Among the leadership changes in state IT governance at the end of the year was the retirement of George Akiyama, the longtime chief information officer for the California Department of Transportation.
The two have deep backgrounds in technology — one in the private sector and the other in California state government.
This state department spent about half as much on its five largest purchases of IT services in the first half of this year as it did in the corresponding period of 2021.
The positions are in the California Department of Social Services and the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority contracted for a variety of services, including consultants who worked on the enterprise asset management system and maintenance and operational support of the authority’s geographic information systems, custom applications and integrations.
The CTO will be responsible for establishing the Authority’s technology road map and standards, providing technical direction, and supporting innovation across the organization. In addition, the incumbent will also serve as chief of the IT Enterprise Services Division.
The roles are with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
California currently has more than 100 different job openings posted on a state website that are all within the Information Technology Specialist I classification, and many of which can pay more than $100,000 annually.
The manager will oversee the California Department of Technology’s data centers in Gold Run and Vacaville. The business analyst will work as a liaison between the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s lines of business and its IT operation.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority contracted for security services, software licensing and video streaming services for public meetings. Four of the five largest awards went to two vendors.
