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.
Prashant Mittal is chief information officer at the California Department of Motor Vehicles, a role he has had since April 2022. A longtime state executive, Mittal was most recently project director for the pension solution project at the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), a position he had for more than three and a half years during eight years at CalSTRS. Mittal joined the state in August 2011 as solution architect/technical lead at California Correctional Health Care Services, the first of several roles in nearly three years at the organization.
Mittal has a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics, mathematics and statistics, and a Master of Computer Applications in computer science and applications. His professional licenses and certifications include Coursera Course certifications in strategy formulation and implementation, both from the Copenhagen Business School, and he is a Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner. In 2018, Mittal won the CalSTRS Virtuoso Award for “consistently modeling one or more of CalSTRS core values and for work that significantly impacts the mission and vision of the organization.”
Industry Insider — California: As CIO 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?
Mittal: As the CIO, my role includes leading the DMV’s Information Service Division (ISD), a team of 650-plus capable and passionate team members, to ensure and sustain the ongoing maintenance and operation of the DMV’s many complex IT solutions; ensure that an innovative idea is effectively transformed and productionized into a practical solution that is maintainable and sustainable by the DMV; and prepare the staff for the next-generation IT platforms and solutions that DMV will be using in decades to come. I strongly believe that innovation and IT have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, however, the pace at which IT organizations adopt and leverage innovations is often influenced by shifting business priorities and operational factors. Innovation can range from incremental, which is a series of small improvements, to transformational, which is a fundamental shift. At the DMV we are certainly on the forefront, leading and embracing these opportunities to transform both business and technology functions. I always encourage my staff to be creative and innovative whenever doing their jobs because being mindful of incremental innovation can lead to more continuous improvements in the DMV’s operation.
IICA: Does your organization have a strategic plan, and may we hyperlink to it? How big a role do you personally play in writing that strategic plan?
Mittal: Yes, the DMV’s strategic plan can be found at: California DMV Strategic Plan: 2021-2026. The strategic plan was written prior to my joining the DMV and is still current, and ISD activities track in lockstep with the overall DMV strategy. I do expect to contribute to developing and/or fine-tuning the next version of the DMV’s strategic plan.
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?
Mittal: In recent years, the DMV has embraced innovation and transformation opportunities to deliver enhanced, faster, and increasingly reliable services to our stakeholders across omni-channels that we continue to grow and mature. Enablement of those innovative and transformative efforts requires applying the same to our back-office organization including both business and technology functions. Several large and small initiatives are in play and more will be, however, it’s a journey of continuous improvement across all of what we do. The DMV has hosted vendor day events to draw interest from the vendor partners on the topics of interest and to seek innovative ideas from the vendors. To ensure the fairness of the DMV’s procurement opportunities, I highly encourage all vendor partners to keep a close eye on the RFPs/RFOs that the DMV continues to publish.
IICA: When presenting his proposed budget in January, Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated the state is on the cusp of enabling residents to have their driver’s license in a digital wallet. What should gov tech observers and vendors watch for this year in the area of digital ID?
Mittal: The Mobile Driver’s License Pilot is currently in the initial phase of product development and testing. It’s a unique initiative that is aimed to make another leap in the digital experience for all Californians in the near future. Like anyone else, I am also excited about the benefits and convenience that the Mobile Driver’s License can ultimately provide to all of us once the use cases for the digital license and identification card grow.
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?
Mittal: Let me answer the last part of this first. In my 25-plus years in technology and the business world, I have come to learn and accept that we are never done. The continuous evolution of the customer experience and product quality expectations drives what we do on a daily basis. The concept of continuous improvement is embedded in our daily lives. For us at the DMV, digital transformation is about transforming how we deliver value and improved services to our citizens, business partners and employees. Also, digital transformation is not just about transforming technology, but also about transforming business, processes and practices we use to deliver those values and services. So, how far along are we on this endless journey? We are clearly moving forward and in the right direction!
IICA: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Mittal: ISD has approximately 650 positions. The IT budget, which includes the modernization activities, exceeds $300 million. The overall DMV budget is approximately $1.4 billion.
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?
Mittal: Interested vendor partners can learn more about the DMV on our website: California DMV. They can also review the California DMV Strategic Plan that we talked about earlier. I can be contacted by email; however, I encourage proper research on partnership opportunities and being specific in how a vendor can help the DMV. Also, sending multiple emails on the same topic doesn’t help. Given the sheer volume of emails that I receive daily, I may not be able to respond to all such emails in a timely manner, however, it provides me with a way to make future contact as necessary and appropriate.
IICA: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Mittal: Most of all, I feel very fortunate and proud to be a member of the DMV organization and contributing to the transformational efforts that are being undertaken by the DMV. When I first joined the DMV about one year ago, it was great to be surrounded by very capable IT team members, their professionalism, knowledge and above all, their passion to take the organization to the next level. Together, we’ve worked hard to overcome many challenges, stabilize critical IT systems, as well as productionizing newly implemented IT systems. I am also proud to be participating and contributing to the largest transformational effort, the DMV’s Digital eXperience Platform or DxP, which will transform three key areas: Occupational License, Vehicle Registration, and Driver’s License & ID Cards. Occupational License modernization was implemented toward the end of 2022 and is currently in production support mode. The other two remaining phases are on their way. With our great group of dedicated and talented DMV team members and capable vendor partners, I am confident that we will continue to make great strides.
IICA: What has surprised you most in government technology during the past 12 months?
Mittal: Some of the exciting and the best parts of my one year of observation at the DMV are the pace of innovation and transformation; getting comfortable in breaking the conventional barriers; and most important, a workforce that is passionate and very motivated for redefining the future.
IICA: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Mittal: I attend relevant technology conferences/events and subscribe to several newsletters and publications such as Industry Insider to stay abreast of IT trends and emerging technologies.
IICA: What are your hobbies and what do you enjoy reading?
Mittal: I enjoy gardening and spending time with my family and friends. I also have an electric bicycle that is a lot of fun since COVID-19 days.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
DMV Tech Chief: Workforce ‘Passionate and Very Motivated’ to Redefine Future
