Porter County’s Information Technology (IT) department is the unsung hero behind the smooth functioning of local government. By supporting 17 locations, 560 users, and countless public-facing services, the Porter County IT team helps every department throughout the county.
Director of IT for Porter County Lee Childress and his dedicated team of 13 staff members are responsible for maintaining and improving the county's technological infrastructure. No small task, the team is divided into multiple sections that support different aspects of their work.
“We have technicians who take care of fixing what's broken,” said Childress. “In addition, we have a network of people who focus on infrastructure improvements as well as a team that works on future planning projects.”
In all, Porter County’s IT department manages help desk support, network infrastructure, and long-term technology planning for the county. Their work touches nearly every aspect of government services, from internal communications and courtroom technology to public Wi-Fi and security systems.
One of the key challenges facing the department is the constant need to keep up with technological advancements.
“We are always doing our best to keep our equipment up to date with the newest and greatest security our budget allows,” said Childress
This can include updating employees’ computers to completely overhauling a county department. Alongside the day-to-day work of making everything run, the Porter County IT department has several ongoing projects aimed at modernizing the county’s infrastructure.
“The Wi-Fi in all of our buildings is getting older, so we're installing new technology for the newest flavor of Wi-Fi out,” said Childress.
In addition to these infrastructure upgrades, Childress highlighted the department's efforts to improve courtroom technology as well as several department buildings.
“We’re revamping all the courtrooms with new audio equipment and plan to update the video equipment and monitors as well,” said Childress. “Porter County also has a new highway building going up soon that will require new infrastructure similar to the work done at the Memorial Opera House.”
Cybersecurity has become a paramount concern for governments around the world, and Porter County is no exception. The IT department has implemented comprehensive training programs to raise staff awareness and help prevent security breaches.
"We’ve seen significant improvements in staff awareness over time," Childress said. "Our team uses specialized software to monitor these training programs and ensure that our employees are equipped to handle cyber threats."
Childress explained that the IT department runs simulated phishing campaigns to identify potential vulnerabilities followed by tailored training sessions for employees who fall for the test scams.
“When we first started this, 6% of the staff fell for it, but after 2 1/2 years, we’re using more difficult examples and only 2-3% are falling for them,” said Childress.
As the county continues to grow and embrace new technologies, Porter County’s IT team remains focused on its mission to provide a secure, reliable infrastructure to serve Porter County’s residents.
For more information on Porter County’s Information Technology initiatives, visit porterco.org.
