Grappling With Issues
As 2010 begins, there are many tough issues on state legislatures' and public-sector CIOs' plates. While legislatures are dealing with policy issues, local, state and federal CIOs are battling external forces that will affect their IT organization. Below is a comparison of what legislatures and CIOs have identified as their toughest issues.State Legislatures
- Balancing state budgets and creating revenue
- Managing health costs and coverage
- Lowering unemployment rates
- Affording higher education
- Analyzing sentencing and corrections costs
- Maintaining transportation and infrastructure
- Balancing and managing state government
- Developing clean energy alternatives
- Examining sex offender registration
- Expanding broadband access
- Security
- Budgets
- Changes in business model
- Internal customers
- Regulatory concerns
- Technological factors
- People skills
- Globalization
CIOs Say ...
In a global survey of 2,500 public- and private-sector CIOs conducted by IBM, 83 percent identified business intelligence and analytics as a top priority. Also of increasing concern are data reliability and security, with 71 percent of CIOs planning to make additional investments in risk management and compliance.Distracted Drivers
25% of all police-reported car crashes are caused by someone using a cell phone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.41% of cell phone users say they multitask by making phone calls while commuting or waiting, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Social Media TV
Can't keep up with Twitter and Flickr? Stupeflix.tv, a Web-based TV service, scours the Web for content you want and combines it into your own live TV channel. The site could serve as a resource for governments to learn what constituents are thinking.States of Efficiency
Many factors, including the recession, force governments to be energy efficient. Here's a list of 2009's top 10 most energy-efficient states, according to a 50-state scorecard on energy-efficiency policies, programs and practices from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.- California
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Oregon
- New York
- Vermont
- Washington
- Minnesota
- Rhode Island
- Maine
iPhone E-Reader
iPhone and iPod touch users who want to sample the Kindle e-book experience can satisfy their curiosity by downloading the free Kindle for iPhone app, which gives users access to nearly 400,000 books on the go.Pro: Avoid purchasing a $250 Kindle.
Con: Must read on the relatively tiny iPhone screen.
Security Trends for 2010
Security professionals are constantly combating Trojans and malware -- working hard to ensure network security -- and 2010 will be no different. According to Kaspersky Lab, an Internet threat management solution developer, the top six security predictions of 2010 will are:1. A rise in attacks originating from file sharing networks.
2. An increase in mass malware epidemics via peer-to-peer networks.
3. Continuous competition for traffic from cyber-criminals.
4. A decline in fake anti-virus programs.
5. An interest in attacking Google Wave.
6. An increase in attacks on iPhone and Android mobile platforms.
