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CIO Profile Utah CIO, David Moon

CIO Profile Utah CIO, David Moon


1. Is yours an appointed position, civil service, etc.?

The CIO is appointed by the governor, and requires legislative approval.

2. What training was most useful to you in your current position?

The best training for me was my previous experience in managing applications development and core technology services at WordPerfect and Novell.

3. What are the biggest IT issues currently facing your jurisdiction?

Year 2000, moving government processes and applications online, hiring and retaining qualified IT staff, and telecommunications infrastructure.

4. What IT program are you most proud of?

I can't take any personal credit for it, but in terms of technology in Utah, some of the things I am most proud of are our wide area network and education network services (distance learning, school access to networks, video network for online courses, etc.), and our recently developed strategic plan for IT.

5. What has been your most difficult challenge?

Sitting through legislative committee meetings!

6. How will IT change in five years?

More central coordination of data stores and Web servers; more reliance on Internets/intranets for service delivery, internal processes, and communication; [and] widespread use of digital video.

7. What do you wish vendors would do or not do?

I wish vendors would try harder to understand the customer's needs and figure out ways to partner with other vendors to propose a solution, and try less to get you to change your problem to fit their solution. I also wish vendors would re-enthrone direct, inexpensive customer service as a competitive weapon.

8. When did you decide to enter government and what was the reason?

I began working in state government six months ago, primarily because of the tremendous opportunity that exists for government to apply technology to improve quality of life for citizens.

9. How do you stay ahead of your e-mail?

Don't ever check the box allowing trade rags to send your e-mail address to others!
December Table of Contents



- CIO, state of Utah David Moon is a member of Gov. Michael Leavitt's senior staff, serving as Utah's chief information officer. He is responsible for spearheading the governor's technology initiatives and coordinating the use of information technology across state agencies. His duties include oversight and strategic planning for information technology and telecommunications in state government. Prior to his appointment as CIO, Moon served as senior vice president of development for Novell Inc., where he managed the shared services division of the Novell Applications Group. He also served as chief technology officer and senior vice president of development at WordPerfect Corp. prior to its merger with Novell. Moon completed his bachelor's degree in computer science at Brigham Young University in 1983.