For the last several years, CDT has been making strides in a number of areas — AI policy, Cal-Secure 2.0, streamlined technology procurement, etc. — and now making sure that momentum finds its way into permanent practice is the priority.
“The key message that I came in with was we can't afford to wait,” the CIO told Industry Insider — California. “I think many leaders before me have seen this moment coming, the sort of transformational change that we needed to make at CDT. We have kicked that can about as far as it can be kicked.”
Given was most recently the deputy secretary for technology and innovation at the California Government Operations Agency (GovOps), but before that he worked in the federal space with large agencies, where project money was easy to come by and impact was significant, if not impersonal and obscured by the massive scale.
In state government, he said, the impact is more visible, even if budget is harder to come by, which is where he finds his motivation to refine state processes and service delivery.
Large, monolithic projects have been getting their fair share of criticism lately, and Given said the department and state more broadly need to be looking ahead to how projects are not only executed, but also funded.
“We need to be prepared for IT projects to change in shape over time; this is very much a shift in the balance of our IT project portfolio that I want to push for, and I think will happen almost out of necessity as we look at the state's fiscal situation,” he said.
While he doesn’t think a transportation-esque infrastructure funding model will eliminate the sort of sharp, “big-bang” spending spikes we see now, he said a more holistic approach that balances long-term need with immediate return on investment is essential.
“The key piece is that we need to be able to demonstrate at the end of any given iteration that we have delivered something that, if that's the only thing we deliver, we are content and satisfied, and the taxpayer has gotten something of value,” he explained.
“We need our vendors to be prepared for projects that are coming without guarantees of multiple years of work. How do we deliver value in that context, and how do we approach being more nimble about delivery so that we can get the value,” he added.
One other area of focus for the CIO is helping to shepherd operational balance for departments large and small. While many large departments have shifted away from the state data center to support their business, Given said smaller departments are facing greater challenges, unable to shift to modern alternatives and increasingly unable to afford the cost of using the data center.
“Our largest customers are doing exactly the right thing. They are making the choices that are right for their business and right for the services they provide to Californians,” he said. “We want to support that, but we need to be cognizant of the fact that our smaller departments are going to increasingly be left holding the bag, unless we're able to help them also make those migrations and make those necessary changes.”
Given added that the coming months will include a hard look at CDT’s long-term strategy and the operational impacts any adjustments might have across the state.
“The key piece is that we cannot do that alone, so it really requires the Department of Technology to work in partnership with all these other agencies,” he said.
From his perspective, communication is a critical piece of an IT leader’s job and cannot be limited to technological capabilities. The business side of the house needs to be an active participant in the evolution of state IT.
“In order to really respond to how this is going to have operational impacts at every layer of government, we really need to be bringing in folks who have not historically been a part of that conversation,” he said.
For IT vendors looking to work with the state, expect a double-edged sword. The CIO said the state is doubling down on cooperative contracts to lower prices and help smaller, less-funded departments access the same tools and technology.
As a consolation for throwing around its substantial fiscal weight, Given said the Statewide IT Shared Services model offers vendors a larger pool of willing customers while saving them time that would be wasted negotiating similar contracts on a one-off basis.
“Our bigger departments are excellent at negotiating. Our smaller departments don't get the same deals, and so by negotiating once on behalf of the state, we potentially expand those services to a wider audience,” he said.
