COG IT Help Desk Manager Jose Lemus

In March, the COG Board of Directors approved funding for COG to migrate to Microsoft Office 365, which would allow for email to be hosted over the Internet (cloud-based). Tapped to lead the project was Jose Lemus, a 12-year employee of COG.

Lemus got his start at COG working in the Department of Transportation Planning with Commuter Connections’ Guaranteed Ride Home Program before being selected for a position in COG’s IT Department—in a field of great interest to him. 

Over the years, he worked his way up from a beginning Help Desk employee to the IT Help Desk Manager. He enjoys the day to day aspects of the job, like troubleshooting and maintaining the organization’s electronic workflow.

“I enjoy providing support for various software applications, and that it assists other business units," said Lemus. I also like the challenge of implementing new technologies. 

Lemus also likes the long-term projects that come along, like the Office 365 migration. He worked closely with a consultant and his team to ensure that the project was completed on time and within budget.

Prior to the upgrade, if power went out or if the building was shut down for maintenance, COG’s email communication went down, too. Now that email is hosted on the cloud, COG staff can access their messages any time. There’s also cost savings to consider. A cloud-hosted email server means that there are no longer as many physical servers housed in COG’s data center – that’s less equipment to be maintained requiring significantly less energy.

Lemus said he has really developed an appreciation for the role that COG plays in the region, and is proud of the ways that IT contributes.

“My department is able to provide quality service for all COG departments and users, which in turn helps COG staff to better serve our members.”