OSDS Services

The Office of Systems Development and Support is the central organization for development, acquisition, administration and maintenance of IT hardware and software for Office of the Secretary (OS) desktop and network systems, including electronic mail (e-mail). Oversight is provided by the Office in coordination with other Departmental offices, as appropriate. The Office is responsible for:

• leading the improvement of OS operations and service delivery using IT systems, promoting the effective use of IT to accomplish the OS mission. Services provided to OS and designated operating units include help desk service and technical support. The Office shall provide direct support to the Deputy CIO for the management of IT within OS.

• developing, coordinating and implementing policies and programs for the effective management, planning, use, security and evaluation of the OS computer resources.

The Office is also responsible for, in coordination with other affected operating units, providing analysis, design, development and support for selected Department automated systems, including Web-based systems, directories, and Intranet capabilities, provide business process analysis; provide software design, development, and technical services; and provide Department-wide coordination and technical support for customers in the development and operation of automated administrative systems.

The Office is organized into two teams, Systems Development and Systems Support. Broadly stated, the mission of the Systems Support Team is to plan, acquire, implement and manage a coordinated array of contemporary information technologies; and train, guide and assist users to make cost-effective and efficient use of these. The primary goals of the Team are to streamline the Department's administrative and management processes, increase the productivity of organizational and individual employees, and provide an Office of the Secretary focus for computer support. The Team is responsible for formulating and implementing OS-wide email and IT resource use policy and to carry out a number of important OS-wide network and micro computer-based initiatives. A corollary goal is to foster and enhance "computer literacy" throughout the Office of the Secretary and other designated offices.

The Systems Development staff is responsible for guiding and assisting users throughout the Office of the Secretary and other designated users to make truly effective use of the growing number of information technologies and productivity tools available to them. To meet these responsibilities the staff analyzes and documents requirements for both Department-wide and office of the Secretary-wide systems; coordinates and/or accomplishes the design, development/customization, implementation, user training and maintenance of these systems; analyzes and documents requirements for special purpose applications, and then designs, develops, implements and maintains these applications; plans and undertakes priority special projects; and provides critical support in meeting OSDS's mandated responsibility for overseeing the automated portions of all Commerce administrative and management systems.

The Systems Support staff is responsible for planning, acquiring, implementing, and managing selected information technologies; administering the increasingly pervasive and sophisticated Windows operating system (operational throughout the Office of the Secretary) and assuring IT security throughout the Office of the Secretary systems. To meet these responsibilities the staff analyzes information technology needs throughout the Department and O/S; identifies and documents requirements for acquiring hardware, peripheral equipment, and support software; supports the acquisition process; plans and coordinates installation and user training; administers, manages and operates the Windows operating system, Lotus email, and Blackberry services. Ensures that IT security is embedded in all systems and ensures that Security Plans and vulnerability assessments are performed and implemented.

The Office of Systems Development and Support provides help desk support services through a contractor-operated IT Customer Service Center (intranet).