Case Study - City of Albuquerque
Big shadow IT problems presented by government employees.
About - City of Albuquerque
The City of Albuquerque lies at the center of the New Mexico Technology Corridor. The 32nd largest city in the U.S., it encompasses over half a million residents and geographically spans 189.5 square miles. Albuquerque's city government is comprised of 26 departments and agencies that provide a full range of services to the community. In the fall, the city hosts the largest hot air balloon festival in the world, the International Balloon Fiesta. See more at City of Albuquerque.
The Challenges
The City of Albuquerque faced a similar challenge that every city, county or state government encounters relating to managing files. Employees struggled with exchanging content with external vendors, partners, residents, and even between departments. The struggle pitted employees against the IT department as they searched for the perfect balance between access and security. IT had created an SFTP server to collect and send secure information, but the limited functionality led employees to seek out alternatives. IT suspected that unsanctioned tools were being used outside of their supervision, and a subsequent investigation further validated their suspicions. Despite only having approximately 250 employees, IT confirmed over 500 active accounts were connecting to DropBox from their IP address.
The Solution
IT knew their hands were tied. They could not shut down the use of an unsanctioned tool without offering a viable alternative. The Planning Department still needed to share files with architects and builders. The Legal Department still needed to be able to transmit and receive files from attorneys and other agencies. Those needs and many others among the different departments were not going to go away. IT needed a solution that could provide the right combination of ease and intuitiveness with security and auditability. After searching for the right alternative, the City of Albuquerque landed on SmartFile's FileHub, and subsequently blocked DropBox from their network. The end result was a fully branded solution that offered users simplicity, while garnering IT the control they desperately sought.
Company Profile
Name: City of Albuquerque
Website: https://www.cabq.gov/
Industry: Government