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October 2007 A Rocky Road in Colorado
Now Locatis has marching orders from the governor to consolidate the currently independent technology operations across about 20 state agencies. Helping lead this effort is newly appointed chief enterprise architect Ron Huston, who also has been running the technology operations for Colorado's human services department -- as in many states, the government's largest technology customer. Tapping a departmental tech honcho to lead this initiative was wise -- especially one who cares deeply about people and good management. That should help elevate the concerns of Huston's fellow agency CIOs and other state employees throughout the process and increase their buy-in. The appointment also should boost the employees' confidence in Locatis' pledge not to allow any existing departmental services to degrade through this process. Compartmentalized technology operations have not been the only problem in Colorado. A review of the recent failures and difficulties also pointed fingers at underfunding, as well as issues with the state's capacity for juggling many major projects simultaneously. But the ability to share resources across departmental lines and better coordinate projects and resources should help address some of those problems too. It also will help eliminate some duplication, such as multiple data centers -- some of which are even in the same buildings. CONTINUED BELOW
Colorado (Continued) The technological, institutional and human difficulties in consolidating will be significant. Locatis and Huston have heard that message, both in conversations with leaders and staff across the departments and from consulting with leaders in other states who have undertaken similarly ambitious changes. One person the pair consulted was Michigan CIO Teri Takai and her staff. Takai is a 2005 Governing Public Official of the Year and a former president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. And at this week's annual NASCIO conference in Tucson, Locatis and Huston were busy reaching out to others. But the toughest challenges may well prove to be rebuilding trust with the public, lawmakers and others who will be watching the consolidation work closely. "We need to earn that trust," Huston said. And on that front, Huston said he is encouraged that some skeptical lawmakers have already expressed confidence in the new direction, noting an "amazing tone difference from a year ago." In the coming months, we'll check back in with Locatis, Huston and other stakeholders in Colorado to see how their work is progressing. While Colorado is by no means the first or only large government at the state and local level to take on this kind of challenge, the lessons the team there have offered to share along the way will be invaluable. We also want to hear from anyone with a stake in how this turns out. Keep us posted at techletter@governing.com. Help Wanted A new survey of state technology workers released at this week's NASCIO conference in Tucson sparked an interesting panel discussion on creative ideas for appealing to potential recruits. (PDF: NASCIO survey) Naomi Wyatt, Pennsylvania's secretary of administration, said survey data her office has collected indicate that government-technology workers in the commonwealth rate job security and stability as more important factors in their job choices than salary -- a clue on how to focus recruiting efforts. Wyatt also said hiring managers in Pennsylvania highlight the commonwealth's generous vacation, holiday and sick-leave policies. Jim Dillon, a former New York state CIO who now works in the private sector, reinforced that idea from the audience: "The best way to catch a state worker is to hide in the bushes and make a noise like a benefit." One of the most surprising strategies mentioned by the panelists came from Missouri CIO Dan Ross, whose staff has established a recruiting office in Second Life -- the game-like virtual world in which users don "avatars" to interact online. Ross said his state would hold a job fair there in the coming weeks. The Second Life recruiting station (located on Eduisland 3 for any of you virtual-world denizens) was the creation of Paul Wright, IT director for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Second Education. "We are here to recruit for IT professionals," Wright's avatar, Jedadiah Juran, told the Second Life news site SLNN.com in a brief interview last month. "We are doing the regular job fairs, etc., but I wanted to venture out. I had been reading about Fortune 100's venturing out here, so I thought; why not give it a try?" P.S.: Why Oh Wi-Fi Deals The District of Columbia Department of Health has awarded a seven-year, $111 million renewal contract to Affiliated Computer Services to continue operating the city's Medicaid Management Information System. Mundelein, Ill., has contracted with VisionAir to for the company's public safety software suite. The new technology will enable a data-sharing partnership with Lake County, which uses the same public-safety system. CivicPlus will design, develop and host the Web sites and provide its content-management system for Billings, Mont., Blue Springs, Mo., Orland Park, Ill., and Pleasant Hill, Calif. Intergraph's integrated security technology will be deployed by the Port of Seattle/Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as part of an upgrade that will include a core emergency response dispatching environment. Coplink crime analysis tools from Knowledge Computing will be used by the Florida Regional Law Enforcement eXchange to organize, consolidate and analyze data over a secure browser-based platform. Nueces County, Texas, will implement Tyler Technologies' Odyssey court case management system under the $12.4 million software license agreement signed last year between the company and the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. Initiate Systems has been selected by North Dakota to implement a new master client index as part of the state's conversion to a new Medicaid management information system. Four states -- Arizona, Louisiana, Oregon and Utah -- are using iLinc Communications' Web-conferencing system. Six Arizona agencies are using the iLinc suite, and other agencies are expected to be added over the next year. The South Florida Water Management District has retained GeoAnalytics to enhance its Integrated Real Estate Information System, which helps the district track and manage its real estate business interests. Parker, Colo., tapped CDW Government to provide a video surveillance security system that spans a newly built 100,000-square-foot recreation center. EDS has been awarded a three-year contract to tax administration and collections functions for the Kentucky Department of Revenue, Finance and Administration Cabinet. The contract is valued at $33.2 million if option years are exercised. More Deals on Governing.com's technology page Interface ... |
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