodologies to establish itself as a leading government technology organization.  These procedures cover numerous areas, including:  Technology Planning; IT Governance; Program and Project Management; Training; Metrics; Change Management; System Development Life Cycle; Business Case Development; and Technology Procurement.

A brief description of each BIS division follows:

Web Administration

Web Administration designs and maintains the official website for the New York City Comptroller’s Office (www.comptroller.nyc.gov).  The website, which exceeds 100,000 visits each month, contains important information about City government, including the City’s annual financial statements, audits of agencies, reports on the budget and economy, data on bond and note sales, prevailing wage rates and policy reports issued by the Comptroller’s Office.  The public can instantly contact the Comptroller’s Community Action Center via the website to obtain assistance on a variety of issues.  There are many useful links on the website connecting users with other government agencies.  Individuals may also obtain information regarding the purchase of City bonds, report City-related fraud, find job openings at the Comptroller’s Office or obtain forms for filing claims against the City.  Descriptions of each department in the Comptroller’s Office are included on the website with contact information for each.  In addition, there are links to the City Hall Library, the City's repository for all agency published reports and studies.

Network Administration

Network Administration has responsibility for installing and maintaining the operating systems for the Agency’s SUN and Wintel computing platforms. In addition, they design, implement and maintain all switches, routers, firewalls, servers, and telecommunication lines that support the Agency’s computing requirements, as well as backup and restore capabilities.  This group also has responsibility for architecting, implementing and enforcing computer infrastructure security procedures such as firewall policies and anti-virus protection.

IT Operations

IT Operations monitors the agency’s network environment.  Various tools such as NETIQ, are used for this purpose.  The group ensures that servers and workstations are up-to-date with the latest Microsoft security patches. They also ensure that the networking platform is up-to-date with the latest software such as antivirus, web and email filtering programs.  In addition, they ensure that all agency users have access to their network resources such as email, files, printing and internet access.  IT Operations also enforces the agency’s user and computer group security policies.

Document Management and Geographical Information Systems  (GIS)

One of the most significant applications in the agency is a state-of-the-art document management and optical imaging system known as OAISIS (Omnibus Automated Image Storage and Information System).  The Document Management and GIS Systems group supports and maintains the OAISIS system.   OAISIS was developed for the Comptroller’s Bureau of Law and Adjustment (BLA), Bureau of Labor Law (BLL) and the Office of Contract Administration (OCA).   The system supports the critical business functions administered by these bureaus: the processing of all claims filed against the City; the registration of all City contracts with third party vendors; and the enforcement of the City’s labor laws.  OAISIS combines optical imaging, work-flow processing and a variety of other client server technologies into a robust electronic document management and information system. OAISIS has substantially improved the Office's ability to manage claims processing costs, and has improved the contract registration and labor law case processing. The Comptroller's Office worked with Integic Inc., a Northrop Grumman Company to deploy the initial OAISIS system in 1994.  This group manages the Northrop relationship including system enhancements, new software releases and hardware platform and database updates.

In addition to OAISIS, this group also supports the Agency’s GIS needs.  GIS applications have been developed to support the OAISIS claims process by providing BLA with the ability to visualize and analyze their data, enabling them to  make decisions with respect to risk management practices, targeted capital funding, funding allocation, economic forecasting, infrastructure remediation and a host of other initiatives. GIS has evolved to support projects and decision making practices in other bureaus of the agency as well.

Central Imaging Facility

The Central Imaging Facility (CIF) is where the OAISIS process begins.  Claimants can come to CIF to submit claims and agencies can come to CIF with contracts for registration.  The documents are prepared and scanned into the system and then indexed using pre-determined criteria.  Once CIF completes its operation, the system puts the document into the OAISIS workflow process.  Based on index information, the OAISIS workflow feature then automatically routes the document or folder to the in-basket of an employee in the proper business area within BLA, BLL or OCA for processing.

Asset Management Systems

The Asset Management Systems division provides technical support to the Bureau of Asset Management (BAM) for the accounting and reconciliation functions associated with the $112 billion of pension assets in the City’s five major pension systems. They also provide technology support for all short-term trading desk activities, proxy activities, and reporting of key data to the five major pension systems.  In addition, they manage key vendor relationships with QED Financial Systems for PARIS (Pension Asset Reconciliation and Information System) and the technology group with Bank of New York/Mellon for the INFORM system.

Help Desk

The BIS Help Desk provides centralized client support for all employees of the Comptroller’s Office and the Office’s business partners who utilize our key applications, including OAISIS.  The  Help Desk directly provides assistance for various software applications, including the Microsoft suite of products and over 45 different turn key application software products.  The Help Desk also maintains all client hardware peripheral devices, such as PCs, printers, scanners, PDAs, etc.
All technology-related problems can be phoned into the Help Desk’s call center operation.  These calls are monitored in an effort to meet service level agreements with our clients.  On average, the Help Desk handles 300+ calls per month, and the average time to resolve is less than 4 hours.  The Help Desk also monitors the completion or resolution of calls which do not fall directly under the unit’s responsibility, but have been escalated to other divisions within BIS.

Application Development and Support Systems

This unit supports specialized system development and application maintenance for all 18 bureaus of the agency.  They currently support a portfolio of approximately 50 applications which were developed using Microsoft Access, SQL, Microsoft .NET and Cobol.  All bureaus in the Agency can request enhancements to existing systems or new development systems projects by initiating a System Enhancement Request (SER).

Data Center Operations

The Data Center Operations unit manages the printing and distribution of special check transactions and other related reports and records.  Specifically, larger volume check printing jobs required by smaller agencies such as the Board of Elections and the Parking Violations Bureau are handled by this unit, as are specially requested pension
transactions, 1099s and other miscellaneous check printing and signing operations; the unit also coordinates the mailing and distribution of the jobs completed.

Program Management Office

The Program Management Office was established to develop and maintain standards, methodologies and procedures utilized by the Bureau of Information Systems.  This division develops and circulates policies and procedures; maintains operations metrics for the Office of the Comptroller; and administers the Agency’s Information Technology Strategic Plan, which addresses a three year time horizon and is updated annually.  The Strategic Plan outlines the future business objectives and direction of each of the 18 bureaus which comprise the Comptroller’s Office, and  the technology solutions that will be deployed to support these objectives.  Additionally, a Monthly Operations Report is published which outlines the progress of each project, as well as critical BIS and Comptroller’s Office operating metrics for key business functions within the Agency.

A key administrative function of the Program Office is to administer all technology procurement for the Agency.  The Program Office guides capital projects through the initial budget creation, business case analysis, funding request, request for proposals or bid, contract finalization, and budget monitoring through the completion of the project.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

The Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR) team creates and maintains business recovery procedures tailored for the operations of each of the 18 bureaus of the Comptroller’s Office.  The BCDR team works with bureau liaisons to review changes to the Agency’s organization and business environment and updates the BCDR Plans to reflect those changes.  The group also works closely with the rest of the BIS team to identify all changes in the technology environment and ensure that those changes are reflected in the Plans as well.  Updated Plans are made available to all Agency personnel and are reviewed and tested bi-annually through mock disaster events.

The team also maintains an alternate processing site which will be used by designated  Agency employees in the event of a disaster occurrence. 

Finally, this group manages key vendor relationships associated with the Agency’s BCDR plans.