Building on the business requirements that were developed by the Service Center Business Process Reengineering Projects, ongoing partner agency modernization efforts, convergence of the administrative functions of the partner agencies, and current agency business, the CCE project has looked at a wide range of technical solutions.

The alternatives have been reduced to three primary solutions for serving business applications of the Service Centers:

• Windows NT servers at each Service Center,
• UNIX servers at state offices, and
• AS/400 servers at state offices.

Each of these solutions is built on a basic infrastructure that includes network servers at each Service Center, desktop and portable workstations, peripherals and other related equipment, and modern commercial software that will provide basic automation capabilities to field staffs. This will furnish the primary tools for connecting and sharing information about customers and programs and implementing reengineered business applications to enable the Service Center of the future.

Additionally, the CCE includes public access servers to provide general information on USDA services to customers and GIS data servers at state offices to make spatial information available to Service Center staff. The technology has been structured to provide flexibility to adapt to changes in both the IT field and the business requirements of the partner agencies. This is necessary because information technologies are changing at an ever-faster pace and the business of the partner agencies also changes frequently with new legislation.

A Capital Investment Proposal based on the Business Process Reengineering Business Case and the CCE Technical Evaluation was prepared for implementing the CCE. Although the full CCE funding request is not yet approved, funding has been identified for an initial investment using Fiscal Year 1998 and 1999 funds from the three Service Center agencies, augmented by new funding proposed by OMB.

An investment strategy for using these funds has been developed and is being finalized. The strategy calls for the installation of network servers at all Service Centers to provide basic connectivity, acquisition of an initial complement of desktop and laptop systems (including office automation and related personal productivity software), and peripheral equipment (including printers). The desktop and laptop systems will be acquired to also replace existing computers that will not operate after the change in date in the Year 2000. Support for administrative applications that are key to the Administrative Convergence process will also be part of this investment. Finally, if sufficient funding remains, servers to provide public access to USDA program and natural resource information will be acquired.

Evaluations of the specific solutions for the CCE are planned to continue for the remainder of Fiscal Year 1998. Piloting of both business applications and the technical components will occur at nine Service Center pilot sites that are being established across the country. An Integration Center has been created in the Washington, DC metropolitan area to bring together the IT projects and Business Process Reengineering activities. Technical solutions and business applications will first be tested at the Integration Center before being deployed in the pilot sites.

The existing partner agencies' legacy computer systems will need to be supported until the full implementation of the CCE and migration of business applications to the new environment is completed. As CCE components and reengineered applications are implemented, reliance on the legacy systems will decrease. Current plans are for the CCE deployment to occur over three phases, with completion at the end of Fiscal Year 2001. All of the partner agencies' business applications will be reengineered by the end of Fiscal Year 2002, when support for the legacy systems will be discontinued.