The State of Alabama Office of Information Technology (OIT) was formed in 2013 through the passage of Senate Bill 117 (Act 2013-68). In the same Act, the Legislature also established the position of Secretary of Information Technology – the first time in Alabama’s history that a Cabinet-level position was created specifically for Information Technology.

However, OIT can actually trace its origins as far back as 1973 when the Data Systems Management Division was created within the State of Alabama Department of Finance. The main purpose of this new division was to oversee the purchasing and management of a shared mainframe computer system for the state and its many agencies. This was due to the exorbitant costs associated with acquiring and maintaining mainframe computers of the time.

Several years later in 1990, the Legislature officially established the Telecommunications Division – also within the Department of Finance – to streamline and provide for the State of Alabama’s telecommunications service needs. The Telecommunications Division would eventually merge with the Data Systems Management Division in 1997 to become the Information Service Division (ISD) of the Department of Finance.

At the time of its establishment as a standalone agency in 2013, OIT functioned primarily as the IT planning and policy arm of the state. That changed in 2017 when the Legislature transferred all functions of the Department of Finance’s ISD to OIT. Today’s OIT boasts a workforce of approximately 150 highly skilled IT professionals and proudly serves to meet the ever-growing IT demands of the numerous State of Alabama agencies working to benefit the great citizens of our state.