Achieving IT Excellence

Erika B Sacco, Director of Information Technology CGCIO, Town of Apex

Erika B Sacco, Director of Information Technology CGCIO, Town of Apex

How does the Town of Apex’s Information Technology department keep on track and eliminate the noise of various unnecessary frameworks and guidelines along with getting real world value and exposure to the best practices and procedures? By becoming accredited within the GMIS International Information Technology Accreditation Program.

The company’s  IT department’s Director, Erika Sacco, was influential in construction of the GMIS International Accreditation Program along with being the leader of the very first government entity to complete all of the accreditation requirements and assessment process in 2020. As the pandemic hit hard in North Carolina, the company’s IT department finished their first commendable level status in 2020 giving them the confidence and documented processes, desirable to increase staff remote access requirements in a time where cyber criminals were hitting North Carolina hard. The accreditation program is available to all GMIS International members providing validation of their government status and IT services. They finished their second audit for accreditation and are now looking to assist other government organizations by participating in auditing and mentoring through the audit process. We find this program very useful in measuring strengths, weaknesses, gaps and plans that could be solidified through the its results and will continue to improve the commendable accreditation score and freshly start the process again, every  few years to keep our status on track.

By becoming accredited, you can demonstrate that your organization’s IT processes and practices meet the requirements of a peer-reviewed, standards-based program that has been approved by GMIS International, the largest professional organization for public sector information technology leaders.

“By becoming accredited, you can demonstrate that your organization’s IT processes and practices meet the requirements of a peer-reviewed, standards-based program that has been approved by GMIS International”

Completion of the accreditation process takes around two years to systematically finish all five categories within the evaluation. The first year involves time to discover and document your processes, capturing everything you currently have and everything you will need. The second year is putting those documented processes into action, reviewing and updating your documentation from your own self-evaluation in preparation for an audit. Our company’s IT department started the program in 2018 and continues to evaluate and audit processes every few years. Unlike other frameworks or security guidelines, the GMIS International Accreditation program covers a well-rounded basis of categories. You learn perspective on your organization and department covering areas such as:

• Strategy

• Operations

• Security

• Governance

• Continuous Improvement

The GMIS International accreditation starts with a self-assessment completed by the organization averaging a matrix of just over 200 controls. The score is automatically tallied and the organizations scores can determine the areas they are strong in and the ones where they might need improvement. Using the results, a plan can be made working towards the next level starting at beginner, interim, provisional, accredited (this is where you become accredited), commendable and finally flagship which is the highest status. The higher level you reach the lower is the technology risk profile for the organization and this also allows for providing better services to both internal and external customers. The IT department, through these audits and results, would be able to justify the necessary technology improvements and plans for what is needed in the upcoming years.

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