As part of Industry Insider — California’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT leaders.
Jack Ciulla is chief technology innovations officer at the city of Santa Ana, a role he has had since February 2016. Ciulla was previously business information services bureau manager in the Technology and Innovation Department at the city of Long Beach from February 2007 to January 2016; before that, he was most recently interim assistant director of applications at the Los Angeles County Office of Education during nearly four years with that office.
Ciulla has a bachelor’s of science degree in business with studies in financial administration and investments from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Industry Insider — California: As chief technology innovations officer at your organization, how do you describe your role? How have your role and responsibilities changed in recent years in terms of their intersection with IT and innovation?
Ciulla: As the leader of IT for the city of Santa Ana, I set the strategic direction for all IT department-driven initiatives, such as IT infrastructure upgrades, cybersecurity projects, etc. However, I also serve as the trusted adviser to other department heads who are evaluating or requesting technology initiatives for their departments. In recent years, my role has changed greatly, as there are now many cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that departments can easily implement without involvement from IT staff. It’s important for our IT staff to still work with these departments, however, to vet these solutions from an IT and holistic, citywide perspective. For example, while each department could implement any application they like, we would want to review and weigh in on the solutions they’re considering to prevent duplication and redundancy.
IICA: Does your organization have a strategic plan? How big a role do you personally play in writing that strategic plan?
Ciulla: Our IT department is currently in the process of updating our strategic plan. However, we do list current initiatives and projects on our department’s page of the city’s website. It’s my responsibility to work with city management to assess, prioritize and schedule technology projects for the entire city, taking into account the fiscal and staffing constraints we have. I’m developing and revising the plan with input from all department directors and the city manager.
IICA: What big initiatives or projects are coming up? What sorts of developing opportunities and RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Ciulla: IT projects that the city is starting in 2023 and will be issuing RFPs or bids for include upgrading the city’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the implementation of a Wi-Fi network in the downtown district and the upgrade of the city facilities’ wireless equipment.
IICA: In your opinion, what should local government be doing more of in technology?
Ciulla: I’d really like government IT to be able to be more agile and act more quickly to provide the right solutions and services for our customers. Unfortunately, traditional government procurement and hiring policies and procedures are often inefficient and time-consuming, inhibiting us from moving as quickly as we’d like.
IICA: How do you define “digital transformation”? How far along is your organization in that process, and how will you know when it’s finished?
Ciulla: To me, digital transformation involves utilizing technology to improve the efficiency of business processes. Really, organizations have been doing this for decades, but the newer technologies and the higher adoption of Internet usage has greatly expanded what can be done. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the implementations of digital transformation projects that allow transactions to be performed entirely online, eliminating any need to be in person or have any physical documentation. The city has made some progress toward digital transformation, but we still have a ways to go. Governments still have the requirement to accommodate constituents who don’t have the technical means to go online, while at the same time, we need to streamline processes for those that do. In addition, completely overhauling the thousands of processes used by our various city departments and the hundreds of systems utilized in these processes is a massive effort that will take time to accomplish. I actually don’t think a digital transformation is something that can ever be finished, since technologies will continue to evolve and there will always be new opportunities for improvement.
IICA: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Ciulla: The IT department for the city of Santa Ana has an annual operating budget of approximately $10 million and, in fiscal year 2023, a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget of approximately $6 million. The city’s overall budget for FY 2023 is $760 million.
IICA: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn? How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?
Ciulla: When we have specific needs, we prefer to directly reach out to vendors; we don’t accept unsolicited sales calls. We do provide a form on our department webpage for vendors to add themselves to our IT Vendor Contact Database so that we have their information available when we need to contact them about a current need. Any vendor can upload information about their products or services for our reference.
IICA: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Ciulla: I’m most proud of the customer-centric team that I’ve built here at the city. Our IT department is truly an extension of every other department, and we have a close working relationship with every one of them. As for projects, we’ve completed so many in an effort to modernize our applications and infrastructure and to transform paper processes to digital that it would be too difficult to pick one.
IICA: What has surprised you most this year in government technology?
Ciulla: Probably the explosion in the number of vendors with potential solutions and services. With so many options available, project prioritization has become critical.
IICA: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Ciulla: With so much rapid change occurring in tech trends and new vendors, it’s very difficult for anyone to stay abreast of everything that’s developing. However, I try my best by relying a lot on technology publication emails, IT networking organizations, information shared to me by vendors and by networking with other IT professionals.
IICA: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Ciulla: My hobbies include following the stock market, wine tasting, and binging TV. I enjoy reading spy/espionage, mystery and financial management books.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
Chief Technology Innovations Officer: City IT Is ‘An Extension of Every Other Department’
