Lloyd Alger, head of Information Technology Services for the county, outlined two plans to commissioners to replace hundreds of computers in county departments. Many are still on the Windows 7 operating system, which will expire in January of next year. Those systems, Alger warned, will be at increasing risk for malware, viruses and compromise. State agencies, he said, also are pushing their county agencies to upgrade to Windows 10 or face disconnection from their networks and software.
The county, he said, has 580 systems, and fewer than 150 of them have Windows 10, Alger said.
"The risk in 2021 is significantly higher," he said. "We really need to start doing something right away."
Alger outlined two plans to commissioners, who have not made a decision on the matter.
The first would upgrade all 580 computers in the short term at a cost of $566,500. The county ITS staff would handle upgrades of 160 systems itself, and coordinate the replacement of 420 systems.
Since each computer replacement is a three-day process, Alger said, outside contractors would need to do those replacements at a cost of $162,400. The original estimate topped $1 million before Alger looked into reducing outside labor costs. Other expenses include $283,000 for 334 computers; $82,500 for 75 laptops; and $37,700 for Windows 10 systems for all 580 computers.
The second proposal would divide the county's computers into a five-year replacement schedule. Since the county's IT staff could handle about 130 computer replacements in-house, that would eliminate the need for outside contractors, reducing the cost to $160,425. That includes the first 119 computers and 14 laptops, plus $43,875 for 675 Windows 10 licenses.
Alger warned that although the up-front cost of this plan is lower, it's also more risky. Departments still would request emergency replacements when their systems crash, throwing off the replacement schedule and having those departments face downtime.
The plan would replace computers for the auditor, Emergency Management Agency, treasurer and sheriff first. The following year, new machines would be installed in auto title, the clerk of courts, prosecutor and public defender's offices.
The common pleas, domestic relations, juvenile, municipal, probate and Ravenna courts would get new computers in 2022, along with Job and Family Services. In 2023, the adult probation, building, engineer, tax map and water resources departments would get new computers. In the fifth year, departments to get new computers would include the board of elections, budget and finance, commissioners, coroner, dog warden, human resources, maintenance, purchasing, recorder, veterans and IT.
Another complication is that many systems, including the courts, use Courtview, which is a "legacy product." Eventually, he said, the makers of the software will stop supporting the old system, which could open the courts to risk.
"We want to estimate that cost so we can work it into the replacement cycle," Alger said.
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