How The City of Seguin is Pioneering Adaptation and Growth in the Digital Era Part 1
Published: July 20, 2023
The City of Seguin in Texas is known for its unique blend of old-school charm and innovative spirit. Embracing new technologies and advancements, Seguin has successfully merged the traditional with the modern. This forward-thinking approach has not gone unnoticed, as the community has received several awards for its outstanding achievements, most recently the CSO 50 award.
Discover how the City of Seguin became the only state or local government IT department to earn the esteemed CSO 50 award and what it means to their community.
With a commitment to transparency, the City of Seguin takes pride in keeping its residents well-informed and involved in the decision-making process. The city has experienced rapid growth, leading to the development of a robust IT team to address the increasing demands. With a surge in residential permits, a thriving retail sector and a strong manufacturing culture, Seguin relies on technology to support and sustain this flourishing community.
Creating a Technology Vision in the City of Seguin
When Shane McDaniel joined the City of Seguin IT department in 2018, he quickly realized the pressing need for modernization. Inheriting a flat network was a surprise, along with the other legacy technology that needed to be updated. To address the need for modernization, Shane and his team embarked on a major initiative to rebuild the network and connect the city’s 30 facilities and 500+ employees across all different departments the local government’s IT team covers.
Hear how the City of Seguin built out their vision yet remained adaptable to the constantly changing world of technology along their digital transformation journey.
After researching and checking out the Gartner Magic Quadrant, Shane quickly identified the companies he wanted to discuss his modernization project. Ultimately, he decided to partner with Extreme due to the reliability of not just our solutions but also our team. The City of Seguin formed a relationship with Extreme Networks as a valuable partner they could trust in their digital transformation journey.
Learn how the City of Seguin transformed their legacy network into a state-of-the-art, reliable infrastructure that fosters seamless connection throughout their community.
As the City of Seguin embarked on their digital transformation, the dedication and expertise of their staff and trusted partners played a pivotal role in ensuring its success. The migration went seamlessly, and their network has been running efficiently since.
I’m so proud because that day that we migrated, it went about as well as it possibly could have. There is no way that would have been possible without the outstanding staff I have and the incredible partners like Phil (Senior Account Executive at Extreme Networks) that I can trust.
Managing a Modern Network with Extreme
After setting up their modern network infrastructure, the City of Seguin faced the challenge of managing it efficiently with limited staff and resources. They needed a user-friendly management tool for clear visibility into network operations. Implementing ExtremeCloud IQ, a single pane of glass solution, proved crucial. Despite handling various departments, facilities, help desk requests and projects, Seguin's IT team effectively managed their environment, leveraging ExtremeCloud IQ to optimize their talented staff's capabilities and navigate competing demands.
Learn how the City of Seguin streamlined their IT workload by implementing a cloud management solution for their network.
Addressing Workforce Challenges
The City of Seguin has overcome challenges and made significant improvements to its IT infrastructure and digital initiatives, despite limited resources and workforce constraints commonly faced by local governments. With the responsibility of supporting numerous buildings, data centers, city employees and citizens, the city has successfully executed technology projects and provided valuable support to the community.
Securing support and funding for IT projects has been a smooth process for the City of Seguin. Shane explained that he leverages data from his Extreme solutions to demonstrate the necessity of purchases. This allows him to gain leadership approval and allocate funds towards projects to enhance their community.
I can’t just say I need these things. I’m taking the data from the Extreme toolset to create key performance indicators and a dashboard for city managers. This helps them understand why we need certain solutions.
Discover firsthand how the City of Seguin tackles workforce challenges and budget constraints.
Going Beyond the Transaction & Cultivating a Lasting Partnership
In the City of Seguin, implementing a new network was a technical milestone and a catalyst for a strong and lasting partnership with Extreme. Unlike other vendors who focus solely on making a sale and moving on, Extreme demonstrated a genuine commitment to support and collaborate with the city. This relationship allowed for the expansion of technology capabilities, driven by the resilient and reliable network infrastructure that was put in place.
Hear from CIO Shane McDaniel why he feels the growth of his relationship with Extreme was essential to his community’s successful digital transformation project.
Communication is Key to Digital Transformation Success
When it comes to digital transformation, one of the keys to success is strong communication with stakeholders in your project. IT teams must be genuine and authentic in establishing connections and working with members of their community to ensure that they are doing everything possible to improve the city.
Building genuine relationships, owning accountability and effective communication is key to success in any community. The open and authentic approach practiced in Seguin has contributed to their achievements and ongoing success.
Hear how the City of Seguin IT department has fostered a transparent and authentic relationship with their community.
Advice From a Local Government CIO
By embracing adaptability, the City of Seguin remains agile in responding to the dynamic nature of the IT landscape. This mindset enables them to identify and implement innovative solutions that address challenges and capitalize on opportunities. They prioritize staying informed about industry advancements, engaging in ongoing learning and professional development and fostering partnerships with technology providers to access cutting-edge tools and expertise.
Hear from CIO Shane McDaniel on the importance of embracing change in the technology industry.