Washoe County’s Technology Services Department was recognized by the County Commission for receiving a second place award from the Center for Digital Government (CDG), a national research and advisory institute focused on IT policies and best practices in state and local government. Washoe County was awarded second place for the size of the county population, between 250-499,000. Ten winners were named in each of four population-based categories. The winning counties carried out strategies -- with measurable benefits -- that aligned with county priorities. Successful programs showed progress over the previous year, utilized innovative solutions, and revealed a commitment to collaboration within and outside of their organization.

Washoe County virtualized 90 percent of its servers, yielding approximate savings of $426,650 in annual energy costs and nearly $2 million in hardware costs over the life of the project. Washoe also installed a new backup/recovery system which includes back up to disk technology. Benefits include reduced backup/restore time, less hardware storage costs through compression and de-duplication, and the ability to securely manage data across many locations. Overall, this project is estimated to save $65,268 over three years.

At Washoe County Libraries, thin clients have been installed on desktop computers to create self-serve kiosks. The kiosks were created in house through a collaborative effort between the Central County Technology Services Unit and library staff, and will save the library $510,000 compared to purchasing kiosks

Access the full report here to read more about Washoe County's innovative practices and to learn how other cities and counties throughout the country are innovating. To learn more about Washoe County's innovative approaches to technology, contact (775 328-2355 or email lschmidt@washoecounty.us.