New Mexico’s ERP project is ‘a big deal’ and collaboration made it happen

As New Mexico’s upgrade of its enterprise resource planning platform nears reality, the state’s chief information officer says collaboration and communication have been the keys to the project’s success.

“[The ERP upgrade] is a big deal,” state Chief Information Officer Darryl Ackley says. “Not just technology, but the business process for the entire state. It’s a huge initiative for us, but [we are] 18 months into the making, and it’s coming ahead.”

The project will streamline the state’s oversight and management operations going forward, Ackley told StateScoop in April at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers midyear conference.

But the keys to making progress on projects like the ERP, Ackley says, were collaboration and communication.

“What we’ve seen is building communities of interest in other agencies for the folks who will be using the system — that’s been huge,” Ackley says. “The boundaries are the same as we always face — recalcitrant folks who are not invested here. Those sorts of things — but really through the communication process — mitigated that a lot.”

The state ERP project is not the only effort underway. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez announced Tuesday that the state would opt-in to FirstNet — the nationwide communications network for first responders. In April, Ackley called FirstNet “front and center” for the state when it comes to new and emerging technologies on the horizon. In a release Tuesday, Ackley said his team will do everything they can to help build out the network.

“The DOIT team will keep doing everything we can to support our partners in the law enforcement community,” Ackley said. “[We will] work with our technology partners at FirstNet and AT&T to deploy this system and help them make sure it is completely reliable for our men and women who put their lives on the line for us every single day.”