Hieu Truong, who joined the California Office of Tax Appeals earlier this year, is the new CIO of a relatively new agency. Truong has more than 15 years of work in IT at the state and his first day at OTA was July 1. OTA began in January 2018 after having been created by the Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017. Per its website, the office’s mission is to “provide a fair, objective and timely process for appeals from California taxpayers.”
Techwire: As CIO of your organization, how do you describe your role; and how have the role and responsibilities of the CIO changed in recent years?
Truong: Information technology is an ever-changing field and is a critical component to an organization’s overall operations. As OTA’s new CIO, I am working closely with the Executive Management Team and program staff to help bring technology innovations and best practices to the organization, to meet our missions and critical business needs. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, I am also working diligently to ensure our IT infrastructure and equipment supports the teleworking needs of staff.
Techwire: How big a role do you personally play in writing your organization’s strategic plan?
Truong: OTA’s strategic plan was developed prior to me joining the team. However, I am partnering with the Executive Management Team to bring technology solutions to OTA that work in concert with overall goals for the organization.
Techwire: What big initiatives or projects are coming in 2021? What sorts of RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Truong: The Office of Tax Appeals is a new agency, commencing business in January 2018. We have multiple projects in the works to help with automation. One particular project coming up is the redesign of our Internet. This redesign will include the option for taxpayers to file their tax appeals online.
Techwire: How do you define “digital transformation,” and how far along is your organization in that process? How will you know when it's finished?
Truong: Digital transformation is the prospect of simplifying rudimentary processes through technology and automation. I think every organization wants to have the best technology with the most value to help propel its mission and business needs. Technology often moves at a fast pace; one technology may be here at the moment and obsolete, gone, the next. As a practitioner of the Kaizen philosophy, I believe no one process is ever complete. I often find myself continuously thinking of new ideas and finding the best ways to do things using technology.
Techwire: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
Truong: OTA’s overall budget is $23.8 million. Of that budget, $1.6 million is tied to information technology. OTA is allocated 102 positions and we have six team members in IT dedicated to supporting the organization. This team consists of one IT specialist II, two IT specialist Is, two IT associates, and myself.
Techwire: 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?
Truong: The best method of communication for that purpose is via email. Best to know what the missions and business needs are and if their technology can provide the most value for our organization.
Techwire: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Truong: I’ve only been at OTA for three months now. Several new projects and initiatives are coming our way that I am excited to lead during my service here at OTA. We recently were successful at rolling out a new VoIP phone system to the Sacramento HQ site and will be deploying the system in our Cerritos office later this month.
Techwire: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?
Truong: I’d try to find a way to make the process more efficient, less cumbersome.
Techwire: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Truong: I try to stay abreast by reading technology articles from Gartner and Forrester for the latest technology trends and best practices analyses.
Techwire: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Truong: I enjoy outdoor adventures, including mountain biking, wilderness hiking, and real camping. I enjoy reading a variety of subjects, including AI, robotics, flying vehicles, science, politics, social studies, planetary evolution, and history.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
