The California Department of Technology has entered into a $10.5 million data service contract with the city of Los Angeles.

As part of the three year contract, the city of Los Angeles will migrate its data 635km north from its 30 year old mainframe to the CDT’s data center in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento.

From LA to Sacramento

Speaking to Techwire, Ted Ross, general manager of the city’s Information Technology Agency, said: “The move to migrate away from our 30 year old legacy system to the state’s secure, cloud-based environment will greatly improve our ability to serve and protect the people of Los Angeles.”

In a statement, the city of Los Angeles said it was having trouble finding “people to fill the jobs of the city’s rapidly retiring experienced mainframe staff," and cited the large "expense of replacing aging equipment.”

Moving into CDT’s facilities will provide 24/7 staffing, hardware support, security and disaster recovery services, the move will also not require any new staff at the CDT’s facility and could potentially save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The CDT’s data centers are designed to Uptime Tier III equivalent standard and offer 99.982 percent uptime across a 42,000 square feet facility.

Amy Tong, CIO for the state said: “We are pleased to launch this important partnership with the largest city in the state. CDT will help the city of LA provide more effective and efficient government services to citizens.”

The deal, which was announced on Monday, is the culmination of years of collaboration between the city and the state's IT departments.

California’s deputy CIO, Chris Cruz, described the process of working with Ross's agency as “a phenomenal experience.”

“We’ve been working with the city of Los Angeles for a few years to realize this day.”