Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra met with former government CIOs who are members of the Senior Advisors to Government Executives, or SAGE, program at the Partnership for Public Service last week. The former CIOs advised Kundra to hone in on three management issues as he sets out to accomplish his technology agenda: keep focused on the top set of priorities, utilize career federal employees as much as possible, and keep in mind the implementation issues associated with government projects.
Kundra is slated to meet with the CIO-SAGE members again next week to solicit input on a new federal dashboard Web site that will detail active government technology projects.
COMMENTS
Since there is a new and refreshed wind blowing, I do have a suggestion. With due respect to the POV of the Government executives, it will be great if Mr. Kundra can also meet with individuals from the private sector who will certainly bring to the table an ability to think outside the box which will really help with the transformation & reengineering processes in the government.
This is an opportune time for both the government & private sector collaborate and maximize the strengths of the two entities.
The mantra for innovation, modernization, legacy enhancements, in the areas of Information Technology, Cyber Security & Risk Management is: People, Processes, & Technology and not just lip service and colorful glossy powerpoint decks. The people piece is very critical, all the best technology, products & processes will be useless if the people directly connected are not fully equipped & trained. Progress should be measured on a regular basis and performance matrices should be evaluated and provide full transparency at all levels.
Corporate Governance & IT Governance should integrate to ensure end to end stability. continuity & reliability.
These are just some initial thoughts & ideas based on my observations of the vision President Obama has set forth for America's digital innovation & Cyber Security to safe guard America's intellectual assets.
I have been involved in the world of Security & Risk Management since 1999 and I understand extremely well what are the burning issues, that keeps the CEO up at night. I have also seen the disconnects, lip service, meaningless glossy decks, egos, personal agendas, power play, breach of code of conduct, excessive amount of killing the trees, dragging feet for no valid reason, waste of valuable investments, waste of valuable time, investing in products not based on the actual need but based on personal agendas.
By the way these observations are both from the public & private sector.
I know based on the vision of our Commander and Chief, both Mr. Kundra and Mr. Chopra will focus in doing it right the first time rather than doing it over again. IT all over the world does not have the luxury of a blank checks, IT must incorporate and align with the Business objectives and become an earnest enabler rather than a waste engine.
Thank you,
Shama
Shama Hussain 06/22/09 08:44 am ET