24 Mar Dane County improves law enforcement and community services
MADISON – Dane County has begun using a network infrastructure developed by Citrix Systems, Inc., to deploy software to its workers over the Internet from a central office, the company announced Tuesday.
The county’s IT staff will be able to provide 1,600 government employees across 45 departments with secure access to government and community management applications from remote locations, including their homes, according to a press release. The technology has allowed the county to continue its move toward inexpensive terminals.
“We have been steadily moving applications from the traditional desktop PC to the terminal-sever environment for the last 5 years,” said Larry Singer, technical systems manager for Dane County.
He said using terminals saved the county money. At first, it reused old desktop computers, and it will soon replace them with energy-efficient and low-maintenance terminals.
The system, called MetaFrame Presentation Server, will also allow the Dane County Sheriff and local police departments to gather information from Spillman Inc.‘s Summit Jail System and Dynamic Imaging Systems, Inc.‘s PictureLink photo imaging system, which includes digital pictures, background information, mug shots and electronic fingerprints of suspected criminals.
“These are applications that we have had for some time that have been deployed on Citrix,” Singer said. “We are just now providing these applications out to the police vehicles using wireless technology.”
By scaling back from desktop machines to terminals and using the Citrix access system, the company said, the county will be able to keep upgrading its software while saving money on hardware and technical support.
Citrix claimed the county has not needed to increase its budget.
“These savings will be realized over time as we increase our efficiencies in the areas of application deployment, help desk support and equipment repair,” Singer said.
Citrix software is not new to the county. The 911 system has used MetaFrame Presentation Server for eight years to provide dispatchers with public safety information and maps, according to the press release.
In addition to law enforcement and emergency services, the Dane County Human Services Department, which includes the Dane County Job Center, Social Services and Child Services departments, can use the server to distribute applications to municipal workers across the county.
IT workers will have access to both Windows applications and Web-based applications over the network, according to the press release.
Citrix, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., acquired Expertcity, Inc., a company that provides software for Web-based access to desktop systems, March 1.