Delaware is consolidating a number of technology resources into a managed services environment to connect school districts and state offices and provide a variety of new applications. Verizon (NYSE: VZ), which will be the managed services provider, and Delaware championed the development while at the mid-year conference of the National Association of State CIOs in Washington, D.C., May 5.

The move to managed services creates a backdrop for the state to adopt new applications in support of such goals as data center consolidation, business continuity and telecommuting, said Jim Sills, secretary and CIO of Delaware's Department of Technology and Information.

"Verizon's network solution serves as a foundation that plays a role in everything we do--from deploying new applications to launching new programs," Sills said. "The way we conduct business in state government is evolving and the network infrastructure is vital."

Delaware expects to decrease the number of data centers used by agencies as it upgrades its infrastructure, and consequently lower energy use and costs.

To expand its Ethernet network in terms of reach and functions, Delaware will use Verizon IP trunking across a private IP service, according to Verizon. 

"As we see governments nationwide evolving beyond the traditional four walls of a Capitol office to become more virtual, Delaware is a great example of a state building a strong network foundation to support improved services for its end users--consumers and businesses," said Bette DeRogatis, area vice president at Verizon.

For more:
- see this Verizon press release

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