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At an Industry Insider — California Member Briefing this week, CIO Ajit Girn and his team from the Employment Development Department told a roomful of vendors about the progress it's made in the five years since the pandemic struck — and what it needs going forward.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget includes $322 billion in spending, including several large technology projects and the creation of new agencies to address homelessness and consumer protection.
One year earlier, in the fourth quarter of 2023, CHP’s five largest buys of IT goods totaled $22.4 million. The agency’s five largest purchases of IT goods in 2024 totaled $33.2 million.
Municipalities in California and around the nation are carefully using artificial intelligence to improve access to documents and public meeting materials, leaders said during the recent GovAI Coalition Summit.
The California Department of Transportation spent $12.1 million on its five largest buys of IT goods in 2024. During the same period, its five largest purchases of IT services totaled just under $23 million.
A spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Health Services Department said the local contract resulted from a “competitive process” through the National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance, a government purchasing cooperative.
Watch Duty, which counted 7.2 million yearly active users at the end of 2024, has already added 600,000 new users since the fires began in Los Angeles County, according to CEO John Mills.
The governor drew a parallel between the nascent federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the state’s Office of Digital Innovation: “Our DOGE is spelled ODI,” he said, referring to the arm of the Government Operations Agency that serves as the tip of the spear in California’s technological evolution.
The positions are in the Office of Digital Services, which provides GIS/open data, web portals, software engineering and open-source code curation for organizations to provide innovative digital services
California cities will receive significant funding for EV chargers in underserved areas, including $15 million for 300 ports in San Francisco and $14.35 million for 44 sites in Santa Cruz. San Jose will also get $12 million to install 237 chargers at public facilities across Santa Clara County.
Recruitments in information security and data engineering are being conducted by the Office of Tax Appeals, the California Lottery, the Department of Finance, California Correctional Health Care Services and the Employment Development Department.
These funds can be key to breaking the innovation stalemate. In California, funding nimble, high-impact solutions can help replace inertia with action, helping agencies modernize IT systems and deliver better services for the public.
Four of the quarter’s biggest purchases for the Department of Motor Vehicles were software and support, and one was for notebook computers. For all of 2024, the department’s five largest buys totaled $24.7 million.
The board is seeking for a new IT leader after its previous CIO, Jefferson Willoughby, moved on to another state job.
“We’re definitely behind on some technology,” one official said after the New Year’s Eve crash. “It is an antiquated system and we have recognized that for some time.”
Subbarao Mupparaju, a longtime leader within the Financial Information System for California, recaps his department’s achievements during the year that just ended and looks ahead to what awaits the state’s business office in 2025.
“At the heart of his work was an unwavering dedication to his clients and government and a deep appreciation for the relationships he built, which will leave a lasting legacy,” his family wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“I am honored to continue work on the Little Hoover Commission, an independent voice advocating for policy reform, efficiency and accountability,” Nava said.
Industry Insider — California will pause the morning newsletter during the long holiday break in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. To our readers and friends, the staff of Industry Insider wishes you a happy, safe holiday season! We’ll see you back here with our next newsletter on Friday, Jan. 3.
Many new laws passed by California contain requirements for progress reports. This year, agencies have sent in such reports only 16 percent of the time.
Going forward, the state will be seeking to engage more with vendors and find partners to improve compliance and cyber hygiene across its massive, complicated enterprise.
“Be prepared, get excited and enjoy the metamorphosis. My prediction is that we will look back and wonder how we got by without AI,” writes state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin.
Contributed
New technologies and strategies are important for modernizing government services. But government workforces must also to new ways of working. This paper shares advice from top public sector leaders on navigating change, engaging stakeholders and fostering innovation.
Xerox is deeply concerned about the impact of the recent wildfires on Los Angeles County and its residents, a community that includes many Xerox employees who have been personally affected by the devastation. Beyond ensuring the continuity of essential government services through its Managed Print Services (MPS) program, Xerox has demonstrated its commitment to the community by donating $10,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
Government technology professionals and private sector companies serving the public sector are constantly seeking innovative solutions to improve efficiency and enhance resident experiences. One area ripe for transformation is benefits communication, often a source of confusion and frustration for public employees. A recent deployment in a large Southern California county demonstrates the power of generative AI chatbots to address this challenge head-on.
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Join us for an insightful webinar exploring how Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365, now enhanced with Microsoft 365 Backup Storage, is transforming data protection for schools of all levels. Explore comprehensive data protection solutions for your entire Microsoft 365 environment, including Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, and Teams. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can strengthen your school’s data resilience while reducing infrastructure management overhead.
Outdated financial processes create bottlenecks, limit visibility, and slow down decision-making across government agencies. Manual workflows in procurement, travel, and budgeting make it difficult to track spending, ensure compliance, and adapt to evolving needs. The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) tackled these challenges head-on—eliminating inefficiencies and transitioning to a fully automated, data-driven approach.
