Tyler Technologies' Corporate Operations Team to Support Cloud Strategy

Plano-based Tyler Technologies, the largest provider of integrated software and tech services to the public sector, has created a Corporate Operations team to align with its mission to help lead clients to a “future in the cloud.”

Based on Tyler’s multi-year cloud strategy, which was formalized in 2019, the team will assist in achieving strategic goals, aligning business priorities, and improving decision-making processes. That means having functions for: cloud strategy and operations, corporate development, information security, and information technology.

It will be led by the newly appointed chief operating officer Jeff Puckett, a 30-year veteran of Tyler who previously served as chief strategy officer, president of the Courts & Justice Division, and in other leadership positions.

“We know that no two clients are exactly alike, and they may have different timelines and paths toward becoming a cloud-optimized organization,” Puckett said in a statement. “We look forward to helping them create their roadmap toward a public cloud infrastructure and helping them realize benefits such as a robust security environment, better communication between offices and departments, and streamlined software delivery.”

Tyler has been offering software as a service to the public sector for more than two decades, and the cloud strategy is an extension of that. It dates back to the company’s strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), its preferred hosting services partner, which was formed around two years ago to accommodate the growing adoption of cloud-hosted solutions in the public sector.

According to Tyler, state, local, and federal government agencies have increasingly begun moving their applications management to a cloud-based environment. The major push comes from the various benefits, such as ensuring business continuity, secure delivery, and up-to-date technology.

Interest has especially heightened amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Tyler says. As organizations look to manage essential services and serve constituents remotely, a cloud-first business model allows for the public sector to deliver better experiences for citizens and use data as a “strategic asset” in the design, management, and delivery of programs.

Take for instance Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), Indiana’s largest school district. IPS went live with Tyler’s Munis cloud-based ERP solution last year to take advantage of virtual processes like paperless processing of accounts payable and payroll. The district is now provided with built-in disaster recovery services and regular software upgrades by migrating to an SaaS model.

Another client of Tyler’s is Bexar County, which is currently in the implementation phase with several modules of its Odyssey court case management solution, the company told us. Bexar County wanted to eliminate infrastructure and related costs, and with the cloud-based platform, it is able to transition from paper case files to paperless ones, saving valuable time spent on handling the files.

Tyler told us its solutions are able to help automate Texas state reporting and integrate with the state’s electronic filing system, Tyler’s eFileTexas solution.

From here, Tyler’s major cloud focus will involve identifying and developing cloud-focused innovation projects, driving cloud adoptions and implementing new clients, facilitating the migration of on-premises clients to the cloud, and creating an AWS migration plan for Tyler-hosted clients.

With the formation of the Corporate Operations team, Tyler has also created a new role focused on leading the company’s cloud transformation, strategy, and operations. As VP of Cloud Strategy and Operations, Russell Gainford will be tasked with finding best practices for cloud development, operations, and deployment.

The team will also facilitate Tyler’s Connected Communities vision, improve its technology infrastructure to be able to scale, and oversee all information security practices.