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Do CIOs Need to Worry About Emerging Tech?

Indiana CIO Dewand Neely thinks leading IT means making connections to get the most value from emerging tech.

Indiana CIO Dewand Neely
Dewand Neely, CIO, Indiana
David Kidd/Government Technology
Should the state CIO be the resident expert on emerging technology? Or should that expertise rise up organically from agencies throughout the organization? The finance people might have something to gain from exploring blockchain, for example, and the Department of Transportation likely has some ideas on how Internet of Things technologies could support infrastructure assets like roads and bridges. 

In Delaware, CIO James Collins has put together an emerging technologies group to build expertise on disruptors like these with the potential to improve government operations. "If it's going to touch our network, especially, we've got to understand those things," he said. 

At the NASCIO Midyear conference last month in Virginia, Indiana CIO Dewand Neely stressed the importance of understanding the state's various business needs in order to most effectively bring emerging technologies to bear.

"The CIO really needs to get more in front of the business and listen to their thoughts, ideas, challenges," Neely said, "and then put the pieces together where we see emerging tech that can really speak to a problem that we've been talking to another business partner about."



 

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.