Department of Management Services Drives Innovation in Cybersecurity, Workforce Support, and Taxpayer Savings in 2024

Department of Management Services Drives Innovation in Cybersecurity, Workforce Support, and Taxpayer Savings in 2024

TALLAHASSEE, FL. - Today, the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) highlights its 2024 achievements, underscoring Governor Ron DeSantis' commitment to delivering taxpayer savings, strengthening cybersecurity, and improving services for Floridians.

"These achievements demonstrate the incredible strides we can make when bold leadership meets innovative thinking," said DMS Secretary Pedro Allende. "Through Governor DeSantis' vision, team DMS has leveraged technology and partnerships to strengthen the State's infrastructure, safeguard digital assets, and elevate service delivery for Floridians."

Assisting Disaster Response & Recovery

• The Division of Telecommunications added Starlink Satellite services to SUNCOM's catalog, providing reliable connections in areas affected by disasters.
• The Division of State Human Resource Management built a centralized hub to distribute critical workforce-related information and resources to agencies regarding disaster planning and response.
• The Division of Real Estate Development and Management broke ground and made significant progress with the new State Emergency Operations Center, a state-of-the-art facility designed specifically to bolster the state's prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. The 209,000-square-foot building will be constructed to withstand windspeeds of up to 200 mph and will accommodate all 28 Emergency Support Functions partners.
• The divisions of State Purchasing and Specialized Services procured and managed a combined 301 missions for security, cleaning, and commodities with expenditures totaling $20.5 million.

Serving State and Local Partners, Supporting Florida's Workforce

• Following the June enactment of HB 5101, the divisions of State Group Insurance and People First worked closely with staff from 28 colleges to smoothly transition the Florida College System (FCS) to the state group health insurance program. Over 20,000 eligible FCS employees enrolled in benefits during Open Enrollment.
• The Division of State Human Resource Management developed an in-house software tool to streamline reclassification and reorganization requests within the State Personnel System. The new process has reduced processing times by 73%.
• After successfully and simultaneously re-procuring the health and pharmacy contracts in late 2023, the Division of State Group Insurance successfully implemented all contracts for Health Maintenance Organization, Preferred Provider Organization, and Pharmacy Benefit Manager services, which covers over 350,000 lives.
• The Division of Telecommunications submitted 42 applications on behalf of 34 customers requesting $9.2 million in E-rate funding for schools and libraries in fiscal year 2024-2025. During fiscal year 2023-2024, the division reimbursed $862,013 in E-rate funding to fiscally constrained counties.

Delivering Taxpayer Savings

• Purchasing solutions for the Local Government Cybersecurity Grant Program at scale generated millions in savings compared to market prices.
• The Florida Digital Service led a group of 26 agencies in a cybersecurity logging initiative that realized 44% cost avoidance through at-scale purchasing.
• Energy conservation efforts saved 37 million gallons of water, 820,000 cubic feet of gas, and 12,000 kilowatt-hours with a realized utility savings of $307,000.00.
• Enterprise agreements negotiated by the Division of State Purchasing provided State agencies an average cost savings of 50% for commodities and contractual services vs. market retail rates.
• Acting as a conduit between non-profits, veteran-owned businesses, and law enforcement and State and Federal government, the State Agency for Surplus Property and the Law Enforcement Support Office donated nearly 5,000 items totaling over $75 million in cost avoidance.
• Fleet Management auctions returned over $3.3 million to state agencies.
• The Division of Retirement conducted a proactive data cleanup reviewing over 500,000 non-retired member records. The review identified 39,582 verifiable deceased members. A separate review of approximately 35,000 retired members identified and prevented benefit overpayments to approximately 1,500 deceased members.

Protecting Floridians and Their Data

• The Florida Digital Service facilitated the second year of the Local Government Cybersecurity Grant Program, procuring $23 million in licenses and executing 173 grant agreements to equip local governments with critical security solutions.
• Twelve agencies joined data cataloging efforts, and 33 agencies have engaged the Enterprise Data Committee to further data interoperability.
• The Florida Digital Service published the prohibited applications list to protect Florida government from applications of concern that could be used to steal state information, eavesdrop, and collect data on Floridians and State Government.
• Mission partners including the Department of State, Law Enforcement, the Division of Emergency Management, and the Florida Digital Service collaborated to ensure a secure election by leveraging expertise to gather actionable intelligence and provide detailed threat and intelligence products to state, local, and federal partners.

Building a Competitive Marketplace

• MyFloridaMarketPlace, the state's eprocurement system, processed 141,612 purchase orders for a total spend of $5.9 billion.
• Contract Management met with more than 317 contractors increasing the total number of enterprise contracts to 858.
• DMS trainings enabled over 1,200 Contract Managers and Contract Negotiators to receive their certifications and manage procurements.

Optimizing State Assets

• Throughout 2024, REDM continued to make substantial progress with the Capitol Complex Improvement Project.
  • Window Replacement - All windows on the House and Senate chambers as well as the House Office Building have been replaced with modern windows that offer greater protection from the elements, climate control, and energy efficiency. Work on the Capitol Tower will resume immediately following the 2025 Legislative Session.
  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) - The HVAC replacement was completed, providing improved temperature control, filtration, and efficiency across the entire Capitol Tower.
  • East Entry Security Vestibule - REDM began building the new East Entry Security Vestibule, which will provide additional queuing space for visitors and enhanced officer safety when it opens prior to the 2025 Legislative Session.

About DMS

The Department of Management Services (DMS) is the primary business, workforce, and technology services provider to Florida Government. DMS is proud to serve those that serve Florida, working every day to create efficiencies, value, and sustainable cost savings for Florida taxpayers. DMS staff takes pride in providing excellent customer service and supporting agency priorities through innovation and technology. For more information about the Florida Department of Management Services, visit https://www.dms.myflorida.com.

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