The Government of the State of Jalisco’s IT environment was dependent on outdated, expensive, and risk-prone proprietary software. To modernize the delivery of public services for its citizens, the state needed to standardize on a reliable infrastructure. “Citizens demand more and better services, much faster,” said Jose Alfonso Fonseca Garcia, managing director, innovation and digital government, Government of the State of Jalisco. “Our actions must be citizen-centric. We want to create a modern government, closer to the people, to help them better manage their lives. But like all governments, we have a tight budget.”

To avoid the inflexibility and high costs of proprietary solutions, the state chose open source solutions to support its modernization. “We’re in an age of collaboration and co-creation,” said Fonseca Garcia. “To be an innovator, we need direct access to the technology. With proprietary solutions, we felt we were excluded.” The state worked with Red Hat Consulting to find and implement the right technology, including virtualization, middleware, integration, and management solutions. “With Red Hat, we saw a spirit of collaboration, backed up by high-quality information and the means to try out new products,” said Fonseca Garcia.

The state government’s new solution enables faster, more accessible public-facing services, including online payment of taxes, traffic fines, and vehicle licensing fees. By digitizing 60% of its services, the state can more effectively collect taxes, leading to a significant boost in revenue. Also, the government can now scale resources to meet citizens’ needs during times of peak demand, like tax season. Through more efficient resource use, the state has reduced infrastructure costs by 60% and hardware costs by 100%. “Citizens feel we are doing a better job as a provider of public services, and as a result they have more confidence in their government,” said Fonseca Garcia. “They are proud to be part of Jalisco.”