The states have three primary objectives for considering GIS cloud services: cost efficiencies, flexibility and scalability, and reduction in staff support time.
The contract between the procurement lead state and the National Association of State Procurement Officials Cooperative would allow any state to participate in the cloud services. State recommendations for the cloud system are due this week.
Source: Government Computer News
As part of an effort to tighten state technology-related spending, the California Technology Agency (CTA), the department that manages the state’s IT, has established a new policy requiring department directors to approve all IT acquisition plans (ITAP) before they are submitted to the technology agency. Previously the agency’s CIO approved such requests.
Department directors must certify that acquisitions included on ITAPs are essential and cannot be deferred or delayed.
ITAPs include various IT services, goods, and consulting and software acquisitions that are equal to or more than a certain cost. They were created to provide a way for the CTA to review and coordinate technology acquisitions to reduce overlap and increase efficiency.
Source: California Technology Agency
A recent study by Forrester Research reported that less than half of the government workers surveyed (45 percent) say they are satisfied with their technology options, compared to 57 percent of nongovernment workers.
Forrester’s report is based on the responses of 669 local and federal government information workers in the U.S. and Europe.
A majority of government employees believe they lack the tools they need to be more efficient and responsive, such as mobile technologies and collaboration tools, the report said. Forrester found that 11 percent of government workers use laptops, while 87 percent use desktop computers. As a result, more government employees are tethered to their cubicles than nongovernment employees: 63 percent of government employees work in only one location, compared to 56 percent of nongovernment workers. Inadequate policy was one reason stated for the lack of workplace flexibility.
Source: CIO.com