Several years ago, former Guilford County Manager Marty Lawing told the Guilford County Board of Commissioners that it was absolutely amazing how frequently hackers tried to hit Guilford County’s computer system – so there’s a lot to worry about in that regard.
In addition, the system can also be very confusing for users, who frequently require help from the Guilford County Information Technology Department.
So, it’s understandable that that department can use a little help. Which is why Guilford County government has entered into a new agreement that will help make sure the system is properly overseen night and day and that Guilford County’s 3,000 or so employees get the Geek Squad-like help that they need.
On Sunday, Oct. 1, Guilford County will enter into a three-year contract with Dynamic Quest, LLC to get some help managing the system and providing tech support to county workers.
The county has been using Dynamic Quest since 2013 and, in May of this year, conducted a new request for proposals. After seeing what else was out there, the county chose to go with Dynamic Quest once again.
At times, providing tech support for county employees can be very demanding. There have been several periods over the past two decades when county employees have been flabbergasted at the software they’ve been asked to use. During one implementation of Lawson Software years ago, there was nearly an employee revolt and, also years ago, an implementation of a new tracking software for social services cases created massive problems and huge costs in employee overtime.
In addition, Guilford County government, of course, faces the same threats everyone else does of ransomware attacks and other hacks. Anyone who walks through a county breakroom or gets on an elevator in a county building will see strong reminders of a need to be vigilant in this regard.
The county’s request for proposals earlier this year sought out companies wishing to provide tech help-desk support, monitoring, and after-hours call support for county employees – and Dynamic Quest was chosen at a cost of $294,518 for three years beginning October 1, 2023 and ending on September 30, 2026, which comes to just under $100,000 a year.
The contract also includes two one-year extension options that will require approval by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners
The company will provide several services to the county for that money. It will, for instance, provide help desk support tracking requests for Information Technology services and will engage in round the clock system monitoring and provide problem notification for the county’s network – which utilizes 250 servers and 540 network devices.
Dynamic Quest will also offer county employees after-hours telephone support from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays – as well as all weekend long, when county IT workers are taking a much-needed break.
