The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) plays a crucial role in ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across the state. Nevada, a major entertainment and travel hub, experiences significant traffic on its highways, serving both residents and visitors heading to businesses, recreational areas, and iconic landmarks. Beyond maintaining roadways, the Department Of Transportation Nevada is deeply committed to public safety, spearheading initiatives like Zero Fatalities to protect all travelers, especially those unfamiliar with Nevada’s routes.
Operating across 78 facilities, many in rural areas with limited digital infrastructure, NDOT requires a consistently reliable network. This always-on connectivity is vital for disseminating crucial public safety information and coordinating rapid responses. Sherri McGee, Chief of the Information Technology Division at the department of transportation nevada, emphasizes the critical nature of their network: “It’s a huge public safety issue, being able to respond to accidents and traffic congestion, deploy snowplows and road crews, share information on our dynamic message signs, and communicate across the state with our other offices as close as we can get to real time.”
NDOT has long been a Microsoft-centric organization, utilizing the Microsoft 365 suite as a cornerstone of its operational framework. Employees rely on Microsoft Teams and SharePoint for seamless document sharing and real-time communication of essential information. Distinguishing itself from other state agencies, the department of transportation nevada is proactively embracing a cloud-first strategy, with vendor support, aiming to migrate all feasible systems, including data-intensive and administrative functions, to the cloud by 2026. This ambitious goal necessitates a cloud provider known for high availability and user-friendliness, enabling NDOT to reduce on-site datacenter expenses, optimize resource allocation, scale operations efficiently, and pursue growth opportunities, all while upholding stringent security, compliance, and business continuity standards.
“Looking ahead, we considered how to maximize our agility and prepare for emerging technologies,” McGee states. “Azure was the obvious choice for our cloud initiative, given our deep Microsoft integration and their unwavering support.”
Strategic Migration to Azure and Robust IT Asset Protection
Before transitioning to Azure, the department of transportation nevada managed two in-state datacenters, with approximately 90 percent of its environment virtualized on VMware. “We began migrating workloads to Microsoft 365, including SharePoint and Exchange, while assessing the cloud readiness of our internal systems,” McGee explains.
In 2018, NDOT’s IT team commenced building a robust cloud infrastructure foundation on Azure. This included implementing Azure ExpressRoute for dedicated network connectivity, Azure DNS for reliable domain name resolution, and SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines for database management. The inherent reliability and redundancy of these Azure services provided the department of transportation nevada with the confidence to expand its cloud footprint. Microsoft’s Azure training and support services proved invaluable in facilitating implementation and knowledge transfer, ensuring continuous assistance throughout the process. Microsoft’s support was crucial in planning the migration of cloud-ready systems and re-architecting other applications for cloud-native deployment.
A key early migration project was the department’s mission-critical Esri Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. This complex system, the largest mapping infrastructure within NDOT, was successfully migrated in collaboration with Microsoft and ROK Technologies, a Microsoft Gold Partner. Furthermore, the department of transportation nevada transitioned its identity and access management system to Azure Active Directory, now part of Microsoft Entra, enhancing security and streamlining user access. Having achieved significant migration milestones, NDOT is now focusing on migrating its database environment, on-premises virtual machines, and selected VMware services to the Azure cloud.
With an increasing number of critical systems in the cloud, the department of transportation nevada leverages Microsoft’s advanced security and monitoring tools. Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Log Analytics within Azure Monitor are essential for safeguarding data and IT assets. Dave Hamilton, Systems Team Lead at the department of transportation nevada, notes, “We’ve configured all virtual machines to report to a Log Analytics workspace, feeding into our Defender for Cloud environment. This provides a centralized portal for vulnerability identification and security management across all our machines.”
Enhanced Data Protection with Commvault and Azure Integration
The department of transportation nevada, since its inception in 1917, has consistently partnered with external vendors to optimize its digital environment. Recognizing the vast amount of historical and operational data it manages, reliable data backup is paramount. To address this need, NDOT implemented a joint solution from Commvault, a leading data protection company, and Microsoft, leveraging Azure for highly secure and scalable backup storage.
Commvault’s Metallic, a SaaS-based data protection solution, is accessible through the Azure Marketplace and built on the Azure platform. Metallic securely houses petabytes of NDOT’s critical data, including SQL databases, complex CAD and engineering drawings, drone and aerial imagery, and the entire Microsoft 365 environment and Azure Storage accounts. Currently, the department of transportation nevada is concurrently backing up data from GIS machines and virtual machines using both Metallic and Azure Backup for an added layer of redundancy during the transition. “While utilizing Metallic for primary backups, maintaining separate Azure environments ensures failover capabilities if needed,” explains McGee.
Over the past three years, the integrated Microsoft and Commvault Metallic solution has significantly improved NDOT’s data management. Backup operation times have been halved, backup compliance is fully achieved, and infrastructure costs have decreased by 25 percent. IT staff previously burdened with backup management and error resolution can now focus on more strategic and impactful tasks. This joint solution is also a cornerstone of NDOT’s comprehensive Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategy. “As our migration to Azure progresses, our BCDR posture strengthens,” McGee states. “And with Commvault and Microsoft support readily available, we have peace of mind.”
By implementing Metallic, the department of transportation nevada has successfully modernized its infrastructure through secure cloud adoption, enhanced interoperability with other state agencies, and improved public service delivery. Metallic provides the simplicity, security, and cost savings NDOT sought to overcome its IT challenges.
Charting a Future of Innovation and Preparedness
Reflecting on its Azure journey, the department of transportation nevada expresses strong confidence in its robust hybrid cloud platform, capable of adapting to future challenges and opportunities. Whether evaluating new applications or pursuing innovative initiatives like automation, NDOT can drive progress without vendor lock-in or steep learning curves. “The greatest benefit of our Azure deployment is preparedness for whatever comes next,” McGee emphasizes, highlighting the development of an internal data and analytics program powered by Azure resources. “Leveraging Azure data platforms and Microsoft business intelligence tools, we are well-equipped for future success.”
As a state entity, the department of transportation nevada operates on a long budget cycle, requiring technology planning three years in advance. “Large-scale migrations were historically complex and time-consuming. Without foresight, addressing emerging needs could take up to six years,” McGee explains. “Azure has significantly enhanced our agility, providing greater comfort and control in my role.”
Entering a new era, the department of transportation nevada is embracing a forward-thinking approach. “The future, once uncertain, is now clearer with Azure. We have a solid, scalable platform for deployment and strategic planning, eliminating major unknowns,” McGee concludes. “Addressing future challenges is far less daunting than before.”
Learn more about the department of transportation nevada on their official website and connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
